Discover · History

On this day — April 25

A hand-curated thread of what happened on this date, across centuries.

2015

Disaster

At least 8,962 are killed in Nepal after a massive 7.8 magnitude earthquake strikes Nepal.

2014

Milestone

The Flint water crisis begins when officials at Flint

Michigan switch the city's water supply to the Flint River, leading to lead and bacteria contamination.

2007

Milestone

Boris Yeltsin's funeral

The first to be sanctioned by the Russian Orthodox Church for a head of state since the funeral of Emperor Alexander III in 1894.

2005

Milestone

The final piece of the Obelisk of Axum is returned to Ethiopia after being stolen by the invading Italian army in 1937.

2005

Milestone

A seven-car commuter train derails and crashes into an apartment building near Amagasaki Station in Japan

killing 107, including the driver.

2005

Politics

Bulgaria and Romania sign the Treaty of Accession 2005 to join the European Union.

2004

Milestone

The March for Women's Lives brings over one million protesters, mostly pro-choice, to Washington D.C

to protest the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act of 2003, and other restrictions on abortion.

2001

Politics

President George W

Bush pledges U.S. military support in the event of a Chinese attack on Taiwan.

1990

Politics

Violeta Chamorro takes office as the President of Nicaragua

the first woman to hold the position.

1983

Politics

Cold War: American schoolgirl Samantha Smith is invited to visit the Soviet Union by its leader Yuri Andropov after he read her letter in which she expressed fears about nuclear war.

1983

Milestone

Pioneer 10 travels beyond Pluto's orbit.

1982

Milestone

Israel completes its withdrawal from the Sinai Peninsula per the Camp David Accords.

1981

Milestone

More than 100 workers are exposed to radiation during repairs of at the Tsuruga Nuclear Power Plant in Japan.

1980

Milestone

One hundred forty-six people are killed when Dan-Air Flight 1008 crashes near Los Rodeos Airport in Tenerife

Canary Islands.

1974

Politics

Carnation Revolution

A leftist military coup in Portugal overthrows the authoritarian-conservative Estado Novo regime.