On this Day

Wednesday, May 25th
The 145th day of 2005
There are 220 days left in the year

Today's Highlights in History

On May 25, 1925, John T. Scopes was indicted in Tennessee for teaching Darwin's theory of evolution. (Go to article)

On May 25, 1926, Miles Davis, the American trumpeter who had a strong influence on jazz music, was born. Following his death on Sept. 28, 1991, his obituary appeared in The Times. (Go to obituary)

On May 25, 1872, Harper's Weekly featured a cartoon about corrupt New York judges. (See the cartoon and read an explanation)

Reference: The New York Times



(The following Via Iraq War Today)

Today in History

585 BC - In Greece, Thales makes the first known prediction of a solar eclipse.
1085 - Alfonso VI takes Toledo, Spain from the Muslims.
1706 - The British fleet captures the island of Majorca.
1787 - The Constitutional convention opens at Philadelphia with George Washington presiding.
1810 - Argentina declares independence from Napoleonic Spain.
1851 - Jose Justo de Urquiza of Argentina leads a rebellion against his former ally.
1911 - Porfirio Diaz, President of Mexico, resigns his office.
1914 - The British House of Commons passes Irish Home Rule.
1925 - John Scopes is indicted for teaching Darwinian theory in school.
1940 - The German Second Panzer Division captures the French port of Boulogne.
1946 - Jordan gains independence from Britain.
1953 - The first atomic cannon is fired.
1969 - A military coup overthrows the Sudanese government.
1978 - "Star Wars" is released.
1979 - Israel begins to return Sinai to Egypt; American Airlines Flight #191, a DC-10, loses its left-side engine upon takeoff and crashes, killing 273 on board and 2 on the ground. It remains the worst air disaster in U.S. history.
1982 - Iran reconquers Khorramshar.
1983 - "Return of the Jedi" (Star Wars Episode VI) is released.
1989 - Mikhail Gorbachev is elected Executive President of the Soviet Union.
1991 - Israel evacuates 14,000 Ethiopian Jews.


Birthdays
1889 - Igor Sikorsky, American aviation engineer; developed the first helicopter.
1927 - Robert Ludlum, spy novelist (The Bourne Identity)
1932 - Georgi Mikhailovich Grechko, cosmonaut (Soyuz 17, 26, T-14)
1933 - Roger Bowen, actor (M*A*S*H)
1944 - Frank Oz, puppeteer (Sesame St, Muppet Show)

Passings
0946 - Edmund the Older, king of Wessex/England
1125 - Hendrik V, last Salische German king
1926 - Symon Petlyura, leader of Ukraine (pogroms), assassinated
1946 - Patty Smith Hill, songwriter (Happy Birthday To You)
1949 - Simon H Spoor, intelligence officer/general (WW II)
1968 - George KFW von Kochler, German marshal
1986 - Chester Bowles, U.S. senator/ambassador
1992 - Philip C. Habib, U.S. diplomat (Middle-East/Asia) ; Viktor Grishin, hardline soviet communist
1996 - David W. Howe, test pilot
1997 - Muhammad Fadhel, PM of Iraq 1953-54