History for May 25

History for May 25 - On-This-Day.com:

Indianapolis 500-Mile Race, Indianapolis, IN. See www.indy500.com.

125th birth anniversary of Igor Sikorsky (1889-1972), aeronautical engineer best remembered for his development of the first successful helicopter.

Birth anniversary of author Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-82).

Birth anniversaries of tap dancer Bill “Bojangles” Robinson (1878-1949), lyricist Hal David (1921-91), jazz trumpeter Miles Davis (1926-91)

Happy Birthday! Tom T. Hall, Mike Myers, Karen Valentine

1787 - The Constitutional convention opened in Philadelphia with George Washington presiding. 


1844 - The gasoline engine was patented by Stuart Perry.


1925 - John Scopes was indicted for teaching the Darwinian theory in school. 


1927 - Ford Motor Company announced that the Model A would replace the Model T. 


1935 - Jesse Owens tied the world record for the 100-yard dash. He ran it in 9.4 seconds. He also broke three other world track records. 


1968 - The Gateway Arch, part of the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial in St. Louis, MO, was dedicated. 


1977 - "Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope" opened and became the largest grossing film to date.

1979 - An American Airlines DC-10 crashed during takeoff at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport. 275 people were killed.


1985 - Bangladesh was hit with a hurricane and tidal wave that killed more than 11,000 people. 


1986 - Approximately 7 million Americans participated in "Hands Across America." 


1992 - Jay Leno debuted as the new permanent host of NBC's "Tonight Show." 


2009 - North Korea announced that it had conducted a second successful nuclear test in the province of North Hamgyong. The United Nations Security Council condemned the reported test.