1530 ~ Ivan the Terrible the Russian Tsar was born on the 25th August 1530 (died 1584).

1609 ~ Galileo Galilei demonstrated his 1st telescope on the 25th August 1609, to Venetian lawmakers.

1786 ~ Ludwig I of Bavaria was born on the 25th August 1786 (died 1868). Ludwig I was King of Bavaria from 1825 until the 1848 revolutions in the German states.

1845 ~ LUDWiG II of BAVARiA was born Ludwig Otto Friedrich Wilhelm on the 25th August 1845 (died 1886 aged 40). Ludwig II was the eccentric King of Bavaria from 1864 until shortly before his death, and is sometimes called the Swan King, Der Märchenkönig, the Fairy Tale King, Count Palatine of the Rhine, Duke of Bavaria (Franconia & Swabia), and Mad King Ludwig. Ludwig’s younger brother and successor Otto of Bavaria was considered insane, thus the claim of hereditary madness when Ludwig was deposed on grounds of mental incapacity without any medical examination. His death remains controversial due to the mysterious circumstances under which he died. King Ludwig and the doctor assigned to him in captivity at Berg Castle on Lake Starnberg were both found dead in the lake in waist-high water, the doctor with unexplained injuries to the head and shoulders, on the morning after the day Ludwig was deposed.

“I wish to remain an eternal enigma to myself and to others.” ~ Ludwig II

Ludwig commissioned the construction of 2 extravagant palaces and a castle, the most famous being Neuschwanstein. King Ludwig left a great legacy of architecture, art and tourist income that has helped to make Bavaria the richest state in Germany.

1835 ~ The Great Moon Hoax was perpetrated by the New York Sun on the 25th August 1835.

1875 – Captain Matthew Webb became the 1st person to swim across the English Channel on the 25th August 1875, traveling from Dover, England, to Calais, France, in 22 hours.

1894 – Kitasato Shibasaburō discovered the infectious agent of the bubonic plague and published his findings in The Lancet on the 25th August 1894.

1914 – World War I: The library of the Catholic University of Leuven was deliberately destroyed by the German Army on the 25th August 1914. Hundreds of thousands of irreplaceable Gothic and Renaissance book volumes and manuscripts were lost.

1916 – The United States National Park Service was created on the 25th August 1916.

1944 – World War II: Paris was liberated by the Allies on the 25th August 1944.

1949 – John Savage the American actor was born on the 25th August 1949.

1949 ~ GENE SiMMONS the Israeli-American singer-songwriter and bass player from KiSS was born on the 25th August 1949. YouTube video: CNN interview: KISS’ Gene Simmons “I can’t sing!”: Kiss co-founder and Family Jewels star Gene Simmons talks about why he’s never done drugs and how he can’t sing..

1951 ~ ROB HALFORD the English singer-songwriter from JUDAS PRiEST was born on the 25th August 1951. YouTube video: Judas Priest ~ You’ve Got Another Thing Comin’ (1982).. 

1952 ~ GEOFF DOWNES the English keyboard player and songwriter from The BUGGLES was born on the 25th August 1952. YouTube video: The Buggles ~ Video Killed the Radio Star (1979).. 

1954 ~ ELViS COSTELLO the English singer-songwriter and producer was born on the 25th August 1954. YouTube video: Elvis Costello ~ Oliver’s Army Promo Video (1979)..YouTube video below: ELViS COSTELLO ~ MTV UNPLUGGED (1991): Elvis Costello & The Rude 5 perform on MTV Unplugged in 1991. Only 5 of the songs made it to the broadcast version, because MTV apparently didn’t want to air a bunch of songs from his then-unreleased “covers” album, Kojak Variety. He begins with a fragment of “Home Is Anywhere You Hang Your Head” and then performs “Deep Dark Truthful Mirror”, “So Like Candy / I Want You”, “The Other Side Of Summer”, “Must You Throw Dirt In My Face”, “Hidden Charms”, “Everybody’s Crying Mercy”, “Hurry Down Doomsday (The Bugs Are Taking Over)”, “Couldn’t Call It Unexpected No. 4” and “Bama Lama Bama Loo.”

1958 – Tim Burton the American director, producer, and screenwriter was born on the 25th August 1958.

1961 – Billy Ray Cyrus the American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actor was born on the 25th August 1961.

1962 – Vivian Campbell the Irish guitarist and songwriter  from Def Leppard was born on the 25th August 1962.

1964 – Joanne Whalley the British actress was born on the 25th August 1964.

1970 – Claudia Schiffer the German model and fashion designer was born on the 25th August 1970.

1972 ~ Joe Wright the English film director was born on the 25th August 1972. Joe Wright is best known for the movies Pride & Prejudice, Atonement, Hanna, and Anna Karenina.

1980 – Zimbabwe joined the United Nations on the 25th August 1980.

1981 – Voyager 2 spacecraft made its closest approach to Saturn on the 25th August 1981.

1981 – Clare Oliver Australian activist was born on the 25th August 1981. Clare died on the 13th September 2007, aged 26. Clare’s own health crisis prompted her to become an activist, gaining wide media coverage for her campaign to raise awareness about the risks of using solariums excessively. Please visit www.ClareOliverMelanomaFund.org 

1989 – Tadeusz Mazowiecki was chosen as the 1st non-communist Prime Minister in Central and Eastern Europe on the 25th August 1989.

1989 – Voyager 2 spacecraft made its closest approach to Neptune on the 25th August 1989.

1989 – Mayumi Moriyama became Japan’s 1st female cabinet secretary on the 25th August 1989.

1991 – The Airbus A340 aircraft made its 1st flight on the 25th August 1991.

1991 – Belarus gained its independence from the Soviet Union on the 25th August 1991.

1991 – Linus Torvalds announced the 1st version of what would later become Linux on the 25th August 1991.

1997 – Egon Krenz the former East German leader, was convicted of a shoot-to-kill policy at the Berlin Wall on the 25th August 1997.

2012 ~ Neil Armstrong the American astronaut and first man on the Moon, died on the 25th day of August in 2012, aged 82.

Today in History for August 25th ~ video presented by the Associated Press…