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October 25

285 (or 286) – Execution of Saints Crispin and Crispinian during the reign of Diocletian, now the patron saints of leather workers, curriers, and shoemakers.

1415 – Hundred Years' War: Henry V of England and his lightly armoured infantry and archers defeat the heavily armoured French cavalry in the Battle of Agincourt on Saint Crispin's Day.

1828 – St Katharine Docks open in London.

1854 – The Battle of Balaclava during the Crimean War (Charge of the Light Brigade). Half a league, half a league, Half a league onward, All in the valley of Death Rode the six hundred. ~Alfred, Lord Tennyson

1920 – After 74 days on hunger strike in Brixton Prison, England, the Sinn Féin Lord Mayor of Cork, Terence MacSwiney dies.

1938 – The Archbishop of Dubuque, Francis J. L. Beckman, denounces swing music as "a degenerated musical system ... turned loose to gnaw away at the moral fiber of young people", warning that it leads down a "primrose path to hell". His warning is widely ignored.

1940 – Benjamin O. Davis, Sr. is named the first African American general in the United States Army.

1944 – The USS Tang under Richard O'Kane (the top American submarine captain of World War II) is sunk by the ship's own malfunctioning torpedo.

1962 – Cuban Missile Crisis: Adlai Stevenson shows photos at a meeting of the United Nations Security Council proving that Soviet missiles are installed in Cuba.

1964 - The Rolling Stones appeared for the first time on The Ed Sullivan Show from New York, performing ‘Around And Around’ and ‘Time Is On My Side’. A riot broke out in the studio, prompting Sullivan’s infamous quote, ‘I promise you they’ll never be back on our show again.’ The Rolling Stones went on to make a further five appearances on Sullivan’s show between 1965 and 1969.

1966 - Aged 7 months old, Jeff Healey had his right eye surgical removed (and subsequently his left eye, 4 months later), and replaced with artificial ones, necessitated by a form of cancer of the eyes called retinoblastoma. Three years later Healey was given his first guitar by his father. At the age of 13, the Canadian guitarist formed his first band, Blue Direction.

1977 – Digital Equipment Corporation releases OpenVMS V1.0.

1983 – Operation Urgent Fury: The United States and its Caribbean allies invade Grenada, six days after Prime Minister Maurice Bishop and several of his supporters are executed in a coup d'état.

1995 – A commuter train slams into a school bus in Fox River Grove, Illinois, killing seven students.

Births

1838 – Georges Bizet; 1864 – John Francis Dodge (yeah, that Dodge); 1881 – Pablo Picasso; 1886 – Leo G. Carroll; 1888 – Richard E. Byrd; 1912 – Minnie Pearl ("HOOOWDEE!! I'm jist s'proud to be h'yere!"); 1913 – Klaus Barbie; 1924 – Billy Barty; 1928 – Jeanne Cooper ('Katherine Chancellor' on The Young and the Restless); 1928 – Tony Franciosa; 1928 – Marion Ross ('Mrs. Cunningham' on Happy Days); 1940 – Bobby Knight; 1941 – Helen Reddy♪ ♫; 1944 – Jon Anderson♪ ♫(Yes); 1944 – James Carville (played 'Gollum' in The Lord of The Rings); 1947 – Glenn Tipton(Judas Priest); 1955 – Matthias Jabs(Scorpions); 1957 – Nancy Cartwright (voice of Bart Simpson); 1959 – Chrissy Amphlett♪ ♫(Divinyls); 1961 – Ward Burton; 1961 – Chad Smith(The Red Hot Chili Peppers); 1964 – Michael Boatman (Spin City, China Beach); 1970 – Adam Goldberg; 1970 – Ed Robertson♪ ♫(Barenaked Ladies); 1970 – Chely Wright♪ ♫; 1984 – Katy Perry♪ ♫; 1985 – Ciara♪ ♫

Deaths

1400 – Geoffrey Chaucer; 1806 – Henry Knox (namesake of Fort Knox & Knox County, KY); 1920 – Terence MacSwiney; 1921 – Bat Masterson; 1957 – Albert Anastasia (mob boss); 1986 – Forrest Tucker; 1991 – Bill Graham♪ ♫(concert promoter); 1992 – Roger Miller♪ ♫; 1993 – Vincent Price; 1995 – Bobby Riggs; 1999 – Payne Stewart; 2002 – Richard Harris (left his cake out in the rain); 2004 – John Peel; 2008 – Gerard Damiano (wrote & directed Deep Throat, directed The Devil in Miss Jones); 2013 – Hal Needham; 2013 – Marcia Wallace (voice of 'Edna Krabappel' on The Simpsons); 2014 – Jack Bruce(Cream)