On This Day: March 25

Updated March 24, 2012, 2:28 pm

On March 25, 1965, the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. led 25,000 marchers to the state capitol in Montgomery, Ala., to protest the denial of voting rights to blacks.

Go to article »

On March 25, 1881, Bela Bartok, the Hungarian pianist who was one of the most important composers of the 20th century , was born. Following his death on Sept. 26, 1945, his obituary appeared in The Times.

Go to obituary » | Other birthdays »

On This Date

By The Associated Press

1634 Maryland was founded by English colonists sent by the second Lord Baltimore.

1807 Britain abolished its slave trade.

1894 Jacob S. Coxey began leading an “army” of the unemployed from Massillon, Ohio, to Washington, D.C., to demand help from the federal government.

1913 The home of vaudeville, the Palace Theatre, opened in New York City.

1957 The Treaty of Rome established the European Economic Community.

1965 The Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. led 25,000 marchers to the state capitol in Montgomery, Ala., to protest the denial of voting rights to blacks.

1975 King Faisal of Saudi Arabia was shot to death by a nephew with a history of mental illness.

1988 Robert E. Chambers Jr. pleaded guilty to first-degree manslaughter in the death of 18-year-old Jennifer Levin in New York City’s so-called “preppie murder case.”

1992 Cosmonaut Sergei Krikalev returned to Earth from the Mir space station after a 10-month stay, during which his native country, the Soviet Union, ceased to exist.

1994 American troops completed their withdrawal from Somalia.

1996 An 81-day standoff by the antigovernment Freemen began at a ranch near Jordan, Mont.

1996 The redesigned $100 bill went into circulation.

1998 President Bill Clinton acknowledged during his Africa tour that “we did not act quickly enough” to stop the slaughter of 1 million Rwandans four years earlier.

2002 A powerful earthquake rocked Afghanistan and northwestern Pakistan, killing as many as 1,000 people.

Current Birthdays

By The Associated Press

Rock singer-musician Elton John turns 65 years old today.

AP Photo/Evan Agostini

Actress Sarah Jessica Parker (“Sex and the City”) turns 47 years old today.

AP Photo/Evan Agostini

1928 Jim Lovell, Astronaut, turns 84

1934 Gloria Steinem, Feminist author, turns 78

1940 Anita Bryant, Singer, turns 72

1942 Aretha Franklin, R&B singer, turns 70

1943 Paul Michael Glaser, Actor (“Starsky and Hutch”), turns 69

1948 Bonnie Bedelia, Actress (“Parenthood”), turns 64

1953 Mary Gross, Actress, comedian, turns 59

1958 John Ensign, Former U.S. senator, R-Nev., turns 54

1958 James McDaniel, Actor (“NYPD Blue”), turns 54

1960 Brenda Strong, Actress (“Desperate Housewives”), turns 52

1962 Marcia Cross, Actress (“Desperate Housewives”), turns 50

1964 Lisa Gay Hamilton, Actress, turns 48

1966 Tom Glavine, Baseball player, turns 46

1971 Sheryl Swoopes, Basketball player, turns 41

1979 Lee Pace, Actor (“Pushing Daisies”), turns 33

1982 Danica Patrick, Auto racer, turns 30

1984 Katherine McPhee, Singer (“American Idol”), turns 28

1987 Jason Castro, Singer (“American Idol”), turns 25

1989 Aly Michalka, Actress, singer (“Aly and AJ”), turns 23

Historic Birthdays

Bela Bartok 3/25/1881 – 9/26/1945 Hungarian composer, ethnomusicologist and teacher.Go to obituary »

33 Saint Catherine of Siena 3/25/1347 – 4/29/1380
Italian Dominican tertiary, mystic and patron Saint of Italy

71 Matilda Gage 3/25/1826 – 3/18/1898
American women’s rights advocate

90 Stephen Luce 3/25/1827 – 7/28/1917
American founder and first president of the Naval War College

89 Arturo Toscanini 3/25/1867 – 1/16/1957
Italian conductor

69 William Knudsen 3/25/1879 – 4/27/1948
Danish-born American industrialist; president of General Motors (1937-1940)

76 Gerald Murphy 3/25/1888 – 10/17/1964
American expatriate; befriended, with wife, writers and artists in Paris in the 1920’s

83 Sir David Lean 3/25/1908 – 4/16/1991
English film director

64 Simone Signoret 3/25/1921 – 9/30/1985
French stage and motion picture actress

39 Flannery O’Connor 3/25/1925 – 8/3/1964
American writer

61 Penelope Gilliatt 3/25/1932 – 5/9/1993
English writer of essays, short stories, screenplays and novels

1634	Maryland was founded by English colonists sent by the second Lord Baltimore.
1807	Britain abolished its slave trade.
1894	Jacob S. Coxey began leading an “army” of the unemployed from Massillon, Ohio, to Washington, D.C., to demand help from the federal government.
1913	The home of vaudeville, the Palace Theatre, opened in New York City.
1957	The Treaty of Rome established the European Economic Community.
1965	The Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. led 25,000 marchers to the state capitol in Montgomery, Ala., to protest the denial of voting rights to blacks.
1975	King Faisal of Saudi Arabia was shot to death by a nephew with a history of mental illness.
1988	Robert E. Chambers Jr. pleaded guilty to first-degree manslaughter in the death of 18-year-old Jennifer Levin in New York City’s so-called “preppie murder case.”
1992	Cosmonaut Sergei Krikalev returned to Earth from the Mir space station after a 10-month stay, during which his native country, the Soviet Union, ceased to exist.
1994	American troops completed their withdrawal from Somalia.
1996	An 81-day standoff by the antigovernment Freemen began at a ranch near Jordan, Mont.
1996	The redesigned $100 bill went into circulation.
1998	President Bill Clinton acknowledged during his Africa tour that “we did not act quickly enough” to stop the slaughter of 1 million Rwandans four years earlier.
2002	A powerful earthquake rocked Afghanistan and northwestern Pakistan, killing as many as 1,000 people.

1928	Jim Lovell, Astronaut, turns 84
1934	Gloria Steinem, Feminist author, turns 78
1940	Anita Bryant, Singer, turns 72
1942	Aretha Franklin, R&B singer, turns 70
1943	Paul Michael Glaser, Actor (“Starsky and Hutch”), turns 69
1948	Bonnie Bedelia, Actress (“Parenthood”), turns 64
1953	Mary Gross, Actress, comedian, turns 59
1958	John Ensign, Former U.S. senator, R-Nev., turns 54
1958	James McDaniel, Actor (“NYPD Blue”), turns 54
1960	Brenda Strong, Actress (“Desperate Housewives”), turns 52
1962	Marcia Cross, Actress (“Desperate Housewives”), turns 50
1964	Lisa Gay Hamilton, Actress, turns 48
1966	Tom Glavine, Baseball player, turns 46
1971	Sheryl Swoopes, Basketball player, turns 41
1979	Lee Pace, Actor (“Pushing Daisies”), turns 33
1982	Danica Patrick, Auto racer, turns 30
1984	Katherine McPhee, Singer (“American Idol”), turns 28
1987	Jason Castro, Singer (“American Idol”), turns 25
1989	Aly Michalka, Actress, singer (“Aly and AJ”), turns 23

33	Saint Catherine of Siena 3/25/1347 – 4/29/1380 Italian Dominican tertiary, mystic and patron Saint of Italy
71	Matilda Gage 3/25/1826 – 3/18/1898 American women’s rights advocate
90	Stephen Luce 3/25/1827 – 7/28/1917 American founder and first president of the Naval War College
89	Arturo Toscanini 3/25/1867 – 1/16/1957 Italian conductor
69	William Knudsen 3/25/1879 – 4/27/1948 Danish-born American industrialist; president of General Motors (1937-1940)
76	Gerald Murphy 3/25/1888 – 10/17/1964 American expatriate; befriended, with wife, writers and artists in Paris in the 1920’s
83	Sir David Lean 3/25/1908 – 4/16/1991 English film director
64	Simone Signoret 3/25/1921 – 9/30/1985 French stage and motion picture actress
39	Flannery O’Connor 3/25/1925 – 8/3/1964 American writer
61	Penelope Gilliatt 3/25/1932 – 5/9/1993 English writer of essays, short stories, screenplays and novels