June 25
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Featured Event
© Narcis Parfenti/Shutterstock.com
On this day the first version of the rainbow flag, which represents LGBTQ+ pride, was flown during the 7th Annual Gay Freedom Day Parade in San Francisco. One of two rainbow-themed flags created for the event, the original flag was massive and had eight stripes of color: hot pink, red, orange, yellow, green, blue, turquoise, and violet. Around 30 volunteers dyed the strips of materials and sewed them by hand. [Read today’s edition of Today in History > >]
Featured Biography
Featured Biography
© Album/Alamy
Born this day in 1852, Catalan architect Antoni Gaudí, whose distinctive style was typified by freedom of form and voluptuous color and texture, spent much of his career building Barcelona’s Sagrada Família. [Explore the church with this interactive tour.]
Famous Birthdays
More on June 25
F.J. Doyle/National Space Science Data Center
2024
China’s lunar probe Chang’e 6 returned to Earth, carrying the first samples from the far side of the Moon. [Discover the answers to eight questions about the Moon.]
Alexander Natruskin—Reuters/© Archive Photos
2009
American singer and dancer Michael Jackson, who was renowned worldwide as the “King of Pop,” died at age 50 from a lethal combination of sedatives and propofol, an anesthetic. [Test your knowledge of songs and music stars.]
Hulton Archive/Getty Images
2009
American actress Farrah Fawcett, who first gained fame for an iconic pinup poster and later became a superstar with the hit television series Charlie’s Angels, died of cancer at age 62. [Take our quiz about A-list actors.]
Norm Betts—Canada Wide/Sygma
1993
Canadian politician Kim Campbell was sworn in as the country’s prime minister, becoming the first woman to hold the post; she served for less than five months. [Test your knowledge of famous firsts for women.]
Jo Hale/Getty Images
1961
British comedian and actor Ricky Gervais, whose credits notably included the television series The Office (2001–03), was born. [Take our quiz about actors and acting.]
U.S. Army Photo
1950
The Korean War began after North Korea unleashed an attack southward across the 38th parallel, prompting the UN Security Council (minus the Soviet delegate) to pass a resolution calling on UN members to assist South Korea. [Sort fact from fiction in our quiz about Korea.]
© AKG London/SuperStock
1947
Anne Frank’s The Diary of a Young Girl was first published, appearing in the Netherlands under the title Het Achterhuis (“The Secret Annex”); it became a classic of war literature. [Tour the Anne Frank House in Amsterdam.]
Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
1943
The Smith-Connally Anti-Strike Act was enacted by the U.S. Congress, giving the president power to seize and operate privately owned war plants when a strike or threat of a strike interfered with war production. [Take our quiz about the United States.]
Horst Tappe/Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
1910
The Firebird by Igor Stravinsky and Michel Fokine premiered at the Paris Opéra. [Test your knowledge of music composers.]
© Everett Historical/Shutterstock.com
1876
George Armstrong Custer made his last stand with the 7th Cavalry at the Battle of the Little Bighorn. [Take our quiz about U.S. history.]
BBC Hulton Picture Library
1870
Robert Erskine Childers—writer, Sinn Féin deputy, member of the Irish Republican Army, and Irish nationalist agitator—was born in London. [Sort fact from fiction in our quiz about history makers.]
Image: Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
1530
The Augsburg Confession, 28 articles that constitute the basic confession of the Lutheran churches, was presented at the Diet of Augsburg to the emperor Charles V. [How much do you know about the history of Christianity?]
© Irina Borsuchenko/Dreamstime.com
1447
Casimir IV, the grand duke of Lithuania, was crowned king of Poland. [Take our quiz about kings and emperors.]
© Photos.com/Jupiterimages
1243
Sinibaldo Cardinal Fieschi was elected pope, taking the name Innocent IV. [Test your knowledge of popes.]