25 August 1759

The NASA space probe Voyager 1 became the first man-made object to enter interstellar space.

The skeleton of King Richard III of England was discovered under a car park in Leicester.

Mexican drug war: Fifty-two people were killed in an arson attack at a casino in Monterrey, Mexico.

American singer Aaliyah (pictured) and several members of her record company were killed when their overloaded aircraft crashed shortly after takeoff from Marsh Harbour Airport in The Bahamas.

The NASA spacecraft Voyager 2 made its closest approach to Neptune and provided definitive proof of the existence of the planet's rings (pictured).

Bruce Springsteen released his commercial breakthrough album, Born to Run.

World War II: Japanese forces attacked the Australian base at Milne Bay on the eastern tip of New Guinea.

World War I: During the sack of Louvain in Belgium, German troops burned the town's Catholic university, destroying several medieval manuscripts.

Matthew Webb became the first person to swim across the English Channel, doing so in approximately 21 hours 40 minutes.

Seven Years' War: Prussian forces engaged the Russians at the Battle of Zorndorf in present-day Sarbinowo, Poland.

Italian astronomer Galileo Galilei (pictured) demonstrated his first telescope to Venetian lawmakers.

The Honourable Artillery Company, now the oldest surviving regiment in the British Army, was granted a royal charter by Henry VIII.

Philip III became King of France following the death of his father Louis IX during the Eighth Crusade.

Hurricane Harvey makes landfall in Texas as a powerful Category 4 hurricane, the strongest hurricane to make landfall in the United States since 2004.

Conflict in Rakhine State (2016–present): One hundred seventy people are killed in at least 26 separate attacks carried out by the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army, leading to the governments of Myanmar and Malaysia designating the group as a terrorist organisation.

Voyager 1 spacecraft enters interstellar space, becoming the first man-made object to do so.

Fifty-two people are killed during an arson attack caused by members of the drug cartel Los Zetas.

A Filair Let L-410 Turbolet crashes on approach to Bandundu Airport, killing 20.

Former Prime Minister of Ukraine Pavlo Lazarenko is sentenced to nine years imprisonment for money laundering, wire fraud, and extortion.

Hurricane Katrina makes landfall in Florida.

NASA successfully launches the Spitzer Space Telescope into space.

American singer Aaliyah and several members of her entourage are killed as their overloaded aircraft crashes shortly after takeoff from Marsh Harbour Airport, Bahamas.

Egon Krenz, the former East German leader, is convicted of a shoot-to-kill policy at the Berlin Wall.

Belarus gains its independence from the Soviet Union.