The NASA space probe Voyager 1 became the first man-made object to enter interstellar space.
25 August 2123
A Wednesday in history
Weekday
Wednesday
Season
Summer (N. Hemisphere)
Century
22nd century
Records
430
2012
2012The skeleton of King Richard III of England was discovered under a car park in Leicester.
2011Mexican drug war: Fifty-two people were killed in an arson attack at a casino in Monterrey, Mexico.
2001American 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.
1989The NASA spacecraft Voyager 2 made its closest approach to Neptune and provided definitive proof of the existence of the planet's rings (pictured).
1975Bruce Springsteen released his commercial breakthrough album, Born to Run.
1942World War II: Japanese forces attacked the Australian base at Milne Bay on the eastern tip of New Guinea.
1914World War I: During the sack of Louvain in Belgium, German troops burned the town's Catholic university, destroying several medieval manuscripts.
1875Matthew Webb became the first person to swim across the English Channel, doing so in approximately 21 hours 40 minutes.
1758Seven Years' War: Prussian forces engaged the Russians at the Battle of Zorndorf in present-day Sarbinowo, Poland.
1609Italian astronomer Galileo Galilei (pictured) demonstrated his first telescope to Venetian lawmakers.
1537The Honourable Artillery Company, now the oldest surviving regiment in the British Army, was granted a royal charter by Henry VIII.
1270Philip III became King of France following the death of his father Louis IX during the Eighth Crusade.
- 1258
George Mouzalon, the regent of the Empire of Nicaea, was assassinated as part of a conspiracy led by nobles under the future emperor Michael VIII Palaiologos.
Photo archive
24 historic images from this day — tap to open the gallery.
What was life like?
Prices, jobs, food, music and everyday routine — the world as it felt to live in.
Sources & fact check
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