25 September 1142

The Ram Rath Yatra, a political–religious rally organised to erect a temple to the Hindu deity Rama on the site of the Babri Masjid in Ayodhya, began in the Indian state of Gujarat.

Sandra Day O'Connor (pictured) became the first female justice of the Supreme Court of the United States.

About 4,200 people took part in the first modern Chicago Marathon.

The North Yemen Civil War began when Abdullah al-Sallal dethroned the newly crowned Imam al-Badr and declared Yemen to be a republic under his presidency.

United States Army troops escorted nine students as Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas was integrated.

Second World War: British troops began their withdrawal from the Battle of Arnhem in the Netherlands, ending the Allies' Operation Market Garden in defeat.

Sequoia National Park (pictured) was established to conserve giant sequoia trees in an area affected by logging in the southern Sierra Nevada in California.

French Revolutionary Wars: After U.S. ships became involved, French forces abandoned their invasion of the Batavian island of Curaçao.

Peking opera was born with the introduction of Hui opera to Beijing by the "Four Great Anhui Troupes" in honour of the Qianlong Emperor's 80th birthday.

American Revolutionary War: Ethan Allen and a small force of American and Quebec militia failed to capture the city of Montreal from British forces.

Ottoman wars in Europe: Ottoman forces under Bayezid I defeated a Christian alliance led by Sigismund of Hungary near present-day Nikopol, Bulgaria.

Henry III of England and Alexander II of Scotland signed the Treaty of York, establishing the Anglo-Scottish border, which mostly remains the same today.

Harold Godwinson defeated King Harald III of Norway and his English ally Tostig Godwinson at the Battle of Stamford Bridge, ending the last Norse invasion of the British Isles.

Viking expansion: A Viking fleet arrived near Seville, then part of the Emirate of Córdoba, and began a raid of the city that was eventually repelled by Muslim defenders.

After the assassination of Aurelian, Tacitus (depicted) was chosen by the Senate to succeed him as Roman emperor.

Bill Cosby is sentenced to three to ten years in prison for aggravated sexual assault.

The 8.3 Mw Hokkaidō earthquake strikes just offshore Hokkaidō, Japan.

PauknAir Flight 4101, a British Aerospace 146, crashes near Melilla Airport in Melilla, Spain, killing 38 people.

NASA launches Space Shuttle Atlantis on STS-86 to the Mir space station.

NASA launches the Mars Observer. Eleven months later, the probe would fail while preparing for orbital insertion.

Fijian Governor-General Penaia Ganilau is overthrown in a coup d'état led by Lieutenant colonel Sitiveni Rabuka.

3 civilians killed by alleged supporters of the Palestine Liberation Organization in Larnaca yacht killings.

Belize joins the United Nations.

PSA Flight 182, a Boeing 727, collides in mid-air with a Cessna 172 and crashes in San Diego, killing all 135 aboard Flight 182, both occupants of the Cessna, as well as seven people on the ground.