HISTORY TODAY: October 25

1923 The Teapot Dome scandal comes to public attention as Senator Thomas J. Walsh of Montana, subcommittee chairman, reveals the findings of the past 18 months of investigation.

1415		An English army under Henry V defeats the French at Agincourt, France. The French out number Henry’s troops 60,000 to 12,000 but British longbows turn the tide of the battle.
1757		A British fleet of 14 ships under Rear-Admiral Sir Edward Hawke defeats the French at the Second Battle of Cape Finisterre in the eastern Atlantic Ocean. The battle puts an end to French naval operations for the rest of the War of the Austrian Succession, thus eliminating any threat of a French invasion of Britain. [From MHQ—The Quarterly Journal of Military History]
1760		George III of England is crowned.
1854		During the Crimean War, a brigade of British light infantry is destroyed by Russian artillery as they charge down a narrow corridor in full view of the Russians.
1916		German pilot Rudolf von Eschwege shoots down his first enemy plane, a Nieuport 12 of the Royal Naval Air Service over Bulgaria.
1923		The Teapot Dome scandal comes to public attention as Senator Thomas J. Walsh of Montana, subcommittee chairman, reveals the findings of the past 18 months of investigation. His case will result in the conviction of Harry F. Sinclair of Mammoth Oil, and later Secretary of the Interior Albert B. Fall, the first cabinet member in American history to go to jail. The scandal, named for the Teapot Dome oil reserves in Wyoming, involved Fall secretly leasing naval oil reserve lands to private companies.
1941		German troops capture Kharkov and launch a new drive toward Moscow.
1944		The Japanese are defeated in the Battle of Leyte Gulf, the world’s largest sea engagement. From this point on, the depleted Japanese Navy increasingly resorts to the suicidal attacks of Kamikaze fighters.
1950		Chinese Communist Forces launch their first-phase offensive across the Yalu River into North Korea.
1951		In a general election, England’s Labour Party loses to the Conservatives. Winston Churchill becomes prime minister and Anthony Eden becomes foreign secretary.
1954		President Dwight Eisenhower conducts the first televised Cabinet meeting.
1958		The last U.S. troops leave Beirut.
1960		Martin Luther King, Jr., is sentenced to four months in jail for a sit-in.
1962		Adlai Stevenson shows photos to the UN Security Council that prove Soviet missiles have been installed in Cuba.
1962		In South Africa, civil rights activist Nelson Mandela is sentenced to 5 years in prison.
1971		The United Nations expels the Republic of China and seats the People’s Republic of China.
1983		1,800 U.S. troops and 300 Caribbean troops land on Grenada. U.S. forces soon turn up evidence of a strong Cuban and Soviet presence–large stores of arms and documents suggesting close links to Cuba.
1991		The last soldiers of the Yugoslav People’s Army leave the Republic of Slovenia.
2009		Terrorist bombings in Baghdad kill over 150 and wound over 700.
Born on October 25
1825		Johann Strauss, composer.
1838		Georges Bizet, composer, best known for his opera Carmen.
1881		Pablo Picasso, painter and sculptor of over 6,000 works.
1888		Richard E. Byrd, U.S. aviator and explorer who made the first flight over the North Pole.
1889		Abel Gance, film director (Napoleon).
1902		Henry Steele Commager, American historian who wrote the fifty-five volume Rise of the American Nation.
1914		John Berryman, poet.
1941		Anne Tyler, novelist (The Accidental Tourist, Ladder of Years).
1957		Nancy Cartwright, voice actress; voice of Bart Simpson and other characters in the long-running animated TV series The Simpsons.
1964		Nicole, German singer, won 1982 Eurovision Song Contest singing “Ein biSSchen Frieden” (“A Little Peace”); the English version reached No. 1 on the UK Singles Chart.
1970		Adam Pascal, actor, singer (Rent; Aida).
1971		Midori Goto, violinist.
1984		Katy Perry, singer, songwriter; (“Part of Me”; “Roar”) named Billboard magazine’s Woman of the Year 2012.
2001		Princess Elisabeth, Duchess of Brabant; heiress apparent to the Belgian throne.

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