In History, Today on July 25

The city of Constantinople was recaptured by the forces of the Empire of Nicaea under the command of Michael VIII Palaiologos, marking the end of the Latin Empire and the restoration of the Byzantine Empire.

Henry IV of France converted from Protestantism to Roman Catholicism, reportedly declaring 'Paris is well worth a Mass,' which helped to end the French Wars of Religion.

Horatio Nelson lost more than 300 men and his right arm during the failed conquest attempt of Tenerife in the Battle of Santa Cruz de Tenerife.

The Battle of Lundy's Lane, one of the bloodiest battles of the War of 1812, was fought in present-day Niagara Falls, Ontario, resulting in a stalemate between American and British forces.

The first commercial use of an electric telegraph was demonstrated by William Fothergill Cooke and Charles Wheatstone on the Great Western Railway in England.

The United States Congress passed the Crittenden-Johnson Resolution, declaring that the Civil War was being fought to preserve the Union and not to end slavery.

During the Spanish-American War, U.S. forces, led by General Nelson A. Miles, invaded Puerto Rico, beginning the island's transition from Spanish to American control.

French aviator Louis Blériot made the first flight across the English Channel in a heavier-than-air aircraft, marking a significant achievement in aviation history.

Benito Mussolini was dismissed as Italian Prime Minister and arrested following a vote of no confidence by the Grand Council of Fascism, leading to the fall of the Fascist regime in Italy.

The Italian ocean liner SS Andrea Doria collided with the MS Stockholm off the coast of Nantucket, resulting in the sinking of the Andrea Doria and the loss of 46 lives.

Louise Brown, the world's first 'test tube baby,' was born in Oldham, England, marking a milestone in reproductive technology and in vitro fertilization.

The Saint James Church massacre occurred in Cape Town, South Africa, when armed men attacked the congregation, resulting in 11 deaths and 58 injuries.

Air France Flight 4590, a Concorde supersonic passenger jet, crashes shortly after takeoff from Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris, killing all 109 people on board and four people on the ground.

Pratibha Patil is sworn in as the first female President of India.

Wikileaks publishes classified documents about the War in Afghanistan, known as the Afghan War Diary, which consists of over 75,000 documents.

The Democratic National Convention begins in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where Hillary Clinton is nominated as the Democratic candidate for the U.S. presidential election, becoming the first woman to be nominated for president by a major U.S. political party.

The United States records over 1,000 deaths from COVID-19 for the fourth consecutive day as the pandemic continues to surge.