In History, Today on August 25

The foundation stone of Cologne Cathedral was laid, marking the beginning of its construction, which would continue intermittently for over 600 years.

The Eighth Crusade, led by King Louis IX of France, ends with his death from dysentery in Tunis.

The Honourable Artillery Company, the oldest surviving regiment in the British Army, is formed.

Galileo Galilei demonstrates his first telescope to Venetian lawmakers.

The French founded the city of New Orleans, which would become a major port and cultural center in the United States.

British forces destroy the Library of Congress during the Burning of Washington in the War of 1812.

Uruguay declares its independence from Brazil.

The Belgian Revolution begins, leading to the secession of the southern provinces from the United Kingdom of the Netherlands.

Captain Matthew Webb became the first person to swim across the English Channel, from Dover to Calais, in less than 22 hours.

Kitasato Shibasaburō and Alexandre Yersin independently discover the bacterium responsible for the bubonic plague, later named Yersinia pestis.

The United States National Park Service is created.

Paris is liberated by the Allies during World War II.

Voyager 2 makes its closest approach to Saturn, providing detailed images of the planet and its rings.

The Voyager 2 spacecraft made its closest approach to Neptune, providing humanity with its first close-up images of the planet and its moons.

Belarus declares its independence from the Soviet Union.

American singer Aaliyah and eight others were killed in a plane crash in the Bahamas shortly after takeoff.

The Spitzer Space Telescope, a space-borne observatory, was launched by NASA to study the universe in infrared light.

The International Astronomical Union (IAU) redefined the term 'planet,' which led to the reclassification of Pluto as a 'dwarf planet.'

Neil Armstrong, the first person to walk on the Moon, passed away at the age of 82.

Hurricane Harvey made landfall in Texas as a Category 4 hurricane, causing catastrophic flooding and damage.

Protests erupted in Kenosha, Wisconsin, following the police shooting of Jacob Blake, an African American man.