On This Day:
Sunday May 25, 2014 This is the 145th day of the year, with 220 days remaining in 2014. Fact of the Day: knots Knots have existed from the time humans first used vines and cordlike fibers to bind stone heads to wood in primitive axes. Knots were also used in the making of nets and traps, but knotmaking did not become sophisticated until it was needed for the ropes (rigging) that controlled the sails of early sailing vessels. Knotmaking then became the province of sailors, who exhibited great skill and ingenuity in devising various kinds of knots for different purposes. The principal requirements of a good knot are that it not slip when made and that it be tied and untied without difficulty. There are two animals capable of tying knots: the weaverbird and the gorilla.
Holidays Feast day of St. Madeleine Barat, St. Gregory VII, pope, St. Mary Magdalen de Pazzi, St. Urban, St. Zenobius, St. Leo of Mantenay, St. Dionysius of Milan, St. Gennadius of Astorga, and St. Bede.
Argentina: Revolution Day / Veintecinco de Mayo.
Jordan: Independence Day.
Chad, Zambia: African Freedom Day; Zimbabwe: Africa Day (Organization of African Unity formed 1963).
New Mexico: Memorial Day.
Events 1234 - The Mongols took Kaifeng and destroyed the Chin dynasty.
1660 - Charles II, the exiled king of England, landed at Dover, England, to assume the throne and end 11 years of military rule.
1768 - James Cook sailed on his first voyage of discovery, on which he explored the Society Islands and charted the coasts of New Zealand and West Australia.
1787 - The Constitutional Convention was convened in Philadelphia with 55 delegates (a quorum) to compose the Constitution of the United States of America.
1793 - In Baltimore, Maryland, Father Stephen Theodore Badin became the first Catholic priest to be ordained in the United States.
1914 - The British House of Commons passed the Irish Home Rule bill.
1925 - John T. Scopes was indicted in Tennessee for teaching Charles Darwin's theory of evolution.
1927 - Ford Motor Company announced the end of the Model T and its replacement by the Model A.
1927 - The "Movietone News" was shown for the first time at the Sam Harris Theatre in New York City.
1935 - Babe Ruth hit the 714th and final home run of his career, for the Boston Braves, in a game against the Pittsburgh Pirates.
1935 - American athlete Jesse Owens set a record six world records in less than one hour in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
1946 - Transjordan (now Jordan) became a kingdom.
1968 - The Gateway Arch in St. Louis was dedicated.
1979 - An American Airlines DC-10 crashed during takeoff at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport, killing 275 people.
1992 - Jay Leno made his debut as permanent host of NBC's "Tonight Show," succeeding Johnny Carson.
1997 - Strom Thurmond (R, SC) became the longest-serving senator in U.S. history, with 41 years and 10 months in office.
2003 - Néstor Kirchner becomes President of Argentina after defeating Carlos Menem.
Births 1803 - Ralph Waldo Emerson, American essayist, philosopher, poet.
1878 - Bill "Bojangles" Robinson, legendary tap dancer.
1886 - Philip Murray, American labor leader, founder of the Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO).
1889 - Igor Sikorsky, American aviation engineer, developed the helicopter.
1892 - Josip Broz Tito, Yugoslavian soldier and president.
1898 - Bennett Cerf, American publisher.
1921 - Hal David, American songwriter.
1926 - Miles Davis, American jazz trumpeter.
1936 - Tom T. Hall, American country balladeer, songwriter, and country singer.
1963 - Mike Myers, Canadian-born comic actor.
1970 - Jamie Kennedy, (born James Harvey Kennedy), American comedian and actor.
Deaths 1981 - Fredric Warburg, English publisher best known for his association with the British author George Orwell.
1996 - Bradley Nowell, American singer and guitarist for the band Sublime.
2005 - Graham Kennedy, Australian radio, television, and film performer.
2006 - Desmond Dekker (born Desmond Adolphus Dacres), Jamaican ska and reggae singer and songwriter.
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