What Happened on May 25?

May 25 is National Wine Day — and the date Star Wars premiered in 1977, delegates opened the Constitutional Convention in 1787, President Kennedy challenged America to reach the Moon, and Jesse Owens shattered track records in forty-five minutes.

• 1787 — Delegates assemble for the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia

  On May 25, 1787, enough state delegates gathered at Independence Hall in Philadelphia to begin writing a new plan of government to replace the failing Articles of Confederation. Read the full story →

• 1895 — Richard Outcault's Yellow Kid helps launch the modern newspaper comic strip

  In May 1895, artist Richard Outcault's bald, nightshirt-wearing Yellow Kid appeared in Joseph Pulitzer's New York World — helping invent the newspaper comic strip and the term 'yellow journalism.' Read the full story →

• 1925 — Tennessee teacher John T. Scopes is indicted for teaching evolution

  A grand jury indicted high-school biology teacher John Scopes on May 25, 1925, setting up the famous 'Scopes Monkey Trial' over whether evolution could be taught in public schools. Read the full story →

• 1935 — Jesse Owens sets three world records and ties a fourth in forty-five minutes

  At a Big Ten track meet in Ann Arbor on May 25, 1935, Ohio State's Jesse Owens broke or tied four world records in less than an hour — a feat many call the greatest single day in track history. Read the full story →

• 1961 — President Kennedy asks Congress to commit America to landing on the Moon

  Addressing Congress on May 25, 1961, President John F. Kennedy challenged the nation to send astronauts to the Moon before the end of the decade — turning a Cold War rivalry into a peaceful space race. Read the full story →

Famous birthdays

Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882) · Ian McKellen (1939) · Octavia Spencer (1972) · Aly Raisman (1994)

Days & observances

National Wine Day · Memorial Day · Towel Day · Geek Pride Day · National Brown-Bag-It Day