June 25th
Feast Day of Saint Prosper of  Aquitaine. "Prosper of Aquitaine was much more famous for what he wrote than for what he did." (Abbé L. Valentin) However, many historians believe his chief fame rests not on his historical work, but on his activities as a theologian and an aggressive propagandist for the Augustinian doctrine of grace.


1876  The Battle of  the Little Bighorn took place. The Battle of the Little Bighorn, commonly referred to as Custer's Last Stand, was an armed engagement between combined forces of the Lakota, Northern Cheyenne, and Arapaho tribes, against the 7th Cavalry Regiment of the United States Army. The battle, which occurred June 25–26, 1876, near the Little Bighorn River in eastern Montana Territory, was the most prominent action of the Great Sioux War of 1876. It was an overwhelming victory for the Lakota, Northern Cheyenne, and Arapaho, led by several major war leaders, including Crazy Horse and Chief Gall, inspired by the visions of Sitting Bull. Five of the 7th Cavalry's twelve companies were annihilated; Custer was killed, as were two of his brothers, a nephew, and a brother-in-law. The total U.S. casualty count, including scouts, was 268 dead and 55 injured.

1876 George Armstrong Custer  a United States Army officer and cavalry commander in the American Civil War and the American Indian Wars was killed at the above Battle of  the Little Bighorn. He was 36yo.



1900 Admiral of the Fleet Louis Francis Albert Victor Nicholas Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma, is born as Louis Francis Albert Victor Nicholas Battenberg at Frogmore House, Windsor.


1903 English author George Orwell is born as Eric Arthur Blair is born at Motihari, Bengal Presidency, British India. Orwell wrote literary criticism, poetry, fiction and polemical journalism. He is best known for the dystopian novel Nineteen Eighty-Four (1949) and the allegorical novella Animal Farm (1945). His book Homage to Catalonia (1938), an account of his experiences in the Spanish Civil War, is widely acclaimed, as are his numerous essays on politics, literature, language, and culture.



1924 American director/producer Sidney Lumet is born in Philadelphia. He was nominated for the Academy Award as Best Director for 12 Angry Men (1957), Dog Day Afternoon (1975), Network (1976) and The Verdict (1982).

1938 Dr. Douglas Hyde is inaugurated as the first President of Ireland.
1942 English actress Patricia Brake is born at Bath, Somerset. Her first television role was in Emergency Ward 10. After that she appeared in various TV roles including as Julie Pinfield in The Ugliest Girl in Town (1968–69), a short-lived sitcom made for the American ABC network. Later she played Ingrid Fletcher, the daughter of Norman Stanley Fletcher, in the BBC sitcom Porridge, and its sequel Going Straight.



1945 American singer/songwriter Carly Simon is born in New York City.  She first rose to fame in the 1970s with a string of hit records; her 13 Top 40 U.S. hits include "Anticipation", "You Belong To Me", "Coming Around Again", and her four Gold certified singles "Jesse" (No. 11), "Mockingbird" (No. 5), a duet with James Taylor, the iconic "You're So Vain" (No. 1), and "Nobody Does It Better" (No. 2) from The Spy Who Loved Me.




1949 Bugs Bunny short " The Long Haired Hare" is released in cinemas.



1952 Irish sports commentator Alan Green is born in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Green is one of BBC Radio 5 Live's most senior football commentators and has been a winner of a Sony Radio Academy Award for Sports Broadcaster Of The Year.He is noted for his forthright style of football commentary and has been involved in several controversies and disputes with managers including Alex Ferguson and Sam Allardyce.

1958 English poet Alfred Noyes died at the age of 77 from the effects of polio, and is buried in the Roman Catholic cemetery at Freshwater, Isle of Wight.

1961 English writer, actor and comedian Ricky Gervais was born in Reading, Berkshire. Gervais achieved mainstream fame with his television series The Office and the subsequent series Extras, both of which he co-wrote and co-directed with Stephen Merchant. In addition to writing and directing the shows, Gervais played the lead roles of David Brent in The Office and Andy Millman in Extras.

1962 Phill Jupitus, English comedian, actor and TV personality, was born in Newport, Isle of Wight. Jupitus has been a team captain on BBC Two's popular music quiz Never Mind the Buzzcocks since its inception in 1996 and also appears regularly as a guest on several other panel shows, including QI and BBC Radio 4's I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue.


1963 English singer/songwriter George Michael is born as Georgios Kyriacos Panayiotou in East Finchley, London.Michael rose to superstardom during the 1980s and 1990s with his style of post-disco dance-pop with Wham!He has also been characterized as a blue-eyed soul singer, although his material draws more from middle-of-the-road pop than soul music.


1970 English actress Lucy Benjamin is born at Reading, Berkshire as Lucy Jane Baker. She is best known for her role as Lisa Fowler in the BBC soap opera EastEnders which she played from 1998 to 2003 and was involved in several groundbreaking stories during her time there.

 

1971 Irish footballer and manager Neil Lennon is born in Lurgan, Northern Ireland.
During his playing career he represented English clubs Manchester City, Crewe Alexandra and Leicester City. Lennon moved to Scottish club Celtic, where he made over 200 appearances and was appointed captain, in 2000. Before retiring as a player, he returned to England to represent Nottingham Forest and Wycombe Wanderers. Lennon made 40 appearances for Northern Ireland in nine years, scoring two goals.Lennon was appointed manager of Celtic in March 2010, initially in a caretaker capacity after the departure of Tony Mowbray, Lennon enjoyed significant success as Celtic manager, winning three Scottish league championships, two Scottish Cups and qualifying for the group stage of the Champions League twice, before leaving the club in May 2014.

1976 Welsh International Rugby Player Iestyn Rhys Harris was born at Oldham, Lancashire. A former dual rugby code international player, he is also currently the headcoach at Salford. Harris is a former Man of Steel winner and has also represented Wales on numerous occasions at both codes of rugby.


1978 The Rainbow Flag representing Gay Pride is flown for the first time at the San Francisco Gay Freedom Day Parade.

1983 René Corbet , Canadian Ice  Hockey player, is born in Victoriaville, Quebec. Also well known for his double act with René Barker as the "Two Renés".


1997 French oceanographer and explorer Jacques-Yves Cousteau died in Paris, France aged 87yo.

1999 English actor Fred Feast died aged 69yo at Bridlington, East Riding of Yorkshire after a long  period of illness. Feast was best known for his role as the Rovers Return's "potman", Fred Gee, in the soap opera Coronation Street, a role he played from 1975 to 1984.

2009 American singer-songwriter, producer, dancer, and actor Michael Joseph Jackson died while in his bed at his rented mansion at 100 North Carolwood Drive in the Holmby Hills district of Los Angeles. Attempts at resuscitating him by Conrad Murray, his personal physician, were unsuccessful.
Called the King of Pop his contributions to music, dance, and fashion, along with his publicized personal life, made him a global figure in popular culture for over four decades.

2009 American actress Farrah Fawcett died at approximately 9:28 a.m.on June 25, 2009, in the intensive care unit of Saint John's Health Center in Santa Monica, California from anal cancer aged 62yo.

 

2010 English playwright and screenwriter Alan Plater died of cancer at a London hospice at the age of 75.
He first made his mark as a scriptwriter for Z-Cars (1962–65), along with its spin-offs Softly, Softly (1966–69) and Softly, Softly: Task Force (1969–76).


2012 Scottish National Hunt jockey Campbell Gillies was found dead in a swimming pool at the Corfu holiday apartments where he was staying with fellow jockeys Henry Brooke, Nathan Moscrop, Harry Haynes and Mark Ellwood.The friends had returned from an evening out and had gone for a morning swim at around 8am local time. Gillies went under the water and failed to resurface.A Greek coroner recorded his death was caused by drowning and a police spokesman revealed that toxicological reports revealed he had been drinking. He was just 21yo. In total, he rode 131 winners in his career, mainly for top Scottish trainer, Lucinda Russell and was widely considered by pundits and fans alike as one of the leading young jockeys in the UK.