July 25 in History: Viking 1 Photographs the Face on Mars, the First IVF Baby Is Born, and AC/DC Releases “Back in Black”

Discover what happened on July 25 in history as remarkable achievements, historic milestones, technological advances, and unforgettable moments helped shape the world we know today.

What Happened on July 25 in History?

Important events on this day include Viking 1 capturing the famous “Face on Mars” photograph, the birth of the world’s first baby conceived through in vitro fertilization, AC/DC releasing Back in Black, and the Kalamazoo River oil spill becoming Michigan’s worst environmental disaster.

JULY 25 – TODAY IN HISTORY:

1850 – Gold was discovered in the Rogue River in Oregon.

1866 – Ulysses S. Grant was named General of the Army. He was the first American officer to hold the rank.

1871 – Seth Wheeler patented perforated wrapping paper. (I’ve never heard of “perforated wrapping paper”!)

1946 – Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis worked as a team for the first time at Club 500 in Atlantic City, NJ.

1956 – The Italian liner Andrea Doria sank after a collision with the Swedish ship Stockholm, 45 miles south of Nantucket Island, killing 51.

1969 – Ted Kennedy pleaded guilty to leaving the scene of an accident in Chappaquiddick, MA.

1976 – Viking 1 photographed a rock formation on Mars that later became famous as the “Face on Mars” because of the way light and shadows created the illusion of a human face.

1978 – Louise Joy Brown, the world’s first test-tube baby, was born in England. She had been conceived through in vitro fertilization.

1978 – Pete Rose, of the Cincinnati Reds, had a hit in his 38th straight game to break the National League record for consecutive base hits.

1979 – In Miami, FL, a jury convicted Ted Bundy of first-degree murder in the slayings of Florida State University sorority sisters Margaret Bowman and Lisa Levy.

1980 – The band AC/DC released their 7th studio album, “Back in Black”, which became the 2nd best selling album of all time.

1984 – Terry Bradshaw retired after 14 years and four Super Bowl championships with the Pittsburgh Steelers.

1985 – It was confirmed that Rock Hudson had AIDS.

1990 – Rosanne Barr sang the National Anthem in San Diego before a Padres baseball game. She was booed for her performance.

1999 – Lance Armstrong won the Tour de France. He was only the second American to win the race.

1999 – In Bath, England, fragments of a man’s false teeth were found in his windpipe eight years after he thought he lost them in a traffic accident. Mike Russell suffered severe breathing difficulties until doctors finally found four front teeth, still attached to a dental plate, wedged above the entrance to his right lung. They were removed in ten minutes and his breathing improved immediately.

2010 – An Enbridge pipeline ruptured near Marshall, Michigan, spilling more than one million gallons of diluted bitumen into the Kalamazoo River system in the state’s largest environmental disaster.

2010 – WikiLeaks published more than 90,000 internal reports about the War in Afghanistan to the public. It was one of the largest leaks in U.S. military history.

2013 – Scientists in Britain identified the mechanism that causes human allergy to cats. They said a general cure for the condition could be available in the next five years.

CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS ON JULY 25:

John Gibson – 80 years old (1946) – Radio host

Jack Thompson – 75 years old (1951) – Lawyer and activist

Verdine White – 75 years old (1951) – Bass player and producer

Robert Zoellick – 73 years old (1953) – Banker and politician, 14th United States Deputy Secretary of State

Frances Arnold – 70 years old (1956) – Scientist and engineer

Alexei Filippenko – 68 years old (1958) – Astrophysicist and academic

Thurston Moore – 68 years old (1958) – Singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer

Geoffrey Zakarian – 67 years old (1959) – Chef and author

Justice Howard – 66 years old (1960) – Photographer

Illeana Douglas – 65 years old (1961) – Actress

Katherine Kelly Lang – 65 years old (1961) – Actress

Doug Drabek – 64 years old (1962) – Baseball player and coach

Anne Applebaum – 62 years old (1964) – Journalist and author

Tony Granato – 62 years old (1964) – Ice hockey player and coach

Breuk Iversen – 62 years old (1964) – Designer and journalist

Marty Brown – 61 years old (1965) – Singer-songwriter and guitarist

Illeana Douglas – 61 years old (1965) – Actress, director, producer, and screenwriter

Torey Lovullo – 61 years old (1965) – Baseball player and coach

Maureen Herman – 60 years old (1966) – Bass player

Matt LeBlanc – 59 years old (1967) – Actor and producer

Wendy Raquel Robinson – 59 years old (1967) – Actress

Jon Barry – 57 years old (1969) – Basketball player and sportscaster

D. B. Woodside – 57 years old (1969) – Actor

Roger Creager – 55 years old (1971) – Singer-songwriter

Tracy Murray – 55 years old (1971) – Basketball player

Billy Wagner – 55 years old (1971) – Baseball player and coach

David Denman – 53 years old (1973) – Actor

Lauren Faust – 52 years old (1974) – Animator, producer, and screenwriter

Brian Gibson – 51 years old (1975) – Bass player

Javier Vázquez – 50 years old (1976) – Puerto Rican-American baseball player

Kenny Thomas – 49 years old (1977) – Basketball player

Gerard Warren – 48 years old (1978) – Football player

Shawn Riggans – 46 years old (1980) – Baseball player

David Wachs – 46 years old (1980) – Actor and producer

Conor Casey – 45 years old (1981) – Soccer player

Mac Lethal – 45 years old (1981) – Rapper and producer

Robert Clardy – 42 years old (1984) – Football coach

James Lafferty – 41 years old (1985) – Actor and athlete

Shantel VanSanten – 41 years old (1985) – Actress and model

Richard Bachman – 39 years old (1987) – Ice hockey player

Hasan Piker – 35 years old (1991) – Twitch streamer

Alvin Kamara – 31 years old (1995) – Football player

Jaafar Jackson – 30 years old (1996) – Actor and singer

Meg Donnelly – 26 years old (2000) – Actress

Shakira Austin – 26 years old (2000) – Basketball player

Bryce Young – 25 years old (2001) – Football player

DAYS OF THE YEAR FOR JULY 25:

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