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  • January 25 – History, Events, Births, Deaths, Holidays and Observances On This Day

    • AD 41 – After a night of negotiation, Claudius is accepted as Roman Emperor by the Senate.
    • 750 – In the Battle of the Zab, the Abbasid rebels defeat the Umayyad Caliphate, leading to overthrow of the dynasty.
    • 1348 – A strong earthquake strikes the South Alpine region of Friuli in modern Italy, causing considerable damage to buildings as far away as Rome.
    • 1494 – Alfonso II becomes King of Naples.
    • 1515 – Coronation of Francis I of France takes place at Reims Cathedral, where the new monarch is anointed with the oil of Clovis and girt with the sword of Charlemagne.
    • 1533 – Henry VIII of England secretly marries his second wife Anne Boleyn.
    • 1554 – São Paulo, Brazil, is founded by Jesuit priests.
    • 1573 – Battle of Mikatagahara: In Japan, Takeda Shingen defeats Tokugawa Ieyasu.
    • 1575 – Luanda, the capital of Angola, is founded by the Portuguese navigator Paulo Dias de Novais.
    • 1704 – The Battle of Ayubale results in the destruction of most of the Spanish missions in Florida.
    • 1755 – Moscow University is established on Tatiana Day.
    • 1765 – Port Egmont, the first British settlement in the Falkland Islands near the southern tip of South America, is founded.
    • 1787 – Shays’s Rebellion: The rebellion’s largest confrontation, outside the Springfield Armory, results in the killing of four rebels and the wounding of twenty.
    • 1791 – The British Parliament passes the Constitutional Act of 1791 and splits the old Province of Quebec into Upper Canada and Lower Canada.
    • 1792 – The London Corresponding Society is founded.
    • 1858 – The Wedding March by Felix Mendelssohn is played at the marriage of Queen Victoria’s daughter, Victoria, and Friedrich of Prussia, and becomes a popular wedding processional.
    • 1879 – The Bulgarian National Bank is founded.
    • 1881 – Thomas Edison and Alexander Graham Bell form the Oriental Telephone Company.
    • 1890 – Nellie Bly completes her round-the-world journey in 72 days.
    • 1909 – Richard Strauss’s opera Elektra receives its debut performance at the Dresden State Opera.
    • 1915 – Alexander Graham Bell inaugurates U.S. transcontinental telephone service, speaking from New York to Thomas Watson in San Francisco.
    • 1918 – The Ukrainian People’s Republic declares independence from Soviet Russia.
    • 1924 – The 1924 Winter Olympics opens in Chamonix, in the French Alps, inaugurating the Winter Olympic Games.
    • 1932 – Second Sino-Japanese War: The Chinese National Revolutionary Army begins the defense of Harbin.
    • 1937 – The Guiding Light debuts on NBC radio from Chicago. In 1952 it moves to CBS television, where it remains until September 18, 2009.
    • 1941 – Pope Pius XII elevates the Apostolic Vicariate of the Hawaiian Islands to the dignity of a diocese. It becomes the Roman Catholic Diocese of Honolulu.
    • 1942 – World War II: Thailand declares war on the United States and United Kingdom.
    • 1945 – World War II: The Battle of the Bulge ends.
    • 1946 – The United Mine Workers rejoins the American Federation of Labor.
    • 1946 – United Nations Security Council Resolution 1 relating to Military Staff Committee is adopted.
    • 1947 – Thomas Goldsmith Jr. files a patent for a “Cathode Ray Tube Amusement Device”, the first ever electronic game.
    • 1949 – The first Emmy Awards are presented; the venue is the Hollywood Athletic Club.
    • 1960 – The National Association of Broadcasters reacts to the “payola” scandal by threatening fines for any disc jockeys who accept money for playing particular records.
    • 1961 – In Washington, D.C., President John F. Kennedy delivers the first live presidential television news conference.
    • 1961 – 101 Dalmatians premiered from Walt Disney Productions.
    • 1964 – Blue Ribbon Sports, which would later become Nike, is founded by University of Oregon track and field athletes.
    • 1969 – Brazilian Army captain Carlos Lamarca deserts in order to fight against the military dictatorship, taking with him ten machine guns and 63 rifles.
    • 1971 – Charles Manson and three female “Family” members are found guilty of the 1969 Tate–LaBianca murders.
    • 1971 – Idi Amin leads a coup deposing Milton Obote and becomes Uganda’s president.
    • 1979 – Pope John Paul II starts his first official papal visits outside Italy to The Bahamas, Dominican Republic, and Mexico.
    • 1980 – Mother Teresa is honored with India’s highest civilian award, the Bharat Ratna.
    • 1986 – The National Resistance Movement topples the government of Tito Okello in Uganda.
    • 1993 – Five people are shot outside the CIA Headquarters in Langley, Virginia. Two are killed and three wounded.
    • 1994 – The spacecraft Clementine by BMDO and NASA is launched.
    • 1995 – The Norwegian rocket incident: Russia almost launches a nuclear attack after it mistakes Black Brant XII, a Norwegian research rocket, for a US Trident missile.
    • 1996 – Billy Bailey becomes the last person to be hanged in the U.S.A.
    • 1998 – During a historic visit to Cuba, Pope John Paul II demands political reforms and the release of political prisoners while condemning US attempts to isolate the country.
    • 1998 – A suicide attack by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam on Sri Lanka’s Temple of the Tooth kills eight and injures 25 others.
    • 1999 – A 6.0 magnitude earthquake hits western Colombia killing at least 1,000.
    • 2003 – Invasion of Iraq: A group of people leave London, England, for Baghdad, Iraq, to serve as human shields, intending to prevent the U.S.-led coalition troops from bombing certain locations.
    • 2005 – A stampede at the Mandhradevi temple in Maharashtra, India kills at least 258.
    • 2006 – Mexican professional wrestler Juana Barraza is arrested in connection with the serial killing of at least ten elderly women.
    • 2010 – Ethiopian Airlines Flight 409 crashes into the Mediterranean Sea off the coast of Na’ameh, Lebanon, killing 90.
    • 2011 – The first wave of the Egyptian revolution begins throughout the country, marked by street demonstrations, rallies, acts of civil disobedience, riots, labour strikes, and violent clashes.
    • 2013 – At least 50 people are killed and 120 people are injured in a prison riot in Barquisimeto, Venezuela.
    • 2015 – A clash in Mamasapano, Maguindanao in the Philippines killing 44 members of Special Action Force (SAF), at least 18 from the Moro Islamic Liberation Front and five from the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters.
    • 2019 – A mining company’s dam collapses in Brumadinho, Brazil, a south-eastern city, killing at least 7 people and leaving 200 missing.

    Births on January 25

    • 750 – Leo IV the Khazar, Byzantine emperor (d. 780)
    • 1408 – Katharina of Hanau, German countess regent (d. 1460)
    • 1459 – Paul Hofhaimer, Austrian organist and composer (d. 1537)
    • 1477 – Anne of Brittany (probable;d. 1514)
    • 1509 – Giovanni Morone, Italian cardinal (d. 1580)
    • 1526 – Adolf, Duke of Holstein-Gottorp (d. 1586)
    • 1615 – Govert Flinck, Dutch painter (d. 1660)
    • 1618 – Nicolaes Visscher I, Dutch engraver and cartographer (d. 1679)
    • 1627 – Robert Boyle, Irish-English chemist and physicist (d. 1691)
    • 1634 – Gaspar Fagel, Dutch politician and diplomat (d. 1688)
    • 1635 – Daniel Casper von Lohenstein, German writer, diplomat and lawyer (d. 1683)
    • 1640 – William Cavendish, 1st Duke of Devonshire, English soldier and politician, Lord Steward of the Household (d. 1707)
    • 1736 – Joseph-Louis Lagrange, Italian-French mathematician and astronomer (d. 1813)
    • 1739 – Charles François Dumouriez, French general and politician, French Minister of Defence (d. 1823)
    • 1743 – Friedrich Heinrich Jacobi, German philosopher and author (d. 1819)
    • 1750 – Johann Gottfried Vierling, German organist and composer (d. 1813)
    • 1755 – Paolo Mascagni, Italian physician and anatomist (probable;d. 1815)
    • 1759 – Robert Burns, Scottish poet and songwriter (d. 1796)
    • 1783 – William Colgate, English-American businessman and philanthropist, founded Colgate-Palmolive (d. 1857)
    • 1794 – François-Vincent Raspail, French chemist, physician, physiologist, and lawyer (d. 1878)
    • 1796 – William MacGillivray, Scottish ornithologist and biologist (d. 1852)
    • 1813 – J. Marion Sims, American gynecologist and physician (d. 1883)
    • 1816 – Anna Gardner, American abolitionist and teacher (d. 1901)
    • 1822 – Charles Reed Bishop, American businessman, philanthropist, and politician, founded the Bishop Museum (d. 1915)
    • 1822 – William McDougall, Canadian lawyer and politician, Lieutenant Governor of the Northwest Territories (d. 1905)
    • 1823 – José María Iglesias, Mexican politician and interim President (1876–1877) (d. 1891)
    • 1824 – Michael Madhusudan Dutt, Indian poet and playwright (d. 1873)
    • 1841 – John Fisher, 1st Baron Fisher, English admiral (d. 1920)
    • 1858 – Mikimoto Kōkichi, Japanese businessman (d. 1954)
    • 1860 – Charles Curtis, American lawyer and politician, 31st Vice President of the United States (d. 1936)
    • 1864 – Julije Kempf, Croatian historian and author (d. 1934)
    • 1868 – Juventino Rosas, Mexican violinist and composer (d. 1894)
    • 1874 – W. Somerset Maugham, British playwright, novelist, and short story writer (d. 1965)
    • 1878 – Ernst Alexanderson, Swedish-American engineer (d. 1975)
    • 1882 – Virginia Woolf, English novelist, essayist, short story writer, and critic (d. 1941)
    • 1885 – Kitahara Hakushū, Japanese poet and author (d. 1942)
    • 1886 – Wilhelm Furtwängler, German conductor and composer (d. 1954)
    • 1895 – Florence Mills, American singer, dancer, and actress (d. 1927)
    • 1899 – Sleepy John Estes, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1977)
    • 1899 – Paul-Henri Spaak, Belgian lawyer and politician, 46th Prime Minister of Belgium (d. 1972)
    • 1900 – István Fekete, Hungarian author (d. 1970)
    • 1900 – Yōjirō Ishizaka, Japanese author and educator (d. 1986)
    • 1900 – Theodosius Dobzhansky, Ukrainian geneticist and pioneer of evolutionary biology (d. 1975)
    • 1901 – Martín de Álzaga, Argentinian race car driver and pilot (d. 1982)
    • 1901 – Mildred Dunnock, American actress (d. 1991)
    • 1905 – Maurice Roy, Canadian cardinal (d. 1985)
    • 1905 – Margery Sharp, English author and educator (d. 1991)
    • 1906 – Toni Ulmen, German race car driver and motorcycle racer (d. 1976)
    • 1908 – Hsieh Tung-min, Taiwanese politicians and Vice President of the Republic of China (d. 2001)
    • 1910 – Edgar V. Saks, Estonian historian, author, and politician, Estonian Minister of Education (d. 1984)
    • 1913 – Huang Hua, Chinese translator and politician, 5th Foreign Minister of the People’s Republic of China (d. 2010)
    • 1913 – Witold Lutosławski, Polish composer and conductor (d. 1994)
    • 1913 – Luis Marden, American photographer and journalist (d. 2003)
    • 1914 – William Strickland, American conductor and organist (d. 1991)
    • 1915 – Ewan MacColl, English singer-songwriter, actor and producer (d. 1989)
    • 1916 – Pop Ivy, American football player and coach (d. 2003)
    • 1917 – Ilya Prigogine, Russian-Belgian chemist and physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2003)
    • 1917 – Jânio Quadros, Brazilian lawyer and politician, 22nd President of Brazil (d. 1992)
    • 1919 – Edwin Newman, American journalist and author (d. 2010)
    • 1921 – Samuel T. Cohen, American physicist and academic (d. 2010)
    • 1921 – Josef Holeček, Czechoslovakian canoeist (d. 2005)
    • 1922 – Raymond Baxter, English television host and pilot (d. 2006)
    • 1923 – Arvid Carlsson, Swedish pharmacologist and physician, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2018)
    • 1923 – Shirley Ardell Mason, American psychiatric patient (d. 1998)
    • 1923 – Sally Starr, American actress and television host (d. 2013)
    • 1923 – Jean Taittinger, French politician, French Minister of Justice (d. 2012)
    • 1924 – Lou Groza, American football player and coach (d. 2000)
    • 1924 – Husein Mehmedov, Bulgarian-Turkish wrestler and coach (d. 2014)
    • 1924 – Speedy West, American guitarist and producer (d. 2003)
    • 1925 – Gordy Soltau, American football player and sportscaster (d. 2014)
    • 1925 – Giorgos Zampetas, Greek bouzouki player and songwriter (d. 1992)
    • 1926 – Dick McGuire, American basketball player and coach (d. 2010)
    • 1927 – Antônio Carlos Jobim, Brazilian singer-songwriter and pianist (d. 1994)
    • 1928 – Jérôme Choquette, Canadian lawyer and politician (d. 2017)
    • 1928 – Eduard Shevardnadze, Georgian general and politician, 2nd President of Georgia (d. 2014)
    • 1928 – Cor van der Hart, Dutch footballer and manager (d. 2006)
    • 1929 – Elizabeth Allen, American actress and singer (d. 2006)
    • 1929 – Robert Faurisson, English-French author and academic (d. 2018)
    • 1929 – Benny Golson, American saxophonist and composer
    • 1930 – Tanya Savicheva, Russian child diarist (d. 1944)
    • 1931 – Dean Jones, American actor and singer (d. 2015)
    • 1933 – Corazon Aquino, Filipino politician, 11th President of the Philippines (d. 2009)
    • 1935 – Conrad Burns, American soldier, journalist, and politician (d. 2016)
    • 1935 – António Ramalho Eanes, Portuguese general and politician, 16th President of Portugal
    • 1936 – Diana Hyland, American actress (d. 1977)
    • 1936 – Onat Kutlar, Turkish author and poet (d. 1995)
    • 1937 – Ange-Félix Patassé, Central African engineer and politician, President of the Central African Republic (d. 2011)
    • 1938 – Shotaro Ishinomori, Japanese author and illustrator (d. 1998)
    • 1938 – Etta James, American singer (d. 2012)
    • 1938 – Leiji Matsumoto, Japanese author, illustrator, and animator
    • 1938 – Vladimir Vysotsky, Russian singer-songwriter, actor, and poet (d. 1980)
    • 1941 – Buddy Baker, American race car driver and sportscaster (d. 2015)
    • 1942 – Carl Eller, American football player and sportscaster
    • 1942 – Eusébio, Mozambican-Portuguese footballer (d. 2014)
    • 1943 – Tobe Hooper, American director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2017)
    • 1945 – Leigh Taylor-Young, American actress
    • 1945 – Dave Walker, English singer and guitarist
    • 1946 – Doc Bundy, American race car driver and technician
    • 1947 – Ángel Nieto, Spanish motorcycle racer (d. 2017)
    • 1947 – Tostão, Brazilian footballer, journalist, and physician
    • 1948 – Ros Kelly, Australian educator and politician, 1st Australian Minister for Defence Science and Personnel
    • 1948 – Georgy Shishkin, Russian painter and illustrator
    • 1949 – John Cooper Clarke, English poet and critic
    • 1949 – Paul Nurse, English geneticist and biologist, Nobel Prize laureate
    • 1950 – Gloria Naylor, American novelist (d. 2016)
    • 1951 – Steve Prefontaine, American runner (d. 1975)
    • 1952 – Peter Tatchell, Australian-English journalist and activist
    • 1952 – Timothy White, American journalist, author, and critic (d. 2002)
    • 1954 – Ricardo Bochini, Argentinian footballer and manager
    • 1954 – Kay Cottee, Australian sailor
    • 1954 – Renate Dorrestein, Dutch journalist and author (d. 2018)
    • 1956 – Andy Cox, English guitarist
    • 1956 – Dinah Manoff, American actress
    • 1957 – Eskil Erlandsson, Swedish technologist and politician, Swedish Minister for Rural Affairs
    • 1957 – Andrew Harris, American politician
    • 1957 – Jenifer Lewis, American actress and singer
    • 1958 – Franco Pancheri, Italian footballer and manager
    • 1961 – Vivian Balakrishnan, Singaporean ophthalmologist and politician, Singaporean Ministry of National Development
    • 1962 – Chris Chelios, American ice hockey player and manager
    • 1963 – Fernando Haddad, Brazilian academic and politician, 61st Mayor of São Paulo
    • 1963 – Molly Holzschlag, American computer scientist and author
    • 1964 – Billy Andrade, American golfer
    • 1964 – Stephen Pate, Australian cyclist
    • 1965 – Esa Tikkanen, Finnish ice hockey player and coach
    • 1966 – Chet Culver, American educator and politician, 41st Governor of Iowa
    • 1966 – Yiannos Ioannou, Cypriot footballer and manager
    • 1967 – Nelson Asaytono, Filipino basketball player
    • 1967 – David Ginola, French footballer, forward
    • 1967 – Randy McKay, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
    • 1968 – Eric Orie, Dutch footballer and manager
    • 1969 – Sergei Ovchinnikov, Russian volleyball player and coach (d. 2012)
    • 1970 – Stephen Chbosky, American author, screenwriter, and director
    • 1970 – Chris Mills, American basketball player
    • 1970 – Milt Stegall, American football player and sportscaster
    • 1971 – Luca Badoer, Italian race car driver
    • 1971 – Philip Coppens, Belgian journalist and author (d. 2012)
    • 1971 – Ana Ortiz, American actress
    • 1972 – Shinji Takehara, Japanese boxer
    • 1973 – Geoff Johns, American author, screenwriter, and producer
    • 1974 – Robert Budreau, Canadian director, producer, and screenwriter
    • 1974 – Emily Haines, Canadian singer-songwriter and keyboard player
    • 1974 – Attilio Nicodemo, Italian footballer
    • 1975 – Duncan Jupp, Anglo-Scottish footballer, defender
    • 1975 – Mia Kirshner, Canadian actress
    • 1976 – Stephanie Bellars, American wrestler and manager
    • 1976 – Mário Haberfeld, Brazilian race car driver
    • 1976 – Dimitris Nalitzis, Greek footballer
    • 1977 – Michael Brown, English footballer, midfielder, manager and pundit
    • 1978 – Ahmet Dursun, Turkish footballer
    • 1978 – Denis Menchov, Russian cyclist
    • 1978 – Derrick Turnbow, American baseball player
    • 1979 – Rodrigo Ribeiro, Brazilian race car driver
    • 1980 – Alayna Burns, Australian track cyclist
    • 1980 – Xavi, Spanish footballer
    • 1981 – Francis Jeffers, English footballer
    • 1981 – Alicia Keys, American singer-songwriter, pianist, and actress
    • 1981 – Toše Proeski, Macedonian singer (d. 2007)
    • 1984 – Stefan Kießling, German footballer
    • 1984 – Robinho, Brazilian footballer
    • 1984 – Fara Williams, English footballer
    • 1985 – Brent Celek, American football player
    • 1985 – Patrick Willis, American football player
    • 1985 – Hwang Jung-eum, South Korean actress
    • 1986 – Chris O’Grady, English footballer
    • 1987 – Maria Kirilenko, Russian tennis player
    • 1988 – Tatiana Golovin, French tennis player
    • 1988 – Ryota Ozawa, Japanese actor
    • 1990 – Apostolos Giannou, Greek-Australian footballer
    • 1990 – Lee Jun-ho, South Korean singer and actor (2PM)
    • 1991 – Nigel Melker, Dutch race car driver

    Deaths onJanuary 25

    • 390 – Gregory Nazianzus, theologian and Patriarch of Constantinople (b. 329)
    • 477 – Gaiseric, king of the Vandals (b. 389)
    • 750 – Ibrahim ibn al-Walid, Umayyad caliph
    • 844 – Pope Gregory IV (b. 795)
    • 863 – Charles of Provence, Frankish king (b. 845)
    • 951 – Ma Xiguang, ruler of Chu (Ten Kingdoms)
    • 1003 – Lothair I, Margrave of the Nordmark
    • 1067 – Emperor Yingzong of Song (b. 1032)
    • 1138 – Antipope Anacletus II
    • 1139 – Godfrey I, Count of Louvain and Duke of Lower Lorraine (as Godfrey VI)
    • 1366 – Henry Suso, German priest and mystic (b. 1300)
    • 1413 – Maud de Ufford, Countess of Oxford (b. 1345)
    • 1431 – Charles II, Duke of Lorraine (b. 1364)
    • 1492 – Ygo Gales Galama, Frisian warlord and rebel (b. 1443)
    • 1494 – Ferdinand I of Naples (b. 1423)
    • 1559 – Christian II of Denmark (b. 1481)
    • 1578 – Mihrimah Sultan of the Ottoman Empire (b. 1522)
    • 1586 – Lucas Cranach the Younger, German painter (b. 1515)
    • 1640 – Robert Burton, English physician and scholar (b. 1577)
    • 1670 – Nicholas Francis, Duke of Lorraine (b. 1612)
    • 1726 – Guillaume Delisle, French cartographer (b. 1675)
    • 1733 – Sir Gilbert Heathcote, 1st Baronet, English banker and politician, Lord Mayor of London (b. 1652)
    • 1751 – Paul Dudley, American lawyer, jurist, and politician (b. 1675)
    • 1852 – Fabian Gottlieb von Bellingshausen, Russian admiral, cartographer, and explorer (b. 1778)
    • 1872 – Richard S. Ewell, American general (b. 1817)
    • 1881 – Konstantin Thon, Russian architect, designed the Grand Kremlin Palace and Cathedral of Christ the Saviour (b. 1794)
    • 1884 – Périclès Pantazis, Greek-Belgian painter (b. 1849)
    • 1891 – Theo van Gogh, Art dealer, the brother of Vincent van Gogh (b. 1857)
    • 1900 – Princess Adelheid of Hohenlohe-Langenburg, German Duchess of Schleswig-Holstein (b. 1835)
    • 1907 – René Pottier, French cyclist (b. 1879)
    • 1908 – Ouida, English-Italian author (b. 1839)
    • 1908 – Mikhail Chigorin, Russian chess player and theoretician (b. 1850)
    • 1910 – W. G. Read Mullan, American Jesuit and academic (1860)
    • 1912 – Dmitry Milyutin, Russian field marshal and politician (b. 1816)
    • 1925 – Juan Vucetich, Croatian-Argentinian anthropologist and police officer (b. 1858)
    • 1939 – Charles Davidson Dunbar, Scottish soldier and bagpipe player (b. 1870)
    • 1947 – Al Capone, American gangster and mob boss (b. 1899)
    • 1949 – Makino Nobuaki, Japanese politician, 15th Japanese Minister for Foreign Affairs (b. 1861)
    • 1957 – Ichizō Kobayashi, Japanese businessman, founded Hankyu Hanshin Holdings (b. 1873)
    • 1957 – Kiyoshi Shiga, Japanese physician and bacteriologist (b. 1871)
    • 1958 – Cemil Topuzlu, Turkish surgeon and politician, Mayor of Istanbul (b. 1866)
    • 1958 – Robert R. Young, American businessman and financier (b. 1897)
    • 1960 – Diana Barrymore, American actress (b. 1921)
    • 1966 – Saul Adler, Belarusian-English microbiologist and parasitologist (b. 1895)
    • 1968 – Louie Myfanwy Thomas, Welsh writer (b. 1908)
    • 1970 – Jane Bathori, French soprano (b. 1877)
    • 1970 – Eiji Tsuburaya, Japanese director and producer (b. 1901)
    • 1971 – Barry III, Guinean lawyer and politician (b. 1923)
    • 1972 – Erhard Milch, German field marshal (b. 1892)
    • 1975 – Charlotte Whitton, Canadian journalist and politician, 46th Mayor of Ottawa (b. 1896)
    • 1978 – Skender Kulenović, Bosnian author, poet, and playwright (b. 1910)
    • 1981 – Adele Astaire, American actress, singer, and dancer (b. 1896)
    • 1982 – Mikhail Suslov, Russian economist and politician (b. 1902)
    • 1985 – Ilias Iliou, Greek jurist and politician (b. 1904)
    • 1987 – Frank J. Lynch, American lawyer, judge, and politician (b. 1922)
    • 1988 – Colleen Moore, American actress (b. 1899)
    • 1990 – Ava Gardner, American actress (b. 1922)
    • 1991 – Frank Soo, English footballer and manager (b. 1914)
    • 1992 – Mir Khalil ur Rehman, Founder and editor of the Jang Group of Newspapers (b. 1927)
    • 1994 – Stephen Cole Kleene, American mathematician, computer scientist, and academic (b. 1909)
    • 1996 – Jonathan Larson, American playwright and composer (b. 1960)
    • 1997 – Dan Barry, American author and illustrator (b. 1923)
    • 1999 – Sarah Louise Delany, American author and educator (b. 1889)
    • 1999 – Robert Shaw, American conductor (b. 1916)
    • 2001 – Alice Ambrose, American philosopher and logician (b. 1906)
    • 2002 – Cliff Baxter, employee at Enron (b. 1958)
    • 2003 – Sheldon Reynolds, American director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1923)
    • 2003 – Samuel Weems, American lawyer and author (b. 1936)
    • 2004 – Fanny Blankers-Koen, Dutch runner and hurdler (b. 1918)
    • 2004 – Miklós Fehér, Hungarian footballer (b. 1979)
    • 2005 – Stanisław Albinowski, Polish economist and journalist (b. 1923)
    • 2005 – William Augustus Bootle, American lawyer and judge (b. 1902)
    • 2005 – Philip Johnson, American architect, designed the PPG Place and Crystal Cathedral (b. 1906)
    • 2005 – Manuel Lopes, Cape Verdean author and poet (b. 1907)
    • 2005 – Netti Witziers-Timmer, Dutch runner (b. 1923)
    • 2009 – Eleanor F. Helin, American astronomer (b. 1932)
    • 2009 – Ewald Kooiman, Dutch organist and educator (b. 1938)
    • 2009 – Kim Manners, American director and producer (b. 1951)
    • 2010 – Ali Hassan al-Majid, Iraqi general and politician, Iraqi Minister of Defence (b. 1941)
    • 2011 – Vassilis C. Constantakopoulos Greek captain and businessman (b. 1935)
    • 2011 – Vincent Cronin, Welsh historian and author (b. 1924)
    • 2012 – Paavo Berglund, Finnish violinist and conductor (b. 1929)
    • 2012 – Jacques Maisonrouge, French businessman (b. 1924)
    • 2012 – Franco Pacini, Italian astrophysicist and academic (b. 1939)
    • 2012 – Robert Sheran, American lawyer, judge, and politician (b. 1916)
    • 2013 – Martial Asselin, Canadian lawyer and politician, 25th Lieutenant Governor of Quebec (b. 1924)
    • 2013 – Kevin Heffernan, Irish footballer and manager (b. 1929)
    • 2013 – Aase Nordmo Løvberg, Norwegian soprano and actress (b. 1923)
    • 2014 – Arthur Doyle, American singer-songwriter, saxophonist, and flute player (b. 1944)
    • 2014 – Heini Halberstam, Czech-English mathematician and academic (b. 1926)
    • 2014 – Dave Strack, American basketball player and coach (b. 1923)
    • 2015 – John Leggett, American author and academic (b. 1917)
    • 2015 – Richard McBrien, American priest, theologian, and academic (b. 1936)
    • 2015 – Bill Monbouquette, American baseball player and coach (b. 1936)
    • 2015 – Demis Roussos, Egyptian-Greek singer (b. 1946)
    • 2017 – Stephen P. Cohen, Canadian academic (b. 1945)
    • 2017 – Robert Garcia, American politician (b. 1933)
    • 2017 – John Hurt, English actor (b. 1940)
    • 2017 – Harry Mathews, American novelist and poet (b. 1930)
    • 2017 – Marcel Prud’homme, Canadian politician (b. 1934)
    • 2017 – Mary Tyler Moore, American actress, dancer, and producer (b. 1936)
    • 2018 – Neagu Djuvara, Romanian historian, essayist, philosopher, journalist, novelist and diplomat (b. 1916)

    Holidays and observances on January 25

    • Burns Night (Scotland and Scottish community)
    • Christian feast day:
      • Dydd Santes Dwynwen (Wales)
      • Feast of the Conversion of Saint Paul (Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, Roman Catholic, Anglican and Lutheran churches, which concludes the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity)
      • Gregory the Theologian (Eastern (Byzantine) Catholic Church)
      • The last day of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity (Christian ecumenism)
      • January 25 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
    • Earliest day on which the first day of Carnival of Cádiz can fall, while February 28 is the latest; celebrated two Sundays before Ash Wednesday until Ash Wednesday (Cádiz)
    • Earliest day on which the Liberation of Auschwitz Memorial can fall, while January 31 is the latest; observed on the last Sunday in January (Netherlands)
    • National Nutrition Day (Indonesia)
    • National Police Day (Egypt)
    • National Voters’ Day (India)
    • Revolution Day 2011 (Egypt)
    • Tatiana Day or Russian Students Day (Russia, Eastern Orthodox)
  • |

    General Science & Ability | Constituents and Structure Solved MCQs (Set-III)

    Click HERE for Q.No.1-50
    Click HERE for Q.No.51-100

    101) Which type of star is maintained by the pressure of an electron gas?
    (a) Main Sequence Star
    (b) White Dwarf
    (c) Neutron Star
    (d) Black Hole
    Answer: (b)
    White dwarfs are stars supported by pressure of degenerate electron gas. i.e. in their interiors thermal energy kT is much smaller then Fermi energy Ep. We shall derive the equations of structure of white dwarfs, sometimes called degenerate dwarfs, in the limiting case when their thermal pressure may be neglected, but the degenerate electron gas may be either non-relativistic. somewhat relativistic. or ultra-relativistic.

    102) Which of the following first hypothesized that the Earth orbited the sun?
    (a) Alexander the Great
    (b) Copernicus
    (c) Socrates
    (d) Tycho Brahe
    Answer: (b)
    Nicolaus Copernicus was a Renaissance mathematician and astronomer who formulated a model of the universe that placed the Sun rather than the Earth at the center of the universe.

    103) The LAST manned moon flight was made in what year?
    (a) 1971 (b) 1972
    (c) 1973 (d) 1974
    Answer: (b)
    The last manned landing Apollo 17 on the Moon to date, which took place on December 11, 1972, was made by Commander Eugene Cernan and lunar module pilot Harrison Schmitt who was also the first scientist on the Moon.

    104) A planet is said to be at aphelion when it is:
    (a) closest to the sun
    (b) farthest from the sun
    (c) at it’s highest point above the ecliptic
    (d) at it’s lowest point below the ecliptic
    Answer: (b)

    105) The word Albedo refers to which of the following?
    (a) The wobbling motion of a planet
    (b) The amount of light a planet reflects
    (c) The phase changes of a planet
    (d) The brightness of a star
    Answer: (b)
    Albedo is a measure of the reflectivity of a surface. The albedo effect when applied to the Earth is a measure of how much of the Sun’s energy is reflected back into space. Overall, the Earth’s albedo has a cooling effect. (The term ‘albedo’ is derived from the Latin for ‘whiteness’).

    106) A pulsar is actually a:
    (a) black hole
    (b) white dwarf
    (c) red giant
    (d) neutron star
    Answer: (d)

    107) Astronomers use Cepheid’s principally as measures of what? Is it:
    (a) size
    (b) speed
    (c) chemical composition
    (d) distance
    Answer: (d)

    108) Where are most asteroids located? Is it between:
    (a) Jupiter and Saturn
    (b) Mars and Venus
    (c) Earth and Mars
    (d) Mars and Jupiter
    Answer: (d)

    109) The precession of the Earth refers to the:
    (a) change from night to day.
    (b) Earth’s motion around the sun.
    (c) change in orientation of the Earth’s axis.
    (d) effect of the moon on the Earth’s orbit.
    Answer: (c)
    Precession is the change in orientation of the Earth’s rotational axis. The precession cycle takes about 19,000 – 23,000 years. Precession is caused by two factors: a wobble of the Earth’s axis and a turning around of the elliptical orbit of the Earth itself (Thomas, 2002). Obliquity affected the tilt of the Earth’s axis, precession affects the direction of the Earth’s axis. The change in the axis location changes the dates of perihelion (closest distance from sun) and aphelion (farthest distance from sun), and this increases the seasonal contrast in one hemisphere while decreasing it in the other hemisphere ( Kaufman, 2002). currently, the Earth is closest to the sun in the northern hemisphere winter, which makes the winters there less severe (Thomas, 2002). Another consequence of precession is a shift in the celestial poles. 5000 years ago the North Star was Thuban in the constellation Draco. Currently the North Star is Polaris in the constellation Ursa Minor.

    110) The Magellanic cloud is a:
    (a) nebula
    (b) galaxy
    (c) super nova remnant
    (d) star cluster
    Answer: (b)

    111) The comet known as Halley’s Comet has an average period of:
    (a) 56 years
    (b) 66 years
    (c) 76 years
    (d) 86 years
    Answer: (c)
    Halley’s Comet orbits the Sun every 76.0 years and has an orbital eccentricity of 0.97. Comet Halley was visible in 1910 and again in 1986. Its next perihelion passage will be in early 2062.

    112) Which one of the following planets has no moons?
    (a) Mars
    (b) Neptune
    (c) Venus
    (d) Jupiter
    Answer: (c)

    113) The rocks that enter the earth’s atmosphere and blaze a trail all the way to the ground and do not burn up completely are known as:
    (a) meteorites
    (b) meteors
    (c) asteroids
    (d) none of these
    Answer: (a)
    A meteorite is a solid piece of debris from an object, such as a comet, asteroid, or meteoroid, that originates in outer space and survives its passage through the Earth’s atmosphere and impact with the Earth’s surface

    114) 95% of the Martian atmosphere is composed of what substance?
    (a) Carbon dioxide
    (b) Nitrogen
    (c) Argon
    (d) Carbon monoxide
    Answer: (a)
    The atmosphere of Mars is about 100 times thinner than Earth’s, and it is 95 percent carbon dioxide.

    115) What is the motion called when a planet seems to be moving westward in the sky?
    (a) Retrograde
    (b) Parallax
    (c) Opcentric
    (d) Reverse parallax
    Answer: (a)
    Retrograde motion, in astronomy, describes the orbit of a celestial body that runs counter to the direction of the spin of that body which it orbits. Apparent retrograde motion, in astronomy, is the apparent motion of planets as observed from a particular vantage point.

    116) In what year did Galileo first use an optical telescope to study the moon?
    (a) 1492 (b) 1611
    (c) 1212 (d) 1743
    Answer: (b)

    117) Geocentric means around:
    (a) Jupiter (b) the Earth
    (c) the Moon (d) the Sun
    Answer: (b)

    118) The Pythagoreans appear to have been the first to have taught that the Earth is:
    (a) at the center of the Universe.
    (b) spherical in shape.
    (c) orbits around the sun.
    (d) flat with sharp edges.
    Answer: (b)

    119) A device which would not work on the Moon is:
    (a) thermometer
    (b) siphon
    (c) spectrometer
    (d) spring balance
    Answer: (b)
    Siphons will not work in the International Space Station where there is air but no gravity, but neither will they work on the Moon where there is gravity but no air

    120) Of the following colors, which is bent least in passing through aprism?
    (a) orange (b) violet
    (c) green (d) red
    Answer: (d)

    121) In a reflecting telescope where in the tube is the objective mirror placed?
    (a) the top to the tube
    (b) the middle of the tube
    (c) the bottom of the tube
    (d) the side of the tube
    Answer: (c)

    122) What does it mean when someone says that comets have eccentric orbits? Does it mean
    (a) they have open orbits
    (b) they have nearly circular orbits
    (c) their orbits are unpredictable
    (d) the sun is far from the foci of their orbits
    Answer: (d)

    123) What causes the gas tail of a comet to always point away from the sun?
    (a) solar wind
    (b) air pressure
    (c) centrifugal force
    (d) gravity
    Answer: (a)

    124) What are Saturn’s rings composed of?
    (a) completely connected solid masses
    (b) billions of tiny solid particles
    (c) mixtures of gases
    (d) highly reflective cosmic clouds
    Answer: (b)

    125) Of the following, which is the only planet which CANNOT be seen with the unaided eye?
    (a) Jupiter
    (b) Mars
    (c) Neptune
    (d) Saturn
    Answer: (c)
    The ice giant Neptune was the first planet located through mathematical predictions rather than through regular observations of the sky. Nearly 4.5 billion kilometers (2.8 billion miles) from the Sun, Neptune orbits the Sun once every 165 years. It is invisible to the naked eye because of its extreme distance from Earth. In 2011 Neptune completed its first orbit since its discovery in 1846.

    126) Accretion is:
    (a) the gradual accumulation of matter in one location usually due to gravity.
    (b) the process of moon formation for planets.
    (c) the process of matter accumulation due to centripetal force.
    (d) the disintegration of matter.
    Answer: (b)

    127) A blue shift means a Doppler shift of light from a(an)
    (a) receding star.
    (b) blue star.
    (c) approaching star.
    (d) fixed star.
    Answer: (c)
    In the Doppler effect for visible light, the frequency is shifted toward the blue end of the spectrum when the light source (such as a star) is approaching.

    128) The first and largest asteroid discovered was:
    (a) Pallas.
    (b) Juno.
    (c) Ceres.
    (d) Trojan.
    Answer: (c)

    129) The Crab Nebula consists of the remnants of a supernova which was observed by:
    (a) Brahe in 1572.
    (b) Kepler and Galileo in 1604.
    (c) the Chinese in 1054 A.D.
    (d) several ancient civilizations in 236 B.C.
    Answer: (c)
    The Crab Nebula, the result of a supernova noted by Earth-bound chroniclers in 1054 A.D., is filled with mysterious filaments that are are not only tremendously complex, but appear to have less mass than expelled in the original supernova and a higher speed than expected from a free explosion. The Crab Nebula spans about 10 light-years. In the nebula’s very center lies a pulsar: a neutron star as massive as the Sun but with only the size of a small town. The Crab Pulsar rotates about 30 times each second.

    130) The atmosphere of Venus contains mostly
    (a) oxygen
    (b) carbon dioxide
    (c) nitrogen
    (d) water
    Answer: (b)
    The atmosphere of Venus is composed of about 96% carbon dioxide, with most … various other corrosive compounds, and the atmosphere contains little water.

    131) On the celestial sphere, the annual path of the Sun is called
    (a) the eclipse path.
    (b) ecliptic.
    (c) diurnal.
    (d) solstice.
    Answer: (b)
    The ecliptic is an imaginary line on the sky that marks the annual path of the sun. It is the projection of Earth’s orbit onto the celestial sphere.

    132) The angular distance between a planet and the Sun, as viewed from the Earth, is called
    (a) angle of inclination.
    (b) elongation.
    (c) latitude.
    (d) opposition.
    Answer: (b)
    Elongation is the angular distance between the sun, and another object such a moon or a planet as seen from earth. There are several special names for these angular distances. The different names of these angles depend on the status, inferior or superior, of the planet. The planets closer to the sun than the earth are called inferior planets. The planets farther away from the sun than earth are called superior planets.
    Elongation is measured from earth as the angle between the sun and the planet. Sometimes the apparent relative position of a planet in relation to the sun is called the aspect, or configuration, of a planet.

    133) Which of the following has the highest density?
    (a) Earth
    (b) Venus
    (c) Mars
    (d) Jupiter
    Answer: (a)
    Earth has the highest density of any planet in the Solar System, at 5.514 g/cm3. This is considered the standard by which other planet’s densities are measured. In addition, the combination of Earth’s size, mass and density also results in a surface gravity of 9.8 m/s². This is also used as a the standard (one g) when measuring the surface gravity of other planets.

    134) Which of the following planets is NOT a terrestrial planet?
    (a) Earth
    (b) Jupiter
    (c) Mars
    (d) Mercury
    Answer: (b)
    The term terrestrial planet is derived from the Latin “Terra” (i.e. Earth). Terrestrial planets are therefore those that are “Earth-like”, meaning they are similar in structure and composition to planet Earth. All those planets found within the Inner Solar System – Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars – are examples of terrestrial planets. Each are composed primarily of silicate rock and metal, which is differentiated between a dense, metallic core and a silicate mantle.

    135) Why do we see lunar eclipses much more often than solar eclipses?
    (a) Lunar eclipses occur more often than solar eclipses.
    (b) Lunar eclipses last longer than solar eclipses.
    (c) The lunar eclipse is visible to much more of the Earth than a solar eclipse.
    (d) The moon is closer to the Earth than the sun.
    Answer: (c)
    Lunar and solar eclipses occur with about equal frequency. Lunar eclipses are more widely visible because Earth casts a much larger shadow on the Moon during a lunar eclipse than the Moon casts on Earth during a solar eclipse. As a result, we are more likely to see a lunar eclipse than a solar eclipse.

    136) A star like object with a very large red shift is a
    (a) Neutron star.
    (b) Nova.
    (c) Quasar.
    (d) Supernova.
    Answer: (c)
    Quasars: In the 1930’s, Edwin Hubble discovered that all galaxies have a positive redshift. In other words, all galaxies were receding from the Milky Way.

    137) The apparent magnitude of an object in the sky describes its
    (a) Size
    (b) Magnification
    (c) Brightness
    (d) Distance
    Answer: (c)

    138) The Van Allen belts are:
    (a) caused by the refraction of sunlight like rainbows.
    (b) charged particles trapped in the Earth’s magnetic field.
    (c) caused by the reflection of polar snow.
    (d) caused by precession.
    Answer: (b)
    The Van Allen belts are a collection of charged particles, gathered in place by Earth’s magnetic field. They can wax and wane in response to incoming energy from the sun, sometimes swelling up enough to expose satellites in low-Earth orbit to damaging radiation.

    139) A coordinate system based on the ecliptic system is especially useful for the studies of
    (a) Planets
    (b) Stars
    (c) The Milky Way
    (d) Galaxies
    Answer: (a)

    140) The mean distance of the earth from the sun in astronomical units is:
    (a) 3.7 (b) 10
    (c) 1 (d) 101
    Answer: (c)
    In astronomy, an astronomical unit is defined as the average distance from the Sun to the Earth, or about 150 million kilometers (93 million miles). You can abbreviate astronomical unit as AU.
    Since the distances in astronomy are so vast, astronomers use this measurement to bring the size of numbers down.
    For example, Earth is 1 au from the Sun, and Mars is 1.523 AU. That’s much easier than saying that Mars is 227,939,000 km away from the Sun.

    141) What process produces a star’s energy?
    (a) hydrogen and oxygen combustion
    (b) nuclear fusion
    (c) neutron beta decay
    (d) nuclear fission
    Answer: (b)
    The enormous luminous energy of the stars comes from nuclear fusion processes in their centers. Depending upon the age and mass of a star, the energy may come from proton-proton fusion, helium fusion, or the carbon cycle.

    142) What is the most distant object in the sky that the human eye can see without optical instruments?
    (a) The Horsehead Nebula
    (b) The Andromeda Galaxy
    (c) The Sagittarius Constellation
    (d) The Aurora Borealis
    Answer: (b)
    The Andromeda Galaxy (M31) is the closest large galaxy to the Milky Way and is one of a few galaxies that can be seen unaided from the Earth. In approximately 4.5 billion years the Andromeda Galaxy and the Milky Way are expected to collide and the result will be a giant elliptical galaxy. Andromeda is accompanied by 14 dwarf galaxies, including M32, M110, and possibly M33 (The Triangulum Galaxy).

    143) Which civilization developed and implemented the first solar calendar?
    (a) Babylonian
    (b) Greek
    (c) Egyptian
    (d) Aztec
    Answer: (c)
    A solar calendar is a calendar whose dates indicate the position of the earth on its revolution around the sun and is based on the seasonal year of approximately 365 1/4 days, the time it takes the Earth to revolve once around the Sun. The Egyptians appear to have been the first to develop a solar calendar, using as a fixed point the annual sunrise reappearance of the Dog Star — Sirius, or Sothis — in the eastern sky, which coincided with the annual flooding of the Nile River. They constructed a calendar of 365 days, consisting of 12 months of 30 days each, with 5 days added at the year’s end. The Egyptians’ failure to account for the extra fraction of a day, however, caused their calendar to drift gradually into error.

    144) What is the HOTTEST region of the sun?
    (a) The core
    (b) The photosphere
    (c) The chromospheres
    (d) The corona
    Answer: (d)
    The corona is the outermost layer of the Sun, starting at about 1300 miles (2100 km) above the solar surface (the photosphere) The temperature in the corona is 500,000 K (900,000 degrees F, 500,000 degrees C) or more, up to a few million K. The corona cannot be seen with the naked eye except during a total solar eclipse, or with the use of a coronagraph. The corona does not have an upper limit.
    A study published in 2012 in Nature Communications by researchers at Northumbria University found a possible mechanism that causes some stars to have a corona that is almost 200 times hotter than their photosphere (the star’s surface).

    145) The same side of the moon always faces the Earth because:
    (a) the moon is not rotating about its axis.
    (b) the moon’s motion was fixed at its creation by the laws of inertia.
    (c) tidal forces keep the moon’s rotation and orbiting motion in sync with each other.
    (d) the moon’s magnetic poles keep aligned with the Earth’s magnetic field.
    Answer: (b)

    146) The resolving power of a telescope depends on the:
    (a) focal ratio
    (b) diameter of the objective
    (c) magnification
    (d) focal length
    Answer: (b)
    The resolving power of a telescope depends on the diameter of the telescope’s light-gathering apparatus, or objective. In a refracting telescope, the objective lens is the first lens the light passes through. In a reflecting telescope, the objective is the telescope’s primary mirror. In a Schmidt-Cassegrain telescope, the objective is also the primary mirror. As the diameter of the telescope’s objective increases, the resolving power increases.

    147) On a clear, dark, moonless night, approximately how many stars can be seen with the naked eye?
    (a) 300 (b) 1,000
    (c) 3,000 (d) 10,000
    Answer: (c)
    On any clear dark moonless night a person can see about 3000 stars of our galaxy without the aid of a telescope

    148) The study of the origin and evolution of the universe is known as:
    (a) Tomography
    (b) cystoscopy
    (c) cryology
    (d) cosmology
    Answer: (d)
    Cosmology is the branch of astronomy involving the origin and evolution of the universe, from the Big Bang to today and on into the future. According to NASA, the definition of cosmology is “the scientific study of the large scale properties of the universe as a whole.”

    149) According to Kepler’s Laws, all orbits of the planets are:
    (a) ellipses
    (b) parabolas
    (c) hyperbolas
    (d) square
    Answer: (a)
    Johannes Kepler, working with data painstakingly collected by Tycho Brahe without the aid of a telescope, developed three laws which described the motion of the planets across the sky.
    1. The Law of Orbits: All planets move in elliptical orbits, with the sun at one focus.
    2. The Law of Areas: A line that connects a planet to the sun sweeps out equal areas in equal times.
    3. The Law of Periods: The square of the period of any planet is proportional to the cube of the semimajor axis of its orbit.
    Kepler’s laws were derived for orbits around the sun, but they apply to satellite orbits as well.