Thursday 25th of February 1841

Impressionist painter Pierre-Auguste Renoir is born in Limoges, Haute-Vienne, France.

Friday 25th of February 1842

Writer Karl Friedrich May known for creating adventure novel protagonists Winnetou and Old Shatterhand is born in Niedergasse 111, Ernstthal, Sachsen, Germany.

Tuesday 25th of February 1873

Tenor Enrico Caruso is born in Via San Giovannello agli Ottocalli 7, Napoli, Campania, Italy.

Tuesday 25th of February 1879

Burglar and murderer Charles Frederick Peace aka The Murderous Musician is executed by hanging by William Marwood at the age of 47 in Armley Gaol, Gloucester Terrace, Leeds, West Yorkshire, United Kingdom.

"Lion-hearted I've lived, And when my time comes Lion-hearted I'll die."

Sunday 25th of February 1894

Spiritual master Meher Baba aka Avatar is born as Merwan Sheriar Irani in Pune, Maharashtra, India.

Saturday 25th of February 1899

Journalist, entrepreneur and pioneer of telegraphy and news reporting Paul Julius Freiherr von Reuter dies of unknown causes at the age of 83 in Villa Reuter, 97 Promenade des Anglais, Nice, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, France.

Sunday 25th of February 1917

Writer Anthony Burgess known for his dystopian novel A Clockwork Orange is born as John Anthony Burgess Wilson in 91 Carisbrook Street, Manchester, Harpurhey, Greater Manchester, United Kingdom.

Wednesday 25th of February 1920

Religious leader Sun Myung Moon is born as Mun Yong-myeong in Chŏngju, North P'yǒngan, North Korea.

Saturday 25th of February 1922

Serial killer Henri Désiré Landru aka Le Barbe-Bleue de Gambais is executed by the Guillotine at the age of 53 in Prison Saint Pierre, Place des Tribunaux, Versailles, Île-de-France, France.

Wednesday 25th of February 1931

Serial killer Eric Edgar Cooke aka The Australian Nightmare is born in Perth, Western Australia, Australia.

Thursday 25th of February 1943

Guitarist and singer-songwriter George Harrison known from the Beatles is born in 12 Arnold Grove, Liverpool, Wavertree, Merseyside, United Kingdom.

Wednesday 25th of February 1953

Artist Martin Kippenberger is born in Dortmund, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany.

Monday 25th of February 1957

Irish republican hunger striker Raymond McCreesh is born as Réamonn Mac Raois in Camlough, Armagh, Ireland.

Wednesday 25th of February 1959

Murderer Ricky Lee Sanderson is born in Iredell County, North Carolina, United States.

Tuesday 25th of February 1964

Artist Alexander Porfyrovych Archipenko dies of unknown causes at the age of 77 in New York City, New York, United States.

Tuesday 25th of February 1969

Revolutionary student Jan Zajíc commits suicide by self-immolation at the age of 19 in Wenceslas Square, Praha, Bohemia, Czechoslovakia.

Around 1:30 in the afternoon Zajíc walked into the passageway of the building at No. 39 on Wenceslas Square and ignited his chemical-soaked clothes. Zajíc was unable to run out of the door and collapsed and died in the hallway. "Mother, father, brother, little sister! – When you read this letter, I will already be dead or close to death. I know what a severe blow my act will be to you, but don't be angry at me. Unfortunately, we are not alone in this world. I am not doing this because I would be tired by life, on the contrary, because I cherish it too much. Hopefully my act will make life better. I know the price of life and I know it is the most precious thing. But I want a lot for you, for everyone, so I have to pay a lot. Do not lose your heart after my sacrifice, tell Jacek to study harder and Marta too. You must never accept injustice, be it in any form, my death will bind you. I am sorry that I will never see you or that, which I loved so much. Please forgive me that I fought with you so much. Do not let them make me a madman. – Say hi to the boys, the river and the forest."

Tuesday 25th of February 1969

Victim of Andrew Cunanan aka American Gigolo/American Psycho Jeffrey Allen Trail is born in De Kalb, Illinois, United States.

Wednesday 25th of February 1970

Abstract expressionist painter Mark Rothko commits suicide by slashing his arms at the age of 67 in 118 E. 95th Street, New York, Manhattan, New York, United States.

Rothko's body was found by his assistant Oliver Steindecker when Steindecker arrived in the morning for work. Rothko was lying face-up on the kitchen floor of his studio in a pool of blood, his arms outstretched. He was dressed in an undershirt, long johns and long black socks. He had removed his glasses, shoes and trousers (which were found folded over the back of a chair) before slitting his arms with a double-edged razor. He first took the razor in his right hand (after carefully wrapping a tissue over one one side of the razor) and made a cut in his left arm. He then switched the razor to his left hand and made an even deeper cut in his right arm. Both cuts were made just below the bend of the elbow. The autopsy revealed that Rothko had also overdosed on anti-depressants.

Monday 25th of February 1980

65-year-old Literary theorist, philosopher, linguist and semiotician Roland Gérard Barthes is hit by a laundry van in Rue des Écoles, Paris, Ve, Île-de-France, France.

Barthes died on 26 March from the chest injuries he sustained in that collision.

Wednesday 25th of February 1981

18-year-old Jill Martin is assaulted by serial killer Randall Woodfield aka The I-5 Killer in Corvallis, Oregon, United States.

Martin survived.

Thursday 25th of February 1982

23-year-old Performance artist Danny Devos aka DDV performs 'Resonantiepunctie' in an exhibition of Anne-Mie Van Kerckhoven aka AMVK in Zeno X Gallery, Leopold De Waelplaats, Antwerpen, Antwerpen, Belgium.

Friday 25th of February 1983

Writer and playwright Tennessee Thomas Lanier Williams chokes to death on the cap from a bottle of eye drops he frequently used in his suite at the age of 72 in Hotel Elysee, 60 East 54th Street, New York City, New York, United States.

Williams' use of drugs and alcohol may have contributed to his death by suppressing his gag reflex.

Saturday 25th of February 1984

Noise music band Club Moral play their 31st concert at the Propagandum festival in NL-Centrum, Rozengracht 168, Amsterdam, Noord-Holland, Netherlands.

Also played: ProduKtion, V-Side, Didi De Paris, Angst, Alsatan Dogs.

Friday 25th of February 1994

Religious extremist and mass murderer Baruch Kopel Goldstein known for the Cave of the Patriarchs Massacre is beaten to death with a fire extinguisher by survivors of his massacre at the age of 38 in Cave of the Patriarchs, Hebron, West Bank, Palestine.

Goldstein threw a grenade into the Hall of Isaac where some 800 Muslims were at prayer. Then he opened fire with an IMI Galil assault rifle killing 29 people and wounding another 125. As word of the incident spread throughout the occupied territories, confrontations broke out in which a further 20 Palestinians were killed and 120 injured. In the first 6 days following the massacre 21 Palestinians were killed by live ammunition.

Tuesday 25th of February 2003

Murderer Richard Head Williams is executed by lethal injection at the age of 34 in Huntsville Prison, 815 12th Street, Huntsville, Texas, United States.

Williams' final meal request was for two chili cheese dogs, two cheeseburgers, two orders of onion rings with French dressing, turkey salad with French fries, chocolate cake, apple pie, butter pecan ice cream, egg rolls, one peach, three Dr. Peppers, jalapeno peppers, ketchup, and mayonnaise.

Friday 25th of February 2005

60-year-old Serial killer Dennis Lynn Rader aka The BTK Killer is arrested while driving near his home in 6022 61st and Independence, Park City, Kansas, United States.

An officer asked "Mr. Rader, do you know why you're going downtown?"; Rader replied "Oh, I have suspicions why."

Sunday 25th of February 2007

My 'Bastard Art' piece 'Erd-Ecke' in  'The Moss Gathering Tumbleweed Experience' exhibition in NICC, Museumstraat, Antwerpen, Antwerpen, Belgium.