This Day In History — Founding of New Orleans

August 25

1718
New Orleans was founded by French settlers and named after the Duke of Orleans.

1825
Uruguay declared its independence from Brazil.

1875
Matthew Webb became the first person to swim across the English Channel. It took him 21 hours and 45 minutes.

1916
The Department of the Interior created the National Park Service to manage and preserve national parks and monuments for future generations.

1944
Paris was liberated from Nazi occupation by Allied forces.

1984
Author Truman Capote was found dead in Los Angeles.

2001
Singer and actress Aaliyah died in a plane crash in the Bahamas.

2003
NASA launched the infrared Spitzer Space Telescope.

2009
Edward “Ted” Kennedy, who served as a Democratic senator from Massachusetts since 1962, dies. He was diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor in 2008.

2012
The first human to walk on the moon, Neil Armstrong, died after suffering complications from a heart bypass.

Birthdays

Leonard Bernstein

1918–1990, American composer, conductor, and pianist

Allan Pinkerton

detective (1819)

Sir Hans Adolf Krebs

biochemist (1900)

George Wallace

governor (1919)

Althea Gibson

tennis player (1927)

Sean Connery

actor (1930)

Regis Philbin

TV personality (1934)

Tim Burton

director (1958)

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