Today in History: Germans use poison gas for first time in WWI Battle of Ypres

The following are some of the major events to have occurred on May 25:

1915 – In World War One, the second Battle of Ypres ended with around 105,000 casualties. The Germans used poison gas for the first time.

1935 – American athlete Jesse Owens set six world records in 45 minutes at the U.S. Big Ten Championship at Ann Arbor, Michigan.

1946 – Abdullah Ibn Hussein declared himself the first King of Jordan just two months after the British mandate ended.

1961 - JFK announces US goal of putting a man on the Moon before the end of decade.

1969 – The Sudanese government was overthrown in a military coup led by Colonel Jaafar Nimeiri.

1991 – Some 15,000 Falashas, or Ethiopian Jews, were airlifted from Addis Ababa to Israel as rebel forces approached the Ethiopian capital.

2003 – Brazilian basketball star Oscar Schmidt announces retirement.

2004 – At least 1,950 people were killed in floods in the Dominican Republic and Haiti, many of them swept away when rain-swollen rivers burst their banks.

2005 – Indian-born international filmmaker Ismail Merchant died aged 68. He teamed up with fellow filmmaker James Ivory and their string of film credits included hits such as “A Room With A View,” “Howards End” and “The Remains of the Day.”

2006 – A jury found energy trading company Enron Corp. chief executives Ken Lay and Jeffrey Skilling guilty of lying about the company’s financial troubles. Lay died of a heart attack in July 2006 before he could be sentenced. Skilling is serving a 24-year term at a federal prison.

2009 – In North Korea, Pyongyang conducted an underground nuclear test, stoking tension across the regional economic powerhouse of East Asia. U.S. President Barack Obama strongly condemned Pyongyang’s action and called for a strong international response.

2013 – Professional slackliner Reinhard Kleindl sets world record for walking highest urban high line at 185 metres.

2020 - Video of African American George Floyd's arrest and murder while restrained in Minneapolis police custody shows he was pinned to the ground by police officer Derek Chauvin's knee for 8 minutes and 46 seconds, ignites widespread condemnation and nationwide protests.

2021 - US CDC says half of all US adults are now fully vaccinated, with 61% having had their first shot.

(Reuters)