By Day: Historical Events on August 25th

The First Council of Nicaea ends. The Council was a meeting of Christian bishops convened in the Bithynian city of Nicaea (now İznik, Turkey) by the Roman Emperor Constantine I. It was specifically called to make a decision about Arianism—the belief that God created Jesus, and that Jesus was not eternal or one with God. Arianism was growing in popularity, even among church leaders threatening to tear the church apart. More

The Eighth Crusade, led by King Louis IX of France, departs from Aigues-Mortes, France, with the goal of conquering Tunis.

Uruguay Independence day from the Empire of Brazil. Declaration of independence and union with the United Provinces of the Río de la Plata.

A dike along China' Lake Gaoyou is breached during major floods in the Yangtze Valley. The floods covered an area approximately the size of New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut combined. All together the floods which lasted from June to the end of August and flooded areas of central and eastern China including densely populated cities like Wuhan and Nanjing. The death toll of the floods ranges between 422,000 - 4,000,000, depending on the source. The 1931 China flood is known as one of the world's deadliest disasters. More

Paris is liberated and the four-year Nazi occupation of the city comes to an end as the Free French 2nd Armored division under General Jacques-Philippe Leclerc enters the city and takes the German garrison capturing the German general Choltitz’s prisoner. His captors took Choltitz to French General Leclerc where the men signed a formal surrender document and Paris was finally liberated. German general Dietrich von Choltitz had spared Paris from the destruction ordered by Hitler. More

President Harry S. Truman issues an executive order putting America’s railroads under the control of the U.S. Army, Truman said that “governmental seizure [of the railroads] is imperative” to protect American citizens as well as “essential to the national defense and security of the nation.” Truman acted in anticipation of an imminent strike by railroad workers, two months after the United Nations, led by the United States, had intervened in Korea to repel an invasion by communist-led North Korea. More