138day.year
Roman emperor Hadrian adopts Antoninus Pius as his son, effectively making him his successor.
Roman Emperor Hadrian formally adopts Antoninus Pius as his heir, securing imperial succession.
In AD 138, Emperor Hadrian chooses Antoninus Pius as his adoptive son and heir.
He secures the imperial succession amid internal and external pressures.
Antoninus Pius, a respected administrator, gains legitimacy and broad support.
Hadrian's decision aims to prevent power struggles after his death.
Under Pius's future rule, the empire will enjoy stability and prosperity.
The adoption exemplifies dynastic politics in ancient Rome.
138
Roman emperor
Hadrian
Antoninus Pius
628day.year
Khosrow II, the last great Shah of the Sasanian Empire (Iran), is overthrown by his son Kavadh II.
Shah Khosrow II is deposed in a palace coup led by his son Kavadh II, marking a dynastic shift in Persia.
In 628, after a disastrous campaign against Byzantium, Shah Khosrow II faces revolt.
His son, Kavadh II, leads a coup that forces his abdication.
Khosrow's removal marks the decline of Sasanian power in Iran.
The young Kavadh II ascends the throne amid political turmoil.
Civil unrest and noble factions shape the empire's fate.
This palace coup accelerates the eventual collapse of the Sasanian dynasty.
628
Khosrow II
Sasanian Empire
Kavadh II
1843day.year
Lord George Paulet occupies the Kingdom of Hawaii in the name of Great Britain in the Paulet affair.
British Captain Lord Paulet temporarily seizes the Hawaiian Kingdom, igniting the Paulet affair.
On February 25, 1843, Captain Lord George Paulet seizes the Kingdom of Hawaii for Britain.
Acting without orders, he demands cession from King Kamehameha III.
The occupation disrupts Hawaiian sovereignty and alarms the local population.
After five months, British Lord George Pakenham restores the kingdom’s independence.
Known as the Paulet affair, it highlights imperial tensions in the Pacific.
The incident fuels Hawaiian efforts to secure international recognition.
1843
Lord George Paulet
Kingdom of Hawaii
Paulet affair
1870day.year
Hiram Rhodes Revels, a Republican from Mississippi, is sworn into the United States Senate, becoming the first African American ever to sit in Congress.
Hiram Rhodes Revels takes his seat in the U.S. Senate, becoming the first African American congressman.
In 1870, Hiram Rhodes Revels takes his seat in the United States Senate.
Representing Mississippi, he becomes the first African American to serve in Congress.
Revels had been an educator and minister before entering politics.
His election follows the Civil War and reflects Reconstruction efforts.
He advocates for civil rights and educational opportunities for freedmen.
Revels's tenure marks a milestone in American political and social history.
1870
Hiram Rhodes Revels
Republican
Mississippi
United States Senate
African American
Congress
1875day.year
Guangxu Emperor of Qing dynasty China begins his reign, under Empress Dowager Cixi's regency.
The child Guangxu Emperor ascends the Qing throne under the powerful regency of Empress Dowager Cixi.
On February 25, 1875, the child Guangxu Emperor ascends the Qing throne.
Empress Dowager Cixi serves as regent, wielding substantial power.
The young emperor’s reign will later see the Hundred Days’ Reform.
This transition follows the death of Emperor Tongzhi.
The regency period shapes late Qing politics and modernization efforts.
Internal court intrigues and external pressures define the era.
1875
Guangxu Emperor
Qing dynasty
Empress Dowager Cixi
1912day.year
Marie-Adélaïde, the eldest of six daughters of Guillaume IV, becomes the first reigning Grand Duchess of Luxembourg.
Princess Marie-Adélaïde ascends as Luxembourg’s first reigning Grand Duchess, breaking new ground in monarchy.
In 1912, Princess Marie-Adélaïde ascends the throne as Grand Duchess of Luxembourg.
She is the first female monarch to rule Luxembourg in her own right.
Her reign begins amid social and political changes in Europe.
Marie-Adélaïde supports Catholic conservative policies during WWI.
Her popularity wanes, leading to abdication in 1919.
Her tenure reflects the challenges of small-state sovereignty.
1912
Marie-Adélaïde
Guillaume IV
Grand Duchess
Luxembourg
1921day.year
Georgian capital Tbilisi falls to the invading Russian forces after heavy fighting and the Russians declare the Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic.
In February 1921, Soviet troops captured Tbilisi and declared the Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic, ending Georgia’s brief independence.
After World War I, the Democratic Republic of Georgia had sought independence from Russia. In February 1921, the Red Army launched a major offensive across the Caucasus region. Following weeks of heavy fighting, Soviet forces broke through Georgian defenses and seized Tbilisi on February 25. The fall of the capital marked the end of the First Georgian Republic and the establishment of the Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic. This takeover was part of the wider Soviet campaign to consolidate control over former imperial territories. The incorporation of Georgia into the Soviet Union shaped the region’s political landscape for the next seven decades.
1921
Georgian
Tbilisi
invading Russian forces
Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic
1932day.year
Adolf Hitler, having been stateless for seven years, obtains German citizenship when he is appointed a Brunswick state official by Dietrich Klagges, a fellow Nazi. As a result, Hitler is able to run for Reichspräsident in the 1932 election.
Adolf Hitler obtained German citizenship in 1932 through a state appointment in Brunswick, allowing him to run for the presidency.
After World War I, Adolf Hitler lived stateless for seven years following his disenfranchisement under the Treaty of Versailles. On February 25, 1932, Dietrich Klagges, a Nazi administrator in the Free State of Brunswick, appointed Hitler to a minor government post. This appointment instantly granted Hitler German citizenship for the first time since 1925. With his citizenship restored, Hitler became eligible to stand in the Reichspräsident election later that year. Although he lost the runoff vote to Paul von Hindenburg, this political maneuver set the stage for Hitler’s subsequent rise to power. This event demonstrated the Nazis’ growing influence within German state administrations during the Weimar Republic’s final years.
1932
Adolf Hitler
stateless
Brunswick
Dietrich Klagges
Reichspräsident
1947day.year
The formal abolition of Prussia is proclaimed by the Allied Control Council, the Prussian government having already been abolished by the Preußenschlag of 1932.
The Allied Control Council formally abolishes the state of Prussia on February 25, 1947, ending its historic status in Germany.
Prussia had been a dominant force in German politics and military affairs for centuries. Although its government was effectively dissolved during the Preußenschlag of 1932, the state remained on the books of the Weimar Republic. On February 25, 1947, the occupying Allies issued Law No. 46, formally abolishing Prussia and redistributing its territory. This move aimed to dismantle the legacy of militarism and centralism associated with Prussian rule. The former lands of Prussia were divided among new federal states within the emerging Federal Republic of Germany. The abolition marked a decisive break from Germany’s imperial past and reshaped its postwar political landscape.
1947
abolition of Prussia
Allied Control Council
Preußenschlag
1947day.year
Soviet NKVD forces in Hungary abduct Béla Kovács—secretary-general of the majority Independent Smallholders' Party—and deport him to the USSR in defiance of Parliament. His arrest is an important turning point in the Communist takeover of Hungary.
Soviet NKVD agents abduct Hungarian politician Béla Kovács in 1947, hastening the communist takeover of Hungary.
In the aftermath of World War II, Hungary’s Independent Smallholders’ Party held a parliamentary majority. On February 25, 1947, NKVD officers secretly arrested party secretary-general Béla Kovács and transported him to the USSR. Kovács’s abduction removed a key opponent of communist dominance within the Hungarian government. This bold act of Soviet intimidation undermined Hungary’s fragile multiparty democracy. Without their leader, the Smallholders’ Party could not effectively resist further communist consolidation. Kovács remained imprisoned for years, and Hungary soon became a one-party state under Soviet influence.
NKVD
Hungary
Béla Kovács
Independent Smallholders' Party
Communist
1948day.year
In a coup d'état led by Klement Gottwald, the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia takes control of government in Prague to end the Third Czechoslovak Republic.
Czechoslovakia’s Communist Party seizes control in Prague through a 1948 coup, ending the Third Republic and ushering in four decades of communist rule.
After World War II, Czechoslovakia had established a democratic coalition government known as the Third Republic. On February 25, 1948, Communist leaders led by Prime Minister Klement Gottwald surrounded Prague with loyal security forces. Under pressure and amid arrests of non-communist ministers, President Edvard Beneš capitulated to the Communist Party’s demands. This bloodless coup effectively dissolved democratic institutions and centralized power under communist rule. The takeover marked the beginning of Czechoslovakia’s full integration into the Soviet sphere. Communist rule would last until the Velvet Revolution of 1989, profoundly shaping the nation’s history.
1948
coup d'état
Klement Gottwald
Communist Party of Czechoslovakia
Prague
Third Czechoslovak Republic
1956day.year
In his speech On the Cult of Personality and Its Consequences, Nikita Khrushchev, leader of the Soviet Union, denounces Stalin.
In 1956, Nikita Khrushchev denounces Stalin’s cult of personality in his landmark ‘Secret Speech’, initiating de-Stalinization in the USSR.
At the Twentieth Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, Khrushchev delivered a closed-session address on February 25, 1956. Titled “On the Cult of Personality and Its Consequences,” the speech exposed Stalin’s abuses and excesses. Khrushchev criticized the terror, show trials, and the atmosphere of fear that had permeated Soviet society. This unprecedented condemnation shattered the myth of Stalin’s infallibility and shocked party delegates. News of the speech spread slowly and was not immediately disclosed to the wider public. Nevertheless, it triggered a wave of de-Stalinization, leading to policy reforms and a cultural ‘thaw’. The speech profoundly altered Soviet politics and reverberated throughout the Eastern Bloc.
1956
On the Cult of Personality and Its Consequences
Nikita Khrushchev
Soviet Union
Stalin