July 25

On July 25, 1609, the flagship Sea Venture of the Virginia Company encountered a powerful hurricane in the Atlantic. To avoid foundering, Captain Sir George Somers intentionally grounded the ship on Bermuda’s Coral reefs. All 150 passengers and crew survived and spent the next months salvaging supplies and constructing two small vessels, the Deliverance and the Patience. In May 1610, most continued on to Jamestown, while a contingent remained to establish Bermuda’s first permanent English colony. This unintended settlement secured England’s claim to the island and became a vital stopover point for transatlantic voyages. The dramatic wreck and marooning also inspired Shakespeare’s play The Tempest, cementing the event’s place in both colonial and literary history.

On July 25, 1668, an estimated magnitude 8.5 earthquake struck eastern China, centered in the Shandong region. The intense tremor caused widespread collapse of buildings and homes, leading to a death toll exceeding 43,000. Landslides triggered by the quake blocked rivers and damaged fertile farmland, compounding the disaster’s impact. Contemporary accounts describe survivors fleeing to open fields and erecting temporary shelters. The Qing government’s relief efforts were hampered by limited infrastructure and ongoing aftershocks. This event remains one of the deadliest earthquakes in Chinese history, highlighting the vulnerability of pre-modern societies to seismic catastrophes.

In heavy fog off Nantucket Island on July 25, 1956, the Italian liner SS Andrea Doria collided with the MS Stockholm. The crash tore a gaping hole in Andrea Doria's side, forcing a hurried evacuation. Despite chaotic conditions, rescuers saved thousands, though 51 passengers and crew perished. The disaster highlighted the dangers of fog navigation and led to improvements in radar and safety procedures. Andrea Doria's wreck remains one of the most famous shipwrecks in maritime history.

On July 25, 1995, a gas bottle exploded at Saint-Michel station on line B of the Paris RER regional train network. The blast occurred during the busy evening commute, causing significant structural damage. Eight passengers were killed and more than 80 were injured in the explosion and ensuing chaos. Emergency responders quickly evacuated the platform and treated victims at the scene. Authorities conducted a thorough investigation to determine the cause of the accident. The incident raised concerns over safety protocols in public transit systems and led to stricter regulations on hazardous materials.

Shortly after departing Charles de Gaulle Airport on July 25, 2000, Air France Concorde Flight 4590 ran over debris on the runway and caught fire. The high-speed takeoff resulted in catastrophic engine failure, leading to loss of control and a crash in a nearby hotel. All 109 passengers and four crew members aboard were killed, along with four individuals on the ground. The accident marked the first fatal crash in Concorde’s history and raised serious safety concerns for supersonic travel. Investigations identified a metal strip dropped from a preceding aircraft as the initial cause of the disaster. The tragedy ultimately led to the temporary grounding of the Concorde fleet and accelerated its retirement in 2003.