TODAY IN HISTORY

July 25, 1956

The Italian liner SS Andrea Doria collided with the Swedish passenger ship Stockholm off the New England coast late at night and began sinking; 51 people — 46 from the Andrea Doria, five from the Stockholm — were killed. (The Andrea Doria capsized and sank the following morning.)

ALSO ON THIS DATE

1866

Ulysses S. Grant was named General of the Army of the United States, the first officer to hold the rank.

1918

The musical revue “The Passing Show of 1918” opened on Broadway, featuring a cast that included Fred Astaire and his sister, Adele, and the song “I’m Forever Blowing Bubbles.”

1941

President Franklin D. Roosevelt froze Japanese assets in the United States in retaliation for Japan’s occupation of southern Indochina.

1952

Puerto Rico became a self-governing commonwealth of the United States.