Oct 25 in History

1825 — Johann Strauss II, orchestra conductor and composer, is born in Vienna, Austria. The “Waltz King” is known for compositions like “The Blue Danube” (An der schönen blauen Donau) and “Wiener Blut”, and operettas “Die Fledermaus” and “Der Zigeunerbaron”. 1838 — Georges (Alexandre-César-Lépold) Bizet, composer, is born in Paris, France. He is best known for his opera “Carmen”.

1881 — Pablo Picasso, painter and sculptor, is born in Málaga, Spain. After María Picasso y López gives birth, the midwife, believing he is stillborn, places him on a table to attend to his mother. His uncle Salvador, a doctor, sees the critical situation, blows a puff of cigarette smoke, which supposedly finally reacts to the newborn who begins to cry. A few days later they take him to the civil registry and names him: Pablo Diego José Francisco de Paula Juan Nepomuceno María de los Remedios Cipriano de la Santísima Trinidad Mártir Patricio Clito Ruiz y Picasso.

1920 — Alexander, 27, king of Greece (1917-20), dies of sepsis 23 days after being bitten by a domestic Barbary macaque while walking through the grounds of the Tatoi estate (the royal summer palace).

1927 — The Italian luxury liner SS Principessa Mafalda sinks off the coast of Brazil after her propeller shaft fractured and damaged her hull. She sinks slowly with rescue vessels present, but panic among passengers and crew causes the deaths of 314 of the 1,265 aboard. It is the greatest loss of life in Italian shipping. 1955 — Glynis Barber, South African-English actress (TV series “Dempsey and Makepeace”, “EastEnders”, “Emmerdale”), is born Glynis van der Riet in Durban. 1957 — Mob boss Albert Anastasia, 55, one of the founders of the modern American Mafia and founder of Murder Inc., is killed by two gunmen in a barber shop inside the Park Sheraton Hotel in NYC. He was one of the most ruthless and feared organised crime figures in American history, his reputation earning him the nicknames “The One-Man Army”, “Mad Hatter” and “Lord High Executioner”.

1962 — American author John Steinbeck is awarded the Nobel Prize in literature.

1986 — Actor Michael Sergio, 37, parachutes into Shea Stadium with a “Let’s Go Mets” banner during game six of the World Series between the New York Mets and the Boston Red Sox. He is fined $500 and sentenced to 100 hours of community service.

1995 — “Victor/Victoria”, starring Julie Andrews, opens at the Marquis Theatre on Broadway, NYC, for 738 performances.

1999 — JM Coetzee wins the Booker Prize for his novel “Disgrace”, becoming the first two-time winner (after “Life and Times of Michael K” in 1983).