January 25

in History

Rome, Roman EmpireClassical

Claudius Accepted as Emperor

A stammering scholar becomes ruler of Rome

After a tense night of negotiation following Caligula's assassination, the Roman Senate grudgingly accepted Claudius as the new emperor. Found hiding behind a curtain by the Praetorian Guard, the bookish, stammering Claudius seemed an unlikely ruler. Yet he would prove to be one of Rome's most capable administrators, expanding the empire to include Britain and undertaking vast public works that transformed the capital and its provinces.

41 AD

Istvan Fekete Was Born — Hungary's beloved storyteller of nature

HungaryEarly 20th Century

1900

Istvan Fekete Was Born

Hungary's beloved storyteller of nature

Istvan Fekete was born in Hungary, destined to become one of the country's most cherished writers. His youth novels and animal stories, written with deep affection for the natural world, captivated generations of Hungarian readers. Fekete's vivid descriptions of rural life and wildlife made him a literary treasure, a writer who understood that the stories of animals could illuminate the deepest truths about human character.

1900 AD

Pope John Paul II — Pope John Paul II starts his first official papal visits outside Italy to The Bahamas, Dominican Republic, and Mexico.

Head of the Catholic Church from 1978 to 2005Late 20th Century

1979

Pope John Paul II

Pope John Paul II starts his first official papal visits outside Italy to The Bahamas, Dominican Republic, and Mexico.

Pope John Paul II was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of Vatican City from 16 October 1978 until his death in 2005. He was the first non-Italian pope since Adrian VI in the 16th century, as well as the third-longest-serving pope in history, after St. Peter and Pius IX.

1979 AD