On October 25, 1764 John Adams and Abigail Smith were wed at the home of Abigail’s family in Massachusetts. Image of John and Abigail Adams via Wikimedia Commons, public domain

On October 25, 1829 Eastern State Penitentiary opened in Philadelphia. Until 1913 all prisoners were kept in solitary cells, unable to see or communicate with their peers, although the warden was required to visit each prisoner daily. The partially restored penitentiary is now a popular tourist attraction. Image by Mike Graham, CCA 2.0 Generic via Wikimedia Commons

Daguerreotype of War of 1812 Veteran John P. Kennedy from the 1840s He was born on October 25, 1795 in Baltimore, Maryland. During the War of 1812, he lifted and moved an injured American soldier out of harm’s way. Kennedy was friends with Washington Irving and other writers of his time. He became the 21st Secretary of the U.S. Navy. Image via Wikimedia Commons, public domain

Benjamin O. Davis, Sr., promoted to Brigadier General on October 25, 1940, was the first Black American to achieve that rank. A career soldier who joined the Army in 1898, Davis passed the officer candidate test in 1901. His son, Benjamin O. Davis, Jr. was the first Black general in the US Air Force. Image from NARA via Wikimedia Commons, public domain in the US.

Sarah Ophelia Colley was born on October 25, 1912 in Centerville, Tennessee. She performed under her new stage name “Minnie Pearl” for the first time in 1939. via Wikimedia Commons, public domain

The damaged USS Chicago with Mare Island’s diving barge alongside at Mare Island Navy Yard on October 25, 1933 after her collision with the British freighter Silver Palm . via Wikimedia Commons, public domain

“View of the water celebration, on Boston Common October 25, 1848” via Wikimedia Commons, public domain

John Hancock was elected as the first governor of Massachusetts on October 25, 1780, winning with an impressive 90% of the vote. Hancock was also the third governor of Massachusetts. He’s shown here in a 1765 portrait by John Singleton Copley. Might he be practicing his noteworthy signature? MFA Boston via Wikimedia Commons, public domain in the US

“Your own observations in your respective situations will have satisfied you of the progressive state of agriculture, manufactures, commerce, and navigation. In tracing their causes you will have remarked with particular pleasure the happy effects of that revival of confidence, public as well as private, to which the Constitution and laws of the United States have so eminently contributed; and you will have observed with no less interest new and decisive proofs of the increasing reputation and credit of the nation.” – George Washington from his Third State of The Union Address delivered on October 25, 1791