Dashed left edge = started before February 2025 ·
Dashed right edge = ongoing beyond February 2025
Events in February 2025 17
1928 – 2025Martin E. Marty (1928-2025)Died 25 February 2025, aged 97American historian of religion whose three-volume Modern American Religion traced religious currents in their wider cultural setting.
1929 – 2025Sam Nujoma (1929-2025)Died 8 February 2025, aged 95Leader of the SWAPO liberation movement and first president of independent Namibia, serving from 1990 to 2005.
1930 – 2025Gene Hackman -- the ordinary man in extraordinary rolesEugene Allen Hackman (30 January 1930 - c. 18 February 2025) was an American actor widely regarded as one of the greatest of his generation and a defining figure of the New Hollywood movement. Over a career spanning four decades and more than 100 films, he won two Academy Awards -- Best Actor for The French Connection (1971) and Best Supporting Actor for Unforgiven (1992) -- and received five Oscar nominations in total. He played detectives, villains, coaches, politicians and fathers with a naturalistic intensity that made him one of the most respected and versatile performers in American cinema. He retired from acting in 2004 and lived quietly in Santa Fe, New Mexico, where he was found dead alongside his wife Betsy Arakawa at their home in February 2025, aged 95.
1930 – 2025Jennifer Johnston (1930-2025)Died 25 February 2025, aged 95Irish novelist whose work explored political and cultural tension in Ireland, particularly among the Anglo-Irish.
1932 – 2025Tom Robbins (1932-2025)Died 9 February 2025, aged 92American novelist known for eccentric characters and playful wordplay in books such as Still Life with Woodpecker and Jitterbug Perfume.
1934 – 2025Alvin Poussaint (1934-2025)Died 24 February 2025, aged 90American child psychiatrist who wrote on racial identity and health among African Americans and advised The Cosby Show.
1937 – 2025Roberta Flack (1937-2025)Died 24 February 2025, aged 88American singer whose The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face and Killing Me Softly with His Song both topped the charts in the early 1970s.
1937 – 2025Boris SpasskySoviet World Chess ChampionBoris Spassky was World Champion from 1969 to 1972 and became internationally famous through his match against Bobby Fischer.
1943 – 2025Horst Kohler (1943-2025)Died 1 February 2025, aged 81German economist who was managing director of the International Monetary Fund and then president of Germany from 2004 to 2010.
1950 – 2025David Johansen (1950-2025)Died 28 February 2025, aged 75American singer of the New York Dolls, the glam rock band that revitalised the New York underground and prefigured punk.
1951 – 2025Chris Jasper (1951-2025)Died 23 February 2025, aged 73American musician with the Isley Brothers, whose hits included Shout, It's Your Thing and That Lady.
2025Wildfires devastate the Los Angeles areaAmong the costliest disasters in US historyWildfires erupted around Los Angeles on 7 January 2025 and burned for a month, hitting Pacific Palisades and Eaton Canyon hardest. Thirty people were killed and damage was estimated at $76-131 billion.
2025Honorary Academy AwardReceived an honorary Academy Award — the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award — in recognition of her extraordinary philanthropic work, including the Imagination Library, wildfire and hurricane relief, and COVID-19 vaccine funding.
2025Beyonce wins her first album of the year GrammyA record-extending 35 awardsBeyonce won three Grammys on 2 February 2025, including her first album of the year award for Cowboy Carter, extending her record career total to 35. She was also the first Black woman to win best country album.
2025United States opens a trade war with ChinaAn additional ten percent tariff on Chinese goodsOn 4 February 2025 the United States began imposing an additional ten percent tariff on Chinese goods, opening a trade war that later widened to tariffs on many other countries.
2025Philadelphia Eagles win Super Bowl LIXA 40-22 win over the Kansas City ChiefsThe Philadelphia Eagles beat the Kansas City Chiefs 40-22 on 9 February 2025 to win the Super Bowl.
2025Gene Hackman dies in Santa FeOn 26 February 2025, sheriff''s deputies were dispatched to the Hackman residence on Old Sunset Trail in Santa Fe. Inside they found Hackman, 95, his wife Betsy Arakawa, 64, and their dog, all dead. Hackman''s cause of death was later determined to be hypertensive atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease, with Alzheimer''s disease as a contributing factor; he had likely died around 18 February. Arakawa''s death was attributed to hantavirus pulmonary syndrome, a rare rodent-borne illness, approximately a week before her husband''s passing. No foul play was suspected.