Wednesday, September 25, 1686

The Ram Rath Yatra, a political–religious rally organised to erect a temple to the Hindu deity Rama on the site of the Babri Masjid in Ayodhya, began in the Indian state of Gujarat.

In one of the largest prison escapes in British history, 38 Provisional Irish Republican Army prisoners hijacked a meals lorry and broke out of HM Prison Maze in County Antrim, Northern Ireland.

Sandra Day O'Connor (pictured) became the first female justice of the Supreme Court of the United States.

While on approach to San Diego International Airport, Pacific Southwest Airlines Flight 182, a Boeing 727, collided with a Cessna 172, killing all 137 people on board both aircraft, along with 7 more on the ground.

About 4,200 people took part in the first modern Chicago Marathon.

The North Yemen Civil War began when Abdullah al-Sallal dethroned the newly crowned Imam al-Badr and declared Yemen to be a republic under his presidency.

United States Army troops escorted nine students as Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas was integrated.

Second World War: British troops began their withdrawal from the Battle of Arnhem in the Netherlands, ending the Allies' Operation Market Garden in defeat.

An explosion of badly degraded propellant charges on board the French battleship Liberté detonated the forward ammunition magazines and destroyed the ship.

Sequoia National Park (pictured) was established to conserve giant sequoia trees in an area affected by logging in the southern Sierra Nevada in California.

French Revolutionary Wars: After U.S. ships became involved, French forces abandoned their invasion of the Batavian island of Curaçao.

Peking opera was born with the introduction of Hui opera to Beijing by the "Four Great Anhui Troupes" in honour of the Qianlong Emperor's 80th birthday.