![[e]Photo Stream](/logo.png){kind=logo}
August 25
5 moments across history
WHO African Region Declared Free of Wild Poliovirus
On August 25, 2020, the Africa Regional Certification Commission certified the WHO African Region as free of indigenous wild poliovirus after four years without a case. The milestone meant that five of the six WHO regions had eliminated wild poliovirus, protecting millions of children from a disease that can cause irreversible paralysis. It followed decades of vaccination and surveillance efforts, although wild poliovirus remained endemic in Afghanistan and Pakistan and vaccine-derived polioviruses still circulated in Africa.
WHO African Region Declared Free of Wild Poliovirus
Voyager 1 Enters Interstellar Space
Voyager 1 Enters Interstellar Space
Year: 2012
On August 25, 2012, Voyager 1 crossed the heliopause, where the Sun’s solar wind gives way to the interstellar medium. It became the first human-made object to enter interstellar space, providing unprecedented direct measurements beyond the heliosphere. Launched by NASA in 1977 to study the outer planets, Voyager 1 reached this milestone after completing its primary planetary mission.
Belarus Declares Independence
Belarus Declares Independence
Year: 1991
On August 25, 1991, the Supreme Soviet of Belarus declared the republic independent from the Soviet Union. The decision made Belarus a sovereign state and gave constitutional force to its 1990 declaration of state sovereignty. It followed the failed Soviet coup and formed part of the wider breakup of the USSR, which was formally dissolved in December 1991.
Voyager 2 Reaches Neptune
Voyager 2 Reaches Neptune
Year: 1989
On August 25, 1989, NASA’s Voyager 2 made its closest approach to Neptune, becoming the first spacecraft to visit the planet. Its observations revealed Neptune’s dynamic atmosphere, faint rings, and several moons, while providing the first close-up images of Triton. Launched in 1977, Voyager 2’s Neptune encounter completed its unprecedented tour of all four giant outer planets.
Liberation of Paris
Liberation of Paris
Year: 1944
On August 25, 1944, Paris’s German garrison surrendered to French and Allied forces after an uprising and the arrival of the French 2nd Armored Division. The liberation ended more than four years of German occupation and allowed Charles de Gaulle’s provisional government to reassert French authority. It formed part of the wider Allied advance after the Normandy landings, which drove German forces eastward and helped lead to Nazi Germany’s defeat.