Published 06/12/2023
From the 60th anniversary of Winston Churchill's death to the 40th anniversary of Marc Chagall's death; discover these important dates in our collections.
Download the full list of anniversaries and commemorations for 2025
7 January: 10 years after the Charlie Hebdo shootings, Paris, France. Two terrorists forced their way into the offices of the satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo and open fire. Twelve people were killed and eleven injured.
8 January: 90th anniversary of the birth of Elvis Presley, ("The King"), American singer, guitarist and actor (died in 1977).
24 January: 60th anniversary of the death of Winston Churchill, British Prime Minister (1940-45, 1951-55). One of the greatest wartime leaders of the 20th century.
27 January: Holocaust: 80 years ago, the Soviet Red Army liberated the Auschwitz concentration camp in southern Poland. Auschwitz was the largest Nazi concentration camp and at least 1.1 million prisoners died there.
6 February: The 80th anniversary of the birth of Bob Marley, Jamaican reggae/ska/rock singer, songwriter, musician and cultural icon.
21 February: 60th anniversary of the assassination of Malcolm X, human rights activist.
28 March: The 40th anniversary of the death of Marc Chagall, the Russian-born French artist, engraver and designer.
2 April: 20th anniversary of the death of Pope John Paul II. Succeeded by Pope Benedict XVI on 19 April.
30 April: The 80th anniversary of the death of Adolf Hitler, leader of the German Nazi party, born in Austria, Chancellor of Germany (1933-45) and dictator (1934-45). (Karl Dönitz succeeds him as President of Germany).
19 May: The 100th anniversary of the birth of Pol Pot, Cambodian communist revolutionary and brutal dictator. Leader of the Khmer Rouge. Responsible for the deaths of nearly three million people.
1 July: 100th anniversary of the death of Erik Satie, French composer, pianist and writer.
20 August: The 400th anniversary of the birth of Thomas Corneille, French playwright and lexicographer.
27 August: 60th anniversary of the death of Le Corbusier, the Swiss-born French architect and town planner.
10 October: 40th anniversary of the death of Orson Welles, American theatre, film and radio actor, director, screenwriter and producer (War of the Worlds, Citizen Kane).
16 December: The 250th anniversary of the birth of Jane Austen, British novelist (Sense and Sensibility, Pride and Prejudice, Mansfield Park, Emma, Northanger Abbey, Persuasion)
Download the full list of anniversaries and commemorations for 2025
