September 25 in Pop Culture History

September 25th Fun Facts, Trivia and History

September 25th History Highlights

  • 1513 – Vasco de Balboa ‘discovered’ the Pacific Ocean.
  • 1676 – Greenwich Mean Time was established.
  • 1890 – The United States Congress establishes Sequoia National Park.
  • 1957 – Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas, is integrated, through the use of United States Army troops.
  • If you were born on September 25th,
    You were likely conceived the week of… January 2nd (same year)

Greenwich Mean Time

GMT or Greenwich Mean Time is the annual mean or average of every day when the sun supposedly crosses the Prime Meridian. As opposed to solar time, the “mean time” is your typical clock time and does not vary throughout the year. The concept of hours, minutes, and seconds we have today is all thanks to the man who first made leads to convert solar time to the mean time.

Today, GMT is calculated from one midnight to the next. So, if you’re wondering how the modern-day clock came to the point where it is today, it wasn’t until the 1650s. The mid-17th century was when the first pendulum clock was invented, and the relationship between solar and mean time was finally getting determined. Before this, people largely relied on solar time that they measured using sundials.

When John Flamsteed discovered the formula to convert solar time to mean time, conversion tables started getting published. Soon after, he shifted to the Greenwich Royal Observatory after getting appointed as an Astronomer Royal. There, at the observatory, some of the finest pendulum clocks were installed, and they were set according to the Greenwich Mean Time on September 25, 1676. Initially, GMT was only followed by the astronomers.

In the 1700s, GMT was introduced to a wider audience by Nevil Maskelyne, the fifth Astronomer Royal. However, until the mid-19th century, towns in the UK followed their own local time according to the sun. They didn’t have a communal or national standard to measure time. This meant that there was no way to figure out when the day started or ended or what a standard hour’s length was.

Thankfully, with the expansion of railway networks across the country, authorities started to realize the importance of having a national standard time. Eventually, by the mid-1850s, almost every public clock in Britain was set according to the GMT. Only three decades later, in 1884, this standard was finally recommended as the entire world’s Prime Meridian, mainly because the US had already chosen it as their time zone.

Later there were also arguments surrounding the issue of GMT being the world’s Prime Meridian, but the majority insisted that it would benefit the masses. Therefore, the Shepherd Gate Clock became the first-ever clock to show the GMT to the public, and from the mid-19th century till the end, this clock determined the standard of the British time system.

GMT was undoubtedly one of the most significant discoveries in the history of humankind, and so far, it has been the only most important clock ever made. Even though it originally depicted astronomical time by counting time from the start of noon, the pattern changed in the 20th century. The time which was previously determined from the start of noon now shifted toward midnight.

Today, GMT is the primary standard to measure time and is followed across the world. While certain localities still prefer using their own methods to measure time, GMT is by far the most widely used standard everywhere.

September 25th is…

Comic Book Day
Cooking Day
Crab Newberg Day
Lobster Day
Math Storytelling Day
One Hit Wonder Day

September 25th Birthday Quotes

“So many of our dreams at first seem impossible, then they seem improbable, and then, when we summon the will, they soon become inevitable.”
– Christopher Reeve

“My father always says, ‘Never trust anyone who has a TV beggir than their bookshelf.’ So I make sure I read. Back at home, I just put up a massive bookcase and asked everyone I know and love to help me fill it with their favorite books. It’s been quite nice because I’ve learned a lot about my friends and family from what they’ve been giving me. A book says a lot about a person.”
– Emilia Clarke

“One thing my dad once said to me, ‘You either want to be right, or you want to be happy. To be happy, there’s gotta be a conversation.”
– Donald Glover

“Like anyone else, there are days I feel beautiful and days I don’t, and when I don’t, I do something about it.”
– Cheryl Tiegs

“The Voice There is a voice inside of you That whispers all day long, “I feel this is right for me, I know that this is wrong.” No teacher, preacher, parent, friend Or wise man can decide What’s right for you – just listen to The voice that speaks inside.”
– Shel Silverstein

September 25th Birthdays

1764 – Fletcher Christian, English sailor (died in 1793)
1897 – William Faulkner, American novelist and short-story writer, Nobel Prize laureate (died in 1962)
1917 – Phil Rizzuto, American baseball player, and sportscaster (died in 2007)
1926 – Aldo Ray, American actor (died in 1991)
1929 – Barbara Walters, American journalist, producer and author
1930 – Shel Silverstein, American author, poet, illustrator, and songwriter (died in 1999)
1936 – Juliet Prowse, South African-American actress (died in 1996)
1944 – Michael Douglas, American actor
1947 – Cheryl Tiegs, American model
1951 – Mark Hamill, American actor
1952 – Christopher Reeve, American actor, and activist (died in 2004)
1957 – Michael Madsen, American actor
1961 – Heather Locklear, American actress
1963 – Tate Donovan, American actor
1965 – Scottie Pippen, American basketball player, and sportscaster
1968 – Will Smith, American actor
1969 – Catherine Zeta-Jones, Welsh actress
1983 – Donald Glover, American actor, and rapper (Childish Gambino)
1991 – Emmy Clarke, American actress

September 25th History

Today is nine months after Christmas. And three months before Christmas.

Sequoia National Park: Established on September 25, 1890, in California, this park spans 631 square miles. It is home to the world’s largest tree by volume, General Sherman, and the Giant Forest of sequoias.

#1 Hit September 25, 1954November 5, 1954: Rosemary ClooneyHey There

1957 – United States Troops were called to escort nine Black students to the all-white Little Rock Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas.

#1 Hit September 25, 1965 – October 1, 1965: Barry McGuireEve Of Destruction

1970 – The Partridge Family & The Odd Couple debuted on ABC

1979 – Broadway Show – Evita (Musical) September 25, 1979

1980 – Led Zeppelin drummer John Bonham died from alcohol-induced asphyxiation. (Chocked on his own vomit)

1981 – Sandra Day O’Connor was sworn in as the first woman to serve on the U.S. Supreme Court.

1997 – NBC’s hospital drama ER was performed live on TV

2002 – East End Show – Stomp (Dance Musical) September 25, 2002

2002 – East End Show – We Will Rock You (Musical) September 25, 2002

2006Heroes premiered on NBC

#1 Hit September 25, 2021 – October 8, 2021 – StayThe Kid Laroi and Justin Bieber

Today’s Random Trivia and Shower Thoughts

75 is 25% shorter than 100 unless it is a time you type into the microwave, in which case it is 25% longer.

Saltwater taffy isn’t actually made with saltwater at all. They started calling it that as a joke, a marketing ploy, and it just took off from there.

“I blow bubbles when you are not near” #misunderstoodlyrics

The more people that hate you ideologically, the more significant you are from a historical perspective.

Everyone wants to be normal, but no one wants to be average.

“Did you bring me my cheez whiz, boy?” – the old man in The Blues Brothers #moviequotes

Notice the big letter on the face of the dollar bill? Each letter represents which Federal Reserve Bank printed it! “F” is for Atlanta

How was the Roman Empire cut in half?  … With a pair of Caesars!

“We’ve got to stop this Veggie Monster rumor before me reputation ruined.” – Cookie Monster

25.8069758 the root of all evil.

There is no statement or opinion that exists in which everyone agrees upon, including this one.

“Never miss a good chance to shut up.” – Will Rogers

More Pop Culture History Resources