Reuters historical calendar - October 25

London, Oct 24 (Reuters) Following are some of the major events to have occurred on October 25 since 1900: 1900 - Britain's annexation of the Boer Republic announced on September 1 came into effect. It was renamed Transvaal.

1906 - Lee de Forest of the United States patented his ''Audion'', a three-diode amplification valve which was to prove a pioneering development in radio and broadcasting.

1909 - Prince Ito Hirobumi, former Japanese premier and resident-general in Korea, was assassinated by a Korean nationalist.

1920 - King Alexander of Greece died from blood poisoning after being bitten by a pet monkey.

1936 - The governments of Italy and Germany met to form the Rome-Berlin Axis, providing mutual assistance and opposition to communism. The agreement was not announced until November 1.

1938 - Italian dictator Benito Mussolini declared Libya a part of Italy after years of slowly colonising the country.

1938 - Japanese forces captured the Chinese city of Hankow.

1971 - The U.N. General Assembly voted to admit China to the United Nations and to expel Taiwan.

1976 - Transkei became the first of South Africa's black homelands to be given formal independence.

1983 - A force led by U.S. marines invaded Grenada.

1987 - The last survivor of the 1905 mutiny on the Soviet battleship Potemkin, Ivan Beshoff, died in Dublin.

1998 - International laws to protect the privacy of personal information took effect in six European Union countries.

1999 - German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder opened a Bonn conference with officials from 168 countries aimed at cutting emissions of ''greenhouse gases'' blamed for global warming.

1999 - U.S. Open golf champion Payne Stewart was killed when his private Lear jet plane crashed in South Dakota.

2000 - Ivory Coast Socialist leader Laurent Gbagbo swept to power after elections, which were followed by a people's revolt that chased out military ruler General Robert Guei.

2002 - Oscar nominated Irish actor Richard Harris died.

Harris made his name with such films as ''Camelot,'' ''This Sporting Life,'' and ''A Man Called Horse''.

2003 - Mikhail Khodorkovsky, Russia's wealthiest man and head of oil giant YUKOS, was arrested in Siberia facing massive fraud and tax evasion charges.

2004 - Veteran British disc jockey John Peel, who championed new music trends like punk, reggae and hip-hop on mainstream radio, died aged 65.

2005 - Voters in Iraq ratified a new U.S.-backed constitution in a referendum.

REUTERS ARB KP1007