On April 25, 1816, Romantic poet Lord Byron, beset by financial problems and personal turmoil (including a failed marriage), left his native England at age 28, never to return. (Byron died eight years later in Greece.)

Ten years ago

In a video posted on the Internet, al-Qaida in Iraq leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi swore allegiance to Osama bin Laden and said any government formed in Iraq would be merely a “stooge.” President George W. Bush ordered a temporary suspension of environmental rules for gasoline, making it easier for refiners to meet demand.

Five years ago

President Bashar Assad of Syria sent the military into the southern city of Daraa, where an anti-government uprising had begun the previous month.

One year ago

A magnitude-7.8 earthquake in Nepal killed more than 8,200 people. Families of soldiers, leaders and visitors gathered in Turkey near former battlefields, honoring thousands of Australians and New Zealanders who fought in the Gallipoli campaign of World War I on the 100th anniversary of the ill-fated British-led invasion. Italy celebrated the 70th anniversary of a partisan uprising against the Nazis and their Fascist allies near the end of World War II.

— By The Associated Press