Today in History: July 25

306: Gaius Flavius Valerius Aurelius Constantinus is proclaimed Emperor of Rome by his troops.  He’ll be known to history as Constantine the Great.

1593: Announcing that “Paris is worth a Mass,” Protestant leader Henry of Navarre turns Catholic to become King of France as Henri IV.

1853: The “Robin Hood of El Dorado,” bandit Joaquin Murietta, is killed by a group of California Rangers looking for a $5,000 reward.  His head, preserved in brandy, will later be exhibited to spectators at $1 each.

1934: Cosmetics entrepreneur François Coty, the man who discovered that the secret to selling a perfume is having a great bottle, dies at age 60.

1946: At the Club 500 in Atlantic City, New Jersey, crooner Dean Martin and comedian Jerry Lewis appear together for the first time.  Martin & Lewis will soon become one of the country’s biggest draws.

1952: Puerto Rico becomes a self-governing U.S. commonwealth with adoption of a new constitution.