Today in History

Today is Saturday, Feb. 25, the 56th day of 2012. There are 310 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

On Feb. 25, 1862, Nashville, Tennessee was occupied by federal forces during the Civil War; it was the first Confederate capital to fall to the Union.

On this date:

In 1779, a militia led by George Rogers Clark routed the British from Fort Sackville in the Revolutionary War Battle of Vincennes in present-day Indiana.

In 1836, inventor Samuel Colt patented his revolver.

In 1901, United States Steel Corp. was incorporated by J.P. Morgan.

In 1913, the 16th Amendment to the Constitution, giving Congress the power to levy and collect income taxes, was declared in effect by Secretary of State Philander Chase Knox.

In 1919, Oregon became the first state to tax gasoline, at one cent per gallon.

In 1922, French serial killer Henri Landru, convicted of murdering 10 women and the son of one of them, was executed in Versailles.

In 1948, Communists seized power in Czechoslovakia.

In 1950, "Your Show of Shows," starring Sid Caesar, Imogene Coca, Carl Reiner and Howard Morris, debuted on NBC-TV.

In 1964, Cassius Clay (later Muhammad Ali) became world heavyweight boxing champion by defeating Sonny Liston in Miami Beach.

In 1970, Russian-born American painter Mark Rothko died in New York, a suicide, at age 66.

In 1986, President Ferdinand Marcos fled the Philippines after 20 years of rule in the wake of a tainted election; Corazon Aquino assumed the presidency.

In 1991, during the Persian Gulf War, 28 Americans were killed when an Iraqi Scud missile hit a U.S. barracks in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia.

Ten years ago: Former NBA star Jayson Williams was charged with manslaughter in the shooting death of Costas "Gus" Christofi, a limousine driver at Williams' estate in Alexandria Township, N.J. (A jury convicted Williams in 2004 of trying to cover up the slaying; it acquitted Williams of aggravated manslaughter but deadlocked on a lesser charge of reckless manslaughter.)

Five years ago: A female suicide bomber triggered a ball bearing-packed charge, killing at least 41 people at a mostly Shiite college in Baghdad. In Detroit, Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan stressed religious unity during what was billed as his final major speech, saying the world was at war because Christians and Muslims were divided. "The Departed" won best picture at the Academy Awards; its director, Martin Scorsese, won an Oscar on his sixth nomination.

One year ago: Republicans in the Wisconsin Assembly took the first significant action on their plan to strip collective bargaining rights from most public workers, abruptly passing the measure in the small hours before sleep-deprived Democrats realized what was happening. (The vote sent the bill on to the Wisconsin Senate, where minority Democrats had fled to Illinois to prevent a vote.) The Obama White House broke decades of tradition, naming Jeremy Bernard the first man to ever serve as social secretary in the female-dominated East Wing. Suze Rotolo, artist and girlfriend of singer Bob Dylan, who was his lyrical muse when he came to prominence in the early 1960s, died in New York at age 67.

Today's Birthdays: Country singer Ralph Stanley is 85. Actor Tom Courtenay is 75. CBS newsman Bob Schieffer is 75. Actress Diane Baker is 74. Actress Karen Grassle is 70. Humorist Jack Handey is 63. Movie director Neil Jordan is 62. Rock musician Dennis Diken (The Smithereens) is 55. Rock singer-musician Mike Peters (The Alarm) is 53. Actress Veronica Webb is 47. Actor Alexis Denisof is 46. Actress Tea Leoni is 46. Comedian Carrot Top is 45. Actress Lesley Boone is 44. Actor Sean Astin is 41. Singer Daniel Powter is 41. Latin singer Julio Iglesias Jr. is 39. Rhythm-and-blues singer Justin Jeffre is 39. Rock musician Richard Liles is 39. Actor Anson Mount is 39. Comedian-actress Chelsea Handler is 37. Actress Rashida Jones is 36. Actor Justin Berfield is 26. Actors Oliver and James Phelps ("Harry Potter" movies) are 26. Rock musician Erik Haager (Carolina Liar) is 25.

Thought for Today: "Hero-worship is strongest where there is least regard for human freedom." -- Herbert Spencer, British philosopher (1820-1903).

Copyright 2012, The Associated Press. All rights reserved.