Today in History

Today is Monday, Feb. 25, the 56th day of 2019. There are 309 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

On Feb. 25, 1986, President Ferdinand Marcos fled the Philippines after 20 years of rule in the wake of a tainted election; Corazon Aquino assumed the presidency.

On this date:

In 1570, England's Queen Elizabeth I was excommunicated by Pope Pius V, who accused the monarch of heresy.

In 1793, President George Washington held the first Cabinet meeting on record at his Mount Vernon home; attending were Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson, Treasury Secretary Alexander Hamilton, Secretary of War Henry Knox and Attorney General Edmund Randolph.

In 1836, inventor Samuel Colt patented his revolver.

In 1862, Nashville, Tenn., became the first Confederate state capital to be occupied by the North during the Civil War.

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

In 1913, the 16th Amendment to the U.S. 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 1964, Eastern Airlines Flight 304, a DC-8, crashed shortly after taking off from New Orleans International Airport, killing all 58 on board. Muhammad Ali (then known as Cassius Clay) became world heavyweight boxing champion as he defeated Sonny Liston in Miami Beach.

In 1983, playwright Tennessee Williams was found dead in his New York hotel suite; he was 71.

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.

In 1994, American-born Jewish settler Baruch Goldstein opened fire with an automatic rifle inside the Tomb of the Patriarchs in the West Bank, killing 29 Muslims before he was beaten to death by worshippers. At the Winter Olympics in Norway, Oksana Baiul of Ukraine won the gold medal in ladies' figure skating while Nancy Kerrigan won the silver and Chen Lu of China the bronze; Tonya Harding came in eighth.

Ten years ago: President Barack Obama introduced former Washington Gov. Gary Locke as his nominee for commerce secretary after two earlier choices dropped out. A Turkish Airlines Boeing 737 crashed while trying to land at Amsterdam's main airport, but 126 of the people on board survived; nine were killed, including the pilots.

Five years ago: In a blunt warning to Afghan President Hamid Karzai, President Barack Obama threatened to withdraw all U.S. troops from Afghanistan by the end of 2014 if a crucial security pact wasn't signed. (U.S. and Afghan officials signed the pact in Sept. 2014.) Jim Lange, the first host of the popular game show "The Dating Game," died in Mill Valley, California, at age 81.

One year ago: China's official news agency said the country's ruling Communist Party had proposed scrapping term limits for China's president, appearing to lay the groundwork for Xi Jinping to rule as president beyond 2023. (China's rubber-stamp lawmakers approved that change on March 11.) The board of directors of The Weinstein Company, co-founded by Harvey Weinstein, said the company would likely file for bankruptcy after last-ditch talks to sell its assets collapsed. (A private equity firm emerged in May as the winning bidder for the company.) Students at the Florida high school where 17 classmates and staff members were killed returned to gather belongings that had been abandoned in panic during the shooting. The Winter Olympics in South Korea came to an end as officials from North and South Korea shared a VIP box at the closing ceremonies with U.S. presidential adviser and first daughter Ivanka Trump.

Today's Birthdays: Actress Ann McCrea is 88. Actor Tom Courtenay is 82. Former CBS newsman Bob Schieffer is 82. Actress Diane Baker is 81. Actress Karen Grassle is 77. Former talk show host Sally Jessy Raphael is 77. Former professional wrestler Ric Flair is 70. Humorist Jack Handey is 70. Movie director Neil Jordan is 69. Rock singer-musician/actor John Doe (X) is 66. Rock musician Dennis Diken (The Smithereens) is 62. Rock singer-musician Mike Peters (The Alarm; Big Country) is 60. Actress Veronica Webb is 54. Actor Alexis Denisof is 53. Actress Tea Leoni is 53. Comedian Carrot Top is 52. Actress Lesley Boone is 51. Actor Sean Astin is 48. Singer Daniel Powter is 48. Latin singer Julio Iglesias Jr. is 46. Rhythm-and-blues singer Justin Jeffre is 46. Rock musician Richard Liles is 46. Actor Anson Mount is 46. Comedian-actress Chelsea Handler is 44. Actress Rashida Jones is 43. Country singer Shawna Thompson (Thompson Square) is 41. Actor Justin Berfield is 33. Actors James and Oliver Phelps ("Harry Potter" movies) are 33. Actress Jameela Jamil is 33. Rock musician Erik Haager (Carolina Liar) is 32.

Thought for Today: "He who never leaves his country is full of prejudices." -- Carlo Goldoni, Italian playwright (born this date in 1707, died 1793).

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