Today in History

Today is Thursday, Feb. 25, the 56th day of 2021. 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 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 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 1950, "Your Show of Shows," starring Sid Caesar, Imogene Coca, Carl Reiner and Howard Morris, debuted on NBC-TV.

In 1954, Gamal Abdel Nasser became Egypt's prime minister after the country's president, Mohammed Naguib, was effectively ousted in a coup.

In 1964, 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.

In 2010, in Vancouver, the Canadian women beat the United States 2-0 for their third straight Olympic hockey title.

In 2018, 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.)

Ten years ago: 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.

Five years ago: Brawling from the get-go, a fiery Marco Rubio went after Donald Trump during their Republican debate in Houston, lacerating the front-runner's position on immigration, his privileged background, his speaking style and more; Ted Cruz piled on, too, questioning Trump's conservative credentials. A gunman stormed into a Hesston, Kansas, factory and shot 17 people, killing three, before being shot dead by police.

One year ago: U.S. health officials warned that the coronavirus was certain to spread more widely in the United States; the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention urged Americans to be prepared. President Donald Trump, speaking in India, said the virus was "very well under control" in the U.S. Civil protection officials in Italy said the number of virus cases there had increased by 45% in a 24-hour period; Italy had confirmed a total of 11 deaths. Six European nations announced cases of COVID-19 in people who had recently traveled from northern Italy. U.S. stock indexes added a second consecutive day of losses, falling more than 3 percent. Former Egyptian leader Hosni Mubarak, who was a force for stability in the Middle East for nearly 30 years before being forced from power in an Arab Spring uprising, died at a Cairo hospital; he was 91.

Today's Birthdays: Actor Ann McCrea is 90. Actor Tom Courtenay is 84. Former CBS newsman Bob Schieffer is 84. Actor Diane Baker is 83. Actor Karen Grassle is 79. Former talk show host Sally Jessy Raphael is 79. Former professional wrestler Ric Flair is 72. Humorist Jack Handey is 72. Movie director Neil Jordan is 71. Rock singer-musician/actor John Doe (X) is 68. Rock musician Dennis Diken (The Smithereens) is 64. Rock singer-musician Mike Peters (The Alarm; Big Country) is 62. Comedian Carrot Top is 56. Model and actor Veronica Webb is 56. Actor Alexis Denisof is 55. Actor Tea Leoni is 55. Actor Lesley Boone is 53. Actor Sean Astin is 50. Singer Daniel Powter is 50. Latin singer Julio Iglesias Jr. is 48. R&B singer Justin Jeffre is 48. Actor Anson Mount is 48. Comedian-actor Chelsea Handler is 46. Actor Rashida Jones is 45. Country singer Shawna Thompson (Thompson Square) is 43. Actor Justin Berfield is 35. Actors James and Oliver Phelps ("Harry Potter" movies) are 35. Actor Jameela Jamil is 35. Rock musician Erik Haager (Carolina Liar) is 34.