 Today's highlight in history:
On Feb. 25, 1862, Nashville, Tenn., 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 (vehr-SY').
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.).
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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 (TAY'-ah) 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)
[Associated Press]
Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This
material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or
redistributed.
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