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 Today's highlight in history:
On Feb. 25, 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.
On this date:
In 1308, Edward II was crowned King of England.
In 1779, American forces 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, U.S. Steel Corp. was incorporated by J.P. Morgan.
In 1948, Communists seized power in Czechoslovakia.
In 1957, the Supreme Court, in Butler v. Michigan, overturned a Michigan statute making it a misdemeanor to sell books containing obscene language that would tend to corrupt "the morals of youth."
In 1964, Cassius Clay (later Muhammad Ali) became world heavyweight boxing champion by defeating Sonny Liston in Miami Beach, Fla.
In 1983, playwright Tennessee Williams was found dead in his New York hotel suite; he was 71.
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: The Supreme Court threw out a 16-year-old government rule that allowed company credit unions to accept members from other companies. Kim Dae-jung, once South Korea's leading dissident, was inaugurated as its president. At the Grammy Awards, Bob Dylan won best album and best contemporary folk album for "Time Out of Mind," while Shawn Colvin won song and record of the year for "Sunny Came Home."
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 Five years ago: Chief U.N. weapons inspector Hans Blix said Iraq was showing new signs of real cooperation, but President Bush was dismissive, predicting Saddam Hussein would try to "fool the world one more time." Roh Moo-hyun became South Korea's new president.
One year 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.
Today's birthdays: Country singer Ralph Stanley is 81. TV writer-producer Larry Gelbart is 80. Actor Tom Courtenay is 71. CBS newsman Bob Schieffer is 71. Actress Diane Baker is 70. Actress Karen Grassle is 64. Movie director Neil Jordan is 58. Rock musician Dennis Diken (The Smithereens) is 51. Rock singer-musician Mike Peters (The Alarm) is 49. Actress Veronica Webb is 43. Actor Alexis Denisof is 42. Actress Tea Leoni is 42. Comedian Carrot Top is 41. Actress Lesley Boone is 40. Actor Sean Astin is 37. Singer Daniel Powter is 37. Latin singer Julio Iglesias Jr. is 35. Rhythm-and-blues singer Justin Jeffre is 35. Rock musician Richard Liles is 35. Actor Anson Mount is 35. Actress Rashida Jones is 32. Actor Justin Berfield is 22. Actors Oliver and James Phelps ("Harry Potter" movies) are 22.
Thought for today: "Hero-worship is strongest where there is least regard for human freedom."
-- Herbert Spencer, British philosopher (1820-1903)
[Associated Press]
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