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 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 U.S. Constitution, giving Congress the power to levy and collect income taxes, went into effect.
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 1994, American-born Jewish settler Baruch Goldstein opened fire inside the Tomb of the Patriarchs in the West Bank, killing 29 Muslims before he was beaten to death by worshippers.
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: President Barack Obama convened a health care summit with Democrats and Republicans; after a day of debate and disagreement, the president concluded the talkfest with a bleak assessment that an accord might not be possible.
Five years ago: Secretary of State John Kerry fielded dozens of questions from House Foreign Affairs Committee members worried about what Iran could get in a deal being negotiated to block its ability to make an atomic weapon.
One year ago: R&B star R. Kelly pleaded not guilty to allegations that he sexually abused four people dating back to 1998, including three underage girls.