On this day, Feb. 25
1901 United States Steel Corp. was incorporated by J.P. Morgan.
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.
1919 Oregon became the first state to tax gasoline, at one cent per gallon.
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.”
1964 Muhammad Ali (then known as Cassius Clay) became world heavyweight boxing champion as he defeated Sonny Liston in Miami Beach.
1986 President Ferdinand Marcos fled the Philippines after 20 years of rule in the wake of a tainted election; Corazon Aquino assumed the presidency. 1991 During the Persian Gulf War, 28 Americans were killed when an Iraqi Scud missile hit a U.S. barracks in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia.
1997 A jury in Media, Pa., convicted chemical fortune heir John E. du Pont of third-degree murder, deciding he was mentally ill when he shot and killed world-class wrestler David Schultz. (Du Pont died in prison in December 2010 while serving a 13- to 30-year sentence; he was 72.) 2013 A high-stakes civil trial started in New Orleans to assign blame and help figure out exactly how much more BP and other companies should pay for the 2010 Gulf oil spill. (U.S. District Judge Carl Barbier ruled in September 2014 that BP acted with “gross negligence”; BP ended up reaching a record-setting $20 billion settlement with the federal government and five Gulf states.)
2020 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. Today’s birthdays: Actor Ann McCrea, 92. Actor Tom Courtenay, 86. Former CBS newsman Bob Schieffer, 86. Actor Diane Baker, 85. Actor Karen Grassle, 81. Former talk show host Sally Jessy Raphael, 81. Former professional wrestler Ric Flair, 74. Humorist Jack Handey, 74. Movie director Neil Jordan, 73. Comedian Carrot Top, 58. Model and actor Veronica Webb, 58. Actor Alexis Denisof, 57. Actor Tea Leoni, 57. Actor Lesley Boone, 55. Actor Sean Astin, 52. Latin singer Julio Iglesias Jr., 50. R&B singer Justin Jeffre, 50. Actor Anson Mount, 50. Comedian-actor Chelsea Handler, 48. Actor Rashida Jones, 47. Actors James and Oliver Phelps (“Harry Potter” movies), 37.