TODAY IN HISTORY

Today is Saturday, Feb. 25, the 56th day of 2017. There are 309 days left in the year.

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

1836 — Inventor Samuel Colt patented his revolver. 1905 — The Upton Sinclair novel “The Jungle” was first published in serial form by the Appeal to Reason newspaper. 1922 — French serial killer Henri Landru, convicted of murdering 10 women and the son of one of them, was executed in Versailles. 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.” 1986 — President Ferdinand Marcos fled the Philippines after 20 years of rule in the wake of a tainted election; Corazon Aquino assumed the presidency. 2012 — Kroger obtained a $2.9 million building permit for a 20,000-square-foot addition to its store in Riverbend Center.

Thought for today ‘If people behaved in the way nations do they would all be put in straitjackets.’ Tennessee Williams American playwright (born in 1911, died this date in 1983)

Today’s Birthdays

Actor Tom Courtenay is 80. Humorist Jack Handey is 68. Rock musician Dennis Diken (The Smithereens) is 60. Actor Alexis Denisof is 51. Actress Tea Leoni is 51. Actor Sean Astin is 46. Latin singer Julio Iglesias Jr. is 44. Comedianactress Chelsea Handler is 42. Actress Rashida Jones is 41. Actors James and Oliver Phelps (“Harry Potter” movies) are 31. Rock musician Erik Haager (Carolina Liar) is 30.