TODAY IN HISTORY
Today is Sunday, Feb. 25, the 56th day of 2018. There are 309 days left in the year.
Today’s Highlight in History
On Feb. 25, 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.
On this date
1507 — England’s Queen Elizabeth I was excommunicated by Pope Pius V, who accused the monarch of heresy. 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. 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. 1922 — French serial killer Henri Landru, convicted of murdering 10 women and the son of one of them, was executed in Versailles. 1943 — Allied troops reoccupied the Kasserine Pass in Tunisia after clashing with German troops during World War II. 1950 — “Your Show of Shows,” starring Sid Caesar, Imogene Coca, Carl Reiner and Howard Morris, debuted on NBC-TV. 1964 — Eastern Airlines Flight 304, a DC-8, crashed shortly after taking off from New Orleans International Airport, killing all 58 on board. 1973 — The Stephen Sondheim musical “A Little Night Music” opened at Broadway’s Shubert Theater. 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. 1994 — American-born Jewish settler Baruch Goldstein opened fire with an automatic rifle inside the Tomb of the Patriarchs in the West Bank, killing 29 Muslims before he was beaten to death by worshippers. 2012 — Kroger obtained a $2.9 million building permit for a 20,000-square-foot addition to its store in Riverbend Center.
Five years ago
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.)
One year ago
Democrats chose former Labor Secretary Tom Perez as their new national chairman during a meeting in Atlanta.
A man accused of driving drunk plowed into a Mardi Gras parade crowd, injuring more than 30 people. (Neilson Rizzuto later pleaded guilty to 11 felony counts of negligent vehicular injuring and 14 related misdemeanor counts; he was sentenced to roughly three years behind bars.)
Today’s Birthdays
Actress Ann McCrea is 87. Former CBS newsman Bob Schieffer is 81. Actress Karen Grassle is 76. Former professional wrestler Ric Flair is 69. Rock musician Dennis Diken (The Smithereens) is 61. Actor Alexis Denisof is 52. Actress Tea Leoni is 52. Comedian Carrot Top is 51. Actor Sean Astin is 47. Comedian-actress Chelsea Handler is 43. Actress Rashida Jones is 42. Actor Justin Berfield is 32. Actors James and Oliver Phelps (“Harry Potter” movies) are 32. Rock musician Erik Haager (Carolina Liar) is 31.