TODAY IN HISTORY

1791

Congress passed a measure taxing distilled spirits; it was the first internal revenue act in U.S. history.

1991

Motorist Rodney King was severely beaten by Los Angeles police officers in a scene captured on amateur video.

1996

Israel declared “total war” against the militant group Hamas after a bus bomb in Jerusalem killed 19 people, including the bomber, the third such suicide attack in eight days.

2002

Voters in Switzerland approved joining the United Nations, abandoning almost 200years of formal neutrality.