Thursday, February 25th
The 056th day of 2010.
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Today's Highlights in History
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On Feb. 25, 1870, Hiram R. Revels, R-Miss., became the first black member of the United States Senate as he was sworn in to serve out the unexpired term of Jefferson Davis. (Go to article.)
On Feb. 25, 1888, John Foster Dulles, the American Secretary of State from 1953-1959, was born. Following his death on May 24, 1959, his obituary appeared in The Times. (Go to obit. | Other Birthdays)
Editorial Cartoon of the Day
On February 25, 1888, Harper's Weekly featured a cartoon about business monopoly. (See the cartoon and read an explanation.)
On this date in:
1570 Pope Pius V excommunicated England's Queen Elizabeth I.
1793 George Washington convened the first Cabinet meeting on record - at his home.
1836 Inventor Samuel Colt patented his revolver.
1870 Hiram Revels, a Mississippi Republican, was sworn in as the first black member of the U.S. Senate.
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.
1940 A hockey game was televised for the first time, by New York City station W2XBS. (The New York Rangers beat the Montreal Canadiens 6-2 at Madison Square Garden.)
1943 Beatles guitarist George Harrison was born in Liverpool, England.
1948 Communists seized power in Czechoslovakia.
1950 "Your Show of Shows" debuted on NBC.
1956 Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev harshly criticized the late Josef Stalin in a speech before a Communist Party congress in Moscow.
1964 Cassius Clay (who later changed his name to Muhammad Ali) became the world heavyweight boxing champion by defeating Sonny Liston in Miami Beach.
1983 Playwright Tennessee Williams was found dead at age 71.
1986 President Ferdinand E. Marcos fled the Philippines after 20 years of rule in the wake of a tainted election. Corazon Aquino assumed the presidency.
1990 Nicaraguans voted in an election that led to victory for opponents of the ruling Sandinistas.
1991 An Iraqi Scud missile hit a U.S. barracks in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, killing 28 Americans during the Persian Gulf War.
1999 A jury in Jasper, Texas, sentenced white supremacist John William King to death for the dragging death of James Byrd Jr., an African-American man.
2000 A jury in Albany, N.Y., acquitted four white New York City police officers of all charges in the shooting death of unarmed African immigrant Amadou Diallo.
2005 Dennis Rader was arrested for the BTK serial killings that terrorized Wichita, Kan. (He later pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 10 life prison terms.)
Current Birthdays
Chelsea Handler turns 35 years old today.
AP Photo/Dan Steinberg Comedian Chelsea Handler ("Chelsea Lately") turns 35 years old today.
91 Monte Irvin
Baseball Hall of Famer
73 Bob Schieffer
Broadcast journalist
66 Karen Grassle
Actress ("Little House on the Prairie")
61 Jack Handey
Author, former TV writer ("Saturday Night Live")
52 Jeff Fisher
Football coach
45 Veronica Webb
Actress
44 Alexis Denisof
Actor ("Angel")
44 Tea Leoni
Actress
43 Carrot Top
Comedian
39 Sean Astin
Actor ("Lord of the Rings" movies)
37 Julio Iglesias Jr.
Singer
Historic Birthdays
John Foster Dulles
2/25/1888 - 5/24/1959
American Secretary Of State (1953-59)
(Go to obit.)
75 Johann Philipp Krieger
2/25/1649 - 2/7/1725
German composer
85 Carlo Goldoni
2/25/1707 - 2/6/1793
Italian dramatist
78 Pierre-Auguste Renoir
2/25/1841 - 12/3/1919
French painter
86 Benedetto Croce
2/25/1866 - 11/20/1952
Italian historian, humanist, and philosopher
48 Enrico Caruso
2/25/1873 - 8/2/1921
Italian operatic tenor
96 Vyacheslav M. Molotov
2/25/1890 - 11/8/1986
Russian statesman and foreign minister
75 Dame Myra Hess
2/25/1890 - 11/25/1965
English pianist
79 Marcel Paul Pagnol
2/25/1895 - 4/18/1974
French writer and film producer/director
76 Anthony Burgess
2/25/1917 - 11/22/1993
English novelist and critic
78 Barney Ewell
2/25/1918 - 4/4/1996
American Olympic sprinter
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SOURCE: The Associated Press
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