Today:
1570: Pope Pius V issues the papal bull Regnans in Excelsis, which excommunicates Queen Elizabeth I of England and releases her subjects from any allegiance to her.
1793: George Washington holds the first recorded Cabinet meeting in United States history at his home in Mount Vernon, attended by heads of the government departments.
1836: Samuel Colt is granted a United States patent for his “revolving-cylinder pistol,” the first practical repeating firearm that allowed for multiple shots without reloading.
1870: Hiram Rhodes Revels, a Republican from Mississippi, is sworn into the United States Senate, becoming the first African American ever to serve in the U.S. Congress.
1913: The 16th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution is officially ratified, giving Congress the legal authority to levy a federal income tax.
1948: The Communist Party of Czechoslovakia takes full control of the government in a coup d’état, ending the Third Czechoslovak Republic and marking a major expansion of Soviet influence in Eastern Europe.
1956: Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev delivers his “Secret Speech” at the 20th Party Congress, denouncing the cult of personality and the purges of his predecessor, Joseph Stalin.
1964: Twenty-two-year-old Cassius Clay (later known as Muhammad Ali) defeats Sonny Liston in a major upset in Miami Beach to become the heavyweight boxing champion of the world.
1986: Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos flees the country during the People Power Revolution, ending his 20-year rule; Corazon Aquino is inaugurated as the nation’s first female president.
1991: Leaders of the Warsaw Pact meet in Budapest to officially declare the military alliance disbanded, signaling a significant end to the Cold War power structure in Europe.