This Day in History
1913: The Internal Revenue Service begins to levy and collect the first U.S. income tax .
1916: Mexican revolutionary leader Francisco (Pancho) Villa crosses into the U.S. and attacks Columbus, NM, killing a number of citizens and destroying part of the town.
1931: In the Scottsboro case, which becomes a symbol of racial bias and an international cause célèbre, nine young blacks are arrested in Scottsboro, AL, for the alleged rape of two white girls.
1945: In World War II, a massive incendiary raid by U.S. bombers destroys about one-fourth of all Tokyo's buildings.
1948: In McCollum v. Board of Education , the Supreme Court rules that religious instruction in public schools is unconstitutional.
1971: Joe Frazier defeats Muhammad Ali in 15 rounds for the world heavyweight crown.
1999: Amid fear of a China spying scandal, computer scientist Wen Ho Lee is dismissed from his job at Los Alamos National Laboratory for failing to properly safeguard classified material.
2004: The Iraqi Governing Council adopts an interim constitution.
Today's Birthdays
1841: Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr., U.S. Supreme Court justice/author (Boston, MA; died 1935)
1859: Kenneth Grahame, children's author (Edinburgh, Scotland; died 1932)
1902: Louise Beavers, actress (Cincinnati, OH; died 1962)
1909: Claire Trevor, actress (New York, NY; died 2000)
1921: Cyd Charisse, actress/dancer (Amarillo, TX)
1943: Lynn Redgrave, actress (London, England)
1945: Mickey Dolenz, singer and member of the Monkees (Los Angeles, CA)
1947: Carole Bayer Sager, songwriter/singer (New York, NY)
1959: Aidan Quinn, actor (Chicago, IL)
1963: Kathy Ireland, model (Santa Barbara, CA)
1976: Freddy Prinze Jr., actor (Albuquerque, NM)
1977: James Van Der Beek, actor (Cheshire, CT)
