Matt Ortega

The History Channel updates visitors on historic events throughout world history with “This Day in History.” There were a number of notables for February 25:

1870: The first African-American in the United States Congress, Hiram Rhoades Revels, was sworn in to the U.S. Senate from Mississippi, serving in 1870 and 1871. (To date, only five African-Americans have served in the U.S. Senate and 121 have served in the U.S. House of Representatives.)

1913: The Sixteenth Amendment, which paved the way for the federal government to levy an income tax, was ratified.

1964: Cassius Clay, later known as Muhammad Ali, knocked out world heavyweight champion, Sonny Liston, after claiming before the fight that he was going to “float like a butterfly, sting like a bee.” Watch the final nine minutes of the fight:

1971: Congress blocked widening the Vietnam War without congressional approval.