OLD NORTH CHURCH LANTERNS TO HANG IN JFK'S OVAL OFFICE
President Kennedy accepted today a pair of lanterns crafted by Colonial Williamsburg's master silversmith, William de Matteo.
These lanterns are functional electric reproductions of the original tin lantern that hung in the Old North Church in Boston, Massachusetts on the night of Paul Revere's famous midnight ride, April 18 & 19, 1775.
JFK will display these lanterns on the wall of the oval office behind his desk.*
*Information & photographs courtesy of JFK Library, Boston
February 25, 1964
CLAY WINS IN 7TH ROUND ON TKO
Cassius Clay of Louisville, Kentucky was declared the winner of a heavyweight championship fight today in Miami Beach, Florida.
Clay, who won a gold medal in the Summer Olympic Games in 1960, won the match in the 7th round over reigning world champion, Sonny Liston.
Despite his opponent being an 8 to 1 favorite, Clay said before the fight that he would "float like a butterfly & sting like a bee" & predicted a victory in 8 rounds.
Liston, who did not come out for the 7th round, had become champion in 1962 by defeating Floyd Patterson.*
*Two days later Clay announced he had joined the Nation of Islam & was changing his name to Muhammad Ali.
In 2005, Ali was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
February 25, 1986
FERDINAND MARCOS ESCAPES PHILIPPINES
President Ferdinand Marcos along with his wife, Imelda, has been airlifted by US helicopter from the presidential palace in Manila to Hawaii.
Marcos, who has faced mass demonstrations against his regime, will go into exile.
He was 1st elected president of the Philippines in 1966 but assumed dictatorial powers in 1972.
LBJ welcomes Marcos to the White House in 1966
February 25, 1948
COMMUNISTS TAKEOVER IN CZECHOSLOVAKIA
The Communist Party officially took control of the government of Czechoslovakia today.
Having been concerned with Soviet influence in the country, the United States had ended a loan to Czechoslovakia.*
*Communists control the country until the "Velvet Revolution" in 1989.
February 25, 1870
1st AFRICAN AMERICAN SENATOR IS SWORN
Hiram R. Revels, Republican of Mississippi, was sworn in today at the 1st African American to both serve in the congress of the United States, but also to be a U.S. senator.
Senator Revels photographed by Matthew Brady
Revels, a college-educated minister of the AME church, served the Union army as a chaplain & helped organize African-American fighting units.
He holds the senate seat once occupied by former Confederate president, Jefferson Davis.*
*Hiram R. Revels, who died in 1901, is only 1 of 6 African-American US senators to this day.
