Moments in time
................brought to you by The History Channel
• On Aug. 4, 1753, 21-yearold

George Washington is declared a Master Mason in

a Masonic ritual performed

by his fellow Freemasons

during a secret ceremony. Washington had been initiated

into the Masons in

1752.

• On Aug. 5, 1861, the government

hands down the first Income Tax as part of

the Revenue Act of 1861. The tax, which was levied on incomes over $800, was

designed to help fund the

Civil War. However, the measure was short-lived, as the government rescinded it

in 1872.

• On Aug. 1, 1903, the first

cross-country automobile

trip, from New York City to

San Francisco, is completed.

The trail was blazed by a Packard, which finished in

a mere 52 days.

• On July 30, 1976, singing

star and radio personality Kate Smith makes her last

public appearance. She

sang her trademark number,

"God Bless America,"

on a TV program honoring the U.S. Bicentennial. Smith

launched her first radio show in 1931. She died in

1986.

(c) 2007 King Features

Synd., Inc.