TODAY IN HISTORY
1475: Italian artist and poet Michelangelo was born in Caprese in the Republic of Florence.
1836: The Alamo in San Antonio, Texas, fell as Mexican forces led by General Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna stormed the fortress after a 13-day siege; the battle claimed the lives of all the Texan defenders, nearly 200 strong, including William Travis, James Bowie and Davy Crockett.
1853: Verdi’s opera “La Traviata” premiered in
Venice, Italy.
1857: The U.S. Supreme Court, in Dred Scott v. Sandford, ruled 7-2 that Scott, a slave, was not an American citizen and therefore could not sue for his freedom in federal court.
1944: U.S. heavy bombers staged the first fullscale American raid on Berlin during World War II.
1962: What became known as the Ash Wednesday Storm began pounding the mid-Atlantic coast; over a three-day period, the storm resulted in 40 deaths and caused more than $200 million in property damage.
1964: Heavyweight boxing champion Cassius Clay
officially changed his name to Muhammad Ali. 1973: Nobel Prize-winning author Pearl S. Buck, 80, died in Danby, Vt.
1981: Walter Cronkite signed off for the last time as principal anchorman of “The CBS Evening News.”
2002: Independent Counsel Robert Ray issued his final report in which he wrote that former President Bill Clinton could have been indicted and probably would have been convicted in the scandal involving former White House intern Monica Lewinsky.
2011: The space shuttle and space station crews hugged goodbye after more than a week together, but saved their most heartfelt farewell for Discovery, which was on its final voyage after nearly three decades.
2016: Former first lady Nancy Reagan died in Los Angeles at age 94.
2020: The number of people infected by the coronavirus worldwide reached 100,000, with more than 3,400 dead. President Donald Trump signed a $8.3 billion measure to help tackle the coronavirus outbreak. Vice President Mike Pence said 21 people on a cruise ship being held off San Francisco had tested positive for the coronavirus.