TODAY IN HISTORY

TODAY’S HIGHLIGHT

March 6, 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.

ALSO ON THIS DATE 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.

1912

Oreo sandwich cookies were first introduced by the National Biscuit Co.

1933

A national bank holiday declared by President Franklin D. Roosevelt aimed at calming panicked depositors went into effect. Chicago Mayor Anton Cermak, wounded in an attempt on Roosevelt’s life the previous month, died at a Miami hospital at age 59.

1944

U.S. heavy bombers staged the first full-scale American raid on Berlin during World War II.

1953

Georgy Malenkov was named premier of the Soviet Union a day after the death of Josef Stalin.

1964

Heavyweight boxing champion Cassius Clay officially changed his name to Muhammad Ali.

1970

A bomb being built inside a Greenwich Village townhouse by the radical Weathermen accidentally went off, destroying the house and killing three group members.

1983

In a case that drew much notoriety, a woman was gang-raped atop a pool table in a tavern in New Bedford, Massachusetts, called Big Dan’s; four men were later convicted of the attack.