TODAY IN HISTORY
On 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.
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In 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 of the Texan defenders, nearly 200 fighters, including William Travis, James Bowie and Davy Crockett.
In 1912, Oreo sandwich cookies were first introduced by National Biscuit Co.
In 1933, a national bank holiday declared by President Franklin D. Roosevelt, aimed at calming panicked depositors, went into effect.
In 1944, U.S. heavy bombers staged the first full-scale American raid on Berlin during World War II.
In 1964, heavyweight boxing champion Cassius Clay officially changed his name to Muhammad Ali.
In 1970, a bomb being built inside a Greenwich Village townhouse in New York by the radical Weathermen accidentally went off, destroying the house and killing three group members.
In 1981, Walter Cronkite signed off for the last time as principal anchorman of “The CBS Evening News.”
In 1998, the Army honored three Americans who’d risked their lives and turned their weapons on fellow soldiers to stop the slaughter of Vietnamese villagers at My Lai in 1968.
In 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.
Ten years ago: Syria’s accelerating humanitarian crisis hit a grim milestone as the number of U.N.-registered refugees topped 1 million, half of them children.
Five years ago: Schoolteachers in West Virginia announced an end to a nine-day walkout after state lawmakers approved a 5 percent pay raise.
One year ago: A second attempt to evacuate Ukrainians from the besieged city of Mariupol collapsed as Russian attacks made it impossible to create a humanitarian corridor, according to a Ukrainian official.