Today in History

Today is Tuesday, March 6, the 66th day of 2012. There are 300 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

On March 6, 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.

On this date:

In 1834, the city of York in Upper Canada was incorporated as Toronto.

In 1836, the Alamo in San Antonio, Texas, fell to Mexican forces after a 13-day siege.

In 1853, Verdi's opera "La Traviata" premiered in Venice, Italy.

In 1857, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Dred Scott v. Sandford that Scott, a slave, was not an American citizen and could not sue for his freedom in federal court.

In 1902, Congress passed a measure creating a Census Office in the Department of the Interior (the office was moved to the Department of Commerce and Labor the following year).

In 1912, Oreo sandwich cookies (originally called "biscuits") were first introduced by Nabisco.

In 1933, a nationwide bank holiday declared by President Franklin D. Roosevelt went into effect.

In 1944, U.S. heavy bombers staged the first full-scale American raid on Berlin during World War II.

In 1957, the former British African colonies of the Gold Coast and Togoland became the independent state of Ghana.

In 1967, the daughter of Josef Stalin, Svetlana Alliluyeva, appeared at the U.S. Embassy in New Delhi and declared her intention to defect to the West.

In 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.

In 1987, 193 people died when the British ferry Herald of Free Enterprise capsized off the Belgian port of Zeebrugge. The first "Lethal Weapon" movie, starring Mel Gibson and Danny Glover, was released.

Ten years ago: 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. Federal regulators approved the proposed $22 billion merger of Hewlett-Packard Co. and Compaq Computer Corp.

Five years ago: Vice President Dick Cheney's former chief of staff, I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, was convicted of lying and obstructing an investigation into the 2003 leak of CIA operative Valerie Plame's identity. (President George W. Bush later commuted Libby's 30-month prison sentence, but did not issue a pardon.) Two suicide bombers blew themselves up in Hillah, Iraq, killing at least 120 people in a crowd of Shiite pilgrims. More than 70 people died in an earthquake on Sumatra island, Indonesia. Ernest Gallo, who built one of the world's largest winemaking empires, died in Modesto, Calif., at age 97.

One year ago: 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.

Today's Birthdays: Orchestra conductor Julius Rudel is 91. Former FBI and CIA director William Webster is 88. Former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan is 86. Author Gabriel Garcia Marquez is 85. Orchestra conductor Lorin Maazel is 82. Soviet cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova is 75. Country singer Doug Dillard is 75. Former Sen. Christopher Bond, R-Mo., is 73. Actress-writer Joanna Miles is 72. Actor Ben Murphy is 70. Opera singer Dame Kiri Te Kanawa is 68. Singer Mary Wilson (The Supremes) is 68. Rock musician Hugh Grundy (The Zombies) is 67. Rock singer-musician David Gilmour (Pink Floyd) is 66. Actress Anna Maria Horsford is 65. Actor-director Rob Reiner is 65. Singer Kiki Dee is 65. Rock singer-musician Phil Alvin (The Blasters) is 59. Actor Tom Arnold is 53. Former child actress Suzanne Crough is 49. Actor D.L. Hughley is 48. Country songwriter Skip Ewing is 48. Actress Yvette Wilson is 48. Actor Shuler Hensley is 45. Actress Connie Britton is 45. Actress Moira Kelly is 44. Actress Amy Pietz is 43. Rock musician Chris Broderick (Megadeth) is 42. NBA player Shaquille O'Neal is 40. Country singer Trent Willmon is 39. Country musician Shan Farmer (Ricochet) is 38. Rapper Beanie Sigel is 38. Rapper Bubba Sparxxx is 35. Rock musician Chris Tomson (Vampire Weekend) is 28. Actor Eli Marienthal is 26. Actor Jimmy Galeota is 26. Actor Dillon Freasier (Film: "There Will Be Blood") is 16. Actress Savannah Stehlin is 16.

Thought for Today: "Don't be 'consistent,' but be simply true." -- Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr., U.S. Supreme Court justice (1841-1935).

Copyright 2012, The Associated Press. All rights reserved.