Today in History

Today is Sunday, March 6, the 66th day of 2016. There are 300 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

On March 6, 1836, the Alamo in San Antonio, Texas, fell to Mexican forces after a 13-day siege.

On this date:

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

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 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.

In 1935, retired Supreme Court Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr., died in Washington two days before his 94th birthday.

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

In 1953, Georgy Malenkov was named premier of the Soviet Union a day after the death of Josef Stalin.

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 1981, Walter Cronkite signed off for the last time as principal anchorman of "The CBS Evening News."

In 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.

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.

Ten years ago: South Dakota Gov. Mike Rounds signed legislation banning most abortions in his state (abortion-rights groups were able to get enough signatures to put the measure to a vote, and the ban was rejected in the November election). Dana Reeve, who'd won admiration for her devotion to her husband, actor Christopher Reeve, through his decade of paralysis, died in New York City; she was 44. Baseball Hall of Famer Kirby Puckett died in Phoenix at age 45.

Five years 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.

One year ago: During a town hall at South Carolina's Benedict College, President Barack Obama said racial discrimination from police in Ferguson, Missouri, was "oppressive and abusive" as he called for criminal justice reform as part of the modern struggle for civil rights. NASA's Dawn spacecraft slipped into orbit around Ceres, the largest celestial body in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter, for the first exploration of a dwarf planet. The NCAA suspended Syracuse University basketball coach Jim Boeheim for nine conference games and outlined a decade-long series of violations by the school that included academic misconduct, improper benefits, and drug-policy failures.

Today's Birthdays: Former FBI and CIA director William Webster is 92. Former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan is 90. Former Soviet cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova is 79. Former Sen. Christopher "Kit" Bond, R-Mo., is 77. Actress-writer Joanna Miles is 76. Actor Ben Murphy is 74. Opera singer Dame Kiri Te Kanawa is 72. Singer Mary Wilson (The Supremes) is 72. Rock musician Hugh Grundy (The Zombies) is 71. Rock singer-musician David Gilmour (Pink Floyd) is 70. Actress Anna Maria Horsford is 69. Actor-director Rob Reiner is 69. Singer Kiki Dee is 69. Fox News reporter John Stossel is 69. Composer-lyricist Stephen Schwartz is 68. Rock singer-musician Phil Alvin (The Blasters) is 63. Sports correspondent Armen Keteyian is 63. Actor Tom Arnold is 57. Actor D.L. Hughley is 52. Country songwriter Skip Ewing is 52. Actor Shuler Hensley is 49. Actress Connie Britton is 49. Actress Moira Kelly is 48. Actress Amy Pietz is 47. Rock musician Chris Broderick (Megadeth) is 46. Former NBA player and College Basketball Hall of Famer Shaquille O'Neal is 44. Country singer Trent Willmon is 43. Country musician Shan Farmer (Ricochet) is 42. Rapper Beanie Sigel is 42. Rapper Bubba Sparxxx is 39. Rock musician Chris Tomson (Vampire Weekend) is 32. Actor Eli Marienthal is 30. Actor Jimmy Galeota is 30. Rapper/producer Tyler, the Creator is 25. Actor Dillon Freasier is 20. Actress Savannah Stehlin is 20.

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