Today in History

Today is Friday, March 6, the 66th day of 2020. There are 300 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

On March 6, 1944, U.S. heavy bombers staged the first full-scale American raid on Berlin during World War II.

On this date:

In 1475, Italian artist and poet Michelangelo was born in Caprese in the Republic of Florence.

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

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 the Texan defenders, nearly 200 strong, including William Travis, James Bowie and Davy Crockett.

In 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.

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 1964, heavyweight boxing champion Cassius Clay officially changed his name to Muhammad Ali.

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 1973, Nobel Prize-winning author Pearl S. Buck, 80, died in Danby, Vt.

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

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.

In 2008, a Palestinian killed eight students at a Jewish seminary in Jerusalem before he was slain; Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip praised the operation in a statement, and thousands of Palestinians took to the streets of Gaza to celebrate.

Ten years ago: Voters in Iceland resoundingly rejected a $5.3 billion plan to repay Britain and the Netherlands for debts spawned by the collapse of an Icelandic bank. The Louisville Cardinals gave Freedom Hall a memorable send-off by upsetting No. 1 Syracuse 78-68.

Five years 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.

One year ago: In a nationally televised interview (on "CBS This Morning,") R&B singer R. Kelly whispered, cried and ranted while pleading with viewers to believe that he had never had sex with anyone under 17, and had never held anyone against her will; Kelly would end the day in jail after telling a judge that he could not pay $161,000 in back child support that he owed to the mother of his children. The Democratic National Committee said it would not pick Fox News to televise one of the upcoming debates for the 2020 Democratic presidential contenders; party chairman Tom Perez said the network was not in a position to host a fair and neutral debate.

Today's Birthdays: Former FBI and CIA director William Webster is 96. Former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan is 94. Dancer-actress Carmen de Lavallade is 89. Former Soviet cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova is 83. Former Sen. Christopher "Kit" Bond, R-Mo., is 81. Actress-writer Joanna Miles is 80. Actor Ben Murphy is 78. Opera singer Dame Kiri Te Kanawa is 76. Singer Mary Wilson (The Supremes) is 76. Rock musician Hugh Grundy (The Zombies) is 75. Rock singer-musician David Gilmour (Pink Floyd) is 74. Actress Anna Maria Horsford is 73. Actor-director Rob Reiner is 73. Singer Kiki Dee is 73. TV consumer reporter John Stossel is 73. Composer-lyricist Stephen Schwartz is 72. Rock singer-musician Phil Alvin (The Blasters) is 67. Sports correspondent Armen Keteyian is 67. Actor Tom Arnold is 61. Actor D.L. Hughley is 57. Country songwriter Skip Ewing is 56. Actor Shuler Hensley is 53. Actress Connie Britton is 53. Actress Moira Kelly is 52. Actress Amy Pietz is 51. Rock musician Chris Broderick (Megadeth) is 50. Basketball Hall of Famer Shaquille O'Neal is 48. Country singer Trent Willmon is 47. Country musician Shan Farmer (formerly w/Ricochet) is 46. Rapper Beanie Sigel is 46. Rapper Bubba Sparxxx is 43. Actor Shawn Evans is 40. Rock musician Chris Tomson (Vampire Weekend) is 36. MLB pitcher Jake Arrieta is 34. Actor Eli Marienthal is 34. Actor Jimmy Galeota is 34. Rapper/producer Tyler, the Creator is 29. Actor Dillon Freasier is 24. Actress Savannah Stehlin is 24. Actress Millicent Simmonds (Film: "Wonderstruck") is 17.

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

Copyright 2020, The Associated Press. All rights reserved.