Today in History

Today is Wednesday, March 6, the 66th day of 2024. There are 300 days left in the year.

Today's highlight 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.

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 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 1912, Oreo sandwich cookies were first introduced by the 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 1973, Nobel Prize-winning author Pearl S. Buck, 80, died in Danby, Vermont.

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.

In 2016, former first lady Nancy Reagan died in Los Angeles at age 94.

In 2022, a second attempt to evacuate Ukrainians from the besieged city of Mariupol collapsed as Russian attacks made it impossible to create a humanitarian corridor.

Today's birthdays: Former FBI and CIA director William Webster is 100. Former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan is 98. Dancer-actor Carmen de Lavallade is 93. Former Soviet cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova is 87. Former Sen. Christopher "Kit" Bond, R-Mo., is 85. Actor-writer Joanna Miles is 84. Actor Ben Murphy is 82. Opera singer Dame Kiri Te Kanawa is 80. Rock musician Hugh Grundy (The Zombies) is 79. Rock singer-musician David Gilmour (Pink Floyd) is 78. Actor Anna Maria Horsford is 77. Actor-director Rob Reiner is 77. Singer Kiki Dee is 77. TV consumer reporter John Stossel is 77. Composer-lyricist Stephen Schwartz is 76. Rock singer-musician Phil Alvin (The Blasters) is 71. Sports correspondent Armen Keteyian is 71. Actor Tom Arnold is 65. Actor D.L. Hughley is 61. Country songwriter Skip Ewing is 60. Actor Shuler Hensley is 57. Actor Connie Britton is 57. Actor Moira Kelly is 56. Actor Amy Pietz is 55. Rock musician Chris Broderick (Megadeth) is 54. Basketball Hall of Famer Shaquille O'Neal is 52. Country singer Trent Willmon is 51. Rapper Beanie Sigel is 50. Rapper Bubba Sparxxx is 47. Actor Shaun Evans is 44. Rock musician Chris Tomson (Vampire Weekend) is 40. Former MLB pitcher Jake Arrieta is 38. Actor Eli Marienthal is 38. Rapper/producer Tyler, the Creator is 33. Actor Dillon Freasier is 28. Actor Savannah Stehlin is 28. Actor Millicent Simmonds (Film: "Wonderstruck") is 21.