Today in History
Today is Monday, March 6, the 65th day of 2017. 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 to Mexican forces after a 13-day siege. In 1853,
Verdi's opera "La Traviata" premiered in Venice, Italy. 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 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 1957, the British Gold Coast and British
Togoland became the independent state of Ghana. In 1967, the daughter
of Josef Stalin, Svetlana Alliluyeva (ah-lee-loo-YAY'-vah), appeared at
the U.S. Embassy in New Delhi and declared her intention to defect to
the West. Singer-actor Nelson Eddy, 65, died in Palm Beach, Florida. 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 1987,
193 people died when the British ferry Herald of Free Enterprise
capsized off the Belgian port of Zeebrugge (zay-BRUKH'-ah). The first
"Lethal Weapon" movie, starring Mel Gibson and Danny Glover, was
released by Warner Bros. In 1997, a gunman stole a million-dollar
Picasso portrait ("Tete de Femme") from a London gallery. (The painting
was recovered and two suspects arrested a week later.) Britain's Queen
Elizabeth II launched the first official royal website. Ten 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.) Some 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, California, at age 97. Five years
ago: In Super Tuesday contests, Republican Mitt Romney narrowly won in
pivotal Ohio, seized a home-state victory in Massachusetts, triumphed
in Idaho, Vermont and Alaska, and won easily in Virginia, where neither
Rick Santorum nor Newt Gingrich was on the ballot; Santorum won
contests in Oklahoma, Tennessee and North Dakota, while Gingrich won at
home in Georgia. Former Texas tycoon R. Allen Stanford was convicted in
Houston of bilking his investors out of more than $7 billion through a
Ponzi scheme. (Stanford was sentenced to 110 years in prison.)
Songwriter Robert B. Sherman, 86, who collaborated with his brother
Richard on such movie musicals as "Mary Poppins" and "Chitty Chitty
Bang Bang," died in London. One year ago: Former first lady Nancy
Reagan died in Los Angeles at age 94. Former President Jimmy Carter
announced he no longer needed treatment for cancer, less than seven
months after revealing he'd been diagnosed with melanoma that spread to
his brain. Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders tangled aggressively in a
Democratic presidential debate in Flint, Michigan, over trade, Wall
Street influence and more. Today's Birthdays: Former FBI and CIA
director William Webster is 93. Former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan
Greenspan is 91. Former Soviet cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova is 80.
Former Sen. Christopher "Kit" Bond, R-Mo., is 78. Actress-writer Joanna
Miles is 77. Actor Ben Murphy is 75. Opera singer Dame Kiri Te Kanawa
is 73. Singer Mary Wilson (The Supremes) is 73. Rock musician Hugh
Grundy (The Zombies) is 72. Rock singer-musician David Gilmour (Pink
Floyd) is 71. Actress Anna Maria Horsford is 70. Actor-director Rob
Reiner is 70. Singer Kiki Dee is 70. Fox News reporter John Stossel is
70. Composer-lyricist Stephen Schwartz is 69. Rock singer-musician Phil
Alvin (The Blasters) is 64. Sports correspondent Armen Keteyian is 64.
Actor Tom Arnold is 58. Actor D.L. Hughley is 53. Country songwriter
Skip Ewing is 53. Actor Shuler Hensley is 50. Actress Connie Britton is
50. Actress Moira Kelly is 49. Actress Amy Pietz is 48. Rock musician
Chris Broderick (Megadeth) is 47. Basketball Hall of Famer Shaquille
O'Neal is 45. Country singer Trent Willmon is 44. Country musician Shan
Farmer (Ricochet) is 43. Rapper Beanie Sigel is 43. Rapper Bubba
Sparxxx is 40. Rock musician Chris Tomson (Vampire Weekend) is 33.
Actor Eli Marienthal is 31. Actor Jimmy Galeota is 31. Rapper/producer
Tyler, the Creator is 26. Actor Dillon Freasier is 21. Actress Savannah
Stehlin is 21. Thought for Today: "Learn by others' mistakes because
you do not live long enough to make them all yourself. Author unknown.
