Today
Today is Sunday, March 6, the 65th day of 2011. 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 1853, Verdi’s opera “La Traviata” premiered in Venice, Italy.
In 1857, the United States 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 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 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.
Ten years ago: Calling it the “most accurate census in history,” the Bush administration refused to adjust the 2000 head count. Forty-two people, mostly students, were killed in a schoolhouse explosion in southern China; the government blamed a bomber, but parents said the students had been forced to make fireworks by school officials. Bill Mazeroski was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame, along with former Negro League player Hilton Smith.
Five 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.
One year 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.
Today’s Birthdays: Orchestra conductor Julius Rudel is 90. Former FBI and CIA director William Webster is 87. Former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan is 85. Author Gabriel Garcia Marquez is 84. Orchestra conductor Lorin Maazel is 81. Soviet cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova is 74. Country singer Doug Dillard is 74. Former Sen. Christopher Bond, R-Mo., is 72. Actress-writer Joanna Miles is 71. Actor Ben Murphy is 69. Opera singer Dame Kiri Te Kanawa is 67. Singer Mary Wilson (The Supremes) is 67. Rock musician Hugh Grundy (The Zombies) is 66. Rock singer-musician David Gilmour (Pink Floyd) is 65. Actress Anna Maria Horsford is 64. Actor-director Rob Reiner is 64. Singer Kiki Dee is 64. Rock singer-musician Phil Alvin (The Blasters) is 58. Actor Tom Arnold is 52. Former child actress Suzanne Crough (kroh) is 48. Actor D.L. Hughley is 47. Country songwriter Skip Ewing is 47. Actress Yvette Wilson is 47. Actor Shuler Hensley is 44. Actress Connie Britton is 43. Actress Moira Kelly is 43. Actress Amy Pietz is 42. Rock musician Chris Broderick (Megadeth) is 41. NBA player Shaquille O’Neal is 39. Country singer Trent Willmon is 38. Country musician Shan Farmer (Ricochet) is 37. Rapper Beanie Sigel is 37. Rapper Bubba Sparxxx is 34. Rock musician Chris Tomson (Vampire Weekend) is 27. Actor Eli Marienthal is 25. Actor Jimmy Galeota is 25. Actor Dillon Freasier (Film: “There Will Be Blood”) is 15. Actress Savannah Stehlin is 15.
Thought for Today: “Le sens commun n’est pas si commun.” (Common sense is not so common.) – Voltaire, French author and philosopher (1694-1778).
(Above Advance for Use Sunday, March 6)
Copyright 2011, The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
AP
02/27/11 09:31