Today is Monday, March 6, the 65th day of 2006. There are 300 days left in the year.
Today’s Highlight in History:
Two hundred years ago, on March sixth, 1806, poet Elizabeth Barrett Browning was born near Durham, England.
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 1857, in its “Dred Scott” decision, the Supreme Court held that Scott, a slave, could not sue for his freedom in federal court.
In 1906, 100 years ago, comedian Lou Costello was born in Paterson, New Jersey.
In 1933, a nationwide bank holiday declared by President Roosevelt went into effect.
In 1935, retired Supreme Court Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes Junior died in Washington.
In 1944, U-S heavy bombers staged the first American raid on Berlin during World War Two.
In 1957, the former British African colonies of the Gold Coast and Togoland became the independent state of Ghana.
In 1981, Walter Cronkite signed off for the last time as principal anchorman of “The CBS Evening News.”
Ten years ago: A federal appeals court struck down Washington state’s ban on doctor-assisted suicide. Lamar Alexander and Dick Lugar announced they were dropping out of the race for the Republican presidential nomination.
Five 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.
One year ago: Italian journalist Giuliana Sgrena claimed American soldiers gave no warning before they opened fire on the car carrying her to the Baghdad airport, killing the Italian agent who’d just won her freedom after a month in captivity. The White House called the shooting a “horrific accident” and restated its promise to investigate fully. Actress Teresa Wright died in New Haven, Connecticut, at age 86. Hans Bethe, the winner of the 1967 Nobel Prize in physics who played a central role in the building of the atomic bomb, died in Ithaca, New York, at age 98.
Today’s Birthdays: TV personality Ed McMahon is 83. Conductor Sarah Caldwell is 82. Former FBI and CIA director William Webster is 82. Former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan is 80. Author Gabriel Garcia Marquez is 78. Soviet cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova is 69. Country singer Doug Dillard is 69. Senator Christopher Bond (Republican, Missouri) is 67. Actress-writer Joanna Miles is 66. Actor Ben Murphy is 64. Opera singer Dame Kiri Te Kanawa is 62. Singer Mary Wilson (The Supremes) is 62. Rock musician Hugh Grundy (The Zombies) is 61. Rock singer-musician David Gilmour (Pink Floyd) is 60. Actor-director Rob Reiner is 59. Singer Kiki Dee is 59. Rock singer-musician Phil Alvin (The Blasters) is 53. Actor Tom Arnold is 47. Actor D.L. Hughley is 42. Country songwriter Skip Ewing is 42. Actress Yvette Wilson is 42. Actor Shuler Hensley is 39. Actress Connie Britton is 38. Actress Moira Kelly is 38. Actress Amy Pietz is 37. Basketball player Shaquille O’Neal is 34. Country singer Trent Willmon is 33. Country musician Shan Farmer (Ricochet) is 32. Rapper Beanie Sigel is 32. Rapper Bubba Sparxxx is 29. Actor Eli Marienthal is 20. Actor Jimmy Galeota is 20. Actress Savannah Stehlin (“The Family Stone”) is ten.
Thought for Today: “Who so loves believes the impossible.” — Elizabeth Barrett Browning, English poet (1806-1861).