 Today's highlight in history:
On March 6, 1962, what became known as the Ash Wednesday Storm began
pounding the mid-Atlantic coast; over a three-day period, the storm
resulted in 40 deaths and caused more than $200 million in property
damage.
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, the U.S. 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 1902, Congress passed a measure creating a Census Office in the
Department of the Interior (the office was moved to the Department
of Commerce and Labor the following year).
In 1912, Oreo sandwich cookies (originally called "biscuits") were
first introduced by Nabisco.
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 (ah-lee-loo-YAY'-vah),
appeared at the U.S. Embassy in New Delhi and declared her intention
to defect to the West.
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 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.
Ten years ago: 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.
Federal regulators approved the proposed $22 billion merger of
Hewlett-Packard Co. and Compaq Computer Corp.
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Five 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.) Two
suicide bombers blew themselves up in Hillah, Iraq, killing at least
120 people in a crowd of Shiite pilgrims. More than 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, Calif., at age 97.
One year ago: The space shuttle and space station crews
hugged goodbye after more than a week together, but saved their most
heartfelt farewell for Discovery, which was on its final voyage
after nearly three decades.
Today's birthdays: Orchestra conductor Julius Rudel is 91.
Former FBI and CIA director William Webster is 88. Former Federal
Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan is 86. Author Gabriel Garcia Marquez
is 85. Orchestra conductor Lorin Maazel is 82. Soviet cosmonaut
Valentina Tereshkova is 75. Country singer Doug Dillard is 75.
Former Sen. Christopher Bond, R-Mo., is 73. Actress-writer Joanna
Miles is 72. Actor Ben Murphy is 70. Opera singer Dame Kiri Te
Kanawa is 68. Singer Mary Wilson (The Supremes) is 68. Rock musician
Hugh Grundy (The Zombies) is 67. Rock singer-musician David Gilmour
(Pink Floyd) is 66. Actress Anna Maria Horsford is 65.
Actor-director Rob Reiner is 65. Singer Kiki Dee is 65. Rock
singer-musician Phil Alvin (The Blasters) is 59. Actor Tom Arnold is
53. Former child actress Suzanne Crough (kroh) is 49. Actor D.L.
Hughley is 48. Country songwriter Skip Ewing is 48. Actress Yvette
Wilson is 48. Actor Shuler Hensley is 45. Actress Connie Britton is
45. Actress Moira Kelly is 44. Actress Amy Pietz is 43. Rock
musician Chris Broderick (Megadeth) is 42. NBA player Shaquille
O'Neal is 40. Country singer Trent Willmon is 39. Country musician
Shan Farmer (Ricochet) is 38. Rapper Beanie Sigel is 38. Rapper
Bubba Sparxxx is 35. Rock musician Chris Tomson (Vampire Weekend) is
28. Actor Eli Marienthal is 26. Actor Jimmy Galeota is 26. Actor
Dillon Freasier (Film: "There Will Be Blood") is 16. Actress
Savannah Stehlin is 16.
Thought for today: "Don't be 'consistent,' but be simply
true." -- Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr., U.S. Supreme Court justice
(1841-1935)
[Associated Press]
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