By The Associated Press

Today in History

Today is Friday, March 6, the 66th day of 2020. There are 300 days left in the year.

Today’s Highlight in History:

On March 6, 1944, U.S. heavy bombers staged the first full-scale American raid on Berlin during World War II.

On this date:

In 1475, Italian artist and poet Michelangelo was born in Caprese (kah-PRAY’-say) in the Republic of Florence.

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 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.

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 1935, retired Supreme Court Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr., died in Washington two days before his 94th birthday.

In 1964, heavyweight boxing champion Cassius Clay officially changed his name to Muhammad Ali.