March 6th
Today in 1820,the Missouri Compromise was enacted. Congress agreed that Missouri would be a slave state, and, in exchange, slavery would be prohibited in the rest of the northern Louisiana Purchase territory.
Today in 1836,after an 11-day battle, the Alamo in San Antonio, Texas finally fell to Mexican troops when all 187 Americans, including Davy Crockett and Jim Bowie, were killed.
Today in 1857,the Supreme Court passed down the Dred Scott decision, which said that a slave (Dred Scott) who had resided in a free state and territory (where slavery was prohibited) was not entitled to his freedom. It also ruled that African Americans were not and could never be citizens of the United States; and that the 1820 Missouri Compromise, which had declared free all territories west of Missouri and north of latitude 36°30′, was unconstitutional. The decision added fuel to the sectional controversy and pushed the country closer to civil war. Widely considered the worst decision ever rendered by the Supreme Court,the ruling has never been expressly overturned in court– though the 14th Amendment, which did give African Americans citizenship – was later passed.
Today in 1930,Clarence Birdseye's frozen food first hit the market in Springfield, Massachusetts.
Today in 1947,the first air-conditioned naval ship, "The Newport News,"was launched from Newport News, Virginia.
Today in 1981,Walter Cronkite signed off the “CBS Evening News” for the last time.
Today in 1982,the Spurs defeated Milwaukee 171-166 in triple-overtime in San Antonio in what was then the highest scoring game in NBA history. The mark of 337 points was erased when Detroit beat Denver 186-184, also in triple-overtime, on December 13, 1983 for a total of 370 points.
Today in 1988,the board of trustees at Gallaudet University in Washington D.C., a liberal arts college for the deaf,selected a hearing woman to be school president. Outraged students shut down the campus, forcing the selection of a deaf president about a week later.
Today in 1998,a Connecticut State lottery accountant shot and killed three supervisors and the lottery chief before turning the gun on himself.
Today in 2007,Lewis “Scooter” Libby former chief of staff to Vice President Dick Cheney was convicted of perjury, lying and obstruction of justice over charges relating to his role in the leaking of the identity of CIA operative Valerie Plame. He was later pardoned by President Trump.
Today in 2012,a woman from Nebraska sold a three-year-old McNugget for a total of $8,100 on eBay. The woman claimed that the McNugget resembled George Washington and that she wanted to sell it to raise money to send children to a summer camp. The auction site eased its rules on selling expired food for the woman so that she could raise money to support her cause.
Today in 2015,NASA's Dawn spacecraft entered orbit around the dwarf planet, Ceres.
Today in 2015, the State Department charged two Vietnamese and a Canadian citizen with cyber fraud, for stealing one-billion email addresses for spam.
Today in 2017,President Donald Trump signed his second executive order barring travelers from six mostly-Muslim countries for 90-days, but left out Iraq.
Today in 2017,Wikileaks published their proof that the Obama administration had been spying on them.
Today in 2018, Nashville mayor Megan Barry re signed a month after admitting to an extramarital affair with her bodyguard. It wasn’t just about sex, however. Barry bilked the city out of tens of thousands of dollars to have her boyfriend take trips, which had him billing overtime pay.
Today in 2018,“Forbes”named Amazon founder Jeff Bezos the world's richest person for the first time at $112 billion, Bill Gates came in second.