Today in History

On this date:

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 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 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 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: 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.

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).

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.