Today in History for March 6

Today is Tuesday, March sixth, the 65th day of 2001. There are 300 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

On March sixth, 1836, the Alamo in San Antonio, Texas, fell to Mexican forces after a 13-day siege.

On this date:

In 1834, the city of York in Upper Canada was incorporated as Toronto.

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 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 C-B-S Evening News.''

In 1983, in a case that drew much notoriety, a woman in New Bedford, Massachusetts, reported being gang-raped atop a pool table in a tavern called Big Dan's; four men were later convicted of the attack.

In 1987, 189 people died when the British ferry ``Herald of Free Enterprise'' capsized off the Belgian port of Zeebrugge

Ten years ago: Following Iraq's capitulation in the Persian Gulf conflict, President Bush told a cheering joint session of Congress that ``aggression is defeated. The war is over.''

Five 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.

One year ago: Three white New York City officers were convicted of a cover-up in a brutal police station attack on Haitian immigrant Abner Louima. Eric Clapton was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame for the third time; among the newest honorees were James Taylor, Bonnie Raitt and Earth, Wind and Fire.

Today's Birthdays: Basketball player Shaquille O'Neal is 29. Singer Mary Wilson (The Supremes) is 57. Singer Kiki Dee is 54. Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan is 75. T-V personality Ed McMahon is 78. Conductor Sarah Caldwell is 77. Former F-B-I and C-I-A director William Webster is 77. Soviet cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova is 64. Actress-writer Joanna Miles is 61. Opera singer Dame Kiri Te Kanawa is 57. Actor Tom Arnold is 42.