This Day in History
1836: Mexican troops under Santa Anna capture the Alamo in Texas, killing the entire garrison of defenders.
1857: The Supreme Court issues the Dred Scott decision, holding that slaves do not become free in a free state and that blacks cannot be citizens.
1965: A brigade of American marines land at Da Nang, South Vietnam, the first U.S. combat ground-force units to serve in the country.
1983: The first games of the new United States Football League are played.
1992: The Michelangelo computer virus is triggered in personal computers but does only minimal damage.
2003: The senate ratifies, 95-0, the Strategic Offensive Reduction Treaty signed by Pres. George W. Bush and Russian Pres. Vladimir Putin.
Today's Birthdays
1475: Michelangelo Buonarroti, painter/sculptor (Caprese, Italy; died 1564)
1806: Elizabeth Barrett Browning, poet (near Durham, England; died 1861)
1844: Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, composer (Russia; died 1908)
1923: Ed McMahon, TV personality (Detroit, MI)
1924: Sarah Caldwell, conductor (Maryville, MO)
1926: Alan Greenspan, chairman of the Federal Reserve Board (New York, NY)
1927: Gordon Cooper, astronaut (Shawnee, OK; died 2004)
1928: Gabriel García Márquez, novelist (Arcata, Columbia)
1936: Marion Berry, former mayor of Washington, D.C. (Itta Bena, MS)
1937: Valentina Tereshkova, cosmonaut and first woman in space (Maslennikovo, Russia)
1944: Kiri Te Kanawa, opera singer (Gisborne, New Zealand)
1945: Rob Reiner, actor/director (Bronx, NY)
1959: Tom Arnold, actor (Ottumwa, IA)
1972: Shaquille O'Neal, basketball player (Newark, NJ)
