1857 – The U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in the Dred Scott case brings America closer to civil war. The court rules against the slave suing for his freedom and says Congress has no right to limit slavery’s expansion.

1475 - Michelangelo, the Renaissance artist whose works include the frescoes on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel , is born in Italy.

1981 –" For almost two decades, after all, we've been meeting like this in the evenings, and I'll miss that."Walter Cronkite signs off for the last time as an anchor man for the CBS News – Dan Rather follows Cronkite sitting in the anchor chair for 24 years until 2005.