Celebrations Today – March 6
Holidays and observances
- Christian feast day:
- European Day of the Righteous, commemorates those who have stood up against crimes against humanity and totalitarism with their own moral responsibility. (
- Foundation Day (Norfolk Island), the founding of Norfolk Island in 1788.
- Independence Day (Ghana), celebrates the independence of Ghana from the UK in 1957.
Celebrations Today – USA: March 6
National Dress Day *
National Dentist’s Day
National Frozen Food Day
National Oreo Cookie Day
National White Chocolate Cheesecake Day
National Cinco de Marcho
International Open Data Day
National Potty Dance Day
Today in US History: March 6
Remembering the Alamo
Alamo, San Antonio, Texas
Robert Runyon, photographer, circa 1900-1920.
The South Texas Border, 1900-1920
This photograph of the Alamo by Robert Runyon is presented in conjunction with The General Libraries at the University of Texas at Austin.
Texans or Texians, according to some sources, began fighting for independence from Mexico in 1835. By December the small Texas army had captured the important crossroads town of San Antonio de Bexar and seized the garrison known as the Alamo. Mexican General Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna recaptured the town on March 6, 1836, after a thirteen-day siege; the Mexican army suffered an estimated 600 casualties. Of the official list of 189 Texan defenders, all were killed. Historians continue to debate the number of defenders inside the Alamo.
The defense of the Alamo is well-known for those who fought for Texas. David Crockett, James (Jim) Bowie, and William Barret Travis were among those remembered by the “Remember the Alamo” reported to be yelled at the victory at San Jacinto.
The cost entailed in regaining San Antonio contributed to General Santa Anna’s defeat less than two months later at the Battle of San Jacinto. On April 21, 1836, Sam Houston, commander of the Texas army, led 800 troops, inspired by the sacrifice of their comrades at the Alamo, in a surprise attack on Santa Anna’s 1,600 men. Houston’s decisive victory at San Jacinto secured Texas independence from Mexico.
Texas remained independent for from 1836 until 1845 when the legislature voted for annexation to the U.S. The Mexican American War soon followed, a two-year conflict resolved by the 1848 Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo.
Sam Houston in Civilian Dress, Clean Shaven
produced by Mathew Brady’s studio, circa 1848-1850.
America’s First Look into the Camera: Daguerreotype Portraits and Views, 1839-1864
Houston immigrated to Texas in 1833 and quickly became a leader in the Texas rebellion, beginning in 1835. He was president of the Republic of Texas from 1836 to 1838 and from 1841 to 1844, and U.S. senator from Texas from 1846 to 1859. Prior to his career in Texas, Houston served as a congressman from Tennessee from 1823 to 1826.
- See the Today in History features on the Battle of Palo Alto and Resaca de la Palma and the Gadsden Purchase to learn more about the history of the Mexico-U.S. border.
- A Century of Lawmaking for a New Nation: U.S. Congressional Documents and Debates 1774-1875 holds numerous Congressional documents about Sam Houston, David Crockett, and the independence of Texas.
- For drawings and photographs of the Alamo, search the Built in America: Historic American Buildings Survey/Historic American Engineering Record/Historic American Landscapes Survey, 1933-Present collection for San Antonio de Valero.
- Numerous images of the Alamo and San Antonio can be accessed in the collections of the Prints & Photographs Online Catalog.
- Panoramic Maps 1847-1929 includes several maps of Texas towns, most of which were drawn in the late-nineteenth century. They provide a glimpse of the conditions encountered and the communities established by the many Americans who immigrated to Texas in the decades after 1845.
- Search on Texas, or your favorite Texas locale, in Taking the Long View: Panoramic Photographs, 1851-1991 to locate more images of the state. See, for example, a panoramic street scene of San Benito, Texas from about 1911.
- For music, dance, and theater pieces related to the Lone Star State, search on the term Texas in the Performing Arts collections of American Memory.
Panoramic view of San Antonio, Texas, circa 1910.
Taking the Long View: Panoramic Photographs, 1851-1991
Today in History – March 6-External Links
Today’s Weather in History
Today in Earthquake History
This Day in Naval History
Today’s Document from the National Archives
Today’s Events, Births & Deaths –Wikipedia
Today in History by AP
On this Day -1950 to 2005 – Today’s Story–BBC
On This Day: The New York Times
This Day in History –History.com
Today in Canadian History – Canada Channel
History of Britain that took place On This Day
Russia in History –Russiapedia