March 06

Biography of the Day

Delphic Sibyl, detail of a fresco by Michelangelo, 1508–12; in …
Scala/Art Resource, New York

Michelangelo
Born this day in 1475 was Italian Renaissance artist Michelangelo, who exerted an unparalleled influence on Western sculpture, painting, and architecture and whose works rank among the most famous in existence.

This Day in History

Tutankhamen, gold funerary mask found in the king's tomb, 14th century ; in the Egyptian …

Tutankhamen, gold funerary mask found in the king's tomb, 14th century BC; in the Egyptian …
© Lee Boltin

1924: King Tut's tomb opened
On this day in 1924, the Egyptian government opened the mummy case of King Tutankhamen, ruler of Egypt in the 14th century BC, whose burial chamber had been discovered in 1922 by renowned British archaeologist Howard Carter.

More events on this day
1957:		Ghana became an independent nation, led by Prime Minister Kwame Nkrumah.
1928:		Latin American author Gabriel García Márquez was born in Aracataca, Colombia.
1857:		U.S. Chief Justice Roger B. Taney announced the Dred Scott decision, making slavery legal in all U.S. territories.
1853:		Giuseppe Verdi's opera La traviata premiered at La Fenice opera house in Venice.
1836:		The Alamo in Texas fell to Mexican General Antonio López de Santa Anna after a 13-day siege.
1619:		French satirist and dramatist Savinien Cyrano de Bergerac was born in Paris.