The Week
On This Date The Constitution of the United States went into effect (1789). Vermont became the 14th state (1791). Labor Secretary Frances Perkins became the first woman to serve in a president's cabinet (1933).</br></br>On This Date Five colonists died when British troops opened fire in Boston, an event that became known as the Boston Massacre and helped spark the American Revolution (1770).</br></br>Birthdays Basketball's Shaquille O'Neal (1972). Former D.C. mayor Marion Barry (1936). Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan (1926). Artist Michelangelo (1475).</br></br>On This Date The Alamo in San Antonio, Texas, fell to the Mexican army after a 13-day siege (1836). In its "Dred Scott" decision, the Supreme Court held that a slave could not sue for his freedom in federal court (1857).</br></br>Birthdays Arlington KidsPost reader Alexander Cox (1994). Herndon KidsPost reader Shannon Shelley (1992). Olney KidsPost reader Sara Consolino (1991). Auto racer Janet Guthrie (1938). Painter Piet Mondriaan (1872).