MNN - Mother Nature Network

March 6, 1831: Gen. Philip Sheridan is born in Albany, N.Y. Sheridan was a Civil War hero, but he left his mark on the American West in other ways. He was an advocate for the creation of Yellowstone National Park. He also is considered by some to be a prime example of American genocide for his brutal conquest of Indian resistance to white settlement. Sheridan advocated wiping out the bison to deprive Plains Indians of their primary food source.

 

March 6, 2006: In a busy wildfire season for the grasslands of Texas and Oklahoma, high winds spark more than 200 fires in a 24-hour period, destroying more than 100 homes, tens of thousands of cattle, and much of the region's winter wheat crop.

 

March 6, 2010: Spain cashes in on a windy day. Gale force winds nearly quadruple the wind energy (at right) generated during the peak of a spring storm. Normally providing about 11 percent of Spain's electric supply, the windy weather briefly ups that percentage to 40 percent.