Today in History
Today in History Today is Tuesday, Aug. 30, the 243rd day of 2016.
There are 123 days left in the year. Today's Highlight in History: On
Aug. 30, 1861, Union Gen. John C. Fremont instituted martial law in
Missouri and declared slaves there to be free. (However, Fremont's
emancipation order was countermanded by President Abraham Lincoln). On
this date: In 1862, Confederate forces won victories against the Union
at the Second Battle of Bull Run in Manassas, Virginia, and the Battle
of Richmond in Kentucky. In 1905, Ty Cobb made his major-league debut
as a player for the Detroit Tigers, hitting a double in his first
at-bat in a game against the New York Highlanders. (The Tigers won,
5-3.) In 1935, the film "Anna Karenina," MGM's version of the Tolstoy
novel starring Greta Garbo, opened in New York. In 1945, U.S. Gen.
Douglas MacArthur arrived in Japan to set up Allied oc'cup'ation
headquarters. In 1954, President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed the Atomic
Energy Act of 1954, which was intended to promote private development
of nuclear energy. In 1963, the "Hot Line" communications link between
Washington and Moscow went into operation. In 1967, the Senate
confirmed the appointment of Thurgood Marshall as the first black
justice on the U.S. Supreme Court. In 1983, Guion S. Bluford Jr. became
the first black American astronaut to travel in space as he blasted off
aboard the Challenger. In 1984, the space shuttle Discovery was
launched on its inaugural flight. In 1986, Soviet authorities arrested
Nicholas Daniloff, a correspondent for U.S. News and World Report, as a
spy a week after American officials arrested Gennadiy Zakharov, a
Soviet employee of the United Nations, on espionage charges in New
York. (Both men were later released.) In 1989, a federal jury in New
York found "hotel queen" Leona Helmsley guilty of income tax evasion,
but acquitted her of extortion. (Helmsley ended up serving 18 months
behind bars, a month at a halfway house and two months under house
arrest.) In 1991, Azerbaijan (ah-zur-by-JAHN') declared its
independence, joining the stampede of republics seeking to secede from
the Soviet Union. Ten years ago: Hurricane John lashed tourist resorts
with heavy winds and rain as the dangerous Category 4 storm marched up
Mexico's Pacific coast. Actor Glenn Ford died in Beverly Hills,
California, at age 90. Naguib Mahfouz (nuh-GEEB' mah-FOOS'), the first
Arab writer to win the Nobel Prize in literature, died in Cairo, Egypt,
at age 94. Five years ago: National Guard helicopters rushed food and
water to a dozen cut-off Vermont towns after the rainy remnants of
Hurricane Irene washed out roads and bridges in a deluge that had taken
many people in the landlocked New England state by surprise. Libyan
rebels said they were closing in on Moammar Gadhafi and issued an
ultimatum to loyalists in his hometown of Sirte (surt), his main
remaining bastion: Surrender, or face attack. One year ago: The White
House announced that President Barack Obama would change the name of
North America's tallest mountain peak from Mount McKinley to Denali,
bestowing the traditional Alaska Native name on the eve of a historic
presidential visit to Alaska. Jake Arrieta pitched the sixth no-hitter
of the season and second against the Los Angeles Dodgers in 10 days,
leading the Chicago Cubs to a 2-0 victory. Tokyo won the Little League
World Series, defeating Lewisberry, Pennsylvania, 18-11. Neurologist
Dr. Oliver Sacks, 82, author of "The Man Who Mistook His Wife For a
Hat," died in New York. Movie writer-director Wes Craven, 76, who
startled audiences with suburban slashers like "Nightmare on Elm
Street" and "Scream," died in Los Angeles. Today's Birthdays: Actor
Bill Daily is 89. Actress Elizabeth Ashley is 77. Actor Ben Jones is
75. Cartoonist R. Crumb is 73. Olympic gold medal skier Jean-Claude
Killy is 73. Actress Peggy Lipton is 70. Comedian Lewis Black is 68.
Actor Timothy Bottoms is 65. Actor David Paymer is 62. Jazz musician
Gerald Albright is 59. Actor Michael Chiklis is 53. Music producer
Robert Clivilles is 52. Actress Michael Michele is 50. Country musician
Geoff Firebaugh is 48. Country singer Sherrie Austin is 45. Rock
singer-musician Lars Frederiksen (Rancid) is 45. Actress Cameron Diaz
is 44. Rock musician Leon Caffrey (Space) is 43. TV personality Lisa
Ling is 43. Rock singer-musician Aaron Barrett (Reel Big Fish) is 42.
Actor Raul Castillo (TV: "Looking") is 39. Actor Michael Gladis is 39.
Rock musician Matt Taul (Tantric; Days of the New) is 38. Tennis player
Andy Roddick is 34. Singer Rachael Price (Lake Street Dive) is 31. Rock
musician Ryan Ross is 30. Actress Johanna Braddy (TV: "Quantico") is
29. Actor Cameron Finley is 29. Thought for Today: "If you board the
wrong train, it is no use running along the corridor in the other
direction. Dietrich Bonhoeffer, German theologian (1906-1945).
