TODAY IN HISTORY

TODAY IS WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 28, 2019

ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY:

1619 - Ferdinand II was elected Holy Roman Emperor. His policy of “One church, one king” was his way of trying to outlaw Protestantism.

1833 - Slavery was banned by the British Parliament throughout the British Empire.

1894 - Paddlesteamer, the Rodney, is burnt by unionist shearers in protest at it being used as a strike breaker.

1916 - Italy’s declaration of war against Germany took effect during World War I.

1939 - The first successful flight of a jet-propelled plane took place. The plane was a German Heinkel He 178.

1941 - Party dissension causes Robert Menzies to resign as Prime Minister.

1963 - Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., gave his I Have a Dream speech at a civil rights rally in Washington, DC. More than 200,000 people attended.

1990 - Iraq declared Kuwait to be its 19th province and renamed Kuwait City al-Kadhima.

1996 - A divorce decree was issued for Britain’s Charles and Princess Diana. This was the official end to the 15-year marriage.

1998 - The Pakistani prime minister created new Islamic order and legal system based on the Koran.

2004 - George Brunstad, at age 70, became the oldest person to swim the English Channel. The swim from Dover, England, to Sangatte, France, took 15 hours and 59 minutes.

2008 - In China, the Shanghai World Financial Center officially opened. The observation decks opened on August 30.

Birthdays

Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe 1749

Elizabeth Ann Seton 1774 She was also the first American-born saint beatified by the Roman Catholic Church.

Leo Nikolayevich Tolstoy 1828

Charles Boyer 1899 Donald O’Connor 1925 David Soul 1943 - Actor Alice Playten 1947 Hugh Cornwell (Stranglers) 1949

Wayne Osmond 1951 - Singer (The Osmonds)

Jack Black (Thomas Jacob Black) 1969 - Actor