DAY IN HISTORY

Saturday, August 28, 2021

Today is the 240th day of 2021 and the 70th day of summer.

TODAY’S HISTORY: In 1867, the United States took possession of Midway Atoll.

In 1955, 14-year-old African American Emmett Till was murdered for flirting with a white woman in Money, Mississippi.

In 1963, Martin Luther King Jr. made his “I Have a Dream” speech during the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom event in Washington, D.C.

In 1968, protesters fought with police at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago.

In 1996, Prince Charles and Princess Diana formally divorced.

TODAY’S BIRTHDAYS:

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749-1832), author; Bruno Bettelheim (1903-1990), psychologist; Jack Kirby (1917-1994), writer/illustrator; Donald O’connor (1925-2003), actor/performer; Ben Gazzara (1930-2012), actor; Lou Piniella (1943- ), baseball player/manager; Luis Guzman (1956- ), actor; David Fincher (1962), film director; Shania Twain (1965- ), singersongwriter; Jack Black (1969- ), actor; Leann Rimes (1982- ), singersongwriter; Armie Hammer (1986- ), actor.

TODAY’S FACT: The first issue of Scientific American was published on this day in 1845.

TODAY’S SPORTS: In 1977, Brazilian soccer superstar Pele played in his last competitive game, leading his New York Cosmos team to a win over the Seattle Sounders 2-1 for the National American Soccer League championship.

TODAY’S QUOTE:

“I find it amoral if you’re making a movie where the problem is solved with a guy standing in the back of pickup truck firing a machine gun at the bad guys. The morality of it is questionable because the repercussions of violence are incredibly far-reaching.” — David Fincher

TODAY’S NUMBER:

2.4 — square miles of land that makes up Midway Atoll.

TODAY’S MOON:

Between full moon (Aug. 22) and last quarter moon (Aug. 30).