TODAY IN HISTORY

TODAY’S HIGHLIGHT August 31, 1972

At the Munich Summer Olympics, American swimmer Mark Spitz won his fourth and fifth gold medals in the 100-meter butterfly and 800-meter freestyle relay; Soviet gymnast Olga Korbut won gold medals in floor exercise and the balance beam.

ALSO ON THIS DATE 1886

An earthquake with an estimated magnitude of 7.3 devastated Charleston, South Carolina, killing at least 60 people, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

1939

The first issue of Marvel Comics, featuring the Human Torch, was published by Timely Publications in New York.

1954

Hurricane Carol hit the northeastern Atlantic states; Connecticut, Rhode Island and part of Massachusetts bore the brunt of the storm, which resulted in some 70 deaths.

1965

The U.S. House of Representatives joined the Senate in voting to establish the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

1969

Boxer Rocky Marciano died in a light airplane crash in Iowa, a day before his 46th birthday.

1997

Prince Charles brought Princess Diana home for the last time, escorting the body of his former wife to a Britain that was shocked, grief-stricken and angered by her death in a Paris traffic accident earlier that day.