Today in history
Today is Wednesday, Aug. 30, the 242nd day of 2017. There are 123 days left in the year.
Today’s Highlight in History
On August 30, 1997, Americans received word of the car crash in Paris that claimed the lives of Princess Diana, her boyfriend, Dodi Fayed, and their driver, Henri Paul. ( Because of the time difference, it was August 31 where the crash occurred.)
On this date
In 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).
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 1945, U. S. Gen. Douglas MacArthur arrived in Japan to set up Allied occupation 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 ( ahzurby- JAHN’) declared its independence, joining the stampede of republics seeking to secede from the Soviet Union. Ten years ago: In a serious breach of nuclear security, a B- 52 bomber mistakenly armed with six nucleartipped cruise missiles took off from Minot Air Force Base in North Dakota and flew to Barksdale Air Force Base in Louisiana; the Air Force later punished 70 people. Taliban militants in Afghanistan released the last seven of its South Korean hostages.
Five years ago: Mitt Romney launched his fall campaign for the White House with a rousing, personal speech to the Republican National Convention in Tampa, Florida, proclaiming that America needs “jobs, lots of jobs.” Earlier in the evening, actor- director Clint Eastwood offered an endorsement of Romney that entailed using an empty chair to represent President Barack Obama. The U. S. Justice Department announced it had ended its investigation into CIA interrogations of terrorist detainees without bringing criminal charges. Twin satellites were launched by NASA on a quest to explore Earth’s treacherous radiation belts and protect the planet from solar outbursts.