DAY IN HISTORY

Monday, August 31, 2020

Today is the 244th day of 2020 and the 73rd day of summer.

TODAY’S HISTORY: In 1888, the body of the first victim of London serial killer Jack the Ripper was found.

In 1935, President Franklin Roosevelt signed the Neutrality Act.

In 1954, Hurricane Carol made landfall over Long Island and Connecticut and soon became one of the most destructive hurricanes to hit New England.

In 1997, Diana, Princess of Wales, was killed in a car accident in Paris.

TODAY’S BIRTHDAYS: Maria Montessori (18701952), physician/educator; William Saroyan (19081981), playwright; Buddy Hackett (1924-2003), comedian/actor; James Coburn (1928-2002), actor; Frank Robinson (1935-2019), baseball player/manager; Van Morrison (1945- ), singersongwriter; Itzhak Perlman (1945- ), violinist; Tom Coughlin (1946- ), football executive; Richard Gere (1949- ), actor; Debbie Gibson (1970- ), singer-songwriter; Chris Tucker (1971- ), actor; Larry Fitzgerald (1983- ), football player. TODAY’S FACT:

TODAY’S FACT: The last original episode of “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood” aired on this day in 2001.

TODAY’S SPORTS: In 1990, Ken Griffey and Ken Griffey Jr., playing for the Seattle Mariners, became the first father-son duo to be in the same Major League Baseball lineup.

TODAY’S QUOTE: “If I had one wish in the world today, it would be that Jackie Robinson could be here to see this happen.” -- Frank Robinson, on being named the first Black manager in Major League Baseball, in 1975

TODAY’S NUMBER: 6 — weeks atop the 1951 Billboard charts for Rosemary Clooney’s recording of “Come on-a My House,” written by Pulitzer Prize-winning author William Saroyen and his cousin Ross Bagdasarian, creator of Alvin and the Chipmunks.

TODAY’S MOON: Between first quarter moon (Aug. 25) and full moon (Sept. 1).