Today in History
Aug 27, 2021, 9:00 PM | Updated: 9:03 pm
Today in History
Today is Saturday, Aug. 28, the 240th day of 2021. There are 125 days left in the year.
Today’s Highlight in History:
On August 28, 1963, more than 200,000 people listened as the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his “I Have a Dream” speech in front of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C.
On this date:
In 1609, English sea explorer Henry Hudson and his ship, the Half Moon, reached present-day Delaware Bay.
In 1941, Japan’s ambassador to the U.S., Kichisaburo Nomura, presented a note to President Franklin D. Roosevelt from Japan’s prime minister, Prince Fumimaro Konoye, expressing a desire for improved relations.
In 1955, Emmett Till, a Black teen from Chicago, was abducted from his uncle’s home in Money, Mississippi, by two white men after he had supposedly whistled at a white woman; he was found brutally slain three days later.
In 1964, two days of race-related rioting erupted in North Philadelphia over a false rumor that white police officers had beaten to death a pregnant Black woman.
In 1968, police and anti-war demonstrators clashed in the streets of Chicago as the Democratic National Convention nominated Hubert H. Humphrey for president.
In 1988, 70 people were killed when three Italian stunt planes collided during an air show at the U.S. Air Base in Ramstein (RAHM’-shtyn), West Germany.
In 1996, the troubled 15-year marriage of Britain’s Prince Charles and Princess Diana officially ended with the issuing of a divorce decree.
In 2005, New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin (NAY’-gin) ordered everyone in the city to evacuate after Hurricane Katrina grew to a monster storm.
In 2009, the Los Angeles County coroner’s office announced that Michael Jackson’s death was a homicide caused primarily by the powerful anesthetic propofol (PROH’-puh-fahl) and another sedative, lorazepam (lor-AZ’-uh-pam).
In 2013, a military jury sentenced Maj. Nidal Hasan to death for the 2009 shooting rampage at Fort Hood that claimed 13 lives. On the 50th anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech at the Lincoln Memorial, President Barack Obama stood on the same steps as he challenged new generations to seize the cause of racial equality.
In 2017, floodwaters reached the rooflines of single-story homes as Hurricane Harvey poured rain on the Houston area for a fourth consecutive day; thousands of people had been rescued from the flooding.
In 2018, a white former police officer, Roy Oliver, was convicted of murder for fatally shooting a Black 15-year-old boy, Jordan Edwards, while firing into a car packed with teenagers in suburban Dallas; Oliver was sentenced the following day to 15 years in prison.
Ten years ago: A suicide bomber struck inside Baghdad’s largest Sunni mosque, killing 29 people during prayers. California returned the Little League World Series title to the United States with a 2-1 victory over Hamamatsu City, Japan. Katy Perry won three MTV Video Music Awards, including video of the year for the inspirational clip “Firework.”
Five years ago: Six scientists completed a yearlong Mars simulation in Hawaii, where they emerged after living in a dome in near isolation on a Mauna Loa mountain. Ryan Harlost led Endwell, New York, to the Little League World Series title, striking out eight and limiting South Korea to five hits in six innings in a 2-1 victory. Beyonce received eight honors at the MTV Video Music Awards in New York. Juan Gabriel, a superstar Mexican songwriter and singer who was an icon in the Latin music world, died at his home in California at age 66.
One year ago: Actor Chadwick Boseman, who played Black icons Jackie Robinson and James Brown as well as the regal Black Panther on screen, died at the age of 43 after a four-year battle with colon cancer. On Jackie Robinson Day across the major leagues, the Houston Astros and Oakland Athletics jointly walked off the field following a moment of silence, draping a Black Lives Matter T-shirt across home plate as they chose not to play. (Other major league clubs had joined teams in the NBA, WNBA and MLS earlier in the week in calling off games while protesting social injustice.) The University of Alabama reported that an additional 481 students had tested positive for COVID-19, bringing the total to more than 1,000 infections since students returned to campus for the fall. Nevada officials reported what may have been the first documented case of coronavirus reinfection in the United States. Japan’s longest-serving prime minister, Shinzo Abe, said he was stepping down because a chronic illness had resurfaced. (Abe was succeeded by his right-hand man, Yoshihide Suga.)
Today’s Birthdays: Actor Sonny Shroyer is 86. Actor Marla Adams is 83. Actor Ken Jenkins is 81. Former Defense Secretary William S. Cohen is 81. Actor David Soul is 78. Former MLB manager and player Lou Piniella (pihn-EHL’-uh) is 78. Actor Barbara Bach is 75. Actor Debra Mooney is 74. Singer Wayne Osmond (The Osmonds) is 70. Actor Daniel Stern is 64. Olympic gold medal figure skater Scott Hamilton is 63. Actor John Allen Nelson is 62. Actor Emma Samms is 61. Actor Jennifer Coolidge is 60. Movie director David Fincher is 59. Actor Amanda Tapping is 56. Country singer Shania (shah-NY’-uh) Twain is 56. Actor Billy Boyd is 53. Actor Jack Black is 52. Actor Jason Priestley is 52. Actor Daniel Goddard (TV: “The Young and the Restless”) is 50. Olympic gold medal swimmer Janet Evans is 50. Actor J. August Richards is 48. Rock singer-musician Max Collins (Eve 6) is 43. Actor Carly Pope is 41. Country singer Jake Owen is 40. Country singer LeAnn Rimes is 39. Actor Kelly Thiebaud is 39. Actor Alfonso Herrera is 38. Actor Sarah Roemer is 37. Actor Armie Hammer is 35. Rock singer Florence Welch (Florence and the Machine) is 35. Actor Shalita Grant is 33. Country-pop singer Cassadee Pope (TV: “The Voice”) is 32. Actor Katie Findlay is 31. Actor/singer Samuel Larsen is 30. Actor Kyle Massey is 30. Actor Quvenzhane (kwuh-VEHN’-zhah-nay) Wallis is 18. Reality TV star Alana Thompson, AKA “Honey Boo Boo,” is 16.
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