Aug. 28, 2008 - Today In History

Today is Thursday, Aug. 28, the 241st day of 2008. There are 125 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

On Aug. 28, 1963, 200,000 people participated in a peaceful civil rights rally in Washington, where Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his "I Have a Dream" speech in front of the Lincoln Memorial.

On this date:

In 1609, Henry Hudson discovered Delaware Bay.

In 1774, Mother Elizabeth Ann Seton, the first American-born saint, was born in New York City.

In 1907, United Parcel Service had its beginnings as the American Messenger Company of Seattle.

In 1947, legendary bullfighter Manolete was mortally wounded by a bull during a fight in Linares,
Spain; he was 30.

In 1955, Emmett Till, a black teenager from Chicago, was abducted from his uncle's home in
Money, Miss., by two white men after he had supposedly whistled at a white woman;
he was found brutally slain three days later.

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 1973, more than 600 people died as an earthquake shook central Mexico.

In 1983, Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin, reportedly despondent over the death of his
wife and the rising casualty toll of Israeli troops in Lebanon, announced his resignation.

In 1988, 70 people were killed when three Italian stunt planes collided during an air show at the
U.S. Air Base in Ramstein, West Germany.

In 1995, a mortar shell tore through a crowded market in Sarajevo, Bosnia-Herzegovina, killing
some three dozen people and triggering NATO airstrikes against the Bosnian Serbs.

Five years ago:

British Prime Minister Tony Blair denied the government had "sexed up" a dossier on Iraq's weapons threat, and said he would have resigned if it had been true.

A Defense Department survey found that nearly one in five female Air Force Academy cadets said they had been sexually assaulted during their time at the academy.

One year ago:

A day after reports surfaced of his June arrest at the Minneapolis airport, Sen. Larry Craig, R-Idaho, told a news conference the only thing he had done wrong was to plead guilty after a police complaint of lewd conduct in a men's room; Craig also declared, "I am not gay. I never have been gay."

A military court at Fort Meade, Md., acquitted Army Lt. Col. Steven L. Jordan of failing to control U.S. soldiers who abused detainees at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq, but found him guilty of disobeying an order not to discuss the investigation. (However, that conviction was later thrown out.)

Oscar-winning actress Miyoshi Umeki ("Sayonara") died in Licking, Mo., at age 78.

Today's Birthdays:

Country singer Billy Grammer is 83.

Actor Ben Gazzara is 78.

Actor Sonny Shroyer is 73.

Actor Ken Jenkins is 68.

Former Defense Secretary William S. Cohen is 68.

Actor David Soul is 65.

Baseball manager Lou Piniella is 65.

Actress Alice Playten is 61.

Singer Wayne Osmond (The Osmonds) is 57.

Actor Daniel Stern is 51.

Olympic gold medal figure skater Scott Hamilton is 50.

Actor John Allen Nelson is 49.

Actress Emma Samms is 48.

Country singer Shania Twain is 43.

Actor Billy Boyd ("The Lord of the Rings") is 40.

Actor Jack Black is 39.

Actor Jason Priestley is 39.

Olympic gold medal swimmer Janet Evans is 37.

Actor J. August Richards is 35.

Rock singer-musician Max Collins (Eve 6) is 30.

Actress Carly Pope is 28.

Country singer LeAnn Rimes is 26.

Thought for Today:

"Whom the gods would make bigots, they first deprive of humor." —

The Rev. James M. Gillis,

Roman Catholic author,
editor and broadcaster
(1876-1957).