Today in History

Today is Wednesday, Aug. 28, the 240th day of 2013. 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 1862, the Second Battle of Bull Run (also known as Second Manassas) began in Prince William County, Va., during the Civil War; the result was a Confederate victory.

In 1922, the first-ever radio commercial aired on station WEAF in New York City; the 10-minute advertisement was for the Queensboro Realty Co., which had paid a fee of $100.

In 1945, the Allies began occupying Japan at the end of World War II.

In 1947, legendary bullfighter Manolete died after being gored 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 1972, Mark Spitz of the United States won the first two of his seven gold medals at the Munich Olympics, finishing first in the 200-meter butterfly and anchoring the 400-meter freestyle relay. The Soviet women gymnasts won the team all-around.

In 1973, an earthquake shook Veracruz, Mexico; death toll estimates range from 600 to 1,200.

In 1983, Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin 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 1990, an F5 tornado struck the Chicago area, killing 29 people.

Ten 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 1 in 5 female Air Force Academy cadets said they had been sexually assaulted during their time at the academy.

Five years ago: Surrounded by an enormous, adoring crowd at Invesco Field in Denver, Barack Obama accepted the Democratic presidential nomination, promising what he called a clean break from the "broken politics in Washington and the failed policies of George W. Bush." Former U.S. Marine Jose Luis Nazario Jr., accused of killing unarmed Iraqi detainees in the Iraqi city of Fallujah, was acquitted of voluntary manslaughter in Riverside, Calif.

One year ago: Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney swept to the Republican presidential nomination at a storm-delayed national convention in Tampa, Fla. Hurricane Isaac spun into the southern Louisiana coast, sending floodwaters surging and unleashing fierce winds, as residents hunkered down behind boarded-up windows.

Today's Birthdays: Actor Sonny Shroyer is 78. Actor Ken Jenkins is 73. Former Defense Secretary William S. Cohen is 73. Actor David Soul is 70. MLB manager Lou Piniella is 70. Actress Barbara Bach is 67. Actress Debra Mooney is 66. Singer Wayne Osmond (The Osmonds) is 62. Actor Daniel Stern is 56. Olympic gold medal figure skater Scott Hamilton is 55. Actor John Allen Nelson is 54. Actress Emma Samms is 53. Actress Jennifer Coolidge is 52. Movie director David Fincher is 51. Actress Amanda Tapping is 48. Country singer Shania Twain is 48. Actor Billy Boyd is 45. Actor Jack Black is 44. Actor Jason Priestley is 44. Olympic gold medal swimmer Janet Evans is 42. Actor J. August Richards is 40. Rock singer-musician Max Collins (Eve 6) is 35. Actress Carly Pope is 33. Country singer Jake Owen is 32. Country singer LeAnn Rimes is 31. Actor Michael Galeota is 29. Actress Sarah Roemer is 29. Actor Armie Hammer is 27. Rock singer Florence Welch (Florence and the Machine) is 27. Actor/singer Samuel Larsen (TV: "Glee") is 22. Actor Kyle Massey is 22. Actress Quvenzhane Wallis (Film: "Beasts of the Southern Wild") is 10. Reality TV star Alana Thompson, AKA "Honey Boo Boo," is 8.

Thought for Today: "The essence of immorality is the tendency to make an exception of one's self." -- Jane Addams, American social worker and Nobel Peace laureate (1860-1935).

Copyright 2013, The Associated Press. All rights reserved.