Today in History

Today is Thursday, August 28, the 240th day of 2014. There are 125 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

On August 28, 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.

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, Virginia, 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 1944, during World War II, German forces in Toulon and Marseille, France, surrendered to Allied troops.

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

In 1955, Emmett Till, a black teen-ager 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 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.

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 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.

In 2012, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney swept to the Republican presidential nomination at a storm-delayed national convention in Tampa, Florida.

Ten years ago: Islamic militants claiming to be holding two French journalists in Iraq gave France 48 hours to overturn its law banning the wearing of Islamic head scarves in schools. (The French government refused the demand; the reporters, Christian Chesnot and Georges Malbrunot, were released in December 2004.) The U.S. men's basketball team beat Lithuania 104-96 to win the Olympic bronze medal in Athens; Argentina won the gold medal by beating Italy 84-69.

Five years ago: The Los Angeles County coroner's office announced that Michael Jackson's death was a homicide caused primarily by the powerful anesthetic propofol and another sedative, lorazepam. Celebrity disc jockey Adam Goldstein, known as DJ AM, was found dead in his New York apartment; he was 36.

One year ago: 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.

Today's Birthdays: Actor Sonny Shroyer is 79. Actor Ken Jenkins is 74. Former Defense Secretary William S. Cohen is 74. Actor David Soul is 71. Former pop singer-musician Honey Lantree (The Honeycombs) is 71. Former MLB manager and player Lou Piniella is 71. Actress Barbara Bach is 68. Actress Debra Mooney is 67. Singer Wayne Osmond (The Osmonds) is 63. Actor Daniel Stern is 57. Olympic gold medal figure skater Scott Hamilton is 56. Actor John Allen Nelson is 55. Actress Emma Samms is 54. Actress Jennifer Coolidge is 53. Movie director David Fincher is 52. Actress Amanda Tapping is 49. Country singer Shania Twain is 49. Actor Billy Boyd is 46. Actor Jack Black is 45. Actor Jason Priestley is 45. Olympic gold medal swimmer Janet Evans is 43. Actor J. August Richards is 41. Rock singer-musician Max Collins (Eve 6) is 36. Actress Carly Pope is 34. Country singer Jake Owen is 33. Country singer LeAnn Rimes is 32. Actor Michael Galeota is 30. Actress Sarah Roemer is 30. Actor Armie Hammer is 28. Rock singer Florence Welch (Florence and the Machine) is 28. Country-pop singer Cassadee Pope (TV: winner "The Voice") is 25. Actor/singer Samuel Larsen (TV: "Glee") is 23. Actor Kyle Massey is 23. Actress Quvenzhane Wallis is 11. Reality TV star Alana Thompson, AKA "Honey Boo Boo," is nine.

Thought for Today: "The man who views the world at fifty the same as he did at twenty has wasted thirty years of his life." -- Muhammad Ali, American boxing champion (1942- ).

Copyright 2014, The Associated Press. All rights reserved.