Today in History

Today is Sunday, August 30, the 242nd day of 2015. There are 123 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

On August 30, 1945, U.S. Gen. Douglas MacArthur arrived in Japan to set up Allied occupation headquarters.

On this date:

In 1861, Union Gen. John C. Fremont instituted martial law in Missouri and declared slaves there to be free. (However, Fremont's emancipation order was countermanded by President Abraham Lincoln).

In 1862, Confederate forces won victories against the Union at the Second Battle of Bull Run in Manassas, Virginia, and the Battle of Richmond in Kentucky.

In 1905, Ty Cobb made his major-league debut as a player for the Detroit Tigers, hitting a double in his first at-bat in a game against the New York Highlanders. (The Tigers won, 5-3.)

In 1935, the film "Anna Karenina," MGM's version of the Tolstoy novel starring Greta Garbo, opened in New York.

In 1954, President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, which was intended to promote private development of nuclear energy.

In 1963, the "Hot Line" communications link between Washington and Moscow went into operation.

In 1967, the Senate confirmed the appointment of Thurgood Marshall as the first black justice on the U.S. Supreme Court.

In 1983, Guion S. Bluford Jr. became the first black American astronaut to travel in space as he blasted off aboard the Challenger.

In 1984, the space shuttle Discovery was launched on its inaugural flight.

In 1986, Soviet authorities arrested Nicholas Daniloff, a correspondent for U.S. News and World Report, as a spy a week after American officials arrested Gennadiy Zakharov, a Soviet employee of the United Nations, on espionage charges in New York. (Both men were later released.)

In 1989, a federal jury in New York found "hotel queen" Leona Helmsley guilty of income tax evasion, but acquitted her of extortion. (Helmsley ended up serving 18 months behind bars, a month at a halfway house and two months under house arrest.)

In 1991, Azerbaijan declared its independence, joining the stampede of republics seeking to secede from the Soviet Union.

Ten years ago: A day after Hurricane Katrina hit, floods were covering 80 percent of New Orleans, looting continued to spread and rescuers in helicopters and boats picked up hundreds of stranded people.

Five years ago: Vice President Joe Biden flew into Baghdad, where he sought to reassure Iraq that America was not abandoning it as the U.S. military stepped back. An enormous drill began preliminary work on carving a half-mile chimney through solid rock to free 33 men trapped in a Chilean mine. Texas-born fugitive Edgar Valdez Villarreal, a suspected drug lord known as "the Barbie," was arrested in Mexico State. Seven-time Cy Young winner Roger Clemens pleaded not guilty in Washington to charges of lying to Congress about whether he'd used steroids or human growth hormone. (Clemens went on trial in July 2011; however, the case abruptly ended in a mistrial. He was acquitted in a retrial.)

One year ago: The U.S. military said fighter aircraft and unmanned drones had struck Islamic State militants near Iraq's Mosul Dam. Under cover of darkness, 40 Filipino peacekeepers escaped their besieged outpost in the Golan Heights after a seven-hour gunbattle with Syrian rebels. The St. Louis Rams cut Michael Sam, the first openly gay player drafted in the NFL.

Today's Birthdays: Actor Bill Daily is 88. Actress Elizabeth Ashley is 76. Actor Ben Jones is 74. Cartoonist R. Crumb is 72. Olympic gold medal skier Jean-Claude Killy is 72. Actress Peggy Lipton is 69. Comedian Lewis Black is 67. Actor Timothy Bottoms is 64. Actor David Paymer is 61. Jazz musician Gerald Albright is 58. Actor Michael Chiklis is 52. Music producer Robert Clivilles is 51. Actress Michael Michele is 49. Country musician Geoff Firebaugh is 47. Country singer Sherrie Austin is 44. Rock singer-musician Lars Frederiksen (Rancid) is 44. Actress Cameron Diaz is 43. Rock musician Leon Caffrey (Space) is 42. TV personality Lisa Ling is 42. Rock singer-musician Aaron Barrett (Reel Big Fish) is 41. Actor Michael Gladis is 38. Rock musician Matt Taul (Tantric; Days of the New) is 37. Tennis player Andy Roddick is 33. Rock musician Ryan Ross is 29. Actor Cameron Finley is 28.

Thought for Today: "Greatness is not measured by what a man or woman accomplishes, but by the opposition he or she has overcome to reach his goals." -- Dorothy Height, American civil rights activist (1912-2010).

Copyright 2015, The Associated Press. All rights reserved.