Today in History

Today in History

Today is Thursday, Aug. 31, the 243rd day of 2017. There are 122 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

On August 31, 1997, Prince Charles brought Princess Diana home for the last time, escorting the body of his former wife to a Britain that was shocked, grief-stricken and angered by her death in a Paris traffic accident earlier that day.

On this date:

In 1867, French poet Charles Baudelaire, 46, died in Paris.

In 1886, an earthquake with an estimated magnitude of 7.3 devastated Charleston, South Carolina, killing at least 60 people, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

In 1916, the musical revue "The Big Show," featuring the song "Poor Butterfly" by Raymond Hubbell and John Golden, opened at New York's Hippodrome.

In 1939, the first issue of Marvel Comics, featuring the Human Torch, was published by Timely Publications in New York.

In 1941, the radio program "The Great Gildersleeve," a spinoff from "Fibber McGee and Molly" starring Harold Peary, debuted on NBC.

In 1954, Hurricane Carol hit the northeastern Atlantic states; Connecticut, Rhode Island and part of Massachusetts bore the brunt of the storm, which resulted in some 70 deaths.

In 1965, the U.S. House of Representatives joined the Senate in voting to establish the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

In 1972, at the Munich Summer Olympics, American swimmer Mark Spitz won his fourth and fifth gold medals in the 100-meter butterfly and 800-meter freestyle relay; Soviet gymnast Olga Korbut won gold medals in floor exercise and the balance beam.

In 1986, 82 people were killed when an Aeromexico jetliner and a small private plane collided over Cerritos, California. The Soviet passenger ship Admiral Nakhimov collided with a merchant vessel in the Black Sea, causing both to sink; up to 448 people reportedly died.

In 1987, the Michael Jackson album "Bad" was released by Epic Records.

In 1991, Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan declared their independence, raising to ten the number of republics seeking to secede from the Soviet Union.

In 1992, white separatist Randy Weaver surrendered to authorities in Naples, Idaho, ending an 11-day siege by federal agents that had claimed the lives of Weaver's wife, son and a deputy U.S. marshal. (Weaver was acquitted of murder and all other charges in connection with the confrontation; he was convicted of failing to appear for trial on firearms charges and was sentenced to 18 months in prison but given credit for 14 months he'd already served.)

Ten years ago: President George W. Bush met privately at the Pentagon with the Joint Chiefs of Staff, who conveyed their concern about a growing strain on troops and their families from long and repeated combat tours in Iraq. President Bush announced a set of modest proposals to deal with an alarming rise in mortgage defaults. Mike Nifong, the disgraced former district attorney of Durham County, North Carolina, was sentenced to a day in jail after being held in criminal contempt of court for lying to a judge when pursuing rape charges against three falsely accused Duke University lacrosse players.

Five years ago: In a speech to an annual Federal Reserve conference in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, Chairman Ben Bernanke sent a clear message that the Fed would do more to help the still-struggling U.S. economy, but did not specify exactly what, or when. Writer Richard Bach, author of "Jonathan Livingston Seagull," was seriously hurt after his small plane went down in Washington state.

One year ago: On Mexican soil for the first time as the Republican presidential nominee, a firm, but measured Donald Trump defended the right of the United States to build a massive border wall along its southern flank, standing up for the centerpiece of his immigration plan during a joint press conference with Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto. The first commercial flight between the United States and Cuba in more than a half century, a JetBlue Airbus A320, landed in the central city of Santa Clara, re-establishing regular air service severed at the height of the Cold War. Brazil's Senate voted to remove President Dilma Rousseff from office (Rousseff was accused of breaking fiscal laws in her management of the federal budget).

Today's Birthdays: Japanese monster movie actor Katsumi Tezuka ("Godzilla") is 105. Baseball Hall of Famer Frank Robinson is 82. Actor Warren Berlinger is 80. Rock musician Jerry Allison (Buddy Holly and the Crickets) is 78. Actor Jack Thompson is 77. Violinist Itzhak Perlman is 72. Singer Van Morrison is 72. Rock musician Rudolf Schenker (The Scorpions) is 69. Actor Richard Gere is 68. Actor Stephen Henderson is 68. Olympic gold medal track and field athlete Edwin Moses is 62. Rock singer Glenn Tilbrook (Squeeze) is 60. Rock musician Gina Schock (The Go-Go's) is 60. Singer Tony DeFranco (The DeFranco Family) is 58. Rhythm-and-blues musician Larry Waddell (Mint Condition) is 54. Actor Jaime P. Gomez is 52. Baseball pitcher Hideo Nomo is 49. Rock musician Jeff Russo (Tonic) is 48. Singer-composer Deborah Gibson is 47. Rock musician Greg Richling (Wallflowers) is 47. Actor Zack Ward is 47. Golfer Padraig Harrington is 46. Actor Chris Tucker is 45. Actress Sara Ramirez is 42. Rhythm-and-blues singer Tamara (Trina & Tamara) is 40.

Thought for Today: "Fashion can be bought. Style one must possess." -- Edna Woolman Chase, American fashion editor (1877-1957).