This day in history

[August 28, 2010]  (AP)  Today is Saturday, Aug. 28, the 240th day of 2010. 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, D.C., where Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his "I Have a Dream" speech in front of the Lincoln Memorial.

On this date:

In 1609, English sea explorer Henry Hudson and his ship, the Half Moon, reached present-day Delaware Bay.

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

In 1910, the Kingdom of Montenegro was proclaimed.

In 1947, legendary bullfighter Manolete died after being gored during a fight in Linares, Spain; he was 30.

In 1955, Emmett Till, a black teen-ager 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 1988, 70 people were killed when three Italian stunt planes collided during an air show at the U.S. Air Base in Ramstein (RAHM'-shtyn), West Germany.

In 1990, an F5 tornado struck the Chicago area, killing 29 people.

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.

Ten years ago: Authorities in Peru announced that four years after military judges convicted American Lori Berenson of planning a rebel attack, the military had overturned her life sentence, clearing the way for a new civilian trial. (Berenson was later convicted of "terrorist collaboration" and sentenced to 20 years; she was paroled on May 27, 2010, but must remain in Peru until the sentence ends in Nov. 2015.)

Five years ago: New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin (NAY'-gin) ordered everyone in the city to evacuate after Hurricane Katrina grew to a monster storm. Iraqi negotiators finished a new constitution but without the endorsement of Sunni Arabs. West Oahu of Ewa Beach, Hawaii, won the Little League World Series title with a 7-6 win over the defending champions from Willemstad, Curacao.

One year 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. Celebrity disc jockey Adam Goldstein, known as DJ AM, was found dead in his New York apartment from an accidental drug overdose; he was 36. Space shuttle Discovery and seven astronauts blazed into orbit on a flight to the international space station.

Today's birthdays: Country singer Billy Grammer is 85. Actor Ben Gazzara is 80. Actor Sonny Shroyer is 75. Actor Ken Jenkins is 70. Former Defense Secretary William S. Cohen is 70. Actor David Soul is 67. MLB manager Lou Piniella is 67. Actress Debra Mooney is 63. Actress Alice Playten is 63. Singer Wayne Osmond (The Osmonds) is 59. Actor Daniel Stern is 53. Olympic gold medal figure skater Scott Hamilton is 52. Actor John Allen Nelson is 51. Actress Emma Samms is 50. Actress Jennifer Coolidge is 49. Movie director David Fincher (Film: "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button") is 48. Actress Amanda Tapping is 45. Country singer Shania (shah-NY'-uh) Twain is 45. Actor Billy Boyd is 42. Actor Jack Black is 41. Actor Jason Priestley is 41. Olympic gold medal swimmer Janet Evans is 39. Actor J. August Richards is 37. Rock singer-musician Max Collins (Eve 6) is 32. Actress Carly Pope is 30. Country singer LeAnn Rimes is 28. Actor Michael Galeota is 26. Country singer Jake Owen is 26. Actor Armie Hammer is 24. Actor Kyle Massey is 19.

Thought for today: "The man who views the world at 50 the same as he did at 20 has wasted 30 years of his life." -- Muhammad Ali, American boxing champion (1942- )

[Associated Press]

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