This day in history

[August 30, 2012]  (AP)  Today is Thursday, Aug. 30, the 243rd day of 2012. There are 123 days left in the year.

Today's highlight in history:

On Aug. 30, 1862, Confederate forces won victories against the Union at the Second Battle of Bull Run in Manassas, Va., and the Battle of Richmond in Kentucky.

On this date:

In 1797, Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley, creator of "Frankenstein," was born in London.

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 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 1941, during World War II, German forces approaching Leningrad cut off the remaining rail line out of the city.

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 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 1987, a redesigned space shuttle booster, created in the wake of the Challenger disaster, roared into life in its first full-scale test-firing near Brigham City, Utah.

In 1991, Azerbaijan (ah-zur-by-JAHN') declared its independence, joining the stampede of republics seeking to secede from the Soviet Union.

In 1992, the television series "Northern Exposure" won six Emmy Awards, including best drama series, while "Murphy Brown" received three Emmys, including best comedy series, in a ceremony marked by satirical jabs directed at Vice President Dan Quayle.

In 1997, Americans received word of the car crash in Paris that claimed the lives of Princess Diana, Dodi Fayed and their driver, Henri Paul. (Because of the time difference, it was Aug. 31 where the crash occurred.)

Ten years ago: With just hours to spare, baseball averted a strike; it was the first time since 1970 that players and owners had agreed to a new collective bargaining agreement without a work stoppage. Movie director J. Lee Thompson ("The Guns of Navarone") died in Sooke, British Columbia, Canada at age 88.

Five years ago: In a serious breach of nuclear security, a B-52 bomber armed with six nuclear warheads flew cross-country unnoticed; the Air Force later punished 70 people. Taliban militants in Afghanistan released the last seven of its South Korean hostages.

One year ago: National Guard helicopters rushed food and water to a dozen cut-off Vermont towns after the rainy remnants of Hurricane Irene washed out roads and bridges in a deluge that had taken many people in the landlocked New England state by surprise. Libyan rebels said they were closing in on Moammar Gadhafi and issued an ultimatum to loyalists in his hometown of Sirte (surt), his main remaining bastion: Surrender, or face an attack.

Today's birthdays: Opera singer Regina Resnik is 90. Actor Bill Daily is 85. Actress Elizabeth Ashley is 73. Actor Ben Jones is 71. Cartoonist R. Crumb is 69. Olympic gold medal skier Jean-Claude Killy is 69. Actress Peggy Lipton is 65. Comedian Lewis Black is 64. Actor Timothy Bottoms is 61. Actor David Paymer is 58. Jazz musician Gerald Albright is 55. Actor Michael Chiklis is 49. Music producer Robert Clivilles is 48. Actress Michael Michele is 46. Country musician Geoff Firebaugh is 44. Country singer Sherrie Austin is 41. Rock singer-musician Lars Frederiksen (Rancid) is 41. Actress Cameron Diaz is 40. Rock musician Leon Caffrey (Space) is 39. TV personality Lisa Ling is 39. Rock singer-musician Aaron Barrett (Reel Big Fish) is 38. Actor Michael Gladis is 35. Rock musician Matt Taul (Tantric; Days of the New) is 34. Tennis player Andy Roddick is 30. Rock musician Ryan Ross is 26. Actor Cameron Finley is 25.

Thought for today: "If you board the wrong train, it is no use running along the corridor in the other direction." -- Dietrich Bonhoeffer, German theologian (1906-1945)

[Associated Press]

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