August 31
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.
1887 - Thomas Edison received a patent for his "kinetoscope," and moving pictures were born.
1888 - Mary Ann Nichols, considered to be Jack the Ripper's first victim, was found murdered in London.
1962 - Trinidad and Tobago gained independence from Great Britain.
1980 - Poland's Solidarity labor movement had its beginnings when an agreement ending a 17-day strike was signed in Gdansk.
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.
1994 - Russia officially ended its military presence in the former East Germany and the Baltic states.
1996 - Three adults and four children drowned when their vehicle rolled into John D. Long Lake in Union, South Carolina; they had gone to see a monument to the sons of Susan Smith, who had drowned the two boys in Oct. 1994.
1997 - Princess Diana and her companion, Dodi al-Fayed, were killed in a car accident in Paris.
2005 - New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin reported “a significant number of dead bodies in the water” following Hurricane Katrina; Nagin ordered virtually the entire police force to abandon search-and-rescue efforts and to instead stop increasingly hostile thieves.
2010 - President Barack Obama ended the U.S. combat mission in Iraq, declaring no victory after seven years of bloodshed and telling those divided over the war in his country and around the world: “It is time to turn the page.”
2012 - Armenia severed diplomatic relations with Hungary, after the pardoning of Ramil Safarov, who in 2004 was convicted of killing an Armenian solider.
2013 - Short of support at home and allies abroad, President Barack Obama stepped back from a missile strike against Syria and instead asked Congress to support a strike against President Bashar Assad’s regime for suspected use of chemical weapons.
2016 - 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.
2019 - A gunman carried out a shooting rampage that stretched ten miles between the Texas communities of Midland and Odessa, leaving seven people dead before police killed the gunman outside a movie theater in Odessa.
2020 - At a rally in Pittsburgh, Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden resoundingly condemned violent protesters and called for their prosecution; he accused President Donald Trump of causing the divisions that had ignited the violence. Trump reiterated that he blamed radical troublemakers who he said were stirred up and backed by Biden.
Birthdays
22 - Yael Shelbia (model)
25 - Jaylen Barron (actress)
28 - Chloe Ferry (reality star)
40 - Larry Fitzgerald (football player)
44 - Mickie James (professional wrestler)
46 - Jeff Hardy (professional wrestler)
48 - Sara Ramirez (actress)
51 - Chris Tucker (actor)
52 - Padraig Harrington (golfer)
53 - Queen Rania of Jordan
53 - Zack Ward (actor)
53 - Deborah Gibson (singer)
64 - Tony DeFranco (singer)
68 - Edwin Moses (track & field athlete)
74 - Stephen Henderson (actor)
74 - Richard Gere (actor)
78 - Van Morrison (singer)
83 - Jack Thompson (actor)
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Today in Sports History - August 31
1881 - The first U.S. tennis championships (for men only) began in Newport, Rhode Island.
1950 - Gil Hodges of the Brooklyn Dodgers hit four home runs in a single game off of four different pitchers.
1959 - Sandy Koufax set a National League record by striking out 18 batters.
1969 - Boxer Rocky Marciano died in an airplane crash in Iowa.
1987 - Curtis Strange sets a record for most golf winnings earned in a year at $697,385.
1990 - Outfielders Ken Griffey and Ken Griffey Jr. become the first father and son to play on the same team (Seattle Mariners); the pair hit back-to-back singles in the first inning and both scored.
1991 - Houston QB David Klingler sets NCAA record with 6 touchdown passes in the 2nd quarter as the Cougars clobbered Louisiana Tech 73-3.
1995 - #2 Nebraska opens the season with a 64-21 win over Oklahoma State.
1997 - The New York Yankees retire Don Mattingly's #23.
1997 - Eddie George runs for 216 yards on 35 carries and scores a touchdown as the Oilers, playing their first NFL game in Tennessee, beat Oakland 24-21 in overtime at the Liberty Bowl in Memphis.
2002 - #9 Nebraska defeats Troy State 31-16.
2013 - #18 Nebraska opens the season with a 37-34 win over Wyoming.
2019 - #24 Nebraska opens the season with a 35-21 win over South Alabama.
2019 - Minnesota Twins smash 6 HRs in 10-7 loss to the Tigers in Detroit; break MLB record by hitting 268th home run of the season.
