This Day in History

By The Associated Press - 08/31/2007

Today Friday, Aug. 31, is the 243rd day of 2007. There are 122 days left in the year.

Today’s Highlight On Aug. 31, 1886, an earthquake rocked Charleston, S.C., killing 60 people.

On this date: In 1888, Mary Ann Nichols was found murdered in London’s East End in what is generally regarded as the first slaying committed by ‘‘Jack the Ripper.’’

In 1935, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed an act prohibiting the export of U.S. arms to belligerents.

In 1954, Hurricane Carol hit Connecticut, Rhode Island and part of Massachusetts, resulting in nearly 70 deaths.

In 1986, the Soviet passenger ship Admiral Nakhimov collided with a merchant vessel in the Black Sea, causing both vessels to sink; up to 448 people reportedly died.

Birthdays Broadcast journalist Daniel Schorr is 91. Baseball Hall-of-Famer Frank Robinson is 72. Actor Jack Thompson is 67. Violinist Itzhak Perlman is 62. Singer Van Morrison is 62. Actor Richard Gere is 58. Singer-composer Deborah Gibson is 37. Actor Zack Ward is 37. Actor Chris Tucker is 35.

Worth repeating ...

‘‘Real stories, in distinction from those we invent, have no author. Although history owes its existence to men, it is not ‘made’ by them.’’

— Hannah Arendt, German-born author, philosopher and historian (1906-1975)