Today's Highlight in History:
On August 31st, 1980, Poland's Solidarity¹ labor² movement was born with an agreement signed in Gdansk that ended a 17-day-old strike.
On this date:
In 1886, an earthquake rocked Charleston, South Carolina, killing³ up to 110 people.

In 1887, Thomas A. Edison received a patent for his "Kinetoscope," a device which produced moving pictures.

In 1888, Mary Ann Nicholls was found murdered in London's East End in what is generally regarded as the first slaying⁴ committed by "Jack⁵ the Ripper."

In 1935, President Roosevelt signed an act prohibiting the export of U-S arms to belligerents⁶.

In 1941, the radio program "The Great Gildersleeve" debuted⁷ on NBC.

In 1954, Hurricane "Carol" hit the northeastern United States, resulting in nearly 70 deaths.

In 1969, boxer⁸ Rocky Marciano died in a light airplane crash in Iowa, a day before his 46th birthday.

In 1985, Richard Ramirez, later convicted of California's "Night Stalker" killings⁹, was captured by residents of an East Los Angeles neighborhood.

In 1986, 82 people were killed when an Aeromexico jetliner and a small private plane collided over Cerritos, California.

In 1988, 14 people were killed when a Delta¹⁰ Boeing 727 crashed during takeoff from Dallas-Fort Worth Airport.

Ten years ago: UN Secretary-General Javier Perez de Cuellar met twice with Iraqi Foreign Minister Tariq Aziz in Amman, Jordan, trying to negotiate a solution to the Persian Gulf¹¹ crisis.

Five years ago: At the O.J. Simpson trial in Los Angeles, Judge Lance Ito ruled the defense¹² could play only two examples of police detective Mark Fuhrman's racist¹³ comments from taped conversations with a screenwriter.

One year ago: Detroit's teachers went on strike, wiping out the first day of class for 172-thousand students in one of the largest teachers' strikes in years. (The walkout lasted nine days.) An LAPA Boeing 737-200 crashed on takeoff from Buenos Aires, Argentina, killing 72 people, including five on the ground.