In 1884, the first known photograph of a tornado was made.

In 1922, a New York City realty company paid $100 for the first radio commercial, on station WEAF.

In 1955, while visiting family in Money, Miss., 14-year-old Emmett Till, an African-American from Chicago, was slain for flirting with a white woman four
days earlier. His alleged killers were acquitted.

In 1963, Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his “I have a dream” speech from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial before more than 200,000 people gathered for
the “Freedom March” in Washington.

In 1968, the Democratic Party nominated Hubert Humphrey for president as thousands of anti-Vietnam War demonstrators battled police in the streets and parks
of Chicago.

In 1986, Soviet spy Jerry Whitworth was sentenced in San Francisco to 365 years in prison and fined $410,000.

In 1988, more than 50 people were killed in the Philippines in an unsuccessful coup attempt against President Corazon Aquino.

In 1990, at least 27 people died and more than 350 were injured when a tornado struck Will County, Ill., southwest of Chicago.

In 1996, after four years of separation, Prince Charles, heir to the British throne, and his wife, Princess Diana, were formally divorced.

In 2002, four men, three of them working at the airport, were indicted in Detroit as suspected terrorists. Another man, suspected of trying to set up a
terrorist training camp in Oregon, was indicted in Seattle.

In 2003, North Korea said it would prove it had nuclear weapons by conducting a test. The warning came at the conclusion of talks in Beijing with other
nations over North Korea’s weapons program.

In 2004, U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell canceled plans to attend closing ceremonies at the Summer Olympics in Greece after protests against U.S. foreign
policy.

In 2005, Hurricane Katrina picked up strength as it roared toward the Gulf Coast, reaching Category 5 status, with winds of almost 150 miles an hour, touching
off one of the largest evacuations in U.S. history. The mayor of New Orleans issued a mandatory evacuation order while fleeing residents clogged highways
in other parts of Louisiana and in Mississippi and Alabama.

In 2007, Abdullah Gul was elected president in the third round of parliamentary voting in Turkey, reported to be the nation’s first Islamist chief in modern
history.

Also in 2007, U.S. Sen. Larry Craig, R-Idaho, admitted he pleaded guilty without consulting a lawyer to disorderly conduct in a Minneapolis airport men’s
room incident in June but insisted he had done nothing wrong.

In 2008, Sen. John McCain, the presumed Republican nominee for president, chose Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as his vice presidential running mate.

Also in 2008, as part of a $3 billion deal, China agreed to provide Iraq with technical advisers, workers and equipment to develop the Ahdab oil field.

In 2009, the June 27 death of entertainer Michael Jackson was ruled a homicide by drug overdose after his personal physician admitted giving him the powerful
anesthetic propofol and the sedative lorazepam on the day of his death.

In 1859, the first successful oil well in the United States was drilled near Titusville, Pa.

In 1883, the most powerful volcanic eruption in recorded history occurred on Krakatoa, a small, uninhabited island located west of Sumatra in Indonesia.

In 1928, the Kellogg-Briand Pact, outlawing war as a means to settle international disputes, was signed by 15 nations in Paris. World War II began 11 years
later.

In 1939, Adolf Hitler served notice on England and France that Germany wanted Danzig and the Polish Corridor.

In 1962, the Mariner 2 was launched.

In 1977, IRA militants killed Louis Mountbatten, a cousin of the queen, by blowing up his boat. It was the IRA’s first attack on the royal family.

In 1991, the Soviet republic of Moldavia declared independence and the European Community recognized Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania as independent countries.

In 1992, Serbian leaders at the Yugoslav peace conference pledged to close the prisoner-of-war camps, end “ethnic cleansing” and work toward peace.

In 1999, two Russian cosmonauts and a French astronaut left Mir to return to Earth, leaving the orbiting Russian space station unmanned for the first time
in 13 years.

In 2003, the United States and North Korea met privately in Beijing during the six-nation talks on Pyongyang’s nuclear program. Diplomats said there was
no breakthrough in the talks.

In 2004, Russian authorities said traces of explosives were found in the wreckage of two airliners that crashed within minutes of each other after takeoff
earlier in the week in Moscow, heightening suspicion of terrorism. A total of 89 people died in the crashes.

In 2006, reports said hundreds of tribal chiefs signed a pact supporting reconciliation and an end to sectarian strife in Iraq while bombs and gunfire
killed 100 Iraqis over a two-day period.

In 2007, beleaguered U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales announced his resignation, effective Sept. 17. He had been embroiled in several controversies
including the firings of nine U.S. attorneys, treatment of detainees, surveillance and other issues.

In 2008, Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois was formally elected the Democratic presidential nominee at the party’s national convention in Denver. In a symbolic
gesture, Sen. Hillary Clinton, his closest opponent, moved to end the roll call and nominate Obama by acclamation. Sen. Joe Biden of Delaware was the party’s
vice presidential nominee.