Today in History.....August 30

On this day in …

1862, Union forces were defeated by the Confederates at the Second Battle of Bull Run in Manassas, Va.

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.)

1918, after speaking at a factory in Moscow, Soviet leader Vladimir Lenin is shot twice by Fanya Kaplan, a member of the Social Revolutionary party. Lenin was seriously wounded but survived the attack. The assassination attempt set off a wave of reprisals by the Bolsheviks against the Social Revolutionaries and other political opponents. Thousands were executed as Russia fell deeper into civil war

1945, Gen. Douglas MacArthur arrived in Japan to set up Allied occupation headquarters

1963, the "Hot Line" communications link between Washington and Moscow went into operation

1966, Hanoi Radioreports Deputy Premier Le Thanh Nghi signed an agreement with Peking whereby the People's Republic of China will provide additional economic and technical aid to North Vietnam. It was this support and that provided by the Soviet Union that permitted the North Vietnamese to prosecute the war against South Vietnam and the U.S. forces there

1986, Soviet authorities arrested Nicholas Daniloff, the Moscow correspondent for U.S. News and World Report, and accused him of espionage. (He was later released.)
1991, Azerbaijan declared its independence, joining the stampede of republics seeking to secede from the Soviet Union

1997, Americans learned 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 when the crash actually occurred.)

2005, a day after Hurricane Katrina hit, floods were covering 80 percent of New Orleans, looting continued to spread and rescuers in helicopters and boats picked up hundreds of stranded people