1565 – Pedro Menendez de Aviles (1519-74) saw land near St. Augustine, Florida and founded the oldest continuously occupied European-established city in the continental US.  He was a Spanish admiral and explorer who is also remembered for planning the first regular trans-oceanic convoys.  St. Augustine was the first successful Spanish settlement in La Florida and the most significant city in the region for nearly three centuries. Menéndez subsequently became the first governor of colonial Florida.
    1609 - Delaware Bay explored by Henry Hudson (c.1565-1611) for the Netherlands. A chief purpose of voyages to the New World was to find a trade route to the Far East. When it became clear that there was a large land mass between Europe and the East, the search for sea route became a search for the Northwest Passage, a way around the northern part of North America. Sir Martin Frobisher in 1576-1578 was the first European to search for such a route. John Davis made a similar attempt in 1585-1587. When Henry Hudson sailed up the Hudson River in 1609, he hoped he had found the route, and in 1610, when he discovered Hudson Bay, he was on a similar mission. In 1616, William Baffin discovered Baffin Bay, which many years later was to provide a key to the actual route, long after the Northwest Passage had lost any commercial appeal. 
    1676 - Indian chief King Philip, also known as Metacom, was killed by English soldiers, ending the war between Indians and colonists.
    1722 - The town of Port Royal, Jamaica was devastated twice within a 30-year span by two natural disasters—an earth­quake in 1692 and a hurricane in 1722. The hurricane killed 400 townspeople and sunk 26 merchant ships. 
    1774 – Elizabeth Ann Bayley Seton, S.C. (1774–1821) was born in NYC.  She was the first native-born citizen of the United States to be canonized (declared a saint) by the Roman Catholic Church, on September 14, 1975.  She established the first Catholic girl's school in the nation in Emmitsburg, MD, where she also founded the first American congregation of religious sisters, the Sisters of Charity.
    1776 - In the Battle of Long Island, New York, American forces commanded by General Israel Putnam and General John Sullivan were defeated by the British under General Sir William Howe and General Sir Henry Clinton. Howe took General Sullivan prisoner. On August 30, the Americans evacuated Long Island and crossed to Manhattan. 
http://www.grunts.net/wars/18thcentury/birth/longisland.html 
    1798 - If you haven't taken the wine test at www.viader.com, I suggest you do, but the only incorrect question is that it was not Ohio, but Kentucky in 1798. The first successful vineyard was established this date by John James Dufour on a tract of land consisting of about 630 acres situated 25 miles from Lexington, KY. He called it “The First Vineyard.” Dufour was one of the pioneer viticulturists in America, producing wine, which Thomas Jefferson said was one of the most “fruity” he had ever tasted. Attempts to establish vineyards had been made as early as 1619 in Virginia, according to American history books. 
    1814 - The War of 1812 was still going strong as the British continued their ransacking of America. By August 28, they had captured a large portion of the East Coast, including Washington, D.C., prompting New York banks to halt payments to the government.
    1830 - The first passenger locomotive built in the United States was the Tom Thumb, designed and built by Peter Cooper in Baltimore, MD. It weighed six tons and had a 30-inch driving wheel. Its gauge was 4 feet, 8.5 inches. It carried 26 passengers a distance of 13 miles over the tracks of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad in 1 hour 15 minutes. It returned with 30 passengers in 61 minutes, including a four-minute stop to take on water. 
    1831 - Birthday of Lucy Ware Webb Hayes (1831-89), Chillicothe, OH.  Often recognized as the first American First Lady to hold a college degree, from Wesleyan Women’s College, Cincinnati, she was the wife of President Rutherford B. Hayes.
    1845 - The first issue of Scientific American was published. 
    1850 - Mayor Geary welcomed new Chinese residents to San Francisco in a ceremony in Portsmouth Square August 29, 1911. 
    1862 – The Second Battle of Bull Run (Second Manassas) was the culmination of the Northern Virginia Campaign of Gen. Robert E. Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia against Union Gen. John Pope’s Army of Virginia.  It was a battle of much larger scale and numbers than the First Manassas, fought on July 21, 1861 on the same ground.  The Union left flank was crushed and the army was driven back to Bull Run. Only an effective Union rear guard action prevented a replay of the First Manassas defeat. Pope's retreat to Centerville was nonetheless precipitous and this success on August 30 emboldened Lee to initiate the ensuing Maryland Campaign. 
    1867 - The first territory annexed beyond the nation's continental limits was Midway Island in the North Pacific Ocean, claimed by Captain William Reynolds of the Navy for the United States. 
    1884 – New York Gothams pitcher Mickey Welch struck out the first nine Cleveland hitters to face him, establishing the Major League record. 
    1891 - Trumpet player Thomas “Mutt” Carey’s (1891-1948) birthday, Hahnville, LA. 
http://user.tninet.se/~rrr043f/reviews6.htm 
    1894 - Manganese steel for railroad tracks was first manufactured by William Wharton, Jr., and Company, in High Bridge, NJ. The first rail frog with cast manganese steel plate was installed at Fulton Street and Boerum Place, Brooklyn, NY. 
    1898 – Caleb Bradham (1867-1934) renamed his drink Pepsi-Cola.  Circa 1890, he dropped out of medical school due to his father's business going bankrupt. After returning to North Carolina, he was a public school teacher for about a year, and soon thereafter opened a drug store in New Bern named the "Bradham Drug Company" that, like many other drug stores of the time, also housed a soda fountain of Middle Street and Pollock Street in downtown New Bern, is where Bradham, in 1893, invented the recipe—a blend of kola nut extract, vanilla, and "rare oils"—for what was initially known as "Brad's Drink."  Bradham named his drink after a combination of the terms “pepsin” and “cola,” as he believed that his drink aided digestion much like the pepsin enzyme does, even though it was not used as an ingredient.  On December 24, 1902, the Pepsi-Cola Company was incorporated in North Carolina, with Bradham as the president, and on June 16, 1903 the first Pepsi-Cola trademark was registered. Also in 1903, he moved his Pepsi-Cola production out of his drug store and into a rented building nearby. In 1905, Bradham began selling Pepsi-Cola in six-ounce bottles (up until this time he sold Pepsi-Cola as a syrup only) and awarded two franchises to North Carolina bottlers.
    1907 - United Parcel Service begins service in Seattle. Nineteen-year-old Jim Casey borrowed $100 from his friend, Claude Ryan, and started a local delivery service. They called it the American Messenger Company. Jim's slogan was, “Best service and lowest rates.” The company did well because Jim and Claude stuck to their principles: round-the-clock customer service, courtesy, reliability and low rates. They took these concepts a few steps further, focusing on package delivery for local retail stores, merging in 1913 with Mac McCabe and forming Merchants Parcel Delivery. The company was the first to provide consolidated delivery, placing packages with similar street destinations on one delivery truck. The company's growing fleet of trucks was then managed by Charlie Soderstrom. Charlie selected the dark brown color because of its professional appearance. By the 1920s, the company had grown large enough to expand to Oakland and Los Angeles, California. It wasn't long before it became known as United Parcel Service; 'united' for the consolidated shipments and 'service' because that's what they offered. Today, United Parcel Service provides delivery service to 185 countries and territories. 
    1908 - Birthday of Roger Tory Peterson (1908-96) at Jamestown, NY.  Naturalist, author of “A Field Guide to Byrds.”
http://www.petersononline.com/tribute/bio.html. 
    1911 - Saint George, GA was deluged with 18.00 inches of rain in 24 hours to establish a state record.
    1913 – Jack Dreyfus (1913-2009) was born in Montgomery, AL.  He is the founder of the Dreyfus Funds and is widely publicized for being the man who "invented" the commonplace mutual fund through direct marketing to the public.
    1917 - Women picket the White House for “equal rights” including the right to vote.
http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/today/aug28.html 
    1917 – Jack Kirby was born Jacob Kurtzberg (d. 1994) in NYC.  One of the most important and prolific comic book artists/writers of the Golden Age, among his creations are:  Captain America, Incredible Hulk, Thor, Iron Man, Fantastic Four, X-Men, New Gods and Kamandi. 
    1922 - Broadcasters realized radio could earn profits from the sale of advertising time. WEAF in New York ran a commercial “spot,” which was sponsored by the Queensboro Realty Corporation of Jackson Heights to promote Hawthorne Court, a group of apart­ment buildings at Queens. The commercial rate was $100 for 10 minutes. 
    1922 - George Herbert Walker (1875-1953), president of the United States Golf Association, presented the first International Golf Cup from the first International golf match at the National Golf Links of America, Southampton, NY.  Walker is the maternal grandfather of former President George H.W. Bush and a great-grandfather of former President George W. Bush. 
    1925 – Actor and dancer Donald O’Connor (1925-2003) was born in Chicago.
    1938 - Fats Waller records classic series of jazz pipe organ solos in London.
    1941 - With the nation on the verge of entering World War II and prices threatening to skyrocket, the government chose to take action against inflation. On this day, President Franklin Roosevelt handed down an executive order establishing the Office of Price Administration (OPA). Charged with controlling consumer prices in the face of war, the OPA wheeled into action, imposing rent controls and a rationing program which initially targeted auto tires. Soon, the agency was churning out coupon books for sugar, coffee, meat, fats, oils, and numerous other items. Though goods were in tight supply, Americans were urged to stick to the system of rationing. Some even took the Home Front Pledge, a declaration of their commitment to avoiding the black market in favor of buying the OPA way. The end of the war didn’t prompt an instant shutdown of the OPA. Reasoning that some goods were still quite scarce, President Truman kept the agency running. However, the existence of a government agency for regulated prices and production didn't sit well with some people. Big business bristled at the controls, as did farmers, who suffered under continued meat rationing. Soon after the '46 election, the OPA was relieved of its duties, with only rents, sugar, and rice still subject to controls. The agency's record of service during the war was fairly impressive: by V-J Day, consumer prices had increased by 31 percent, a number which was noticeably better than the 62 percent bloating of prices during World War I.
    1950 – Earle and Roy Mack, Connie’s sons by his first marriage, purchased 54 percent of the Philadelphia Athletics from Connie, Jr., their younger brother from a second marriage. Earle, Roy and Connie Mack now own 1,198 shares out of 1,500. "As long as dad wants to manage," the two announce, "he will continue to manage." 
    1950 – “Gator,” Yankees lefty Ron Guidry, was born in Lafayette, LA.  In 1978, he had arguably one of the best seasons in history, winning the Cy Young Award with a 25-3 record, leading the AL with a 1.74 ERA,  a .893 winning percentage, nine shutouts, and 248 strikeouts, the latter setting set a Yankees' team record for most strikeouts in a single season. He also set the team record with 18 strikeouts against the California Angels.  After getting the win in the AL playoff against the Red Sox in the Bucky Dent HR game, he led the Yanks to their second consecutive World Series championship.  Co-incidentally, teammate Lou Piniella was born this day in 1943, in Tampa, FL.  
    1955 – Chicago teenager Emmett Louis Till (1941-1955) was murdered in Mississippi at the age of 14, after reportedly flirting with a white woman. Visiting his relatives, he spoke to 21-year-old Carolyn Bryant, the married proprietor of a small grocery store there. Several nights later, Bryant's husband Roy and his half-brother J. W. Milam went to Till's great-uncle's house. They took Till away to a barn, where they beat him and gouged out one of his eyes, before shooting him through the head and disposing of his body in the Tallahatchie River, weighting it with a 70-pound fan tied around his neck with barbed wire. Three days later, Till's body was discovered and retrieved from the river.  Although initially, local newspapers and law enforcement officials decried the violence against Till and called for justice, they soon began responding to national criticism by defending Mississippians, which eventually transformed into support for the killers. In September 1955, Bryant and Milam were acquitted of Till's kidnapping and murder. Protected against double jeopardy, Bryant and Milam publicly admitted in an interview with Look magazine that they killed Till.  The trial of Bryant and Milam attracted a vast amount of press attention. Till's murder is noted as a pivotal event motivating the African-American civil Rights Movement. Events surrounding Emmett Till's life and death, according to historians, continue to resonate. 
    1957 - The longest filibuster, to last for more than 24 hours, was conducted by Senator James Strom Thurmond, Democrat of South Carolina, who spoke against civil rights legislation for 24 hours and 18 minutes on August 28 and 29. 
    1960 - A 17-year-old Barry White completes his four-month prison term for stealing 300 tires from a Cadillac dealership. Having heard Elvis sing "It's Now or Never" in prison, he leaves determined to make music his life.
    1961 - Tamla Records releases The Marvelettes' first single, "Please Mr. Postman." The song will sell over a million copies and become the group's biggest hit, reaching the top of both the Billboard Pop and R&B charts. 
    1963 - Just before Dr. Martin Luther King gives his famous "I Have a Dream" speech at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, DC, Peter, Paul and Mary serenade the crowd with their hit version of Bob Dylan's "Blowin' in the Wind." More than 250,000 people attended this Civil Rights rally at which Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., made his famous, “I have a dream” speech. This is one of the three Emancipation Days of Respect that highlights the three key prin­ciples of the American Civil Rights Renaissance of the 1960s. Wearing black and white shows respect for Peoplehood in the Spirit of WAO (WeAreOne) on the anniversaries of three historic events: the Aug 28, 1955, kidnapping/lynching of 14-year-old Chicagoan Emmett Till that prompted the first March on Wash­ington after 600,000 viewed his remains and ignited the Civil Rights Renaissance of the 60s; the Aug 28, 1963, March on Wash­ington led by Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., that prompted the passage of the Civil Rights Bill of 1964. 
    1963 – Emily Hoffert and Janice Wylie were murdered in their Manhattan apartment, prompting the events that would lead to the passing of the Miranda Rights.  George Whitmore, Jr., was accused of this and other crimes but was later cleared.  The actions of the police department led Whitmore to be improperly accused of this and other crimes. Whitmore was wrongfully incarcerated for 1,216 days, from his arrest until his exoneration on April 10, 1973.  After what author T.J. English called, in his book The Savage City, "a numbing cycle of trials, convictions, convictions overturned, retrials, and appeals,” Whitmore was cleared of all charges and set free. Whitmore's treatment by the authorities has been cited as an example that led the Supreme Court to issue the guidelines known as the Miranda rights. The Supreme Court cited Mr. Whitmore’s case as “the most conspicuous example” of police coercion in the country when it issued its 1966 ruling establishing a set of protections for suspects, including the right to remain silent, in Miranda v. Arizona.
    1964 - On the same day that the Beatles make their first appearance on the cover of Life Magazine, and just after finishing their set at New York's Forest Hills Tennis Stadium, the group is taken back to their suite at the city's Hotel Delmonico. Journalist Al Aronowitz arrives from Woodstock, NY with his friend Bob Dylan, and brings him up to the suite. John Lennon asks the folk singer what he'd like to drink, and Dylan replies simply, "cheap wine." The Beatles offer Dylan their drug of choice, speed, but Al and Bob instead suggest marijuana, which the band had never tried. This shocks Dylan, who ventures that he always thought the band sang "I get high" in their song "I Wanna Hold Your Hand." John corrects him, telling him that the phrase is, in fact, "I can't hide." John makes Ringo smoke the joint first, and eventually each member of the band gets his own private marijuana cigarette. Paul, in particular, is quite taken with the thoughts it produces, ordering Mal Evans to follow him around with a notepad and take down all his pronouncements.
    1965 - The Rolling Stones sign with Decca records and ink a management contract with the soon-to-be-notorious Allen Klein.
    1965 - Birthday of country singer Shania Twain, Windsor, ON, Canada (real name Eileen Twain.)
    1967 – Future Hall of Famer Johnny Bench made his ML debut for the Cincinnati Reds.  He went 0 for 3 before Chico Ruiz pinch hit for him in the 9th with a runner on second base. It was to be the only time of Bench's career that he gave way to a pinch-hitter.
    1968 - The Doors' "Hello, I Love You" is certified gold 
    1968 - Police rioted during the Democratic National Convention, in Chicago, beating up anti-war protesters, peaceful demonstrators, innocent bystanders, and members of the press.  As President Lyndon Johnson had announced he would not seek reelection, the purpose of the convention was to select a new presidential nominee to run as the Democratic Party's candidate for the office.  Vice President Hubert Humphrey and Maine Sen. Edmund Muskie were nominated for President and Vice President, respectively.  The convention was held during a year of violence, political turbulence, and civil unrest, particularly riots in more than 100 cities following the assassination of Martin Luther King on April 4.  The convention also followed the assassination of Sen. Robert F. Kennedy on June 5.  Both Kennedy and Senator Eugene McCarthy of Minnesota had been running for the Democratic nomination at the time.  Later that day, around 10,000 protesters gathered in Grant Park for the demonstration. At approximately 3:30 p.m., a young man lowered the American flag that was there.  The police broke through the crowd and began beating the young man, while the crowd pelted the police with food, rocks, and chunks of concrete.  The chants of some of the protesters shifted from "hell no, we won't go" to "pigs are whores." The leaders of Students for a Democratic Society encouraged protesters to move out of the park to ensure that if the police used tear gas on them, it would have to be done throughout the city.  The amount of tear gas used to suppress the protesters was so great that it made its way to the Conrad Hilton hotel, where it disturbed Hubert Humphrey while in his shower.  The police sprayed demonstrators and bystanders with mace and were taunted by some protesters with chants of "kill, kill, kill."  The police assault in front of the Conrad Hilton hotel the evening of August 28 became the most famous image of the Chicago demonstrations of 1968. The entire event took place live under television lights for 17 minutes with the crowd chanting, “the whole world is watching.” 
    1969 - JIMENEZ, JOSE FRANCISCO, Medal of Honor. 
Rank and organization: Lance Corporal, U.S. Marine Corps, Company K, 3d Battalion, 7th Marines, 1st Marine Division. Place and date: Quang Nam Province, Republic of Vietnam, 28 August 1969. Entered service at: Phoenix, Ariz. Born: 20 March 1946, Mexico City, Mex. Citation: For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty while serving as a fire team leader with Company K, in operations against the enemy. L/Cpl. Jimenez' unit came under heavy attack by North Vietnamese soldiers concealed in well camouflaged emplacements. L/Cpl. Jimenez reacted by seizing the initiative and plunging forward toward the enemy positions. He personally destroyed several enemy personnel and silenced an antiaircraft weapon. Shouting encouragement to his companions, L/Cpl. Jimenez continued his aggressive forward movement. He slowly maneuvered to within 10 feet of hostile soldiers who were firing automatic weapons from a trench and, in the face of vicious enemy fire, destroyed the position. Although he was by now the target of concentrated fire from hostile gunners intent upon halting his assault, L/Cpl. Jimenez continued to press forward. As he moved to attack another enemy soldier, he was mortally wounded. L/Cpl. Jimenez' indomitable courage, aggressive fighting spirit and unfaltering devotion to duty upheld the highest traditions of the Marine Corps and of the U.S. Naval Service.
    1971 - Canada's Five Man Electrical Band saw their hit single "Signs" peak at #3 on the US Pop chart. It would go on to sell over a million copies and be awarded a Gold Record by the R.I.A.A. A string of other hits followed: "Absolutely Right," "Money Back Guarantee," "Moonshine," "Werewolf" and "I’m A Stranger Here", but none could match the band's earlier success. 
    1971 - Heavy rains from Tropical Storm Doria caused devastating floods in central and northeast New Jersey resulting in $138 million damage. In southeastern Pennsylvania, high winds downed trees and power lines, and in New York City, heavy rains flooded streets and subways.
    1971 – Olympic swimming gold medalist Janet Evans was born in Fullerton, CA.  Evans was a world champion and world record-holder and won a total of four gold medals at the 1988 and the 1992 Olympics. 
    1972 - Mark Spitz captured the first of his seven gold medals at the Summer Olympics in Munich, Germany. Spitz completed the 200-meter butterfly in 2 minutes, 7/10ths of a second. His performance set a new world record. 
    1972 - The first Air Force ace in Vietnam was Captain (now Brig. Gen.) Richard Stephen Ritchie of Reidsville, NC, who downed his fifth MIG-21 aircraft in North Vietnam in an air-to-air missile battle southwest of Hanoi. He flew an F-4 Phantom with the 555th Tactical Fighter Squadron of the 432d Tactical Reconnaissance Wing based in Thailand. His other “kills” occurred May 10, May 31, and two on July 8, 1972.
    1973 - Deep Purple received a Gold record for "Smoke on the Water," which hit #5 in the US on its way to selling over two million copies. It was the band's biggest success since "Hush" which also reached #5 in 1968. 
    1984 - The Jacksons ' Victory Tour broke the record for concert ticket sales. The group surpassed the 1.1 million mark in only two months.
    1988 – Phillies Hall of Fame 3B Mike Schmidt passed both Ted Williams and Willie McCovey, hitting his 522d career HR in an 8-1 win over the Padres.  Schmidt finished with 548.
    1988 - Tropical Storm Chris spawned a tornado near Manning, SC, which killed one person, and spawned three tornadoes in North Carolina. Chris produced one to two-foot tides, and three to six-inch rains, over coastal South Carolina. Severe thunderstorms in New York State and Vermont, developing ahead of a cold front, spawned a tornado which killed one person at Hector NY, produced tennis ball size hail at Brandon, VT, and produced wind gusts to 80 mph at Lyndonville, VT.
    1990 – Iraq declared Kuwait as one of its provinces, precipitating what would eventually become Operation Desert Storm, the US invasion of Iraq and liberation of Kuwait.
    1993 - Billy Joel's album "River of Dreams" hit #1 in the U.S. It was his first album to debut at #1 and stayed at top for three weeks. The album tracks were sequenced in the order they were written: "No Man's Land," "The Great Wall of China," "Blonde Over Blue," "A Minor Variation," "Shades of Grey," "All About Soul," "Lullabye (Goodnight My Angel)," "The River of Dreams," "Two Thousand Years," "Famous Last Words." 
    1994 - Tiger Woods, 18, won the U.S. Amateur Golf Championship, held at the Tournament Players Club-Sawgrass Stadium course in Ponte Vedra, FL. He thus became the first golf champion of African-American and Asian descent. He defeated 22-year-old Trip Kuehne to become the youngest winner in the 99-year history of the event. Woods went on to win two more amateur championships before turning professional in 1996. On April 13, 1997, Woods won the Masters Tournament at the Augusta National Golf Club, Augusta, GA, becoming at age 21, the youngest person ever to do so. His final round of 69 gave him a total score of 270, or 18 under par, the lowest in the history of the event. 
    1995 - The biggest bank in the U.S. was created when Chase Manhattan and Chemical Bank announced their $10 billion deal.
    2004 - Lou Rawls is awarded an honorary doctorate in from Ohio's Wilberforce University in recognition of his charity work with the United Negro College Fund and his "lifelong service to the education of historically disadvantaged populations."
    2005 – Mayor Ray Nagin ordered everyone in New Orleans to evacuate as Hurricane Katrina was reaching its peak ferocity.  It was the costliest natural disaster, as well as one of the five deadliest hurricanes in US history. The storm is currently ranked as the third most intense United States land-falling tropical cyclone.  Overall, at least 1,833 people died in the hurricane and subsequent floods. New Orleans suffered the highest number of deaths when the levee system catastrophically failed, in many cases hours after the storm had moved inland.  Eventually 80% of the city and large tracts of neighboring parishes became flooded, and the floodwaters lingered for weeks.  However, the worst property damage occurred in coastal areas, such as Mississippi’s beaches; over 90 percent of these were flooded. Boats and casino barges rammed buildings, pushing cars and houses inland; water reached 6–12 miles from the beach. 
    2013 - San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge closed its eastern span forever as a new, replacement plan opened on Sep 2, 2013.  Demolition lasted until 2018.
    2014 - Google announced its Project Wing. The project was aimed at delivering products across a city using unmanned flying vehicles (drones).