2005 Hurricane Katrina Katrina is upgraded to a Category 5 storm and New Orleans mayor Ray Nagin orders the first ever mandatory evacuation of the city.

1992 A St. Louis man recovers his '62 Corvette which was stolen in 1971. The car, which he paid $1,300 for in 1969, is now worth $25,000.

1987 Halcion murders Nila Wacaser kills her two sons; she claimed the sleeping drug Halcion made her do it. In 1992 she was convicted of first-degree murder and committed suicide.

1972 Mark Spitz wins the first two of his seven 1972 Olympic gold medals.

1972 First US Air Force ace in Vietnam Capt. Richard Stephen Ritchie earns the distinction by downing his fifth enemy aircraft in North Vietnam.

1968 First major political party to propose a black presidential candidate The Rev. Channing Emery Phillips is proposed for the position by the Democratic convention.

1963 Martin Luther King, Jr. - I Have a Dream During his famous march on Washington, the civil-rights leader proclaims "I have a dream."

1938 Dummy Degree Charlie McCarthy, Edgar Bergen's ventriloquist dummy, is awarded the degree of Master of Innuendo and Snappy Comeback by the School of Speech of Northwestern University, Illinois.

1922 First U.S. radio commercial AT&T station WEAF of New York City broadcasts a 10-minute spot for an apartment complex.

1897 First horse to run a 2-minute mile Star Pointer, a Tennessee-bred light-harness stallion, runs a mile in 1:59.25 minutes on a Maryland track.

1867 First U.S. territory outside of the continental U.S The Midway Islands in the Pacific ocean are annexed.

1850 Lohengrin The first performance of Wagner's famous opera is given by Franz Liszt.

1830 First passenger trip on a US-built steam locomotive Peter Cooper's Tom Thumb takes 26 passengers on a ride along the B&O Railroad.

1789 Enceladus discovered Sir William Herschel discovers one of Saturn's moons.

1565 Oldest European settlement still in existence in America Spanish settlers arrive at St. Augustine, Florida establishing a settlement there the following month.

1960 Emma Samms English actress. TV: General Hospital (Holly) and Dynasty (Fallon).

1958 Scott Hamilton American figure skater, world champion (1981-84), and 1984 Olympic gold medal winner.

1957 Daniel Stern American actor. Film: Home Alone (the frizzy-haired burglar). TV: The Wonder Years (the grown-up voice of Kevin).

1951 Wayne Osmond American singer. Music: One Bad Apple (1971, #1) and Go Away Little Girl (1971, #1).

1943 David Soul (David Solberg), American actor, singer. TV: Starsky and Hutch (Hutch) and The Merv Griffin Show (as the hooded singer known as "The Covered Man"). Music: Don't Give Up On Us (1976 #1 US & UK) and Silver Lady (1977 #1 UK).

1930 Ben Gazzara American actor. TV: Run for Your Life (terminally-ill Paul Bryan).

1925 Donald O'Connor American Emmy-winning actor, dancer. Film: Singin' in the Rain (1952) and numerous Francis the Talking Mule films.

1924 Peggy Ryan (Margaret O'Rene Ryan), American actress, singer dancer, often teamed with Donald O'Connor. TV: Hawaii Five-O (McGarrett's secretary).

1921 Nancy Kulp d. 1991 American actress. TV: The Beverly Hillbillies (Jane Hathaway).

1905 Sam Levene d. 1980 American actor, originated the Broadway roles of crap game operator Nathan Detroit in Guys and Dolls and Al Lewis of The Sunshine Boys.

1897 Charles Boyer d. 1978 French-born American actor. Film: Algiers (1938, in which his famous invitation to Hedy Lamarr, "Come with me to the Casbah" was used for the trailers - although it was not in the film itself). The cartoon skunk Pepé Le Pew was based on his Pepe le Moko character in Algiers. He also co-founded Four-Star Television (1951).

1828 Count Leo Tolstoy d. 1910 Russian novelist, religious prophet. Writings: War and Peace (1869) and Anna Karenina (1877).

1774 Elizabeth Ann Seton d. 1821 first American-born Roman Catholic saint (canonized 1975). She founded the U.S. branch of the Sisters of Charity (1809).

1989 Joseph W. Alsop b. 1910 American syndicated political columnist, co-wrote the columns Capitol Parade (1937-40) and Matter of Fact (1945-58).

1987 John Huston b. 1906 American Oscar-winning, director, writer, The Maltese Falcon (1941) and African Queen (1952).

1985 Ruth Gordon b. 1896 (Ruth Jones), American Oscar-Emmy-winning actress. Film: Harold and Maude (1971, Maude) and Rosemary's Baby (1968, Oscar).

1951 Robert Walker b. 1918 American actor. Film: Bataan (1943), The Clock (1945), and played the psychopathic killer in Hitchcock's Strangers on a Train (1951).

1943 Boris III b. 1894 King of Bulgaria (1918-43). In 1935 he established a virtual dictatorship.

1903 Frederick Law Olmsted b. 1822 American landscape architect. He designed New York's Central Park and the 1893 Chicago World's Fair.

1798 James Wilson b. 1742 Scottish-born American patriot, signer of the Declaration of Independence, member of the Continental Congress and Constitutional Convention of 1787, and associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court.

1481 Alfonso V b. 1432 King of Portugal (1438-81).

876 Louis II b. circa 804 King of Germany (843-876), founder of the German kingdom.

430 Saint Augustine b. 354 North African Christian philosopher, bishop of Hippo (396-430).

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