Daredevil Evel Knievel stands beneath the steel ramp to be used next Sunday in an effort to propel him across the 1,500-foot wide Snake River Canyon near Twin Falls, Idaho, shown Sept. 4, 1974. The 500-foot deep canyon is in background. Tennis star Bobby Riggs is shown at left. (AP Photo)

Today is Sunday, Aug. 30, the 243rd day of 2020. There are 123 days left in the year.

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Today’s Highlight in History

On August 30, 1967, the Senate confirmed the appointment of Thurgood Marshall as the first Black justice on the U.S. Supreme Court.

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Erik Estrada, star of the television series “Chips,” is all smiles in Los Angeles Sept. 3, 1982 as he stands in front of a billboard for which he modeled a pair of jeans. The advertisement is part of an upcoming episode entitled “Tight Fit.” (AP Photo/Nick Ut)

On this date

In 1797, Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley, creator of “Frankenstein,” was born in London.

In 1861, Union Gen. John C. Fremont instituted martial law in Missouri and declared slaves there to be free. (However, Fremont’s emancipation order was countermanded by President Abraham Lincoln.)

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

In 1983, Guion (GY’-un) S. Bluford Jr. became the first Black American astronaut to travel in space as he blasted off aboard the Challenger.

FILE - In this Sept. 1, 1987 file photo, Col. Moammar Gadhafi Libya's leader, holds a baton as he sits to review Libyan troops during the 18th anniversary celebration of Libya's revolution in Tripoli, Libya. As rebels swarmed into Tripoli late Sunday, Aug. 21, 2011, and Gadhafi's son and one-time heir apparent Seif al-Islam was arrested, Gadhafi's rule was all but over, even though some loyalists continued to resist. (AP Photo/John Redman, File)

In 1986, Soviet authorities arrested Nicholas Daniloff, a correspondent for U.S. News and World Report, as a spy a week after American officials arrested Gennadiy Zakharov, a Soviet employee of the United Nations, on espionage charges in New York. (Both men were later released.)

In 1993, “The Late Show with David Letterman” premiered on CBS-TV.

In 1997, Americans received word of the car crash in Paris that claimed the lives of Princess Diana, her boyfriend, Dodi Fayed (DOH’-dee FY’-ehd), and their driver, Henri (AHN’-ree) Paul. (Because of the time difference, it was August 31 where the crash occurred.)

In 2002, With just hours to spare, baseball averted a strike; it was the first time since 1970 that players and owners had agreed to a new collective bargaining agreement without a work stoppage.

In 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.

** FILE ** In this Aug. 30, 1976, file photo Mark Felt appears on CBS' "Face The Nation" in Washington. Felt, the former FBI second-in-command who revealed himself as "Deep Throat" 30 years after he tipped off reporters to the Watergate scandal that toppled a president, died Thursday Dec. 18, 2008. He was 95. (AP Photo/File)

In 2007, in a serious breach of nuclear security, a B-52 bomber armed with six nuclear warheads flew cross-country unnoticed; the Air Force later punished 70 people.

In 2012, Mitt Romney launched his fall campaign for the White House with a rousing, personal speech to the Republican National Convention in Tampa, Florida, proclaiming that America needs “jobs, lots of jobs.”

In 2017, the former Hurricane Harvey completed a U-turn in the Gulf of Mexico and rolled ashore for the second time in six days, hitting southwestern Louisiana as a tropical storm with heavy rains and winds of 45 miles an hour. Floodwaters began to recede in Houston, where thousands of homes were flooded.

Ten years ago: Vice President Joe Biden flew into Baghdad, where he sought to reassure Iraq that America was not abandoning it as the U.S. military stepped back. An enormous drill began preliminary work on carving a half-mile chimney through solid rock to free 33 men trapped in a Chilean mine. Texas-born fugitive Edgar Valdez Villarreal, a suspected drug lord known as “the Barbie,” was arrested in Mexico. Seven-time Cy Young winner Roger Clemens pleaded not guilty in Washington to charges of lying to Congress about whether he’d used steroids or human growth hormone. (Clemens went on trial in July 2011; the case abruptly ended in a mistrial. He was acquitted in a retrial.)

Five years ago: The White House announced that President Barack Obama would change the name of North America’s tallest mountain peak from Mount McKinley to Denali, bestowing the traditional Alaska Native name on the eve of a historic presidential visit to Alaska. Jake Arrieta pitched the sixth no-hitter of the season and second against the Los Angeles Dodgers in 10 days, leading the Chicago Cubs to a 2-0 victory. Tokyo won the Little League World Series, defeating Lewisberry, Pennsylvania, 18-11. Movie writer-director Wes Craven, 76, who startled audiences with suburban slashers like “Nightmare on Elm Street” and “Scream,” died in Los Angeles. Neurologist Dr. Oliver Sacks, 82, author of “The Man Who Mistook His Wife For a Hat,” died in New York.

One year ago: Valerie Harper, a breakout star on “The Mary Tyler Moore Show” and then her own series, “Rhoda,” died at the age of 80; she had been battling cancer for years. Sirhan Sirhan, who’d been imprisoned for more than 50 years for the 1968 assassination of Sen. Robert F. Kennedy, was hospitalized after being stabbed by a fellow inmate at a San Diego prison. Hackers briefly gained control of Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey’s account, sending racist and vulgar tweets to his 4.2 million followers. A Texas coroner’s report said Los Angeles Angels pitcher Tyler Skaggs had died in July with a toxic mix of alcohol and the powerful painkillers fentanyl and oxycodone in his system.

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AUGUST 31

On August 31, 1997, Prince Charles brought Princess Diana home for the last time, escorting the body of his former wife to a Britain that was shocked, grief-stricken and angered by her death in a Paris traffic accident earlier that day.

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

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SEPTEMBER 1

On September 1, 1945, Americans received word of Japan’s formal surrender that ended World War II. (Because of the time difference, it was Sept. 2 in Tokyo Bay, where the ceremony took place.)

In 1923, the Japanese cities of Tokyo and Yokohama were devastated by an earthquake that claimed some 140,000 lives.

In 1939, World War II began as Nazi Germany invaded Poland.

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SEPTEMBER 2

On Sept. 2, 1963, Alabama Gov. George C. Wallace prevented the integration of Tuskegee High School by encircling the building with state troopers.

In 1864, during the Civil War, Union Gen. William T. Sherman’s forces occupied Atlanta.

In 1945, Japan formally surrendered in ceremonies aboard the USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay, ending World War II.

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SEPTEMBER 3

On Sept. 3, 2005, President George W. Bush ordered more than 7,000 active duty forces to the Gulf Coast as his administration intensified efforts to rescue Katrina survivors and send aid to the hurricane-ravaged region in the face of criticism it did not act quickly enough.

In 1609, English explorer Henry Hudson and his crew aboard the Half Moon entered present-day New York Harbor and began sailing up the river that now bears his name. (They reached present-day Albany before turning back.)

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SEPTEMBER 4

On Sept. 4, 1781, Los Angeles was founded by Spanish settlers under the leadership of Governor Felipe de Neve.

In 1971, an Alaska Airlines jet crashed near Juneau, killing all 111 people on board.

In 1974, the United States established diplomatic relations with East Germany.

In 1998, Internet services company Google filed for incorporation in California.

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SEPTEMBER 5

On Sept. 5, 1972, the Palestinian group Black September attacked the Israeli Olympic delegation at the Munich Games, killing 11 Israelis and a police officer. German forces killed five of the gunmen.

In 1774, the first Continental Congress assembled in Philadelphia.

In 1793, the Reign of Terror began during the French Revolution as the National Convention instituted harsh measures to repress counter-revolutionary activities.

In 1864, voters in Louisiana approved a new state constitution abolishing slavery.