Today in history

On Aug. 30, 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 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.)

In 1935, the film “Anna Karenina,” MGM’s version of the Tolstoy novel starring Greta Garbo, opened in New York.

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

In 1954, President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, which was intended to promote private development of nuclear energy.

In 1963, the “Hot Line” communications link between Washington and Moscow went into operation.

In 1967, the Senate confirmed the appointment of Thurgood Marshall as the first black justice on the U.S. Supreme Court.

In 1983, Guion S. Bluford Jr. became the first black American astronaut to travel in space as he blasted off aboard the Challenger.

In 1984, the space shuttle Discovery was launched on its inaugural flight.

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 1989, a federal jury in New York found “hotel queen” Leona Helmsley guilty of income tax evasion, but acquitted her of extortion. (Helmsley ended up serving 18 months behind bars, a month at a halfway house and two months under house arrest.)

In 1991, Azerbaijan declared its independence, joining the stampede of republics seeking to secede from the Soviet Union.

Ten years ago: Hurricane John lashed tourist resorts with heavy winds and rain as the dangerous Category 4 storm marched up Mexico’s Pacific coast.

Five years ago: National Guard helicopters rushed food and water to a dozen cut-off Vermont towns after the rainy remnants of Hurricane Irene washed out roads and bridges in a deluge that had taken many people in the landlocked New England state by surprise. Libyan rebels said they were closing in on Moammar Gadhafi and issued an ultimatum to loyalists in his hometown of Sirte, his main remaining bastion: Surrender, or face attack.

One year 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.

“If you board the wrong train, it is no use running along the corridor in the other direction.” — Dietrich Bonhoeffer, German theologian (1906-1945).