MOMENTS IN TIME

On Sept. 3, 1783, the American Revolution comes to an end
when representatives of the United States, Great Britain, Spain and
France sign the Treaty of Paris. The signing signified America’s status
as a free nation, as Britain formally recognized the independence
of its 13 former American colonies.
• On Sept. 1, 1850, circus entrepreneur P.T. Barnum brings to the
United States Jenny Lind (“The Swedish Nightingale”), the greatest
opera performer in the world at the time. Her tour is believed to
have netted Barnum close to a half-million dollars.
• On Aug. 31, 1888, Mary Ann Nichols, the first victim of London
serial killer “Jack the Ripper,” is found murdered in Whitechapel’s
Buck’s Row. On Nov. 7, after a month of silence, Jack took
his fifth and last victim, Mary Kelly. In 1892, with no leads found
and no more murders recorded, the Jack the Ripper file was closed.
• On Aug. 29, 1945, President Harry S. Truman authorizes the
Navy to seize control of and operate petroleum refineries to counteract
strikes by oil workers. Oil, gas and chemical workers had
worked hard during the war to meet production demands and now
wanted to return to a 40-hour work week. They resented the amount
of money oil industry CEOs were making off of their labor while
they simultaneously threatened to lower workers’ wages after the
war.
• On Sept. 4, 1957, Ford Motor Company unveils the Edsel. One
reporter called it “an Oldsmobile sucking a lemon.” In addition, at
highway speeds, the famous hood ornament had a tendency to fly
off and into the windshield.
• On Aug. 30, 1967, Thurgood Marshall becomes the first African
American to be confirmed as a Supreme Court justice. He
would remain on the Supreme Court for 24 years before retiring.
• On Sept. 2, 1987, the trial of Mathias Rust, the 19-year-old
pilot who flew his Cessna plane into Red Square in May 1987, begins
in Moscow. Rust had become an international celebrity after he
flew completely undetected through Soviet airspace. Rust claimed
that he was merely trying to promote world peace.