Moments in Time – August 16, 2023

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• On Aug. 28, 1789, William Herschel, court astronomer under England’s King George III, discovered Enceladus, one of Saturn’s innermost moons, while using his new 40-foot telescope for the first time. Enceladus reflects almost 100% of the sunlight that strikes it and has at least five different types of terrain.
• On Aug. 29, 1998, a strike by 6,200 Northwest Airlines pilots seeking a 15% pay raise left 70,000 frustrated passengers high and dry around the U.S. The pilots had been in contract negotiations for more than two years, and an agreement was finally reached on Sept. 10 after the strike had cost the airline $26 million per day.
• On Aug. 30, 1951, Sgt. John R. Rice, a decorated World War II veteran and part-Native American soldier killed in the Korean War, was refused burial in Sioux City, Iowa’s Memorial Park Cemetery on the grounds of his ethnicity. After hearing the news at a press conference, President Harry Truman authorized a telegram to Rice’s widow, Evelyn, offering her a plot in Arlington National Cemetery, which she accepted.
• On Aug. 31, 1888, 43-year-old Mary Ann “Polly” Nichols, a prostitute from London’s East End and married but separated mother of five, was found brutally murdered near Whitechapel Road, becoming the first known victim of serial killer Jack the Ripper.
• On Sept. 1, 2013, new internet restrictions imposed by the Vietnamese government prohibited the country’s users from discussing current affairs, with social media and other sites, including blogs, limited to sharing personal information but not news stories. The law was criticized by both internet companies and a number of human rights groups.
• On Sept. 2, 1969, the original “Star Trek” TV series aired its final episode after running for just three years. While it never rose higher than No. 52 in the ratings, it remains a beloved cult classic, eventually generating movies and other series.
• On Sept. 3, 1908, J.M. Barrie’s play “What Every Woman Knows” debuted at London’s Duke of York’s Theatre. Written prior to the women’s suffrage movement, the show’s theme suggested that “every woman knows” she’s really the invisible power behind the success of the men in her life.

© 2023 King Features Synd., Inc.