1968 Martin Luther King, Jr. Assassinated

The 39-year-old civil rights activist was shot by James Earl Ray outside of his room at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tenn.  Martin Luther King Jr. had been in Memphis for a sanitation workers' strike.

King led and supported non-violent campaigns for racial justice and the equality of all people, regardless of race or class.  On Aug. 28, 1963, he delivered his famous "I Have a Dream" speech from the Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C. as part of the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom.  He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964.

1984 Chemical Weapons Ban

President Reagan announced an international plan to ban chemical weapons.   The proposed initiative prohibited the production, possession and use of chemical weapons by all nations.

Famous Birthdays

1928 Maya Angelou

1932 Clive Davis

1964 David Cross

1965 Robert Downey Jr.

1972 Jill Scott

1973 David Blaine

1974 Dave Mirra

1976 James Roday

1979 Heath Ledger

1979 Natasha Lyonne

1981 Ned Vizzini

1987 Sarah Gadon

1991 Jamie Lynn Spears