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their acquittals in a jury trial.
• In 1936, Jesse Owens of the United States won the first of his four gold medals at the Berlin Olympics as he took the 100-meter sprint.
• In 1943, Gen. George S. Patton slapped a private at an army hospital in Sicily, accusing him of cowardice. (Patton was later ordered by Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower to apologize for this and a second, similar episode.)
• In 1949, the National Basketball Association was formed as a merger of the Basketball Association of America and the National Basketball League.
• In 1958, the nuclear-powered submarine USS Nautilus became the first vessel to cross the North Pole underwater.
• In 1960, the African country of Niger (nee-ZHEHR') achieved full independence from French rule.
• In 1966, comedian Lenny Bruce, 40, was found dead in his Los Angeles home.
• In 1972, the U.S. Senate ratified the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty between the United States and the Soviet Union. (The U.S. unilaterally withdrew from the treaty in 2002.)
• In 1981, U.S. air traffic controllers went on strike, despite a warning from President Ronald Reagan they would be fired, which they were.
• In 1987, the Iran-Contra congressional hearings ended, with none of the 29 witnesses tying President Ronald Reagan directly to the diversion of arms-sales profits to Nicaraguan rebels.
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• Ten years ago: Taiwanese President Chen Shui-bian (jehn shwee bee-ehn) declared in a speech that Taiwan was "not someone else's province" but rather an independent country separate from China. (Chen's comments sparked an uproar both in China and at home, prompting him to back away from his pointed rhetoric.)
• Five years ago: Toyota said its April-June 2007 profit had jumped 32.3 percent to a record high for a quarter, lifted by strong overseas sales and a weaker yen. Iraqis welcomed home their soccer team, which had won the Asian Cup.
• One year ago: Former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak denied all charges against him as he went on trial for alleged corruption and complicity in the deaths of protesters who'd helped drive him from power. (Mubarak was later convicted of failing to stop the killing of protesters and was sentenced to life in prison, but was acquitted of the corruption charges.) The Muscular Dystrophy Association announced that Jerry Lewis was no longer its national chairman and would not be appearing on the Labor Day telethon. Death claimed former NFL star and actor Bubba Smith, 66, and actress Annette Charles, 63, best known for her role as Cha Cha DeGregorio in

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