Moments in Time: Franklin D. Roosevelt
The History Channel
On Aug. 25, 1921, Franklin D. Roosevelt was diagnosed with polio -- also known as infantile paralysis because it usually strikes much younger people -- at the age of 39. He never regained the full use of his legs.
On Aug. 26, 1936, suffragist Susan B. Anthony's likeness appeared on a U.S. postage stamp that soon sparked some controversy: While some critics claimed it was an election-year ploy for women's votes, others insisted that it showed a cigarette in her lips.
On Aug. 27, 1967, Beatles manager Brian Epstein was found dead from an accidental overdose of Carbrital, a drug used to treat insomnia. A "scared" John Lennon later said that "I knew that we were in trouble then. I didn't really have any misconceptions about our ability to do anything other than play music."
On Aug. 28, 1987, the Arcadia, Florida, home of Richard, Robert and Randy Ray burned down in what was almost certainly an act of arson. The three young siblings, who were not at home at the time, had already faced severe discrimination due to their HIV status in an era in which the virus was still largely considered a "gay disease."
On Aug. 29, 1914, the Women's Defence Relief Corps was formed in Britain. Women's rights organizations in Britain at first opposed the country's entrance into the war, but reversed that position after recognizing the war effort's potential to gain advancement for British women on the home front.
On Aug. 30, 2006, the California State Senate passed the Global Warming Solutions Act, which made California the first state to place caps on carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases, including those found in automobile emissions.
On Aug. 31, 1888, prostitute Mary Ann Nichols, the first known victim of a London serial killer called "Jack the Ripper," was found murdered and mutilated in the city's Whitechapel district. In 1892, with no leads found and no more murders recorded, the Ripper file was officially closed, but criminologists, historians and amateur sleuths still debate his true identity to this day.