Today in History

Today is Friday, Aug. 4, the 216th day of 2023. There are 149 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History

On Aug. 4, 1944, 15-year-old diarist Anne Frank was arrested with her sister, parents and four others by the Gestapo after hiding for two years inside a building in Amsterdam. (Anne and her sister, Margot, died at the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp.)

On this date:

In 1790, the U.S. Coast Guard had its beginnings as President George Washington signed a measure authorizing a group of revenue cutters to enforce tariff and trade laws and prevent smuggling.

In 1830, plans for the city of Chicago were laid out.

In 1916, the United States reached agreement with Denmark to purchase the Danish Virgin Islands for $25 million.

In 1936, Jesse Owens of the United States won the second of his four gold medals at the Berlin Olympics as he prevailed in the long jump over German Luz Long, who was the first to congratulate him.

In 1964, the bodies of missing civil rights workers Michael Schwerner, Andrew Goodman and James Chaney were found buried in an earthen dam in Mississippi.

In 1972, Arthur Bremer was convicted and sentenced in Upper Marlboro, Maryland, to 63 years in prison for his attempt on the life of Alabama Gov. George C. Wallace (the sentence was later reduced to 53 years; Bremer was released from prison in 2007).

In 1977, President Jimmy Carter signed a measure establishing the Department of Energy.

In 1987, the Federal Communications Commission voted 4-0 to abolish the Fairness Doctrine, which required radio and television stations to present balanced coverage of controversial issues.

In 1993, a federal judge sentenced Los Angeles police officers Stacey Koon and Laurence Powell to 2 1/2 years in prison for violating Rodney King's civil rights.

In 2009, North Korean leader Kim Jong Il pardoned American journalists Laura Ling and Euna Lee for entering the country illegally and ordered their release during a surprise visit by former U.S. President Bill Clinton.

In 2019, a masked gunman fired on revelers enjoying summer nightlife in a popular entertainment district of Dayton, Ohio, leaving nine people dead and 27 wounded; police said officers shot and killed the shooter within 30 seconds of the start of his rampage.

In 2020, nearly 3,000 tons of ammonium nitrate that had been improperly stored for years in the port of Beirut, Lebanon, exploded, killing more than 200 people, injuring more than 6,000 and devastating nearby neighborhoods; it was one of the largest non-nuclear explosions ever recorded.

Ten years ago: Security forces closed roads, put up extra blast walls and increased patrols near some of the more than 20 U.S. diplomatic missions in the Muslim world that Washington had ordered closed for the weekend following warnings of a possible al-Qaida attack. Missy Franklin claimed her record sixth gold medal on the final day of the world championships in Barcelona, becoming the most successful female swimmer ever at a world meet. American Stacy Lewis won the Women's British Open, finishing with a pair of birdies and closing with an even-par 72. Pro Football Hall of Famer Art Donovan, 89, died in Baltimore.

Five years ago: A utility worker was killed in a vehicle-related accident near a Northern California wildfire, becoming the seventh person to die amid the immense blaze that had been burning for two weeks near Redding. Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro dodged what officials described as an assassination attempt when drones armed with explosives detonated as he delivered a speech to hundreds of soldiers.

One year ago: A Texas jury ordered conspiracy theorist Alex Jones to pay more than $4 million in compensatory damages to the parents of a 6-year-old boy who was killed in the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre over the Jones' repeated public claims that the attack was a hoax. The jury's decision marked the first time the Infowars host had been held financially liable for falsely claiming that the attack that killed 20 children and six educators in Newtown, Connecticut, was staged. U.S. basketball star Brittney Griner was convicted in Russia of drug possession and smuggling, and was sentenced to nine years in prison in a politically charged case. (Griner would be released in a prisoner exchange four months later.)

Today's Birthdays: Actor-singer Tina Cole is 80. Football Hall of Famer John Riggins is 74. Former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales is 68. Actor-screenwriter Billy Bob Thornton is 68. Actor Kym Karath (Film: "The Sound of Music") is 65. Hall of Fame track star Mary Decker Slaney is 65. Actor Lauren Tom is 64. Former President Barack Obama is 62. Retired MLB All-Star pitcher Roger Clemens is 61. Actor Crystal Chappell is 58. Author Dennis Lehane is 58. Actor Daniel Dae Kim is 55. Actor Michael DeLuise is 54. Former race car driver Jeff Gordon is 52. Rapper-actor Yo-Yo is 52. R&B singer-actor Marques Houston is 42. Britain's Duchess of Sussex, the former actor Meghan Markle, is 42. Actor Abigail Spencer is 42. Actor/director Greta Gerwig is 40. Country singer Crystal Bowersox (TV: "American Idol") is 38. Actors Dylan and Cole Sprouse are 31. Singer Jessica Sanchez (TV: "American Idol") is 28.