TODAY IN HISTORY

On Aug. 4, 1964, the bodies of missing civil rights workers Michael Schwerner, Andrew Goodman and James Chaney were found buried in an earthen dam in Mississippi.

Also on this date

In 1914,

Britain declared war on Germany for invading Belgium; the United States proclaimed its neutrality in the mushrooming world conflict.

In 1916,

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

In 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.)

In 1972,

Arthur Bremer of Milwaukee 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 21⁄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.

Ten years ago:

BP PLC reported the broken well head at the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico was plugged up with mud; President Barack Obama said the battle to contain one of the world’s worst oil spills was “finally close to coming to an end.”

Five years ago:

President Barack Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made dueling appeals to the American Jewish community as they sought to rally support for their opposing positions on the Iranian nuclear deal.

One year ago:

A masked gunman fired 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.

Associated Press

UPI (UNITED PRESS INTERNATIONAL) Arthur Bremer is surrounded by officers as he was escorted into the Maryland Penitentiary in Baltimore after being convicted on Aug. 4, 1972, of attempting to kill George Wallace.