TODAY IN HISTORY
TODAY IS TUESDAY, AUG. 4, the 217th day of 2020. There are 149 days left in the year.
TODAY’S HIGHLIGHT IN HISTORY:
On this date 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 1792, English romantic poet Percy Bysshe Shelley was born at Field Place near Horsham, England.
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 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 1977, President Jimmy Carter signed a measure establishing the Department of Energy.
In 1993, a federal judge sentenced Los Angeles police officers Stacey Koon and Laurence Powell to 2½ years in prison for violating Rodney King’s civil rights.
In 1996, on the final day of the Atlanta Olympics, Josiah Thugwane became the first Black South African to win a gold medal as he finished first in the marathon.
In 2001, thousands of admirers turned out in London for what would prove to be the last birthday celebration for Britain’s Queen Mother Elizabeth, who had turned 101. (The Queen Mother died in March 2002.)
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.
TODAY’S BIRTHDAYS: Actor-singer Tina Cole is 77. Actor-comedian Richard Belzer is 76. Football Hall-of-Famer John Riggins is 71. Former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales and actor-screenwriter Billy Bob Thornton are 65. Actor Kym Karath (Film: “The Sound of Music”) and Hall of Fame track star Mary Decker Slaney are 62. Actor Lauren Tom is 61. Former President Barack Obama and producer Michael Gelman (TV: “Live with Kelly & Ryan”) are 59. Retired MLB All-Star pitcher Roger Clemens is 58. Actor Crystal Chappell and author Dennis Lehane are 55. Rock musician Rob Cieka (Boo Radleys) and actor Daniel Dae Kim are 52. Actor Michael DeLuise is 51. Former race car driver Jeff Gordon and rapper-actor Yo-Yo are 49. Country singer Jon Nicholson is 47. Rhythm-and-blues singer-actor Marques Houston, Britain’s Duchess of Sussex, the former actor Meghan Markle, and actor Abigail Spencer are 39. Actor/ director Greta Gerwig is 37. Country singer Crystal Bowersox (TV: “American Idol”) is 35. Rock singer Tom Parker (The Wanted) is 32. Singer Jessica Sanchez (TV: “American Idol”) is 25.