TODAY IN HISTORY

TODAY’S HIGHLIGHT 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.

ALSO ON THIS DATE 1792

English romantic poet Percy Bysshe Shelley was born at Field Place near Horsham, England.

1914

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

1916

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

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.

1964

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

1977

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

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.

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.

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.