August 4
1735 - Printer John Peter Zenger, defended by Andrew Hamilton, was acquitted of libel in a case that helped foster freedom of the press.
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.
1830 - Plans for the city of Chicago were laid out.
1884 - Thomas Stevens became the first person to bicycle across the United States. He would later bicycle around the world.
1892 - Andrew and Abby Borden were axed to death in their home in Fall River, Mass. (Lizzie Borden, Andrew Borden's daughter from a previous marriage, was accused of the killings, though she was later acquitted.)
1914 - Germany invaded Belgium and, in response, Britain declared war on Germany during World War I. The United States proclaimed its neutrality.
1916 - Denmark ceded the Danish West Indies, including the Danish Virgin Islands, to the United States for $25 million.
1944 - Anne Frank and her family were found hiding in Amsterdam by the Nazis. (Anne and her sister, Margot, died at the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp.)
1964 - The bodies of three civil rights workers were found in an earthen dam, six weeks into a federal investigation backed by President Lyndon B. Johnson.
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).
1977 - President Jimmy Carter signed a congressional act that established the Department of Energy.
1987 - The Federal Communications Commission voted to rescind the Fairness Doctrine, which required radio and TV stations to present balanced coverage of controversial issues.
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.
1994 - Serb-dominated Yugoslavia withdrew its support for Bosnian Serbs, sealing the 300-mile border between Yugoslavia and Serb-held Bosnia.
2005 - A mini-submarine carrying seven Russians became caught on an underwater antenna 600 feet below the surface of the Pacific Ocean; the men were rescued three days later with help from a British vessel.
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.
2011 - A Texas jury convicted polygamist sect leader Warren Jeffs of child sexual assault in a case stemming from two young followers he’d taken as brides in what his church called “spiritual marriages.” (Jeffs was sentenced to life in prison.)
2016 - Speaking to reporters at the Pentagon, President Barack Obama vigorously denied that a $400 million cash payment to Iran was ransom to secure the release of four Americans jailed in Tehran.
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.
Birthdays
26 - Jessica Sanchez (singer)
26 - Bruna Marquezine (actress)
28 - Meghan Rienks (actress)
29 - Dylan Sprouse (actor)
29 - Cole Sprouse (actor)
32 - Jessica Mauboy (singer)
36 - Crystal Bowersox (country singer)
38 - Greta Gerwig (actress)
40 - Abigail Spencer (actress)
40 - Meghan Markle (actress, Duchess of Sussex)
40 - Marques Houston (singer)
48 - Jon Nicholson (country singer)
50 - Jeff Gordon (race car driver)
52 - Michael DeLuise (actor)
53 - Daniel Dae Kim (actor)
56 - Crystal Chappell (actress)
59 - Roger Clemens (baseball player)
60 - Barack Obama (44th president of the United States)
62 - Lauren Tom (actress)
63 - Mary Decker Slaney (track & field athlete)
63 - Kym Karath (actress)
66 - Billy Bob Thornton (actor)
72 - John Riggins (football player)
77 - Richard Belzer (actor/comedian)
78 - Tina Cole (actress/singer)
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Today in Sports History - August 4
1934 - Mel Ott became the first major league baseball player to score six runs in a single game.
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.
1983 - New York Yankee outfielder Dave Winfield threw a baseball during warm-ups and accidentally killed a seagull. After the game, Toronto police arrested him for "causing unnecessary suffering to an animal."
1985 - Tom Seaver (Chicago White Sox) achieved his 300th victory.
1985 - Rod Carew of the California Angels recorded his 3,000th career hit.
1985 - The New York Yankees retire Phil Rizzuto's #10.
1986 - The United States Football League called off its 1986 season. This was after winning only token damages in its antitrust lawsuit against the National Football League.
1996 - Jim Bunning, Earl Weaver, Bill Foster and Ned Hanlon are inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame.
2007 - Barry Bonds of the San Francisco Giants hit his 755th home run, tying him with Hank Aaron for most in major league history.
2007 - 32-year-old Alex Rodriguez of the New York Yankees becomes the youngest player in MLB history to hit 500 career home runs.
2010 - On the third anniversary of hitting his 500th home run, Alex Rodriguez hits his 600th career home run, becoming just the seventh (and youngest) player in history to reach the milestone.
1735 - Printer John Peter Zenger, defended by Andrew Hamilton, was acquitted of libel in a case that helped foster freedom of the press.
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.
1830 - Plans for the city of Chicago were laid out.
1884 - Thomas Stevens became the first person to bicycle across the United States. He would later bicycle around the world.
1892 - Andrew and Abby Borden were axed to death in their home in Fall River, Mass. (Lizzie Borden, Andrew Borden's daughter from a previous marriage, was accused of the killings, though she was later acquitted.)
1914 - Germany invaded Belgium and, in response, Britain declared war on Germany during World War I. The United States proclaimed its neutrality.
1916 - Denmark ceded the Danish West Indies, including the Danish Virgin Islands, to the United States for $25 million.
1944 - Anne Frank and her family were found hiding in Amsterdam by the Nazis. (Anne and her sister, Margot, died at the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp.)
1964 - The bodies of three civil rights workers were found in an earthen dam, six weeks into a federal investigation backed by President Lyndon B. Johnson.
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).
1977 - President Jimmy Carter signed a congressional act that established the Department of Energy.
1987 - The Federal Communications Commission voted to rescind the Fairness Doctrine, which required radio and TV stations to present balanced coverage of controversial issues.
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.
1994 - Serb-dominated Yugoslavia withdrew its support for Bosnian Serbs, sealing the 300-mile border between Yugoslavia and Serb-held Bosnia.
2005 - A mini-submarine carrying seven Russians became caught on an underwater antenna 600 feet below the surface of the Pacific Ocean; the men were rescued three days later with help from a British vessel.
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.
2011 - A Texas jury convicted polygamist sect leader Warren Jeffs of child sexual assault in a case stemming from two young followers he’d taken as brides in what his church called “spiritual marriages.” (Jeffs was sentenced to life in prison.)
2016 - Speaking to reporters at the Pentagon, President Barack Obama vigorously denied that a $400 million cash payment to Iran was ransom to secure the release of four Americans jailed in Tehran.
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.
Birthdays
26 - Jessica Sanchez (singer)
26 - Bruna Marquezine (actress)
28 - Meghan Rienks (actress)
29 - Dylan Sprouse (actor)
29 - Cole Sprouse (actor)
32 - Jessica Mauboy (singer)
36 - Crystal Bowersox (country singer)
38 - Greta Gerwig (actress)
40 - Abigail Spencer (actress)
40 - Meghan Markle (actress, Duchess of Sussex)
40 - Marques Houston (singer)
48 - Jon Nicholson (country singer)
50 - Jeff Gordon (race car driver)
52 - Michael DeLuise (actor)
53 - Daniel Dae Kim (actor)
56 - Crystal Chappell (actress)
59 - Roger Clemens (baseball player)
60 - Barack Obama (44th president of the United States)
62 - Lauren Tom (actress)
63 - Mary Decker Slaney (track & field athlete)
63 - Kym Karath (actress)
66 - Billy Bob Thornton (actor)
72 - John Riggins (football player)
77 - Richard Belzer (actor/comedian)
78 - Tina Cole (actress/singer)
===========================================
Today in Sports History - August 4
1934 - Mel Ott became the first major league baseball player to score six runs in a single game.
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.
1983 - New York Yankee outfielder Dave Winfield threw a baseball during warm-ups and accidentally killed a seagull. After the game, Toronto police arrested him for "causing unnecessary suffering to an animal."
1985 - Tom Seaver (Chicago White Sox) achieved his 300th victory.
1985 - Rod Carew of the California Angels recorded his 3,000th career hit.
1985 - The New York Yankees retire Phil Rizzuto's #10.
1986 - The United States Football League called off its 1986 season. This was after winning only token damages in its antitrust lawsuit against the National Football League.
1996 - Jim Bunning, Earl Weaver, Bill Foster and Ned Hanlon are inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame.
2007 - Barry Bonds of the San Francisco Giants hit his 755th home run, tying him with Hank Aaron for most in major league history.
2007 - 32-year-old Alex Rodriguez of the New York Yankees becomes the youngest player in MLB history to hit 500 career home runs.
2010 - On the third anniversary of hitting his 500th home run, Alex Rodriguez hits his 600th career home run, becoming just the seventh (and youngest) player in history to reach the milestone.
