Today is Sunday, August 4th, the 217th day of the 12 months 2024. There are 149 days left within the 12 months.
Today in history:
On August 4, 2020, nearly 3,000 tons of ammonium nitrate that had been improperly stored for years exploded within the port of Beirut, Lebanon, killing over 200 people, injuring over 7,000, and devastating surrounding residential areas. It was one among the most important non-nuclear explosions ever recorded.
Also on this date:
The U.S. Coast Guard was founded in 1790 when President George Washington signed a law giving a gaggle of customs cutters the authority to implement customs and trade laws and stop smuggling.
In 1936, American Jesse Owens won the second of his 4 gold medals on the Berlin Olympics when he beat Germany's Luz Long, who was the primary to congratulate him, within the long jump.
In 1944, 15-year-old diarist Anne Frank was arrested by the Gestapo along together with her sister, parents and 4 other people after hiding in a constructing in Amsterdam for 2 years. (Anne and her sister Margot died within the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp.)
In 1960, Burkina Faso (then Upper Volta) declared its independence from France after greater than 60 years of colonial rule.
In 1964, 44 days after their assassinations, the bodies of missing civil rights activists James Chaney, Andrew Goodman and Michael Schwerner were found buried in an earthen dam in Mississippi.
In 1972, Arthur Bremer was convicted in Upper Marlboro, Maryland, of attempting to murder Alabama Governor George C. Wallace and sentenced to 63 years in prison (the sentence was later reduced to 53 years; Bremer was released from prison in 2007).
In 1977, President Jimmy Carter signed a law establishing the Department of Energy.
In 1984, Prince and the Revolution’s album “Purple Rain” began its 24-week run at the highest of the Billboard 200 record chart.
In 1987, the Federal Communications Commission voted 4-0 to repeal the Fairness Doctrine, which required radio and tv stations to supply balanced coverage of controversial issues.
In 1993, a federal judge sentenced Los Angeles cops Stacey Koon and Laurence Powell to 2 and a half 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 2017, former pharmaceutical CEO Martin Shkreli, who became notorious for a price-gouging scandal, was found guilty in federal court of defrauding investors in two failed hedge funds. (Shkreli was later sentenced to seven years in prison; he was released in 2022.)
In 2019, a masked gunman opened fire on revelers having fun with the summer nightlife in a preferred entertainment district of Dayton, Ohio, leaving nine people dead and 27 injured. Police said officers shot the gunman inside 30 seconds of starting his rampage.
Today's birthdays:
- Actress and singer Tina Cole is 81.
- Football Hall of Fame member John Riggins is 75.
- Former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales is 69.
- Actor and screenwriter Billy Bob Thornton is 69.
- Actor Kym Karath (film: “The Sound of Music”) is 66.
- Hall of Fame track and field star Mary Decker Slaney is 66.
- Actor Lauren Tom is 66.
- Former President Barack Obama is 63.
- Former MLB All-Star pitcher Roger Clemens is 62.
- Actor Crystal Chappell is 59.
- Author Dennis Lehane is 59.
- Actor Daniel Dae Kim is 56.
- Actor Michael DeLuise is 55.
- Former racing driver Jeff Gordon is 53.
- The rapper and actor Yo-Yo is 53.
- R&B singer and actor Marques Houston is 43.
- The British Duchess of Sussex, former actress Meghan Markle, is 43.
- Actress Abigail Spencer is 43.
- Actress and director Greta Gerwig is 41.
- Country singer Crystal Bowersox (TV: “American Idol”) is 39.
- Actors Dylan and Cole Sprouse are 32.
- Singer Jessica Sanchez (TV: “American Idol”) is 29.
Originally published:
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