History for August 4

History for August 4 - On-This-Day.com:

United Kingdom: "Lights Out"--marking the start of World War One by turning off lights from 10 pm to 11 pm. #LightsOut

United Kingdom and Belgium: First World War Centenary Opening Day, locations in Scotland, Belgium and England. See https://www.gov.uk/government/topical-events/first-world-war-centenary

Coast Guard Day

Sturgis Rally begins at Sturgis, SD (Aug 4-10). 74th annual. See www.sturgis.com

Birth anniversary of poet Percy Bysshe Shelley (1792-1821).

Birth anniversary of Louis Armstrong (1900-1971).

In 1892, merchant Andrew Borden and his wife were found dead at their Fall River, MA, home. Daughter Lizzie Borden was arrested for the ax murders but later ruled innocent in a jury trial.

Happy Birthday, President Barack Obama!

Happy Birthday! Richard Belzer, Jeff Gordon, Billy Bob Thornton

1735 - Freedom of the press was established with an acquittal of John Peter Zenger. The writer of the New York Weekly Journal had been charged with seditious libel by the royal governor of New York. The jury said that "the truth is not libelous." 

1790 - The Revenue Cutter Service was formed. This U.S. naval task force was the beginning of the U.S. Coast Guard. 


1914 - Britain declared war on Germany in World War I. The U.S. proclaimed its neutrality. 


1921 - The first radio broadcast of a tennis match occurred. It was in Pittsburgh, PA. 


1922 - The death of Alexander Graham Bell, two days earlier, was recognized by AT&T and the Bell Systems by shutting down all of its switchboards and switching stations. The shutdown affected 13 million phones. 


1944 - Nazi police raided a house in Amsterdam and arrested eight people. Anne Frank, a teenager at the time, was one of the people arrested. Her diary would be published after her death. 


1958 - The first potato flake plant was completed in Grand Forks, ND. 


1958 - Billboard Magazine introduced its "Hot 100" chart, which was part popularity and a barometer of the movement of potential hits. The first number one song was Ricky Nelson's "Poor Little Fool." 


1972 - Arthur Bremer was found guilty of shooting George Wallace, the governor of Alabama. Bremer was sentenced to 63 years in prison. 


1977 - U.S. President Carter signed the measure that established the Department of Energy. 


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." 


1984 - Upper Volta, an African republic, changed its name to Burkina Faso. 


1987 - The Fairness Doctrine was rescinded by the Federal Communications Commission. The doctrine had required that radio and TV stations present controversial issues in a balanced fashion.