History for August 4

History for August 4 - On-This-Day.com:
Louis Armstrong 1901 - Musician, singer, Raoul Wallenberg 1912 - Sweedish humanitarian during World War II, Billy Bob Thornton 1955 - Actor 


Barack Hussein Obama 1961 - 44th President of the United States, Dennis Lehane 1965 - Author, 
Jeff Gordon 1971 - Race car driver, Jeff Gordon Merchandise 


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. 


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. 


1987 - The Fairness Doctrine was rescinded by the Federal Communications Commission.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. 


1991 - The Oceanos, a Greek luxury liner, sank off of South Africa's southeast coast. All of the 402 passengers and 179 crewmembers survived. 


1997 - Teamsters began a 15-day strike against UPS (United Parcel Service). The strikers eventually won an increase in full-time positions and defeated a proposed reorganization of the company's pension plan.