This day in history

[August 04, 2010]  (AP)  Today is Wednesday, Aug. 4, the 216th day of 2010. There are 149 days left in the year.

Today's highlight in history:

On Aug. 4, 1944, Anne Frank, 15, was arrested along with her sister, parents and four others by German security after hiding for two years inside a building in Amsterdam. (Anne, who'd kept a now-famous diary during her time in hiding, died in March 1945 at the Bergen-Belsen Nazi concentration camp.)

On this date:

In 1735, a jury found John Peter Zenger of the New York Weekly Journal not guilty of committing seditious libel against the colonial governor of New York, William Cosby.

In 1790, the Coast Guard had its beginnings as the Revenue Cutter Service.

In 1792, English romantic poet Percy Bysshe Shelley was born at Field Place near Horsham, England.

In 1830, plans for the city of Chicago were laid out.

In 1892, Andrew and Abby Borden were axed to death in their home in Fall River, Mass. Lizzie Borden, Andrew's daughter from a previous marriage, was accused of the killings, but acquitted at trial.

In 1900, Britain's Queen Mother Elizabeth was born.

In 1916, the United States reached agreement with Denmark to purchase the Danish Virgin Islands for $25 million.

In 1964, the bodies of missing civil rights workers Michael Schwerner, Andrew Goodman and James Chaney were found buried in an earthen dam in Mississippi.

In 1977, President Jimmy Carter signed a measure establishing the Department of Energy.

In 1987, the Federal Communications Commission voted to abolish the Fairness Doctrine, which required radio and television stations to present balanced coverage of controversial issues.

Ten years ago: Fresh from the Republican national convention in Philadelphia, GOP presidential nominee George W. Bush and running mate Dick Cheney began an air and rail tour of four swing states: Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan and Illinois. For his part, Democratic presidential candidate Al Gore mocked the Republican gathering as a special-interests-sponsored sham.

Five years ago: Al-Qaida's No. 2, Ayman al-Zawahri (AY'-muhn ahl-ZWAH'-ree), threatened more destruction in London in a videotape aired on Al-Jazeera. He also threatened the United States with tens of thousands of military dead if it did not withdraw from Iraq; President George W. Bush responded by saying, "We will stay the course, we will complete the job." A 19-year-old Israeli soldier opened fire inside a bus, killing four Israeli Arabs; an angry crowd then killed the gunman. 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.

One year ago: 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. Taliban militants unleashed a wave of rockets at Kabul's international airport and government buildings less than three weeks before Afghanistan's presidential election. A gunman opened fire in a health club in Bridgeville, Pa., killing three women before killing himself.

Today's birthdays: Journalist Helen Thomas is 90. Singer Frankie Ford is 71. Actress-singer Tina Cole is 67. Actor-comedian Richard Belzer is 66. Football Hall-of-Famer John Riggins is 61. Former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales is 55. Actor-screenwriter Billy Bob Thornton is 55. Actress Kym Karath ("The Sound of Music") is 52. Track star Mary Decker Slaney is 52. Actress Lauren Tom is 51. President Barack Obama is 49. TV producer Michael Gelman ("Live with Regis and Kelly") is 49. MLB pitcher Roger Clemens is 48. Actress Crystal Chappell is 45. Author Dennis Lehane is 45. Rock musician Rob Cieka (Boo Radleys) is 42. Actor Daniel Dae Kim is 42. Actor Michael DeLuise is 41. Actor Ron Lester is 40. Race car driver Jeff Gordon is 39. Rapper-actress Yo-Yo is 39. Country singer Jon Nicholson is 37. Rhythm-and-blues singer-actor Marques (MAR'-kus) Houston is 29. Actors Cole and Dylan Sprouse are 18.

Thought for today: "How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world." -- Anne Frank (1929-1945)

[Associated Press]

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