Today in History - August 4 - Your Houston News
On August 4, 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. 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 1915, English nurse Edith Cavell was arrested by German authorities in occupied Belgium. she was executed later that year. In 1936, Jesse Owens of the U. S. 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. In 1944, 15-year-old diarist Anne Frank was arrested with her sister, parents and four others by the Gestapo after hiding for two years inside a building in Amsterdam. In 1975, the Swedish pop group ABBA began recording their hit single “Dancing Queen” at Glen Studio outside Stockholm (it was released a year later). In 1977, President Jimmy Carter signed a measure establishing the Department of Energy. Source: www.yourhoustonnews.com
