Post by MacBeth on Aug 4, 2009 6:01:00 GMT -5
In 1578, a crusade against the Moors of Morocco is routed at the Battle of Alcazar-el-Kebir. King Sebastian of Portugal and 8,000 of his soldiers are killed.
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 1809, Prince Metternich, who will dominate European affairs for much of the next four decades, becomes foreign minister of the Austrian Habsburg empire.
In 1830, plans for the city of Chicago were laid out.
In 1914, Canada officially enters World War I when Britain declares war on Germany and Austria-Hungary; when Germany invades Belgium; US proclaims neutrality. Canada will vote to spend $50 million to raise an army.
In 1916, the United States reached agreement with Denmark to purchase the Danish Virgin Islands for $25 million.
In 1942, the British government charges that Mohandas Gandhi and his All-Indian Congress Party favor "appeasement" with Japan.
In 1944, Anne Frank, 15, was arrested along with her sister, parents and four other people, after they had spent two years hiding from the Nazis in a building in Amsterdam. Her diary became a famous account of the Holocaust.
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.
In 1994, Serb-dominated Yugoslavia withdrew its support for Bosnian Serbs, sealing the 300-mile border between Yugoslavia and Serb-held Bosnia.
In 1999, on the eve of congressional votes on the Republicans' $792 billion tax cut proposal, President Bill Clinton again pledged a veto, saying the GOP package was "risky and plainly wrong."
In 2004, Richard Smith, a Staten Island ferry pilot, pleaded guilty to manslaughter charges in a crash that killed 11 commuters the previous October, acknowledging that he'd passed out at the helm after arriving at work with medication in his system. (Smith was sentenced to 18 months in prison.) Former teacher Mary Kay Letourneau, convicted of having sex with a sixth-grade pupil, was released from a Washington state prison.
In 2005, 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.
In 2008, President George W. Bush signed legislation allowing the State Department to settle all remaining lawsuits against Libya by American victims of terrorism.
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 1809, Prince Metternich, who will dominate European affairs for much of the next four decades, becomes foreign minister of the Austrian Habsburg empire.
In 1830, plans for the city of Chicago were laid out.
In 1914, Canada officially enters World War I when Britain declares war on Germany and Austria-Hungary; when Germany invades Belgium; US proclaims neutrality. Canada will vote to spend $50 million to raise an army.
In 1916, the United States reached agreement with Denmark to purchase the Danish Virgin Islands for $25 million.
In 1942, the British government charges that Mohandas Gandhi and his All-Indian Congress Party favor "appeasement" with Japan.
In 1944, Anne Frank, 15, was arrested along with her sister, parents and four other people, after they had spent two years hiding from the Nazis in a building in Amsterdam. Her diary became a famous account of the Holocaust.
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.
In 1994, Serb-dominated Yugoslavia withdrew its support for Bosnian Serbs, sealing the 300-mile border between Yugoslavia and Serb-held Bosnia.
In 1999, on the eve of congressional votes on the Republicans' $792 billion tax cut proposal, President Bill Clinton again pledged a veto, saying the GOP package was "risky and plainly wrong."
In 2004, Richard Smith, a Staten Island ferry pilot, pleaded guilty to manslaughter charges in a crash that killed 11 commuters the previous October, acknowledging that he'd passed out at the helm after arriving at work with medication in his system. (Smith was sentenced to 18 months in prison.) Former teacher Mary Kay Letourneau, convicted of having sex with a sixth-grade pupil, was released from a Washington state prison.
In 2005, 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.
In 2008, President George W. Bush signed legislation allowing the State Department to settle all remaining lawsuits against Libya by American victims of terrorism.