On This Day in History - August 4th - Almanac

Today is Thursday, Aug. 4, the 217th day of 2016 with 149 to follow.

It is U.S. President Barack Obama's birthday.

The moon is waxing. Morning stars are Neptune and Uranus. Evening stars are Venus, Mercury, Mars, Saturn and Neptune.

Those born on this date are under the sign of Leo. They include English poet Percy Bysshe Shelley in 1792; fashion designer Louis Vuitton in 1821; Scottish comedian Harry Lauder in 1870; Queen Elizabeth, mother of Britain's Queen Elizabeth II, in 1900; legendary jazz musician Louis Armstrong in 1901; Swedish architect Raoul Wallenberg, credited with saving 100,000 Jews from the Nazis during World War II, in 1912; longtime White House reporter Helen Thomas in 1920; actor Richard Belzer in 1944 (age 72); actor Billy Bob Thornton in 1955 (age 61); football Hall of Fame member John Riggins in 1949 (age 67); actor Daniel Dae Kim in 1968 (age 48); race car driver Jeff Gordon in 1971 (age 45); U.S. President Barack Obama in 1961 (age 55).

On this date in history:

In 1735, the standard of truth as a defense against a claim of libel was established in the American colonies when John Peter Zenger, publisher of a New York City newspaper, was acquitted of libel charges.

In 1914, Britain declared war on Germany. The United States initially declared itself neutral in World War I.

In 1944, acting on a tip from a Dutch informer, the Nazi Gestapo captured 15-year-old Jewish diarist Anne Frank and her family in a sealed-off area of an Amsterdam, Netherlands, warehouse.

In 1949, an estimated 6,000 people were killed and about 20,000 injured in an earthquake that destroyed dozens of towns in Ecuador.

In 1958, Billboard magazine introduced its "Hot 100" chart, covering the 100 most popular pop singles in the country. The first No. 1 was Ricky Nelson's "Poor Little Fool."

In 1964, the remains of three slain civil rights workers, whose disappearance on June 21 garnered national attention, were found buried in an earthen dam near Philadelphia, Mississippi.

In 1972, Arthur Bremer was found guilty of severely wounding Alabama Gov. George Wallace, who was campaigning for president. Bremer was sentenced to 63 years in prison.

In 1984, the African Republic of Upper Volta changed its named to Burkina Faso, which means "the land of upright men."

In 2007, Barry Bonds of the San Francisco Giants hit his 755th career home run, tying Hank Aaron's all-time major league record. He broke the record three days later and finished the season at 762 home runs. His achievements were clouded by accusations of using performance-enhancing substances.

In 2010, a U.S. federal judge struck down the voter-approved same-sex marriage ban in California, calling the law discriminating and unconstitutional.

In 2012, authorities in Gambat, Pakistan, suspended several police officers who forced a couple accused of adultery to walk naked through the town. Video footage of the incident stirred a public outcry.

In 2014, James Brady, the White House press secretary who was paralyzed by a gunshot in an assassination attempt on President Ronald Reagan and became a leading gun-control advocate, died in Alexandria, Va., he was 73. Brady's death was ruled a homicide, resulting from the 1981 shootings, which also wounded the president and two other men.

A thought for the day: "Hating people because of their color is wrong. And it doesn't matter which color does the hating. It's just plain wrong." -- Muhammad Ali.