1735 - Freedom of the press was established in the United States when John Peter Zenger, publisher of the New York Weekly Journal, won an acquittal of the libel charges placed by Gov. William Crosby. The royal governor had tried to censor Zenger's attacks on the British crown.
    1753 - George Washington became a Master Mason.
http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/today/aug04.html
    1790 - U.S. Coast Guard founded.
    1810 - Birthday of abolitionist Robert Purvis (1810-98) in Charleston, SC. He ran all the Underground Railroads from his home and was the founder of the American Leasing Anti-Slavery Society.
http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/USASpurvis.htm
    1830 - Plans for the city of Chicago laid out.
http://www.1upinfo.com/encyclopedia/C/Chicago-history.html
http://www.aviewoncities.com/chicago/chicagohistory.htm
    1838 – The British emancipated the slaves in the Bahamas and Grenada. A rumor started in the South that slaves would try to escape to the Bahamas and fear of this lead to stricter attitudes and positions of slavery, especially by the many large slave owners who relied on the “free” labor at their farms, called plantations.
    1873 - While protecting a railroad survey party in Montana, Custer and his 7th Cavalry clash for the first time with the Sioux Indians, who will defeat them three years later at Little Big Horn. During the previous two years, Lieutenant Colonel George Armstrong Custer and his 7th Cavalry had not fought a single battle against the hostile Indians of the western Plains. Hungry for action, Custer was pleased when the 7th Cavalry was ordered to help protect a party of surveyors laying out the route for the proposed Northern Pacific Railroad. The new transcontinental railroad (the third in the United States) was to pass through territory controlled by hostile Sioux Indians. Custer was optimistic that the assignment would give him a chance to improve his reputation as an Indian fighter. Initially, the military escort saw little action. The hostile Indians seemed to be avoiding or ignoring the survey party. For Custer, the mission turned into something of a lark. He spent much of his time shooting buffalo, antelope, elk, and other animals. To find good hunting, he often led the 7th Cavalry far away from the survey party and the main body of the military escort.
On this day in 1873, Custer was far ahead of the rest of the force, camping along the Tongue River in southeastern Montana. Suddenly, a large band of Sioux warriors appeared on the horizon and attacked. The Indians were led by Crazy Horse and Sitting Bull, but the young braves seemed to have attacked impetuously and with little planning. Custer, who had been taking an afternoon nap, reacted quickly and mounted an effective defense. After a brief skirmish, the Indians withdrew. Since only one soldier and one Indian were killed in the skirmish, Custer's short battle along the Tongue River seemed relatively insignificant at the time. However, Custer's easy escape in his first encounter with Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse may have given him a dangerously scornful view of their fighting abilities. It helped to confirm his belief that the Plains warriors tended to flee rather than fight. As a result, when Custer again encountered Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse at the Little Big Horn River three years later, his greatest fear was that they would withdraw before he could attack, and he rushed in without proper reconnaissance. That time, though, the Indians stood and fought, leaving Custer and more than 200 of his men dead.
    1874 - Methodist clergyman John H. Vincent (1832-1920) and Ohio manufacturer Lewis Miller established the Chautauqua Assembly in northwest New York State, a summer retreat center combining recreational activities with the training of Sunday School teachers and other church workers.
    1875 - The first Convention of Colored Newspapermen was held in Cincinnati, Ohio. The convention's aim was to promote the establishment of United States newspapers that would focus on the African American community.
    1881 - 122ø F (50ø C), Seville, Spain (European record)
    1882 - A vivid aurora was visible from Oregon to Maine, down the east coast as far as Mayport, FL, and inland as far as Wellington KS. Observers at Louisville, KY noted "merry dancers" across the sky, and observers at Saint Vincent, MN, noted it was probably the most brilliant ever seen at that location.
    1897 – African-American Henry Rucker appointed Collector of Internal Revenue for Georgia
    1900 - Louis Armstrong (1900-71), Jazz musician extraordinaire, was born at New Orleans, LA. For years, he had told reporters that he was born on July 4th, but actual records show August 4, which he realized later in life, noting his orphan home had told him otherwise. Perhaps the greatest jazz trumpet player who ever lived. Asked to define jazz, Armstrong reportedly replied, "Man, if you gotta ask, you'll never know." The trumpet player was also known as Satchmo. He appeared in many films. Popular singles included "What a Wonderful World" and "Hello, Dolly" (with Barbra Streisand) and “High Society.”   Two of my favorite albums are “Armstrong Plays W.C. Handy” and “Ella and Louis.”
http://www.satchmo.net/
http://www.redhotjazz.com/louie.html
Best Louis Armstrong Vocal:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00004RD5E/
qid=1059868750/sr=2-2/
ref=sr_2_2/103-5362656-4423850
My favorite single Armstrong Album:
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B000002ADP/qid=1059868810/sr=1-1/
ref=sr_1_1/103-5362656-4423850?v=glance&s=music
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B0000047FO/qid=1059868625/sr=10-2/
ref=sr_10_2/103-5362656-4423850?v=glance&s=books
    1904 - Trumpet player Bill Coleman (1904-81) birthday, Centreville, KY.
    1904 - Pianist/alto sax/trumpet player Kenneth Anderson born Pittsburgh, PA.
(See the list: http://jazzinstituteofchicago.org/index.asp?target=/
jazzgram/bronzeville/union/part3.asp )
    1905 - Piano player Joseph Louis “Red” Cayou (1905-94) was born New Orleans, LA.
    1910 - Birthday of American composer William Howard Schuman (1910-92) at New York City.   He won the first Pulitzer Prize for composition and founded the Juilliard School of Music.  His compositions include “American Festival Overture”, “New England Triptych”, the baseball opera “The Mighty Casey” and “On Freedom's Ground”, written for the centennial of the Statue of Liberty in 1986. He was instrumental in the conception of the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts and served as its first president. In 1985, he was awarded a special Pulitzer Prize for his contributions. He also received a National Medal of Arts in 1985 and a Kennedy Center Honor in 1989.
    1916 - Denmark agreed to cede the Danish West Indies, including the Virgin Islands, to the United States for $25 million. The deal took effect the following March 31.
    1919 - Birthday of Glenn Clarence Cunningham (1919-88) at Atlanta, KS.  Known as the "Kansas Ironman”, American track athlete and, from 1934-37, world record holder for the mile; member of the US Olympic teams in 1932 and 1936.  On June 16, 1934, at Princeton, NJ, Cunningham set a world record for the mile (4:06.7).
    1920 - Birthday of Helen Thomas (1920-2013) - U.S. journalist
    1921 - Guitarist Herb Ellis (1921-2010) born McKinley, Texas
http://www.arjazz.org/artists/hof/1994/94_herb_ellis.html
http://www.classicjazzguitar.com/artists/artists_page.jsp?artist=12
    1927 - The General Electric Station in Schenectady, New York, station 2XAG which was later named WGY, began experimenting with operations from a 100,000-watt transmitter. The FCC would later regulate the power of AM radio stations to not go over 50,000 watts on "clear channels" where few stations would interfere with each other.
    1927 - For Victor Records in Bristol, Tennessee, singer Jimmie Rodgers recorded his first songs. On the record he sang "Sleep Baby Sleep" and "Soldier’s Sweetheart".
    1930 - The temperature at Moorefield, WV, soared to 112 degrees to establish a state record, having reached 110 degrees the previous day. Widespread drought after April of that year caused some towns to haul water for domestic use, and many manufacturing plants were barely operational.
    1933 - Sax player Sonny Simmons born Sicily Island, Louisiana.
http://www.gallery41.com/JazzArtists/SonnySimmons.htm
http://www.vh1.com/artists/az/simmons_sonny/bio.jhtml
http://www.hollowear.com/reviews/simmons.html
http://ubl.artistdirect.com/music/artist/bio/0,,493395,00.html?
artist=Sonny+Simmons
    1934 - Mel Ott became the first Major League baseball player to score 6 runs in one game.
    1936 - "Long" John Woodruff wins an Olympic gold medal in the 800-meter run
http://www.fay-west.com/connellsville/historic/woodruff.php
http://www.greaterconnellsville.org/woodruff/commemorativeprintform.htm
    1940 - "Crime Doctor" introduced a new radio hero. CBS radio presented Dr. Benjamin Ordway, the show’s main character, as an amnesia victim. A former criminal, he got hit on the head, and began to work as a crime fighter.
    1944 - Nazi police found Anne Frank and her family, hiding in secret rooms above her father’s factory in Amsterdam, Holland. Anne was 15 years old at this time and had kept a diary during the two years of hiding from the Nazis. After the arrest, Anne and her sister were taken to a concentration camp. Anne Frank would die at Bergen-Belsen. Later, Anne's diary was found and has since been translated into 30 languages and was adapted as both a play and a Hollywood film.
    1944 - No. 1 Billboard Pop Hit: "Swinging on a Star," Bing Crosby.
    1947 - Top Hits
“Peg o’ My Heart” - The Harmonicats
“That’s My Desire” - The Sammy Kaye Orchestra (vocal: Don Cornell)
“I Wonder, I Wonder, I Wonder” - Eddy Howard
“Smoke! Smoke! Smoke! (That Cigarette)” - Tex Williams
    1953 - Drummer Jeff Hamilton born Richmond, Indiana
http://www.hamiltonjazz.com/hamiltonbio.html
    1954 - In Saskatchewan, Canada, the uranium rush began.
    1954 - Alfred Hitchcock's “Rear Window” had its world premiere at New York's Rivoli Theater.
    1954 - No. 1 Billboard Pop Hit: "Sh-Boom," The Crew-Cuts.
    1955 - Top Hits
“Rock Around the Clock” - Bill Haley & His Comets
“Ain’t That a Shame” - Fats Domino
“Learnin’ the Blues” - Frank Sinatra
“I Don’t Care” - Webb Pierce
    1955 – “To Catch a Thief”, starring Cary Grant and Grace Kelly and directed by Alfred Hitchcock, debuted in New York. The film later received an Oscar for Best Color Cinematography.
    1956 - At Wendover, Utah, Wilhelm Herz was clocked at 210 miles per hour, making him the first person to race a motorcycle over 200 miles-per-hour.
    1956 - Elvis Presley record "Hound Dog" b/w "Don't Be Cruel" is released.
    1956 - The Platters' "My Prayer" hits #1
    1957 - A world record was set by Florence Chadwick who swam the English Channel in 6 hours, 7 minutes.
    1957 - Juan Fangio won his last car race, winning the world auto driving championship for the fifth consecutive year.
    1957 - The Everly Brothers make their second appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show and introduce their upcoming single, "Wake Up Little Susie," a song which would go on to cause some major controversy and be banned from some radio stations
    1958 - Billboard magazine introduces its "Hot 100" chart, a list of the 100 best-selling pop singles in the country. This list replaced multiple charts the magazine had previously published, including Best Sellers in Stores and Most Played in Juke Boxes. The first song to top the Hot 100 list was "Poor Little Fool" by Ricky Nelson.
    1958 - Dumont TV Network crumbles. My father was a producer/writer/director for the Dumont network, creating shows such as “Harlem Detective,” “Captain Video,” “Hands of Murder.” He met often with Dr. Dumont, who he once gave one of the exploding cigars I put in his pocket as a kid. Dumont was a scientist and not a “showman,” losing Jackie Gleason among others. My father worked right under Ted Bergman, who I remember my father respected, but Dr. Dumont was not a businessman, nor was my father.
http://members.aol.com/cingram/television/dumont2.htm
http://www.museum.tv/archives/etv/D/htmlD/DuMont/DuMont.htm
    1961 - 108ø F, Spokane, WA (record)
    1961 – President Barack Obama was born in Honolulu.
    1963 - The Beatles appear on the US record charts for the first time as "From Me to You" debuts at #116 in Billboard. Unfortunately, it stays there, due to problems with its American label (Vee Jay) and a cover version by Del Shannon that got the jump on it. It would take a massive promotional blitz by Capitol over the next five months to ensure a Beatles hit in America with the single "I Want to Hold Your Hand" b/w "I Saw Her Standing There" (Capitol 5112).
    1963 - Top Hits
“So Much in Love” - The Tymes
“Fingertips” - Pt 2 - Little Stevie Wonder
“(You’re the) Devil in Disguise” - Elvis Presley
“Ring of Fire” - Johnny Cash
    1963 - In his first at-bat in two months after breaking his left foot, Mickey Mantle slams a pinch-hit home run in the ninth inning to beat the Orioles, 11-10.
    1964 - After disappearing on June 21, three civil rights workers were found murdered and buried in an earthen dam outside Philadelphia, MS. The three young men were workers on the Mississippi Summer Project organized by the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) to increase black voter registration. Prior to their disappearance, James Chaney, Andrew Goodman and Michael Schwerner were detained by Neshoba County police on charges of speeding. When their car was found, burned, on June 23, President Johnson ordered an FBI search for the men.
    1964 - No. 1 Billboard Pop Hit: "A Hard Day's Night," The Beatles.
    1966 - John Lennon's comment that the Beatles were "more popular than Jesus Christ" was re-printed in an American teen magazine called Datebook and was widely reported in North America. The statement, made to London Evening Standard journalist Maureen Cleave several months earlier, caused a public outcry in the US and led to mass destruction of Beatle records. Thirty five radio stations banned all Beatles songs and even the Ku Klux Klan made threats against the group. What Lennon actually said was "Christianity will go. It will go. It will vanish and shrink. I needn't argue about that, I'm right and I will be proved right. We're more popular than Jesus Christ now; I don't know which will go first - rock 'n roll or Christianity. Jesus was all right, but his disciples were thick and ordinary. It's them twisting it that ruins it for me."
    1968 - The Newport Pop Festival begins in Costa Mesa, California. 100,000 fans come out to hear Sonny & Cher, Tiny Tim, Jefferson Airplane, Steppenwolf, the Grateful Dead, the Byrds, Iron Butterfly and Eric Burdon and The Animals.
    1971 - Top Hits
“You’ve Got a Friend” - James Taylor
“Mr. Big Stuff” - Jean Knight
“Draggin’ the Line” - Tommy James
“I’m Just Me” - Charley Pride
    1972 – “Superfly”, starring Ron O'Neal, opened in theaters. Directed by Gordon Parks, Jr., “Superfly's” success at the box office and unexpected acclaim prompted two sequels. The plot centers on a Harlem drug dealer who wants to retire. Curtis Mayfield's dynamic soundtrack set it apart from similar low-budget films.
    1973 - Maureen McGovern's "The Morning After (The Song from the Poseidon Adventure)" hits #1
    1974 - Paul Simon's "Love Me like a Rock" is released.
    1974 - No. 1 Billboard Pop Hit: "Feel Like Makin' Love," Roberta Flack.
    1979 - Top Hits
“Bad Girls” - Donna Summer
“Good Times” - Chic
“Ring My Bell” - Anita Ward
“You’re the Only One” - Dolly Parton
    1980 - A record forty-two consecutive days of 100 degree heat finally came to an end at the Dallas-Fort Worth Airport. July, 1980 proved to be the hottest month of record with a mean temperature of 92 degrees. There was just one day of rain in July, and there was no measurable rain in August. There were 18 more days of 100 degree heat in August, and four in September. Hot weather that summer contributed to the deaths of 1200 people nationally, and losses from the heat across the country were estimated at twenty billion dollars.
    1980 - After a five year hiatus, John Lennon and Yoko Ono begin recording their album "Double Fantasy" at New York's Hit Factory Studio. The LP would go to number one in the US after its release in November, less than a month before Lennon was gunned down outside his New York apartment. "Double Fantasy" received the 1981 Grammy Award for Album of the Year.
    1981 - A United States court ordered striking air traffic controllers back to work and fined their union $2.4 million a day for the duration of the strike.    
    1983 - During warm-ups, New York Yankee outfielder Dave Winfield threw a baseball and accidentally killed a seagull. When the game was over, Toronto police surrounded the batter and arrested him for "causing unnecessary suffering to an animal."
    1987 - Top Hits
“Shakedown” - Bob Seger
“I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For” - U2
“I Want Your Sex” - George Michael
“Snap Your Fingers” - Ronnie Milsap
    1988 - Congress votes $20,000 to each Japanese-American interned in WW II.  Still waiting are the Italian-Americans who were similarly interned during the war.
    1989 - Thunderstorms produced severe weather from eastern Nebraska and northeastern Kansas to the Great Lakes Region, with 150 reports of large hail or damaging winds during the afternoon, evening, and nighttime hours. Thunderstorms produced tennis ball size hail at Claremont, MN, and wind gusts to 75 mph at Milwaukee, WI. Thunderstorms representing what once was Hurricane Chantal produced five inches of rain at Grant, MI, and deluged Chicago, IL, with more than three inches of rain in three hours
    1995 – Long-time coach, the late Jimmie Reese (1901-94), whose 23 years in an Angels uniform equals longest in club history, is inducted into the Angels' Hall of Fame. The former roommate of Babe Ruth began his career as a batboy for the Pacific Coast League's Los Angeles Angels in 1917.
    1995 – “Babe”, the charming sleeper hit about a pig that learns to be a sheep dog, debuted in United States movie theaters. The gentle film, with state-of-the-art computer technology, thrilled audiences young and old, and the film garnered many awards and nominations, including the Golden Globe for Best Motion Picture - Comedy/ Musical, and it was nominated for a Best Picture Oscar. Veteran actor James Cromwell received an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor for his role as Farmer Hoggett, and director Chris Noonan received the New York Film Critics Circle Awards for Best New Director. The National Society of Film Critics declared it Best Film of the Year. Christine Cavanaugh supplied the voice of the hero pig, and Roscoe Lee Browne was a moving narrator. “Babe” was based on the book "The Sheep-Pig" by Dick King- Smith.
    1997 - The world's oldest person, Jeanne Calment (1875-1997), died aged 122 years and 164 days in Arles, France.
    1998 - Yankees' slugger Darryl Strawberry hits a game-tying pinch-hit grand slam in the ninth inning of New York's 10-5 win becoming the second major leaguer to hit two pinch-hit grand slams in one season.
    2000 - With 32 home games remaining, the Astros, who moved from the pitcher-friendly Astrodome to homer-haven Enron Field this season, set a franchise-record by already hitting 83 homers at home this season.
    2001 - Top Hits
“Bootylicious” -Destiny's Child
“Loverboy” -Mariah Carey Featuring Cameo
“Let Me Blow Ya Mind” -Eve Featuring Gwen Stefani
“Hit 'Em Up Style (Oops!)” -Blu Cantrell
   2009 - A Federal jury ruled that a 25-year-old Boston University graduate student must pay $675,000 to four music companies for illegally downloading and distributing more than two dozen songs. The man said that he would file for bankruptcy protection.
    2011 - The Southern United States experiences a heat alert for fourteen states; several dozen heat-related deaths occurred since July 
   2014 - Medical worker Nancy Writebol, the second of two Americans to contract the Ebola virus in Liberia, joins Dr. Kent Brantly at Emory University Hospital for treatment; both patients are receiving an experimental drug that has not been tested on humans