August 4 in History

70 – The Second Temple in Jerusalem was destroyed by the Romans.

1693 – Celebratory date for Dom Perignon’s invention of Champagne.

1790 – A tariff act created the need for the Revenue Cutter Service, later renamed The United States Coast Guard.

1892 – The father and stepmother of Lizzie Borden were found murdered in their Fall River, Massachusetts home. Lizzie was acquitted of the crime.

1921 – Cropdusting was invented. John B. Macready flew a Curtiss JN-4 over catalpa trees near Troy, Ohio, killing 99% of the leaf caterpillars, saving the 5000 trees with 175 pounds of lead arsenate pesticide.

1936 – Jesse Owens, a black Olympic track star, won the Gold Medal in Germany’s Olympics, embarrassing Adolph Hitler.

1942 – Holiday Inn was released in theaters. The Holiday Inn hotel chain was named after this film. Introduced the Academy Award for Best Original Song, White Christmas, by Irving Berlin and performed by Bing Crosby.

 #1 Hit August 4, 1956 – August 17, 1956: The Platters – My Prayer

1958 – The Billboard Hot 100 was published for the first time. The first number-one song of the Hot 100 was “Poor Little Fool” by Ricky Nelson.

#1 Hit August 4, 1958 – August 17, 1958: Ricky Nelson – Poor Little Fool

#1 Hit August 4, 1973 – August 17, 1973: Maureen McGovern – The Morning After

1977 – US President Jimmy Carter signed legislation creating the United States Department of Energy.

1987 – The Federal Communications Commission rescinded the Fairness Doctrine, which had required radio and television stations to present controversial issues “fairly”.

#1 Hit August 4, 1990 – August 31, 1990: Mariah Carey – Vision Of Love

#1 Hit August 4, 2001 – August 17, 2001: Destiny’s Child – Bootylicious