Daily Archives: August 4, 2014

President Johnson orders ‘limited’ retaliation for alleged Gulf of Tonkin attacks 50 years ago this hour (Aug 4 1964)


Video: 'Lyndon Johnson - Report on the Gulf of Tonkin Incident'

(Tuesday, August 4, 1964, shortly after 11:30 p.m. EDT; during the Vietnam War, part of the Indochina Wars and the Cold War) — U.S. President Lyndon Johnson has ordered retaliatory action against gunboats and “certain supporting facilities in North Vietnam” after renewed attacks against American destroyers in the Gulf of Tonkin. Continue reading President Johnson orders ‘limited’ retaliation for alleged Gulf of Tonkin attacks 50 years ago this hour (Aug 4 1964)

‘Rear Window’ premieres in New York City 60 years ago tonight (Aug 4 1954)


Video: 'Rear Window' trailer

(Wednesday, August 4, 1954)Rear Window, a suspense thriller film about a photographer with a broken leg who uncovers a murder while spying on the neighbors in a nearby apartment building, premiered tonight at the Rivoli Theatre in New York City.

Directed by Alfred Hitchcock, the film starred James Stewart, Grace Kelly, Wendell Corey, Thelma Ritter and Raymond Burr.

Britain declares war on Germany 100 years ago this hour (Aug 4 1914)


Video: 'The Great War - S01E02 - For Such a Stupid Reason Too' (Aug. 4, 1914, at 37:01)

(Tuesday, August 4, 1914, 11:00 p.m. local time; during World War I) — War is on between England and Germany. An ultimatum to the German Government that the neutrality of Belgium must be respected was rejected by the Kaiser’s Government and the British Foreign Office announced tonight that a state of war existed as of 11 ‘o clock. Continue reading Britain declares war on Germany 100 years ago this hour (Aug 4 1914)

FBI finds three bodies of missing civil rights workers 50 years ago this hour (Aug 4 1964)


Video: 'The True Story of Mississippi Burning' (Aug. 4, 1964, at 32:29)

(Tuesday, August 4, 1964, just after 3:00 p.m. local time; during the African-American Civil Rights Movement (1955–68)) — Bodies believed to be those of three civil rights workers (Michael Schwerner, Andrew Goodman and James Chaney) missing since June 21, 1964, were found buried in an earthen dam early tonight near Philadelphia, Mississippi. Continue reading FBI finds three bodies of missing civil rights workers 50 years ago this hour (Aug 4 1964)

Communist PT boats allegedly renew raids at Gulf of Tonkin 50 years ago this hour (Aug 4 1964)


Video: 'Vietnam: A Television History - LBJ Goes to War [3/11]' (Gulf of Tonkin incident, Aug. 4, 1964, at 12:35)

(Tuesday, August 4, 1964, 10:30 p.m. North Vietnamese time; during the Vietnam War, part of the Indochina Wars and the Cold War) — The Defense Department announced tonight that North Vietnamese PT boats made a “deliberate attack” today on two United States destroyers patrolling international waters in the Gulf of Tonkin off North Vietnam. Continue reading Communist PT boats allegedly renew raids at Gulf of Tonkin 50 years ago this hour (Aug 4 1964)

Diarist Anne Frank discovered in hiding, arrested 70 years ago this hour (Aug 4 1944)


Video: 'Anne Frank - The Whole Story (2001) 2/2' (Aug. 4, 1944, at 31:59)

(Friday, August 4, 1944, at around 10 or 10:30 a.m. CET; part of The Holocaust during World War II) — On Anne Frank‘s 761st day in hiding in a secret apartment behind her father’s business in German-occupied Amsterdam, the 15-year-old diarist, her family, the van Pel family and dentist Fritz Pfeffer were unexpectedly discovered and arrested by a uniformed German officer and several plain-clothed Dutch policemen. Continue reading Diarist Anne Frank discovered in hiding, arrested 70 years ago this hour (Aug 4 1944)