Today in History: Massive explosion rocks Beirut
In 1892, Andrew and Abby Borden were found hacked to death in their Fall River home. Police accused Lizzy Borden of the grisly murder of her father and stepmother leading to a sensationalized trial that ended in her acquittal.
In 1916, the United States reached agreement with Denmark to purchase the Danish Virgin Islands for $25 million in gold.
In 1936, Jesse Owens of the United States won the second of his four gold medals at the Berlin Olympics as he prevailed in the long jump over German Luz Long, who was the first to congratulate him.
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In 1944, 15-year-old diarist Anne Frank was arrested with her sister, parents, and four others by the Gestapo after hiding for two years inside a building in Amsterdam.
In 1960, Burkina Faso declared its independence from France after more than 60 years of colonial rule.
In 1964, 44 days after their murders, the bodies of missing civil rights workers James Chaney, Andrew Goodman, and Michael Schwerner were found buried in an earthen dam in Mississippi.
In 1972, Arthur Bremer was convicted and sentenced in Upper Marlboro, Maryland, to 63 years in prison for his attempt on the life of Alabama Governor George C. Wallace. The sentence was later reduced to 53 years; Bremer was released from prison in 2007.
In 1977, President Jimmy Carter signed a measure establishing the Department of Energy.
In 1984, the album 'Purple Rain,' by Prince and the Revolution, began its 24-week run at the top of the Billboard 200 record chart.
In 1987, the Federal Communications Commission voted 4-0 to abolish the Fairness Doctrine, which required radio and television stations to present balanced coverage of controversial issues.
In 1993, a federal judge sentenced Los Angeles police officers Stacey Koon and Laurence Powell to 2.5 years in prison for violating Rodney King's civil rights.
In 2009, North Korean leader Kim Jong Il pardoned American journalists Laura Ling and Euna Lee for entering the country illegally and ordered their release during a surprise visit by former U.S. President Bill Clinton.
In 2017, former pharmaceutical CEO Martin Shkreli, who became notorious for a price-gouging scandal, was convicted on federal charges that he deceived investors in a pair of failed hedge funds. Shkreli was later sentenced to seven years in prison.
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In 2019, a masked gunman fired on revelers enjoying summer nightlife in a popular entertainment district of Dayton, Ohio, leaving nine people dead and 27 wounded; police said officers shot and killed the shooter within 30 seconds of the start of his rampage.
In 2020, nearly 3,000 tons of ammonium nitrate that had been improperly stored for years in the port of Beirut, Lebanon, exploded, killing more than 200 people, injuring more than 7,000, and devastating nearby neighborhoods; it was one of the largest non-nuclear explosions ever recorded.
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