What happened on February 4? There are more than 264 events that were made this day in history. Here are the important historical events, facts, and some myths about this day.
Interesting Facts & Myths About February 4
February 4 is the 35th day of the year 2024. There are 331 days remaining until the end of this year. The day of the week is Sunday. This day falls under the 5th week of the year 2024.
On this day in Tucson, Arizona 85726 sunrise occured at 07:14 AM and sunset occured at 06:01 PM (local time).
The zodiac sign of a person born on this day is Aquarius. The modern birthstone for this month is Amethyst while the mystical birthstone is Bloodstone.
According to the Chinese calendar, there are 6 days remaining before the start of the next Chinese New Year (February 10, 2024).
Is your birthday coming up in two days? Are you not curious to find out who is sharing your special day? Discover all the April 27 famous birthdays. There are fun facts about that day that you must know. (Sponsored link)
Historical Events For February 4
- 211Roman Emperor Septimius Severus dies at Eboracum (modern York, England) while preparing to lead a campaign against the Caledonians.He leaves the empire in the control of his two quarrelling sons.
- 960The coronation of Zhao Kuangyin as Emperor Taizu of Song, initiating the Song Dynasty period of China that would last more than three centuries.
- 1454In the Thirteen Years’ War, the Secret Council of the Prussian Confederation sends a formal act of disobedience to the Grand Master.
- 1703In Edo (now Tokyo), 46 of the Forty-seven Ronin commit seppuku (ritual suicide) as recompense for avenging their master’s death.
- 1789George Washington is unanimously elected as the first President of the United States by the U.S. Electoral College.
- 1794The French legislature abolishes slavery throughout all territories of the French Republic.
- 1797The Riobamba earthquake strikes Ecuador, causing up to 40,000 casualties.
- 1801John Marshall is sworn in as Chief Justice of the United States.
- 1810The Royal Navy seizes Guadeloupe.
- 1820The Chilean Navy under the command of Lord Cochrane completes the 2 day long Capture of Valdivia with just 300 men and 2 ships.
- 1825The Ohio Legislature authorizes the construction of the Ohio and Erie Canal and the Miami and Erie Canal.
- 1846The first Mormon pioneers make their exodus from Nauvoo, Illinois, westward towards Utah Territory.
- 1859The Codex Sinaiticus is discovered in Egypt.
- 1861American Civil War: In Montgomery, Alabama, delegates from six break-away U.S. states meet and form the Confederate States of America.
- 1899The Philippine-American War begins.
- 1905New Year’s Day in Chinese calendar. Start of the year of the Wood Snake in Chinese astrology.
- 1932Second Sino-Japanese War: Harbin, Manchuria, falls to Japan.
- 1936Radium becomes the first radioactive element to be made synthetically.
- 1941The United Service Organization (USO) is created to entertain American troops.
- 1945World War II: The British Indian Army and Imperial Japanese Army begin a series of battles known as the Battle of Pokoku and Irrawaddy River operations.
- 1945World War II: The Yalta Conference between the “Big Three” (Churchill, Roosevelt, and Stalin) opens at the Livadia Palace in the Crimea.
- 1948Ceylon (later renamed Sri Lanka) becomes independent within the British Commonwealth.
- 1966All Nippon Airways Flight 60 plunges into Tokyo Bay, killing 133.
- 1967Lunar Orbiter program: Lunar Orbiter 3 lifts off from Cape Canaveral’s Launch Complex 13 on its mission to identify possible landing sites for the Surveyor and Apollo spacecraft.
- 1969Yasser Arafat takes over as chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organization.
- 1974M62 coach bombing: The Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) explodes a bomb on a bus carrying off-duty British Armed Forces personnel in Yorkshire, England. Nine soldiers and three civilians are killed.
- 1974The Symbionese Liberation Army kidnaps Patty Hearst in Berkeley, California.
- 1975Haicheng earthquake (magnitude 7.3 on the Richter scale) occurs in Haicheng, Liaoning, China.
- 1976In Guatemala and Honduras an earthquake kills more than 22,000.
- 1977A Chicago Transit Authority elevated train rear-ends another and derails, killing 11 and injuring 180, the worst accident in the agency’s history.
- 1980Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini names Abolhassan Banisadr as president of Iran.
- 1992A Coup d'état is led by Hugo Chávez Frías, against Venezuelan President Carlos Andrés Pérez.
- 1996Major snowstorm paralyzes Midwestern United States, Milwaukee, Wisconsin ties all-time record low temperature at -26°F (-32.2°C)
- 1997After at first contesting the results, Serbian President Slobodan Milošević recognizes opposition victories in the November 1996 elections.
- 1997En route to Lebanon, two Israeli Sikorsky CH-53 troop-transport helicopters collide in mid-air over northern Galilee, Israel killing 73.
- 1998An earthquake measuring 6.1 on the Richter Scale in northeast Afghanistan kills more than 5,000.
- 1999The New Carissa runs aground near Coos Bay, Oregon.
- 1999Unarmed West African immigrant Amadou Diallo is shot dead by four plainclothes New York City police officers on an unrelated stake-out, inflaming race-relations in the city.
- 2000German extortionist Klaus-Peter Sabotta is jailed for life for attempted murder and extortion in connection with the sabotage of German railway lines.
- 2002Cancer Research UK, the world’s largest independent cancer research charity, is founded.
- 2003The Federal Republic of Yugoslavia is officially renamed to Serbia and Montenegro and adopts a new constitution.
- 2004Facebook, a mainstream online social network is founded by Mark Zuckerberg.
- 2006A stampede occurs in the ULTRA Stadium near Manila killing 71.
- 2008The London Low Emission Zone (LEZ) scheme begins to operate in the UK.
- 2010The Federal Court of Australia’s ruling in Roadshow Films v iiNet sets a precedent that Internet service providers (ISPs) are not responsible for what their users do with the services the ISPs provide them.
Who Were Born On February 4?
- 1505Nicolaus Rey, Polish poet (d. 1580)
- 1524Luís de Camões, Portuguese poet (d. 1580)
- 1575Pierre de Bérulle, French cardinal and statesman (d. 1629)
- 1620Gustaf Bonde, Swedish statesman (d. 1667)
- 1646Hans Erasmus Aßmann, Freiherr von Abschatz, German statesman and poet (d. 1699)
- 1677Johann Ludwig Bach, German composer (d. 1731)
- 1688Pierre de Marivaux, French writer (d. 1763)
- 1725Dru Drury, English entomologist (d. 1804)
- 1740Carl Michael Bellman, Swedish poet and composer (d. 1795)
- 1746Tadeusz Kościuszko, Polish, Belarusian-Lithuanian, and American national hero (d. 1817)
- 1778A. P. de Candolle, Swiss botanist (d. 1841)
- 1799Almeida Garrett, Portuguese writer (d. 1854)
- 1808Josef Kajetán Tyl, Czech playwright, author of the Czech national anthem (d. 1856)
- 1831Oliver Ames, 35th Governor of Massachusetts (d. 1895)
- 1846Nikolay Umov, Russian physicist (d. 1915)
- 1848Jean Aicard, French poet (d. 1921)
- 1849Jean Richepin, French poet (d. 1926)
- 1859Timofei Mikhailov, Russian revolutionary, member of Narodnaya Volya (d. 1881)
- 1871Friedrich Ebert, German politician, 1st Reichspräsident of the Weimar Republic (d. 1925)
- 1872Gotse Delchev, a great Bulgarian revolutionary, (d. 1903)
- 1873Étienne Desmarteau, Canadian athlete (d. 1905)
- 1875Ludwig Prandtl, German physicist (d. 1953)
- 1877Eddie Cochems, Father of the Forward Pass in American football (d. 1953)
- 1881Fernand Léger, French painter (d. 1955)
- 1891Madabhushi Ananthasayanam Ayyangar, Speaker of Lok Sabha (d. 1978)
- 1892Andreu Nin, Catalan politician (d. 1937)
- 1892E. J. Pratt, Canadian poet (d. 1964)
- 1895Nigel Bruce, English actor (d. 1953)
- 1896Friedrich Glauser, German-language Swiss writer (d. 1938)
- 1896Friedrich Hund, German physicist (d. 1997)
- 1897Ludwig Erhard, 2nd Bundeskanzler of Germany (d. 1977)
- 1900Jacques Prévert, French poet and lyricist (d. 1977)
- 1902Charles Lindbergh, American pilot and social activist (d. 1974)
- 1902Hartley Shawcross, British lawyer and politician (d. 2003)
- 1904MacKinlay Kantor, American writer (d. 1977)
- 1905Hylda Baker, English comedy actress (d. 1986)
- 1906Clyde Tombaugh, American astronomer (d. 1997)
- 1906Dietrich Bonhoeffer, German theologian (d. 1945)
- 1908Julian Bell, British poet (d. 1937)
- 1912Byron Nelson, American golfer (d. 2006)
- 1912Erich Leinsdorf, Austrian conductor (d. 1993)
- 1912Louis-Albert Vachon, cardinal archbishop of Quebec (d. 2006)
- 1912Ola Skjåk Bræk, Norwegian politician (d. 1999)
- 1913Rosa Parks, American civil rights activist (d. 2005)
- 1914Alfred Andersch, German writer (d. 1980)
- 1915Ray Evans, American songwriter with Jay Livingston (d. 2007)
- 1915Sir Norman Wisdom, English actor and comedian (d. 2010)
- 1915William Talman, American actor (d. 1968)
- 1917Yahya Khan, President of Pakistan (d. 1980)
- 1918Ida Lupino, English film actress and director (d. 1995)
- 1918Janet Waldo, American actress
- 1918Luigi Pareyson, Italian philosopher (d. 1991)
- 1918Porky Chedwick, American radio personality
- 1921Betty Friedan, American feminist (d. 2006)
- 1921Lotfi Asker Zadeh, American-Iranian/Russian mathematician and computer scientist
- 1922Pandit Bhimsen Joshi, Indian classical singer (d. 2011)
- 1923Conrad Bain, Canadian-born actor
- 1923Joan Vollmer, American beatnik (d. 1951)
- 1924Janet Waldo, American Actress
- 1925Gerald Sim, English actor
- 1925Russell Hoban, American writer
- 1927Rolf Landauer, American physicist and electrical engineer (d. 1999)
- 1929Eduard Zimmermann, German journalist, TV presenter and security expert (d. 2009)
- 1929Jerry Adler, American actor
- 1931Isabel Martínez de Perón, President of Argentina (1974–1976), widow of Argentine President Juan Perón
- 1935Martti Talvela, Finnish bass (d. 1989)
- 1936David Brenner, American comedian
- 1936Gary Conway, American actor
- 1937David Newman, American filmmaker (d. 2003)
- 1938Donald W. Riegle, Jr., American Senator
- 1940George A. Romero, American director, screenwriter and producer
- 1940John Schuck, American actor
- 1941John Steel, British musician (The Animals)
- 1943Alberto João Jardim, Portuguese president of the regional government of Madeira
- 1943Ken Thompson, American computer scientist
- 1943Wanda Rutkiewicz, Polish mountaineer (d. 1992)
- 1947Dan Quayle, 44th Vice President of the United States
- 1947Dennis C. Blair, American admiral and Director of National Intelligence
- 1948Alice Cooper, American musician
- 1948Mienoumi Tsuyoshi, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 57th Yokozuna
- 1949Michael Beck, American actor
- 1949Rasim Delic, Bosnian military chief of staff and war criminal (d. 2010)
- 1950Pamela Franklin, British actress
- 1951Dariush Eghbali, Iranian singer and musician
- 1951Patrick Bergin, Irish actor
- 1951Phil Ehart, American musician (Kansas)
- 1951Stan Papi, American baseball player
- 1952Jerry Shirley, Drummer (Humble Pie)
- 1952Li Yinhe, Chinese sexologist
- 1952Lisa Eichhorn, American actress
- 1953Kitaro, Japanese composer
- 1955Mikuláš Dzurinda, Slovak Prime Minister
- 1957Don Davis, American composer
- 1957Evan Wolfson, American attorney and activist
- 1958Tomasz Pacyński, Polish writer
- 1959Lawrence Taylor, American football player
- 1959Pamelyn Ferdin, American actress
- 1960Jenette Goldstein, American actress
- 1960Jonathan Larson, American composer (d. 1996)
- 1960Mark Dawson, British-born American entertainment manager (The Iron Maidens)
- 1960Siobhan Dowd, British/Irish author (d. 2007)
- 1960Tim Booth, British singer (James)
- 1961Denis Savard, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1961Stewart O'Nan, American author
- 1962Alfred Twardecki, Polish historian
- 1962Clint Black, American musician
- 1962Michael Riley, Canadian actor
- 1963Pirmin Zurbriggen, Swiss skier
- 1964Noodles, American guitarist (The Offspring)
- 1965Jerome Brown, American football player (d. 1992)
- 1966Kyōko Koizumi, Japanese actress and singer
- 1966Viatcheslav Ekimov, Russian cyclist
- 1967Sergei Grinkov, Russian figure skater (d. 1995)
- 1968Marko Matvere, Estonian actor
- 1969Brandy Ledford, American actress and model
- 1969Dallas Drake, ice hockey player
- 1969Duncan Coutts, Canadian bassist (Our Lady Peace)
- 1970Gabrielle Anwar, English actress
- 1971Michael A. Goorjian, American actor
- 1971Rob Corddry, American actor and comedian
- 1972Dara Ó Briain, Irish comedian
- 1972Giovanni Silva De Oliveira, Brazilian footballer
- 1973Manny Legacé, Canadian ice hockey goaltender
- 1973Oscar de la Hoya, Mexican-American boxer
- 1974Eric Townsend, American musician and record producer
- 1974Mijntje Donners, Dutch hockey international
- 1974Urmila Matondkar, Indian actress
- 1975Natalie Imbruglia, Australian musician and actress
- 1975Thomas Tebbich, Austrian decathlete
- 1976Cam'ron, American rapper
- 1977Gavin DeGraw, American musician
- 1977Mitra Hajjar, Iranian actress
- 1978Ömer Onan, Turkish basketball player
- 1978Danna Garcia, Colombian actress
- 1979Andrei Arlovski, Belarussian mixed martial artist
- 1979Giorgio Pantano, Italian racing car driver
- 1981Allen Forrest, American recording artist/ music producer
- 1981Ben Hendrickson, American baseball player
- 1981Jason Kapono, America professional basketball player
- 1981Johan Van Summeren, Belgian cyclist
- 1981Tom Mastny, Indonesian baseball player
- 1982Chris Sabin, American professional wrestler
- 1982Kimberly Wyatt, American singer and dancer (Pussycat Dolls)
- 1982Tomas Vaitkus, Lithuanian professional road racing cyclist
- 1983Jarrad Waite, Australian rules footballer
- 1983Lee Stempniak, American ice hockey player
- 1984Mauricio Pinilla, Chilean footballer
- 1985Bug Hall, American actor
- 1986Mohammad Mahmudullah, Bangladeshi cricketer
- 1987Lucie Šafářová, Czech tennis player
- 1988Carly Patterson, American gymnast
Who Died On February 4?
- 211Septimius Severus, Roman emperor (b. 145)
- 708Pope Sisinnius
- 856Rabanus Maurus, Bishop of Mainz (b. c. 780)
- 869Saint Cyril, Greek missionary to the Slavs (b. 827)
- 1508Conrad Celtes, German humanist scholar (b. 1459)
- 1590Gioseffo Zarlino, Italian composer (b. 1517)
- 1615Dom Justo Takayama, Japanese warlord (b. 1552)
- 1615Giovanni Battista della Porta, Italian scholar, polymath and child prodigy (b. 1535)
- 1617Louis Elsevier, Dutch publisher (b. 1546)
- 1694Nataliya Kyrillovna Naryshkina, Tsaritsa of Russia (b. 1651)
- 1713Anthony Ashley-Cooper, 3rd Earl of Shaftesbury, English politician and philosopher (b. 1671)
- 1774Charles Marie de La Condamine, French mathematician and geographer (b. 1701)
- 1781Josef Mysliveček, Czech composer (b. 1737)
- 1799Étienne-Louis Boullée, French architect (b. 1728)
- 1843Theodoros Kolokotronis, Greek general in the Greek War of Independence (b. 1770)
- 1894Adolphe Sax, Belgian instrument maker (b. 1814)
- 1905Louis-Ernest Barrias, French sculptor (b. 1841)
- 1912Franz Reichelt, Austrian tailor/Inventor (b. 1800's)
- 1928Hendrik Lorentz, Dutch physicist, Nobel Prize Laureate (b. 1853)
- 1933Archibald Sayce, English educator (b. 1846)
- 1936Wilhelm Gustloff, German leader of the Swiss Nazi party (b. 1895)
- 1940Nikolai Yezhov, Head of Soviet NKVD (b. 1895)
- 1943Frank Calder, the first NHL President (b. 1877)
- 1944Arsen Kotsoyev, Russian writer (b. 1872)
- 1944Yvette Guilbert, French singer and actress (b. 1867)
- 1958Henry Kuttner, American author (b. 1915)
- 1959Una O'Connor, Irish actress (b. 1880)
- 1966Gilbert H. Grosvenor, American president of the National Geographic Society (b. 1875)
- 1967Albert Orsborn, 6th General of The Salvation Army (b. 1886)
- 1968Neal Cassady, American writer (b. 1926)
- 1974Satyendra Nath Bose, Indian physicist (b. 1894)
- 1975Howard Hill, American archer (b. 1899)
- 1975Louis Jordan, American musician (b. 1908)
- 1977Brett Halliday, American writer (b. 1904)
- 1982Alex Harvey, Scottish musician (b. 1935)
- 1982Georg Konrad Morgen, German judge (b. 1909)
- 1983Karen Carpenter, American singer and drummer (The Carpenters) (b. 1950)
- 1987Carl Rogers, American psychologist (b. 1902)
- 1987Liberace, American musician (b. 1919)
- 1987Meena Keshwar Kamal, Afghan feminist and founder of RAWA (b. 1956)
- 1990Whipper Billy Watson, Canadian professional wrestler (b. 1917)
- 1992Lisa Fonssagrives, Swedish model (b. 1911)
- 1993Connie Saylor, American NASCAR racecar driver (b. 1940)
- 1994Fred De Bruyne, Belgian cyclist (b. 1930)
- 1994Jane Arbor, British writer (b. 1903)
- 1995Godfrey Brown, British athlete and teacher (b. 1915)
- 1995Patricia Highsmith, American author (b. 1921)
- 2000Carl Albert, American politician, 54th Speaker of the United States House of Representatives (b. 1908)
- 2000Doris Coley, American singer (Shirelles) (b. 1941)
- 2000Phil Tonken, American radio and television announcer (b. 1919)
- 2001Iannis Xenakis, Greek composer and architect (b. 1922)
- 2001J. J. Johnson, American jazz trombonist and composer (b. 1924)
- 2001Pankaj Roy, Indian cricketer (b. 1928)
- 2002George Nader, American film and television actor (b. 1921)
- 2002Prince Sigvard, Duke of Uppland (b. 1907)
- 2003André Noyelle, Belgian cyclist (b. 1931)
- 2003Benyoucef Ben Khedda, Algerian politician (b. 1920)
- 2003Charlie Biddle, Canadian jazz bassist (b. 1926)
- 2005Ossie Davis, American actor, activist (b. 1917)
- 2006Betty Friedan, American feminist (b. 1921)
- 2006Myron Waldman, American animator (b. 1908)
- 2007Barbara McNair, American singer and actress (b. 1934)
- 2007Ilya Kormiltsev, Russian poet and translator (b. 1959)
- 2007José Carlos Bauer, Brazilian footballer (b. 1925)
- 2007Jules Olitski, Ukrainian-born American abstract painter and sculptor (b. 1922)
- 2007Steve Barber, American baseball pitcher (b. 1938)
- 2008Stefan Meller, Polish foreign minister (b. 1942)
- 2009Lux Interior, American musician (The Cramps) (b. 1946)
- 2010Helen Tobias-Duesberg, Estonian-born American composer (b. 1919)
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