What happened on May 4? There are more than 272 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 May 4
May 4 is the 125th day of the year 2024. There are 241 days remaining until the end of this year. The day of the week is Saturday. This day falls under the 18th week of the year 2024.
On this day in Jefferson Valley, New York 10535 sunrise occured at 05:46 AM and sunset occured at 07:57 PM (local time).
The zodiac sign of a person born on this day is Taurus. The modern birthstone for this month is Emerald while the mystical birthstone is Sapphire.
According to the Chinese calendar, there are 270 days remaining before the start of the next Chinese New Year (January 29, 2025).
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Historical Events For May 4
- 1256The Augustinian monastic order is constituted at the Lecceto Monastery when Pope Alexander IV issues a papal bull Licet ecclesiae catholicae.
- 1415Religious reformers John Wycliffe and Jan Hus are condemned as heretics at the Council of Constance.
- 1436Assasination of the Swedish rebel (later national hero) Engelbrekt Engelbrektsson
- 1471Wars of the Roses: The Battle of Tewkesbury: Edward IV defeats a Lancastrian Army and kills Edward, Prince of Wales.
- 1493Pope Alexander VI divides the New World between Spain and Portugal along the Line of Demarcation.
- 1626Dutch explorer Peter Minuit arrives in New Netherland (present day Manhattan Island) aboard the See Meeuw.
- 1675King Charles II of England orders the construction of the Royal Greenwich Observatory.
- 1686The Municipality of Ilagan is founded in the Philippines.
- 1776Rhode Island becomes the first American colony to renounce allegiance to King George III.
- 1799Fourth Anglo-Mysore War: The Battle of Seringapatam: The siege of Seringapatam ends when the city is invaded and Tipu Sultan killed by the besieging British army, under the command of General George Harris.
- 1814Emperor Napoleon I of France arrives at Portoferraio on the island of Elba to begin his exile.
- 1814King Ferdinand VII of Spain signs the Decrete of the 4th of May, returning Spain to absolutism.
- 1855American adventurer William Walker departs from San Francisco with about 60 men to conquer Nicaragua.
- 1859The Cornwall Railway opens across the Royal Albert Bridge linking the counties of Devon and Cornwall in England.
- 1863American Civil War: The Battle of Chancellorsville ends with a Union retreat.
- 1869The Naval Battle of Hakodate Bay is fought in Japan.
- 1871The National Association, the first professional baseball league, opens its first season in Fort Wayne, Indiana.
- 1886Haymarket Square Riot: A bomb is thrown at policemen trying to break up a labor rally in Chicago, Illinois, United States, killing eight and wounding 60. The police fire into the crowd.
- 1904Charles Stewart Rolls meets Frederick Henry Royce at the Midland Hotel in Manchester, England.
- 1904The United States begins construction of the Panama Canal.
- 1910The Royal Canadian Navy is created.
- 1912Italy occupies the Greek island of Rhodes.
- 1919May Fourth Movement: Student demonstrations take place in Tiananmen Square in Beijing, China, protesting the Treaty of Versailles, which transferred Chinese territory to Japan.
- 1932In Atlanta, Georgia, mobster Al Capone begins serving an eleven-year prison sentence for tax evasion.
- 1942World War II: The Battle of the Coral Sea begins with an attack by aircraft from the United States aircraft carrier USS Yorktown on Japanese naval forces at Tulagi Island in the Solomon Islands. The Japanese forces had invaded Tulagi the day before.
- 1945World War II: Neuengamme concentration camp near Hamburg is liberated by the British Army.
- 1945World War II: The North Germany Army surrenders to Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery.
- 1946In San Francisco Bay, U.S. Marines from the nearby Treasure Island Naval Base stop a two-day riot at Alcatraz federal prison. Five people are killed in the riot.
- 1949The entire Torino football team (except for two players who did not take the trip: Sauro Tomà, due to an injury and Renato Gandolfi, because of coach request) is killed in a plane crash at the Superga hill at the edge of Turin, Italy.
- 1953Ernest Hemingway wins the Pulitzer Prize for The Old Man and the Sea.
- 1959The 1st Grammy Awards are held.
- 1961American civil rights movement: The “Freedom Riders” begin a bus trip through the South.
- 1970Vietnam War: Kent State shootings: the Ohio National Guard, sent to Kent State University after disturbances in the city of Kent the weekend before, opens fire killing four unarmed students and wounding nine others. The students were protesting the United States’ invasion of Cambodia.
- 1972The Don't Make A Wave Committee, a fledgling environmental organization founded in Canada in 1971, officially changes its name to “Greenpeace Foundation”.
- 1974An all-female Japanese team reaches the summit of Manaslu, becoming the first women to climb an 8,000-meter peak.
- 1979Margaret Thatcher becomes the first female Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.
- 1982Twenty sailors are killed when the British Type 42 destroyer HMS Sheffield is hit by an Argentinian Exocet missile during the Falklands War.
- 1988The PEPCON disaster rocks Henderson, Nevada, as tons of space shuttle fuel detonate during a fire.
- 1989Iran-Contra Affair: Former White House aide Oliver North is convicted of three crimes and acquitted of nine other charges. The convictions, however, are later overturned on appeal.
- 1990Latvia proclaims the renewal of its independence after the Soviet occupation.
- 1994Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and PLO leader Yasser Arafat sign a peace accord regarding Palestinian autonomy granting self-rule in the Gaza Strip and Jericho.
- 1998A federal judge in Sacramento, California, gives “Unabomber” Theodore Kaczynski four life sentences plus 30 years after Kaczynski accepts a plea agreement sparing him from the death penalty.
- 2000Ken Livingstone becomes the first Mayor of London.
- 2001The Milwaukee Art Museum addition, the first Santiago Calatrava-designed structure in the United States, opens to the public.
- 2002An EAS Airlines BAC 1-11-500 crashes in a suburb of Kano, Nigeria shortly after takeoff killing more than 148 people.
- 2007Greensburg, Kansas is almost completely destroyed by a 1.7 mi wide EF-5 tornado.
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Who Were Born On May 4?
- 1008Khajeh Abdollah Ansari, The Persian Sufi (d. 1088)
- 1008King Henry I of France (d. 1060)
- 1649Maharaja Chhatrasal (d. 1731)
- 1654Kangxi Emperor of China (d. 1722)
- 1655Bartolomeo Cristofori, Italian maker of musical instruments (d. 1731)
- 1715Richard Graves, English writer (d. 1804)
- 1733Jean-Charles de Borda, French mathematician, physicist, political scientist, and sailor (d. 1799)
- 1752John Brooks, 11th Governor of Massachusetts (d. 1825)
- 1767Tyāgarāja, Composer of Indian classical Carnatic music (d. 1847)
- 1772Friedrich Arnold Brockhaus, German publisher (d. 1823)
- 1781Karl Christian Friedrich Krause, German philosopher (d. 1832)
- 1796Horace Mann, American educator (d. 1859)
- 1796William H. Prescott, American historian (d. 1859)
- 1820Julia Tyler, First Lady of the United States (d. 1889)
- 1822Charles Boucher de Boucherville, Quebec politician (d. 1915)
- 1825Augustus Le Plongeon, French antiquitarian (d. 1908)
- 1825Thomas Henry Huxley, English scientist (d. 1895)
- 1826Frederic Edwin Church, American painter (d. 1900)
- 1827John Hanning Speke, British explorer (d. 1864)
- 1852Alice Pleasance Liddell, English schoolgirl model for Alice in Wonderland (d. 1934)
- 1864Marie Booth, the third daughter of William and Catherine Booth (d. 1937)
- 1870Alexandre Benois, Russian artist (d. 1960)
- 1873Joe De Grasse, Canadian film director (d. 1940)
- 1889Francis Cardinal Spellman, American religious leader (d. 1967)
- 1890Franklin Carmichael, Canadian artist, a founder of the Group of Seven (d. 1945)
- 1903Luther Adler, American stage actor (d. 1984)
- 1907Lincoln Kirstein, American impresario (d. 1996)
- 1913Lady Katherine Brandram, née Princess of Greece and Denmark (d. 2007)
- 1914Maedayama Eigorō, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 39th Yokozuna (d. 1971)
- 1916Jane Jacobs, American-Canadian author and activist (d. 2006)
- 1916Richard Proenneke, American naturalist (d. 2003)
- 1918Tanaka Kakuei, Japanese political leader (d. 1993)
- 1918Thomas Mead, Australian politician and journalist (d. 2004)
- 1919Dory Funk, Professional wrestler (d. 1973)
- 1921Edo Murtić, Croatian painter (d. 2005)
- 1923Assi Rahbani, Lebanese composer and author
- 1923Ed Cassidy, American musician (Spirit)
- 1923Eric Sykes, British actor and comedian
- 1923Godfrey Quigley, British actor (d. 1994)
- 1923Stanley Biber, American physician, pioneer of transgender surgery (d. 2006)
- 1925Maurice R. Greenberg, American businessman
- 1928Hosni Mubarak, President of Egypt
- 1928Maynard Ferguson, Canadian musician (d. 2006)
- 1928Wolfgang von Trips, German racing driver (d. 1961)
- 1929Audrey Hepburn, Anglo-Dutch actress (d. 1993)
- 1929Ronald Golias, Brazilian comedian and actor (d. 2005)
- 1929Sidney Lamb, American linguist
- 1930Katherine Jackson, mother of the Jackson musical family
- 1930Roberta Peters, American soprano
- 1931Gennady Rozhdestvensky, Russian conductor
- 1931Thomas Stuttaford, British doctor and writer
- 1933J. Fred Duckett, Texan sports announcer and teacher
- 1936El Cordobés, Spanish matador
- 1937Dick Dale, American guitarist
- 1937Mr. Fuji, Former professional wrestler
- 1937Ron Carter, American jazz bassist
- 1938Carlos Monsiváis, Mexican writer
- 1938Tyrone Davis, American soul singer (d. 2005)
- 1939Amos Oz, Israeli writer, novelist, and journalist
- 1939Léon Rochefort, Quebec ice hockey player
- 1939Paul Gleason, American actor (d. 2006)
- 1940Robin Cook, American novelist
- 1941George Will, American writer
- 1942Nickolas Ashford, American record producer, songwriter, and musician (Ashford and Simpson)
- 1943Georgi Asparuhov, Bulgarian footballer
- 1943Mikhail Chemiakin, Russian painter
- 1945Narasimhan Ram, Indian journalist
- 1946Gary Bauer conservative American politician, former presidential candidate
- 1946John Watson, Northern Irish racecar driver
- 1947Richard Jenkins, American actor
- 1947Willem van Beusekom, Dutch broadcaster and Radio DJ (d. 2006)
- 1948Hurley Haywood, American race car driver, and three-time winner of the 24 Hours of Le Mans
- 1949Graham Swift, British author
- 1949John Force, American race car driver
- 1949Stella Parton, American country music singer
- 1950Darryl Hunt, English musician (The Pogues)
- 1951Colin Bass, British bassist (Camel)
- 1951Gérard Jugnot, French actor, film director, screenwriter and producer
- 1951Jackie Jackson, American singer and musician (The Jackson 5)
- 1951Mick Mars, American guitarist (Mötley Crüe)
- 1951Tirso Cruz III, Filipino actor and singer.
- 1952Michael Barrymore, English comedian, actor, quiz master and entertainer
- 1953Oleta Adams, American singer
- 1953Salman Hashimikov, Soviet heavyweight wrestler
- 1954Pia Zadora, American actress
- 1954Robert Michael Snyder, American author and convicted sex offender
- 1955Avram Grant, Israeli football manager
- 1955Robert Ellis Orrall, American singer
- 1956David Guterson, American author
- 1956Ken Oberkfell, American baseball player
- 1956Ulrike Meyfarth, German athlete
- 1958Antonis Minou, Greek footballer
- 1958Delbert Fowler, American football player
- 1958Keith Haring, American graphical artist (d. 1990)
- 1959Inger Nilsson, Swedish actress
- 1959Randy Travis, American musician
- 1959Scott Armstrong, American professional wrestling referee
- 1960Andrew Denton, Australian television presenter and comedian
- 1960Werner Faymann, Chancellor of Austria
- 1961Jay Aston, British singer (Bucks Fizz)
- 1961Luis Herrera, Colombian cyclist
- 1964Mónica Bardem, Spanish actress
- 1964Rocco Siffredi, Italian porn actor
- 1964Zsuzsa Mathe, Hungarian painter and visual artist, founder of transrealism
- 1966Jane McGrath, co-founder of the McGrath Foundation for breast cancer (d. 2008)
- 1967Ana Gasteyer, American actress
- 1967Kate Garraway, English GMTV Presenter
- 1968Julian Barratt, English comedian and musician, one half of The Mighty Boosh
- 1969Micah Aivazoff, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1969Ryan Shamrock, American wrestling valet
- 1970Gregg Alexander, American musician (New Radicals)
- 1970Paul Wiseman, New Zealand cricketer
- 1970Sergio Basañez, Mexican actor
- 1970Will Arnett, American actor
- 1971Joe Borowski, American baseball player
- 1971Luiz Garcia, Jr., Brazilian racing driver
- 1971Rudresh Mahanthappa, Indian-American jazz alto saxophonist and composer
- 1972Chris Tomlin, American musician
- 1972Manny Aybar, Dominican baseball player
- 1972Mike Dirnt, American musician (Green Day)
- 1973Guillermo Barros Schelotto, Argentine footballer
- 1973John Madden, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1974Miguel Cairo, Venezuelan baseball player
- 1974Tony McCoy, Northern Irish National Hunt jockey
- 1975Laci Peterson, American murder victim (d. 2002)
- 1976Ben Grieve, American baseball player
- 1976Jason Michaels, American baseball player
- 1977Emily Perkins, Canadian actress
- 1977Mariano Pernía, Argentine-Spanish footballer
- 1977Nestoras Kommatos, Greek basketball player
- 1978Brett Burton, Australian football player
- 1978Daisuke Ono, Japanese seiyu
- 1978Erin Andrews, ESPN sideline reporter
- 1978Shaenon K. Garrity, American webcomics writer and artist
- 1979Lance Bass, American singer (*NSYNC)
- 1979Lesley Vainikolo, Tongan born rugby union and rugby league player
- 1979Marie Poissonnier, French pole vaulter
- 1979Wes Butters, British broadcaster
- 1980Andrew Raycroft, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1980Franziska Weisz, Austrian actress
- 1981Eric Djemba-Djemba, Cameroon footballer
- 1982Giorgos Tsiaras, Greek basketball player
- 1982Hector King, Mexican singer-songwriter
- 1982Kleopas Giannou, Greek footballer
- 1982Markus Rogan, Austrian swimmer
- 1982Rasheeda,American hiphop singer
- 1983Derek Roy, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1983Jesse Moss, Canadian actor
- 1983Trisha Krishnan, Indian actress
- 1984Kevin Slowey, American baseball player
- 1984Manjural Islam, Bangladeshi test cricket player (d. 2007)
- 1984Montell Owens, American football player
- 1985Anthony Fedorov, American singer
- 1985Ravinder Bopara, English cricketer
- 1986George Hill, American Basketball player
- 1987Anjeza Shahini, Albanian singer
- 1987Cesc Fàbregas, Spanish footballer
- 1987Jorge Lorenzo, Spanish motorcycle racer
- 1988Georgios Ioannidis, Greek footballer
- 1988Robert Lacy, American writer
- 1989Aris Tatarounis, Greek basketball player
- 1989James van Riemsdyk, American hockey player
- 1989Rory McIlroy, Northern Irish golfer
- 1990Matthias Cuntz, German footballer
- 1992Courtney Jines, American actress
- 1994Alexander Gould, American actor
- 1994Pauline Ducruet, daughter of HSH Princess Stéphanie of Monaco
- 2009Prince Henrik of Denmark, Danish royalty
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Who Died On May 4?
- 1436Engelbrekt Engelbrektsson, Swedish statesman
- 1471Edmund Beaufort, 4th Duke of Somerset, English military commander (executed)
- 1471Edward of Westminster, Prince of Wales (killed in battle) (b. 1453)
- 1506Husayn Bayqarah, ruler of Herat (b. 1438)
- 1519Lorenzo II de' Medici, Duke of Urbino (b. 1492)
- 1566Luca Ghini, Italian physician and botanist (b. 1490)
- 1615Adriaan van Roomen, Flemish mathematician (b. 1561)
- 1626Arthur Lake, Bishop of Bath and Wells, English bishop and Bible translator (b. 1569)
- 1677Isaac Barrow, English mathematician (b. 1630)
- 1684John Nevison, English highwayman (b. 1639)
- 1729Louis-Antoine, Cardinal de Noailles, French cardinal (b. 1651)
- 1734James Thornhill, English painter
- 1737Eustace Budgell, English writer (b. 1686)
- 1774Anthony Ulrich II, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg (b. 1714)
- 1776Jacques Saly, French sculptor (b. 1717)
- 1790Matthew Tilghman, American delegate to the Continental Congress (b. 1718)
- 1799Tipu Sultan, Indian military leader (b. 1750)
- 1811Nikolay Kamensky, Russian general (b. 1776)
- 1824Joseph Joubert, French essayist and moralist (b. 1754)
- 1849Hokusai, Japanese artist (b. 1760)
- 1858Aimé Bonpland, French explorer and botanist (b. 1773)
- 1859Joseph Diaz Gergonne, French mathematician (b. 1771)
- 1880Edward Clark, Governor of Texas (b. 1815)
- 1901John Jones Ross, Canadian politician (b. 1831)
- 1903Gotse Delchev, a revolutionary from the Balkans – leader of the Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization (b. 1872)
- 1916Members of the Easter Rising: Edward Daly, Irish nationalist and Member of the Easter Rising (b. 1891)
- 1916Members of the Easter Rising: Joseph Mary Plunkett, Irish nationalist and Leader of the Easter Rising (b. 1887)
- 1916Members of the Easter Rising: Willie Pearse, Irish nationalist and Member of the Easter Rising (b. 1891)
- 1919Milan Rastislav Štefánik, Slovak politician, French general and astronomer (b. 1880)
- 1922Viktor Kingissepp, Estonian Bolshevik politician (b. 1888)
- 1937Noel Rosa, Brazilian songwriter (b. 1910)
- 1938Carl von Ossietzky, German pacifist, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize (b. 1889)
- 1945Fedor von Bock, German field marshal (b. 1880)
- 1955George Enescu, Romanian composer (b. 1881)
- 1961Anita Stewart, American film actress (b. 1895)
- 1969Osbert Sitwell, English writer (b. 1892)
- 1970Allison Krause – Kent State victim (b. 1951)
- 1970Eugenia Livanos, Greek socialite (b. 1927)
- 1970Jeffrey Miller – Kent State victim (b. 1950)
- 1970Sandra Scheuer – Kent State victim (b. 1949)
- 1970William Schroeder (b. 1950)
- 1971Seamus Elliott, Irish cyclist (b. 1934)
- 1972Edward Calvin Kendall, American chemist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (b. 1886)
- 1973Jane Bowles, American writer and playwright (b. 1917)
- 1975Moe Howard, American actor and comedian (b. 1897)
- 1980Josip Broz Tito, President of Yugoslavia (b. 1892)
- 1984Bob Clampett, American cartoonist (b. 1913)
- 1984Diana Dors, British actress (b. 1931)
- 1985Clarence Wiseman, the 10th General of The Salvation Army (b. 1907)
- 1987Cathryn Damon, American actress (b. 1930)
- 1987Paul Butterfield, American blues harmonica player (b. 1942)
- 1990Emily Remler American Jazz Guitarist (b.1957)
- 1992Gregor Mackenzie, Labour Party (UK) politician (b. 1927)
- 1995Connie Wisniewski, American baseball player [AAGPBL] (b. 1922)
- 2001Bonnie Lee Bakley, American murder victim (b. 1956)
- 2005David Hackworth, U.S. Army officer and military journalist (b. 1930)
- 2009Dom DeLuise, American actor and comedian (b. 1933)
- 2010Ernie Harwell, American baseball broadcaster (b. 1918)
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