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 In HistoryMay 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

  • 1256
    The Augustinian monastic order is constituted at the Lecceto Monastery when Pope Alexander IV issues a papal bull Licet ecclesiae catholicae.
  • 1415
    Religious reformers John Wycliffe and Jan Hus are condemned as heretics at the Council of Constance.
  • 1436
    Assasination of the Swedish rebel (later national hero) Engelbrekt Engelbrektsson
  • 1471
    Wars of the Roses: The Battle of Tewkesbury: Edward IV defeats a Lancastrian Army and kills Edward, Prince of Wales.
  • 1493
    Pope Alexander VI divides the New World between Spain and Portugal along the Line of Demarcation.
  • 1626
    Dutch explorer Peter Minuit arrives in New Netherland (present day Manhattan Island) aboard the See Meeuw.
  • 1675
    King Charles II of England orders the construction of the Royal Greenwich Observatory.
  • 1686
    The Municipality of Ilagan is founded in the Philippines.
  • 1776
    Rhode Island becomes the first American colony to renounce allegiance to King George III.
  • 1799
    Fourth 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.
  • 1814
    Emperor Napoleon I of France arrives at Portoferraio on the island of Elba to begin his exile.
  • 1814
    King Ferdinand VII of Spain signs the Decrete of the 4th of May, returning Spain to absolutism.
  • 1855
    American adventurer William Walker departs from San Francisco with about 60 men to conquer Nicaragua.
  • 1859
    The Cornwall Railway opens across the Royal Albert Bridge linking the counties of Devon and Cornwall in England.
  • 1863
    American Civil War: The Battle of Chancellorsville ends with a Union retreat.
  • 1869
    The Naval Battle of Hakodate Bay is fought in Japan.
  • 1871
    The National Association, the first professional baseball league, opens its first season in Fort Wayne, Indiana.
  • 1886
    Haymarket 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.
  • 1904
    Charles Stewart Rolls meets Frederick Henry Royce at the Midland Hotel in Manchester, England.
  • 1904
    The United States begins construction of the Panama Canal.
  • 1910
    The Royal Canadian Navy is created.
  • 1912
    Italy occupies the Greek island of Rhodes.
  • 1919
    May Fourth Movement: Student demonstrations take place in Tiananmen Square in Beijing, China, protesting the Treaty of Versailles, which transferred Chinese territory to Japan.
  • 1932
    In Atlanta, Georgia, mobster Al Capone begins serving an eleven-year prison sentence for tax evasion.
  • 1942
    World 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.
  • 1945
    World War II: Neuengamme concentration camp near Hamburg is liberated by the British Army.
  • 1945
    World War II: The North Germany Army surrenders to Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery.
  • 1946
    In 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.
  • 1949
    The 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.
  • 1953
    Ernest Hemingway wins the Pulitzer Prize for The Old Man and the Sea.
  • 1959
    The 1st Grammy Awards are held.
  • 1961
    American civil rights movement: The “Freedom Riders” begin a bus trip through the South.
  • 1970
    Vietnam 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.
  • 1972
    The Don't Make A Wave Committee, a fledgling environmental organization founded in Canada in 1971, officially changes its name to “Greenpeace Foundation”.
  • 1974
    An all-female Japanese team reaches the summit of Manaslu, becoming the first women to climb an 8,000-meter peak.
  • 1979
    Margaret Thatcher becomes the first female Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.
  • 1982
    Twenty sailors are killed when the British Type 42 destroyer HMS Sheffield is hit by an Argentinian Exocet missile during the Falklands War.
  • 1988
    The PEPCON disaster rocks Henderson, Nevada, as tons of space shuttle fuel detonate during a fire.
  • 1989
    Iran-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.
  • 1990
    Latvia proclaims the renewal of its independence after the Soviet occupation.
  • 1994
    Israeli 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.
  • 1998
    A 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.
  • 2000
    Ken Livingstone becomes the first Mayor of London.
  • 2001
    The Milwaukee Art Museum addition, the first Santiago Calatrava-designed structure in the United States, opens to the public.
  • 2002
    An EAS Airlines BAC 1-11-500 crashes in a suburb of Kano, Nigeria shortly after takeoff killing more than 148 people.
  • 2007
    Greensburg, Kansas is almost completely destroyed by a 1.7 mi wide EF-5 tornado.

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Who Were Born On May 4?

  • 1008
    Khajeh Abdollah Ansari, The Persian Sufi (d. 1088)
  • 1008
    King Henry I of France (d. 1060)
  • 1649
    Maharaja Chhatrasal (d. 1731)
  • 1654
    Kangxi Emperor of China (d. 1722)
  • 1655
    Bartolomeo Cristofori, Italian maker of musical instruments (d. 1731)
  • 1715
    Richard Graves, English writer (d. 1804)
  • 1733
    Jean-Charles de Borda, French mathematician, physicist, political scientist, and sailor (d. 1799)
  • 1752
    John Brooks, 11th Governor of Massachusetts (d. 1825)
  • 1767
    Tyāgarāja, Composer of Indian classical Carnatic music (d. 1847)
  • 1772
    Friedrich Arnold Brockhaus, German publisher (d. 1823)
  • 1781
    Karl Christian Friedrich Krause, German philosopher (d. 1832)
  • 1796
    Horace Mann, American educator (d. 1859)
  • 1796
    William H. Prescott, American historian (d. 1859)
  • 1820
    Julia Tyler, First Lady of the United States (d. 1889)
  • 1822
    Charles Boucher de Boucherville, Quebec politician (d. 1915)
  • 1825
    Augustus Le Plongeon, French antiquitarian (d. 1908)
  • 1825
    Thomas Henry Huxley, English scientist (d. 1895)
  • 1826
    Frederic Edwin Church, American painter (d. 1900)
  • 1827
    John Hanning Speke, British explorer (d. 1864)
  • 1852
    Alice Pleasance Liddell, English schoolgirl model for Alice in Wonderland (d. 1934)
  • 1864
    Marie Booth, the third daughter of William and Catherine Booth (d. 1937)
  • 1870
    Alexandre Benois, Russian artist (d. 1960)
  • 1873
    Joe De Grasse, Canadian film director (d. 1940)
  • 1889
    Francis Cardinal Spellman, American religious leader (d. 1967)
  • 1890
    Franklin Carmichael, Canadian artist, a founder of the Group of Seven (d. 1945)
  • 1903
    Luther Adler, American stage actor (d. 1984)
  • 1907
    Lincoln Kirstein, American impresario (d. 1996)
  • 1913
    Lady Katherine Brandram, née Princess of Greece and Denmark (d. 2007)
  • 1914
    Maedayama Eigorō, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 39th Yokozuna (d. 1971)
  • 1916
    Jane Jacobs, American-Canadian author and activist (d. 2006)
  • 1916
    Richard Proenneke, American naturalist (d. 2003)
  • 1918
    Tanaka Kakuei, Japanese political leader (d. 1993)
  • 1918
    Thomas Mead, Australian politician and journalist (d. 2004)
  • 1919
    Dory Funk, Professional wrestler (d. 1973)
  • 1921
    Edo Murtić, Croatian painter (d. 2005)
  • 1923
    Assi Rahbani, Lebanese composer and author
  • 1923
    Ed Cassidy, American musician (Spirit)
  • 1923
    Eric Sykes, British actor and comedian
  • 1923
    Godfrey Quigley, British actor (d. 1994)
  • 1923
    Stanley Biber, American physician, pioneer of transgender surgery (d. 2006)
  • 1925
    Maurice R. Greenberg, American businessman
  • 1928
    Hosni Mubarak, President of Egypt
  • 1928
    Maynard Ferguson, Canadian musician (d. 2006)
  • 1928
    Wolfgang von Trips, German racing driver (d. 1961)
  • 1929
    Audrey Hepburn, Anglo-Dutch actress (d. 1993)
  • 1929
    Ronald Golias, Brazilian comedian and actor (d. 2005)
  • 1929
    Sidney Lamb, American linguist
  • 1930
    Katherine Jackson, mother of the Jackson musical family
  • 1930
    Roberta Peters, American soprano
  • 1931
    Gennady Rozhdestvensky, Russian conductor
  • 1931
    Thomas Stuttaford, British doctor and writer
  • 1933
    J. Fred Duckett, Texan sports announcer and teacher
  • 1936
    El Cordobés, Spanish matador
  • 1937
    Dick Dale, American guitarist
  • 1937
    Mr. Fuji, Former professional wrestler
  • 1937
    Ron Carter, American jazz bassist
  • 1938
    Carlos Monsiváis, Mexican writer
  • 1938
    Tyrone Davis, American soul singer (d. 2005)
  • 1939
    Amos Oz, Israeli writer, novelist, and journalist
  • 1939
    Léon Rochefort, Quebec ice hockey player
  • 1939
    Paul Gleason, American actor (d. 2006)
  • 1940
    Robin Cook, American novelist
  • 1941
    George Will, American writer
  • 1942
    Nickolas Ashford, American record producer, songwriter, and musician (Ashford and Simpson)
  • 1943
    Georgi Asparuhov, Bulgarian footballer
  • 1943
    Mikhail Chemiakin, Russian painter
  • 1945
    Narasimhan Ram, Indian journalist
  • 1946
    Gary Bauer conservative American politician, former presidential candidate
  • 1946
    John Watson, Northern Irish racecar driver
  • 1947
    Richard Jenkins, American actor
  • 1947
    Willem van Beusekom, Dutch broadcaster and Radio DJ (d. 2006)
  • 1948
    Hurley Haywood, American race car driver, and three-time winner of the 24 Hours of Le Mans
  • 1949
    Graham Swift, British author
  • 1949
    John Force, American race car driver
  • 1949
    Stella Parton, American country music singer
  • 1950
    Darryl Hunt, English musician (The Pogues)
  • 1951
    Colin Bass, British bassist (Camel)
  • 1951
    Gérard Jugnot, French actor, film director, screenwriter and producer
  • 1951
    Jackie Jackson, American singer and musician (The Jackson 5)
  • 1951
    Mick Mars, American guitarist (Mötley Crüe)
  • 1951
    Tirso Cruz III, Filipino actor and singer.
  • 1952
    Michael Barrymore, English comedian, actor, quiz master and entertainer
  • 1953
    Oleta Adams, American singer
  • 1953
    Salman Hashimikov, Soviet heavyweight wrestler
  • 1954
    Pia Zadora, American actress
  • 1954
    Robert Michael Snyder, American author and convicted sex offender
  • 1955
    Avram Grant, Israeli football manager
  • 1955
    Robert Ellis Orrall, American singer
  • 1956
    David Guterson, American author
  • 1956
    Ken Oberkfell, American baseball player
  • 1956
    Ulrike Meyfarth, German athlete
  • 1958
    Antonis Minou, Greek footballer
  • 1958
    Delbert Fowler, American football player
  • 1958
    Keith Haring, American graphical artist (d. 1990)
  • 1959
    Inger Nilsson, Swedish actress
  • 1959
    Randy Travis, American musician
  • 1959
    Scott Armstrong, American professional wrestling referee
  • 1960
    Andrew Denton, Australian television presenter and comedian
  • 1960
    Werner Faymann, Chancellor of Austria
  • 1961
    Jay Aston, British singer (Bucks Fizz)
  • 1961
    Luis Herrera, Colombian cyclist
  • 1964
    Mónica Bardem, Spanish actress
  • 1964
    Rocco Siffredi, Italian porn actor
  • 1964
    Zsuzsa Mathe, Hungarian painter and visual artist, founder of transrealism
  • 1966
    Jane McGrath, co-founder of the McGrath Foundation for breast cancer (d. 2008)
  • 1967
    Ana Gasteyer, American actress
  • 1967
    Kate Garraway, English GMTV Presenter
  • 1968
    Julian Barratt, English comedian and musician, one half of The Mighty Boosh
  • 1969
    Micah Aivazoff, Canadian ice hockey player
  • 1969
    Ryan Shamrock, American wrestling valet
  • 1970
    Gregg Alexander, American musician (New Radicals)
  • 1970
    Paul Wiseman, New Zealand cricketer
  • 1970
    Sergio Basañez, Mexican actor
  • 1970
    Will Arnett, American actor
  • 1971
    Joe Borowski, American baseball player
  • 1971
    Luiz Garcia, Jr., Brazilian racing driver
  • 1971
    Rudresh Mahanthappa, Indian-American jazz alto saxophonist and composer
  • 1972
    Chris Tomlin, American musician
  • 1972
    Manny Aybar, Dominican baseball player
  • 1972
    Mike Dirnt, American musician (Green Day)
  • 1973
    Guillermo Barros Schelotto, Argentine footballer
  • 1973
    John Madden, Canadian ice hockey player
  • 1974
    Miguel Cairo, Venezuelan baseball player
  • 1974
    Tony McCoy, Northern Irish National Hunt jockey
  • 1975
    Laci Peterson, American murder victim (d. 2002)
  • 1976
    Ben Grieve, American baseball player
  • 1976
    Jason Michaels, American baseball player
  • 1977
    Emily Perkins, Canadian actress
  • 1977
    Mariano Pernía, Argentine-Spanish footballer
  • 1977
    Nestoras Kommatos, Greek basketball player
  • 1978
    Brett Burton, Australian football player
  • 1978
    Daisuke Ono, Japanese seiyu
  • 1978
    Erin Andrews, ESPN sideline reporter
  • 1978
    Shaenon K. Garrity, American webcomics writer and artist
  • 1979
    Lance Bass, American singer (*NSYNC)
  • 1979
    Lesley Vainikolo, Tongan born rugby union and rugby league player
  • 1979
    Marie Poissonnier, French pole vaulter
  • 1979
    Wes Butters, British broadcaster
  • 1980
    Andrew Raycroft, Canadian ice hockey player
  • 1980
    Franziska Weisz, Austrian actress
  • 1981
    Eric Djemba-Djemba, Cameroon footballer
  • 1982
    Giorgos Tsiaras, Greek basketball player
  • 1982
    Hector King, Mexican singer-songwriter
  • 1982
    Kleopas Giannou, Greek footballer
  • 1982
    Markus Rogan, Austrian swimmer
  • 1982
    Rasheeda,American hiphop singer
  • 1983
    Derek Roy, Canadian ice hockey player
  • 1983
    Jesse Moss, Canadian actor
  • 1983
    Trisha Krishnan, Indian actress
  • 1984
    Kevin Slowey, American baseball player
  • 1984
    Manjural Islam, Bangladeshi test cricket player (d. 2007)
  • 1984
    Montell Owens, American football player
  • 1985
    Anthony Fedorov, American singer
  • 1985
    Ravinder Bopara, English cricketer
  • 1986
    George Hill, American Basketball player
  • 1987
    Anjeza Shahini, Albanian singer
  • 1987
    Cesc Fàbregas, Spanish footballer
  • 1987
    Jorge Lorenzo, Spanish motorcycle racer
  • 1988
    Georgios Ioannidis, Greek footballer
  • 1988
    Robert Lacy, American writer
  • 1989
    Aris Tatarounis, Greek basketball player
  • 1989
    James van Riemsdyk, American hockey player
  • 1989
    Rory McIlroy, Northern Irish golfer
  • 1990
    Matthias Cuntz, German footballer
  • 1992
    Courtney Jines, American actress
  • 1994
    Alexander Gould, American actor
  • 1994
    Pauline Ducruet, daughter of HSH Princess Stéphanie of Monaco
  • 2009
    Prince Henrik of Denmark, Danish royalty

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Who Died On May 4?

  • 1436
    Engelbrekt Engelbrektsson, Swedish statesman
  • 1471
    Edmund Beaufort, 4th Duke of Somerset, English military commander (executed)
  • 1471
    Edward of Westminster, Prince of Wales (killed in battle) (b. 1453)
  • 1506
    Husayn Bayqarah, ruler of Herat (b. 1438)
  • 1519
    Lorenzo II de' Medici, Duke of Urbino (b. 1492)
  • 1566
    Luca Ghini, Italian physician and botanist (b. 1490)
  • 1615
    Adriaan van Roomen, Flemish mathematician (b. 1561)
  • 1626
    Arthur Lake, Bishop of Bath and Wells, English bishop and Bible translator (b. 1569)
  • 1677
    Isaac Barrow, English mathematician (b. 1630)
  • 1684
    John Nevison, English highwayman (b. 1639)
  • 1729
    Louis-Antoine, Cardinal de Noailles, French cardinal (b. 1651)
  • 1734
    James Thornhill, English painter
  • 1737
    Eustace Budgell, English writer (b. 1686)
  • 1774
    Anthony Ulrich II, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg (b. 1714)
  • 1776
    Jacques Saly, French sculptor (b. 1717)
  • 1790
    Matthew Tilghman, American delegate to the Continental Congress (b. 1718)
  • 1799
    Tipu Sultan, Indian military leader (b. 1750)
  • 1811
    Nikolay Kamensky, Russian general (b. 1776)
  • 1824
    Joseph Joubert, French essayist and moralist (b. 1754)
  • 1849
    Hokusai, Japanese artist (b. 1760)
  • 1858
    Aimé Bonpland, French explorer and botanist (b. 1773)
  • 1859
    Joseph Diaz Gergonne, French mathematician (b. 1771)
  • 1880
    Edward Clark, Governor of Texas (b. 1815)
  • 1901
    John Jones Ross, Canadian politician (b. 1831)
  • 1903
    Gotse Delchev, a revolutionary from the Balkans – leader of the Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization (b. 1872)
  • 1916
    Members of the Easter Rising: Edward Daly, Irish nationalist and Member of the Easter Rising (b. 1891)
  • 1916
    Members of the Easter Rising: Joseph Mary Plunkett, Irish nationalist and Leader of the Easter Rising (b. 1887)
  • 1916
    Members of the Easter Rising: Willie Pearse, Irish nationalist and Member of the Easter Rising (b. 1891)
  • 1919
    Milan Rastislav Štefánik, Slovak politician, French general and astronomer (b. 1880)
  • 1922
    Viktor Kingissepp, Estonian Bolshevik politician (b. 1888)
  • 1937
    Noel Rosa, Brazilian songwriter (b. 1910)
  • 1938
    Carl von Ossietzky, German pacifist, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize (b. 1889)
  • 1945
    Fedor von Bock, German field marshal (b. 1880)
  • 1955
    George Enescu, Romanian composer (b. 1881)
  • 1961
    Anita Stewart, American film actress (b. 1895)
  • 1969
    Osbert Sitwell, English writer (b. 1892)
  • 1970
    Allison Krause – Kent State victim (b. 1951)
  • 1970
    Eugenia Livanos, Greek socialite (b. 1927)
  • 1970
    Jeffrey Miller – Kent State victim (b. 1950)
  • 1970
    Sandra Scheuer – Kent State victim (b. 1949)
  • 1970
    William Schroeder (b. 1950)
  • 1971
    Seamus Elliott, Irish cyclist (b. 1934)
  • 1972
    Edward Calvin Kendall, American chemist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (b. 1886)
  • 1973
    Jane Bowles, American writer and playwright (b. 1917)
  • 1975
    Moe Howard, American actor and comedian (b. 1897)
  • 1980
    Josip Broz Tito, President of Yugoslavia (b. 1892)
  • 1984
    Bob Clampett, American cartoonist (b. 1913)
  • 1984
    Diana Dors, British actress (b. 1931)
  • 1985
    Clarence Wiseman, the 10th General of The Salvation Army (b. 1907)
  • 1987
    Cathryn Damon, American actress (b. 1930)
  • 1987
    Paul Butterfield, American blues harmonica player (b. 1942)
  • 1990
    Emily Remler American Jazz Guitarist (b.1957)
  • 1992
    Gregor Mackenzie, Labour Party (UK) politician (b. 1927)
  • 1995
    Connie Wisniewski, American baseball player [AAGPBL] (b. 1922)
  • 2001
    Bonnie Lee Bakley, American murder victim (b. 1956)
  • 2005
    David Hackworth, U.S. Army officer and military journalist (b. 1930)
  • 2009
    Dom DeLuise, American actor and comedian (b. 1933)
  • 2010
    Ernie Harwell, American baseball broadcaster (b. 1918)

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