February 4
Appearance
February 4is the 35th day of the year in theGregorian calendar.There are 330 days remaining until the end of the year (331 inleap years).
Events[change|change source]
Up to 1900[change|change source]
- 211–Roman EmperorSeptimius Severusdies, leaving theRoman Empirein the hands of his two quarrelsome sons,CaracallaandGeta.
- 960-Song Taizu,founder of theSong DynastyinChina,comes to power in a coup.
- 1169-Mount EtnaonSicilyerupts. It is known exactly how many people were killed.
- 1454– In theThirteen Years' War,the Secret Council of thePrussian Confederacysends a formal act of disobedience to the Grand Master.
- 1546- TheSiege of Pskovin the Livland War ends with the lastPolish-Lithuanianforces leaving the city.
- 1703– The day that forty-six of theforty-seven ronincommittedsepuku.
- 1783–American Revolutionary War:TheUnited Kingdomformally declares that it will cease hostilities with theUnited States of America.
- 1789–George Washingtonis unanimously elected to be the firstPresident of the United Statesby theU.S. Electoral College.
- 1792–George Washingtonis unanimously elected to a second term asPresident of the United Statesby theU.S. Electoral College.
- 1794– The French legislature abolishesslaverythroughout all territories of the French Republic.
- 1797- AnearthquakeinRiobamba,Ecuador,kills up to 40,000 people.
- 1801–John Marshallis sworn in asChief Justice of the United States.
- 1810– The British Navy seizesGuadeloupe.
- 1820- TheChileanNavycompletes the 2-day long capture ofValdivia,with just 300 men and 2 ships.
- 1825- AfloodalongNorth Seacoasts kills around 800 people.
- 1846- The firstMormonpioneers leave Nauvoo,Illinois,westward to what later becameSalt Lake City.
- 1859–Codex Sinaiticusdiscovered inEgypt.
- 1861–American Civil War:InMontgomery, AlabamatheConfederate States of Americais formed by delegates from six break-awayUnited States.
- 1862–Bacardi,one of the world's largestspiritscompany, was founded as a smalldistilleryinSantiago de Cubain easternCuba.
- 1897-Germany's first-knownice hockeygame takes place inBerlin.
- 1899– ThePhilippine-American Warbegins.
- 1899- The GermanfootballclubWerder Bremenis founded.
1901 – 1950[change|change source]
- 1915–Germanyestablishes asubmarineblockade around theUKand declares any vessel in it a legitimate target.
- 1927– The firsttalkieis released –The Jazz SingerstarringAl Jolson.
- 1932–World War II:JapanoccupiesHarbin, China.
- 1932–1932 Winter Olympicsopen inLake Placid, New York.
- 1932–Asteroid1239 Queteletadiscovered byEugène Joseph Delporte.
- 1934– Asteroid2824 Frankediscovered byKarl Wilhelm Reinmuth.
- 1936–RadiumE. becomes the firstradioactiveelement to be made synthetically.
- 1938–Thornton Wilder's playOur Townopens (New York City).
- 1938–Disney'sSnow White and the Seven Dwarfswas released, and it went on to become a major box-office success, making more money than any othermoviein 1938.
- 1941–World War II:TheUnited Service Organization(USO) is created to entertain American troops.
- 1943–Battle of Stalingradends.
- 1945– World War II:US PresidentFranklin D. Roosevelt,Prime Minister of the United KingdomWinston ChurchillandSovietleaderJoseph Stalinbegin theYalta Conference.
- 1948–Ceylon(later renamedSri Lanka) becomes independent within theBritish Commonwealth.
1951 – 2000[change|change source]
- 1957–USSNautilus,the firstnuclear-poweredsubmarine,logged her 60,000thnautical mile,matching the endurance of the fictionalNautilusdescribed inJules Verne's novel"20,000 Leagues Under the Sea".
- 1960–Lorraine,Quebecis founded.
- 1962–Ian Fleming'sThe Living Daylightsfirst published.
- 1966–All Nippon AirwaysBoeing 727jet plunges into Tokyo Bay killing 133.
- 1967-Lunar Orbiter 3launches fromCape Canaveral, Florida.
- 1968–Bowie Kuhnbecomes the fifth commissioner ofMajor League Baseball,replacingWilliam Eckert.
- 1969–Yasser Arafattakes over as chairman of thePalestine Liberation Organization.
- 1974– TheSymbionese Liberation ArmykidnapsPatty HearstinBerkeley, California.
- 1975- A magnitude 7.3earthquakeoccurs inHaicheng,Liaoning,China.
- 1976– InGuatemalaandHondurasanearthquakekills more than 22,000.
- 1976–1976 Winter Olympicsopen inInnsbruck,Austria.
- 1977–Fleetwood Macreleases one of the biggest-selling albums of all time,Rumours.
- 1980–AyatollahRuhollah KhomeininamesAbolhassan Banisadras president ofIran.
- 1991– TheBaseball Hall of Famevotes to banPete Rose.
- 1992- Future-PresidentHugo Chávezleads a failed coup inVenezuelaagainstCarlos Andres Perez.
- 1996– A majorsnowstormparalyzes theMidwesternUnited States.Milwaukee, Wisconsinties its all-time record low temperature at −26 °F. (−32 °C)
- 1997–O. J. Simpsonis found to be civilly liable for the deaths ofNicole Brown SimpsonandRonald Goldman.
- 1997– En route toLebanon,twoIsraeliSikorsky CH-53troop-transporthelicopterscollide in mid-air over northern Galilee,Israelkilling 73.
- 1997– After at first contesting the results,SerbianPresidentSlobodan Milosevicrecognizes opposition victories in the November1996elections.
- 1998– Anearthquakemeasuring 6.1 on theRichter Scalein northeastAfghanistankills more than 5,000.
- 1999– Unarmed West African immigrantAmadou Diallois shot dead by four plainclothesNew York Citypolice officers on an unrelated stake-out, inflamingrace-relations in the city.
- 2000–USS Iwo Jima (LHD-7)launched.
- 2000– GermanextortionistKlaus-Peter Sabottaisjailed for lifefor attempted murder and extortion in connection withsabotageof Germanrailwaylines.
From 2001[change|change source]
- 2002- ThecharityCancer Research UKis founded.
- 2003- TheHindu minorityof Bangladesh declares the independence of Bangabhumi.
- 2003– TheFederal Republic of Yugoslaviais officially renamed toSerbia and Montenegroand adopts a new constitution.
- 2004- The social networking siteFacebookis founded byMark Zuckerberg.
- 2006- A stampede at the ULTRA Stadium inManilakills 71 people.
- 2007–Super Bowl XLItakes place fromDolphins StadiuminMiami, Florida,USA.
- 2013- It is announced that the remains dug up in a car park inLeicesterare those of KingRichard III of England.
- 2014- TheScottish Parliamentapproves the legalization ofsame-sex marriageinScotland,afterEnglandandWaleshad also legalized it, in2013.
- 2015-TransAsia Airways Flight 235crashes shortly after take-off fromTaipei,Taiwan,killing 31 people.
- 2018-American football:ThePhiladelphia Eagleswin theSuper Bowlfor the first time, defeating theNew England Patriots.
Births[change|change source]
Up to 1900[change|change source]
- 1483-Ridolfo Ghirlandaio,Italian painter (d.1561)
- 1505-Nicolaus Rey,Polishpoet(d.1580)
- 1620-Gustaf Bonde,Swedishstatesman(d.1667)
- 1639-Alessandro Melani,Italian composer (d.1703)
- 1646–Hans Erasmus Assmann, Freiherr von Abschatz,Germanstatesmanandpoet(d.1699)
- 1676-Giacomo Focco,Italianviolinistandcomposer(d.1753)
- 1677–Johann Ludwig Bach,German composer (d.1731)
- 1740-Carl Michael Bellman,Swedishpoetandcomposer(d.1795)
- 1746–Tadeusz Kosciuszko,Polish general and national hero ofPolandandLithuania(d.1817)
- 1808–Josef Kajetan Tyl,Czechplaywright(d.1856)
- 1811–Aristide Cavaillé-Coll,French organist (d.1899)
- 1831-Oliver Ames,35thGovernor of Massachusetts(d.1895)
- 1840-Hiram Stevens Maxim,American inventor (d.1916)
- 1846-Nikolay Umov,Russianphysicist(d.1915)
- 1848-Jean Aicard,Frenchpoet,writerandplaywright(d.1921)
- 1849-Jean Richepin,Frenchpoet(d.1926)
- 1860-Jackson Showalter,Americanchessplayer (d.1935)
- 1862-Hjalmar Hammarskjöld,Swedish politician (d.1953)
- 1868-Constance Georgine, Countess Markiewicz,Irish political activist (d.1927)
- 1871–Friedrich Ebert,President of Germany(d.1925)
- 1872–Goce Delčev,Macedonianrevolutionary fromAegean Macedonia(d.1903)
- 1873-Mikhail Prishkin,Soviet-Russian writer (d.1954)
- 1875–Ludwig Prandtl,Germanphysicist(d.1953)
- 1881-Yakov Protazanov,Soviet-Russianmovie director(d.1945)
- 1881-Kliment Voroshilov,Soviet-Russianpolitician(d.1969)
- 1881-Fernand Léger,French artist (d.1955)
- 1881-Eulalio Gutiérrez,InterimPresidentofMexico(d.1939)
- 1882-Princess Louise of Orléans(d.1958)
- 1883-Jakob Sildnik,Estonianphotographerandmoviemaker (d.1973)
- 1891-M. A. Ayyangar,Indian politician, Speaker of theLok Sabha(d.1978)
- 1892-Andreu Nin,Catalanpolitician (d.1937)
- 1893-Raymond Dart,Australianscientist(d.1988)
- 1895–Nigel Bruce,English actor (d.1953)
- 1896–Friedrich Hund,German physicist (d.1997)
- 1897–Ludwig Erhard,Chancellor of Germany(d.1977)
- 1897–EmperorIyasu VofEthiopia(d.1935)
- 1900–Jacques Prévert,Frenchpoet(d.1977)
1901 – 1925[change|change source]
- 1902–Charles Lindbergh,American pilot (d.1974)
- 1902–Hartley Shawcross,British lawyer and politician (d.2003)
- 1904-Deng Yingchao,wife of Chinese leaderZhou Enlai(d.1992)
- 1904-MacKinlay Kantor,American writer (d.1977)
- 1906–Dietrich Bonhoeffer,Germantheologian(d.1945)
- 1906-Sabine Bonhoeffer,twinsister ofDietrich Bonhoeffer(d.1999)
- 1906–Clyde Tombaugh,Americanastronomer(d.1997)
- 1906-Colette Darfeuil,Frenchactress(d.1998)
- 1907-Otto Ohlendorf,GermanSSgroup leader andwar criminal(d.1951)
- 1912–Byron Nelson,Americangolfer(d.2006)
- 1912-Louis-Albert Vachon,Canadianarchbishop(d.2006)
- 1913–Rosa Parks,AmericanCivil Rightsactivist(d.2005)
- 1915–Norman Wisdom,British actor and comedian (d.2010)
- 1917–Agha Muhammad Yahya Khan,Last President of UnitedPakistan(d.1980)
- 1918–Ida Lupino,Englishactressandmovie director(d.1996)
- 1920-Morton Deutsch,American social psychologist (d.2017)
- 1920-Janet Waldo,Americanactress(d.2016)
- 1921-Lotfi A. Zadeh,Soviet-bornmathematicianandcomputerscientist(d.2017)
- 1921–Betty Friedan,American feminist, activist and writer (d.2006)
- 1922–Bhimsen Joshi,Indian singer and musician (d.2011)
- 1923-Conrad Bain,Canadian-American actor (d.2013)
- 1923-Bonar Bain,Canadian actor (d.2005)
- 1923-Belisario Betancur,53rdPresidentofColombia
- 1925-Jutta Hipp,German-Americanjazzpianist, composer and painter (d.2003)
- 1925-Christopher Zeeman,Britishmathematician(d.2016)
1926 – 1950[change|change source]
- 1926–Gyula Grosics,Hungarianfootballer(d.2014)
- 1927-Horst Ehmke,German politician (d.2017)
- 1927-John Martinkovic,American football player (d.2018)
- 1928–Kim Yong-nam,North Koreanpolitician
- 1929–Jerry Adler,American actor
- 1929–Eduard Zimmermann,German journalist and television presenter (d.2009)
- 1930-Arthur E. Chase,American businessman and politician (d.2015)
- 1930-Jim Loscutoff,Americanbasketballplayer (d.2015)
- 1931–Isabel Perón,formerPresident of Argentina
- 1932-Gerhard Hund,Germanchessplayer, son ofFriedrich Hund
- 1935-Martti Talvela,Finnishbass(d.1989)
- 1936-David Brenner,Americancomedian,actorand writer (d.2014)
- 1936–Gary Conway,American actor
- 1938-Donald W. Riegle, Jr.,United StatesSenator
- 1940-George A. Romero,American movie director (d.2017)
- 1941-Jiri Raska,Czech ski jumper (d.2012)
- 1941–John Steel,Britishmusician
- 1943-Wanda Rutkiewicz,Polishmountaineer(d.1989)
- 1943–Ken Thompson,Americancomputerscientist
- 1945-Tony Haygarth,English actor (d.2017)
- 1947-Dennis C. Blair,Americanadmiral,3rdDirector of Central Intelligence
- 1947–Dan Quayle,44thVice President of the United States
- 1948–Alice Cooper,American musician
- 1948-Marisol,Spanish actress & singer
- 1948–Ram Baran Yadav,1stPresidentofNepal
1951 – 1975[change|change source]
- 1951-Patrick Bergin,Irish actor
- 1952–Jenny Shipley,36thPrime Minister of New Zealand
- 1953-Kitaro,Japanese composer
- 1954-Andrei Karlov,Russiandiplomat(d.2016)
- 1955–Mikulas Dzurinda,formerPrime MinisterofSlovakia
- 1960-Mark Dawson,English-Americantalentmanager andproducer
- 1962–Clint Black,American musician
- 1962-John Gordon Sinclair,Scottish actor
- 1962-Stephen Hammond,English politician
- 1963-Pirmin Zurbriggen,Swissskier
- 1964–Noodles,Americanguitarist
- 1966-Viatcheslav Ekimov,Russian cyclist
- 1967-Sergei Grinkov,Russian figure skater (d.1995)
- 1969-Dallas Drake,Canadianice hockeyplayer
- 1970-Gabrielle Anwar,English actress
- 1971-Eric Garcetti,42ndMayorofLos Angeles,California
- 1971-Rob Corddry,American actor, director and producer
- 1972–Giovanni Silva de Oliveira,Brazilianfootballer
- 1972–Dara Ó Briain,Irish comedian
- 1973–Oscar de la Hoya,Mexican-American boxer
- 1974-Mijntje Denners,Dutchfield hockeyplayer
- 1975–Natalie Imbruglia,Australian singer and actress
- 1975–Vittorio Arrigoni,Italianactivist(d.2011)
From 1976[change|change source]
- 1976–Cam'ron,Americanrapperandactor
- 1977–Gavin DeGraw,American singer
- 1979–Andrei Arlovski,Belarussianmixed martial artist and actor
- 1980–Raimonds Vaikulis,Latvianbasketballplayer
- 1981–Jason Kapono,Americanbasketballplayer
- 1982–Ivars Timermanis,Latvianbasketballplayer
- 1982–Kimberly Wyatt,American singer (Pussycat Dolls)
- 1982–Chris Sabin,Americanprofessional wrestler
- 1983–Miguel Garcia,Portuguese footballer
- 1983–Lee Stempniak,Americanice hockeyplayer
- 1984–Mauricio Pinilla,Chileanfootballer
- 1985–Bug Hall,American actor
- 1986–Asif Ali,Indian actor
- 1987–Darren O'Dea,Irishfootballer
- 1987–Lucie Safarova,Czechtennisplayer
- 1988–Jeff Horn,Australianprofessional boxer
- 1988–Carly Patterson,Americangymnast
- 1989–Shogo Suzuki,Japaneseactorandmusician
- 1990–Haruka Tomatsu,Japanesevoiceactressandsinger
- 1991–Mathew Leckie,Australianfootballer
Deaths[change|change source]
Up to 1900[change|change source]
- 211–Septimius Severus,Emperor of Rome(born146)
- 708–Pope Sisinnius
- 784–Hrabanus Maurus,German poet
- 856–Rabanus Maurus,Bishop of Mainz
- 869– SaintCyril,after whom theCyrillic Alpha betis named (born827)
- 1161- KingInge I of Norway(b.1135)
- 1615-Giovanni Battista della Porta,Italianpolymath(born1535)
- 1694-Natalya Kyrillovna Naryshkina,TsaritsaofRussia(born1651)
- 1713–Anthony Ashley Cooper, 3rd Earl of Shaftesbury(born1671)
- 1774-Charles Marie de La Condamine,Frenchmathematicianandgeographer(born1701)
- 1781–Josef Myslivecek,composer (born1737)
- 1843-Theodoros Kolokotronis,Greek general (born1770)
- 1894–Adolphe Sax,Belgian instrument maker, inventor of thesaxophone(born1814)
1901 – 2000[change|change source]
- 1905–Louis-Ernest Barrias,French sculptor (born1841)
- 1928–Hendrik Lorentz,Dutch physicist and Nobel laureate (born1853)
- 1928-Manche Masemola,South African girl and Christian martyr (born1913)
- 1933–Archibald Sayce,educator (born1846)
- 1935-J. Henry Birtles,Englishrugbyplayer (born1874)
- 1936–Wilhelm Gustloff,German leader of the Swiss Nazi party (born1895)
- 1941-Louis Lincoln Emmerson,27thGovernorofIllinois(born1863)
- 1943-Frank Calder,firstNHLPresident (born1877)
- 1944–Yvette Guilbert,French singer and actress (born1867)
- 1953-Antonio Conte,Italian fencer (born1867)
- 1956-Savielly Tartakower,Polishchessplayer (born1887)
- 1958–Henry Kuttner,science fiction writer (born1915)
- 1967-Albert Orsborn,6thGeneralof theSalvation Army(born1886)
- 1968–Neal Cassady,writer (born1926)
- 1968–Gilbert H. Grosvenor,President of theNational Geographic Society(born1875)
- 1969–Thelma Ritter,actress (born1905)
- 1974–Satyendra Nath Bose,Indian physicist (born1894)
- 1975–Louis Jordan,musician (born1908)
- 1983–Karen Carpenter,U.S. singer, musician (Carpenters) (born1950)
- 1984–Anna Anderson,claimant to the throne of Russia (born1896)
- 1987–Liberace,American musician (born1919)
- 1987–Carl Rogers,psychologist (born1902)
- 1992-Lisa Fonssagrives,Swedish model (born1911)
- 1995–Godfrey Brown,athlete and teacher (born1915)
- 1995–Patricia Highsmith,American writer (born1921)
- 1999–Amadou Bailo Diallo,shot byNew York Citypolice (born1975)
- 2000–Doris Coley,singer, member of theShirelles(born1941)
- 2000–Carl Albert,formerSpeaker of the United States House of Representatives(born1908)
From 2001[change|change source]
- 2001–Iannis Xenakis,Greek-Frenchcomposer(born1922)
- 2001–J. J. Johnson,jazztrombonistand jazz composer (born1924)
- 2002-Agatha Barbara,Maltesepolitician (born1923)
- 2002-George Nader,American actor (born1921)
- 2005–Ossie Davis,American actor (born1917)
- 2006-Betty Friedan,American feminist, activist and writer (born1921)
- 2007-Barbara McNair,American singer and actress (born1934)
- 2008-Stefan Meller,Polish politician (born1942)
- 2009-Lux Interior,American musician (born1946)
- 2011-Lena Nyman,Swedish actress (born1944)
- 2011-Martial Celestin,Haitianlawyer,diplomatandpolitician(born1913)
- 2012-Mike deGruy,American documentarymoviemaker (born1951)
- 2012-Andrew Wight,Australianscreenwriterandproducer(born1960)
- 2012-Florence Green,Britishsupercentenarianand last-survivingWorld War Iservice veteran (born1901)
- 2013-Reg Presley,Englishsinger-songwriter(born1941)
- 2013-Essie Mae Washington-Williams,American educator (born1925)
- 2014-Wu Ma,Chinese-Hong Kongactoranddirector(born1942)
- 2014-Keith Allen,Canadianice hockeyplayer (born1923)
- 2015-Sajida Mubarak Atrous al-Rishawi,Iraqi terrorist (born1970)
- 2015-Eduardo Laborde,Argentinerugbyplayer (born1967)
- 2015-Fitzhugh L. Fulton,AmericanNASAresearch pilot (born1925)
- 2015-Wes Cooley,American politician (born1932)
- 2016-Maurice White,American singer (born1941)
- 2016-Marlow Cook,American politician (born1926)
- 2016-Edgar Whitcomb,American politician, 43rdGovernorofIndiana(born1917)
- 2016-Axl Rotten,Americanprofessional wrestler(born1971)
- 2016-Dave Mirra,American BMX rider (born1974)
- 2016-Edgar Mitchell,Americanastronaut(born1930)
- 2017-Basil Hetzel,Australian medical researcher (born1922)
- 2017-Bano Qudsia,Pakistani writer (born1928)
- 2017-Georgi Taratorkin,Russian actor (born1945)
- 2017-Hans van der Hoek,Dutchfootballer(born1933)
- 2017-John Howes,Americanprofessorof Asian Studies (born1924)
- 2017-Steve Lang,Canadian rock musician (born1949)
- 2017-Marc Spitz,American writer (born1969)
- 2018-Alan Baker,Englishmathematician(born1939)
- 2018-Martin Grüner,German politician (born1929)
- 2018-Edwin Jackson,American football player (born1991)
- 2018-John Mahoney,British-American actor (born1940)
- 2018-Séamus Pattison,Irish politician (born1936)
- 2018-Wojciech Pokora,Polish actor (born1934)
Observances[change|change source]
- Independence Day (Sri Lanka)
- Rosa ParksDay (United States)
- Day of the Armed Struggle (Angola)
- WorldCancerDay