On this day in History - May 4

• 1008 - King Henry I of France was born (d. 1060).
• 1008 - Khajeh Abdollah Ansari was born (d. 1088). The Persian Sufi.
• 1256 - Augustinian monastic order constituted at Lecceto Monastery when Pope Alexander IV issues a papal bull Licet ecclesiae catholicae
• 1415 - Religious reformers John Wycliffe and Jan Hus were condemned as heretics at the Council of Constance.
• 1436 - Engelbrekt Engelbrektsson dies (b. 1390s). Swedish statesman.
• 1460 - O navegador português Diogo Gomes descobriu o Arquipélago de Cabo Verde .
• 1471 - Wars of the Roses: The Battle of Tewkesbury - Edward IV defeats a Lancastrian Army and kills Edward, Prince of Wales.
• 1471 - Edward of Westminster dies killed in battle (b. 1453). Prince of Wales.
• 1471 - Edmund Beaufort, 4th Duke of Somerset dies executed. English military commander.
• 1493 - Pope Alexander VI divides the New World between Spain and Portugal along the Demarcation Line.
• 1494 - Christopher Columbus lands in Jamaica.
• 1506 - Husayn Bayqarah dies (b. 1438). Ruler of Herat.
• 1519 - Lorenzo II de' Medici dies (b. 1492). Duke of Urbino.
• 1566 - Luca Ghini dies (b. 1490). Italian physician and botanist.
• 1615 - Adriaan van Roomen dies (b. 1561). Flemish mathematician.
• 1626 - Dutch explorer Peter Minuit arrives in New Netherland (present day Manhattan Island) aboard the See Meeuw.
• 1626 - Arthur Lake, Bishop of Bath and Wells dies (b. 1569). English bishop and Bible translator.
• 1654 - Kangxi Emperor of China was born (d. 1722).
• 1655 - Bartolomeo Cristofori was born (d. 1731). Italian harpsichord maker.
• 1675 - King Charles II of England orders the construction of the Royal Greenwich Observatory.
• 1677 - Isaac Barrow dies (b. 1630). English mathematician.
• 1684 - John Nevison dies (b. 1639). English highwayman.
• 1715 - Richard Graves was born (d. 1804). English writer.
• 1722 - Claude Gillot dies. French painter.
• 1729 - Louis-Antoine, Cardinal de Noailles dies (b. 1651). French cardinal.
• 1733 - Jean-Charles de Borda was born (d. 1799). French mathematician, physicist, political scientist, and sailor.
• 1734 - James Thornhill dies. English painter.
• 1737 - Eustace Budgell dies (b. 1686). English writer.
• 1772 - Friedrich Arnold Brockhaus was born (d. 1823). German publisher.
• 1774 - Anthony Ulrich II, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg dies (b. 1714).
• 1776 - Rhode Island becomes the first American colony to renounce allegiance to King George III.
• 1776 - Jacques Saly dies (b. 1717). French sculptor.
• 1781 - Karl Christian Friedrich Krause was born (d.1832). German philosopher.
• 1790 - Matthew Tilghman dies (b. 1718). American delegate to the Continental Congress.
• 1796 - Horace Mann was born (d. 1859). American educator.
• 1799 - Fourth Anglo-Mysore War: The Battle of Seringapatam – The siege of Seringapatam ends when the city is assaulted and the Tipu Sultan killed by the besieging British army, under the command of General George Harris.
• 1799 - Tipu Sultan dies (b. c. 1750). Muslim Indian military leader.
• 1811 - Nikolay Kamensky dies (b. 1776). Russian general.
• 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.
• 1820 - Julia Tyler was born (d. 1889). First Lady of the United States.
• 1822 - Charles Boucher de Boucherville was born (d. 1915). Quebec politician.
• 1824 - Joseph Joubert dies (b. 1754). French essayist and moralist.
• 1825 - Thomas Henry Huxley was born (d. 1895). English scientist.
• 1825 - Augustus Le Plongeon was born (d. 1908). French antiquitarian.
• 1826 - Frederic Edwin Church was born (d. 1900). Painter.
• 1827 - John Hanning Speke was born (d. 1864). British explorer.
• 1849 - Hokusai dies (b. 1760). Painter and ukiyo-e artist.
• 1852 - Alice Pleasance Liddell, for whom Lewis Carroll wrote Alice in Wonderland was born (d. 1934) .
• 1855 - American adventurer William Walker departs from San Francisco with about 60 men to conquer Nicaragua.
• 1859 - Cornwall Railway opened across the Royal Albert Bridge linking the counties of Devon and Cornwall in England.
• 1859 - Joseph Diaz Gergonne dies (b. 1771). French mathematician.
• 1863 - American Civil War: Battle of Chancellorsville - The battle ends with a Union retreat.
• 1864 - Marie Booth was born (d. 1937). The third daughter of William and Catherine Booth
• 1865 - Abraham Lincoln buried in Springfield, Illinois, three weeks after his assassination.
• 1867 - Sylvain Salnavet takes place as President of Haiti
• 1869 - The Naval Battle of Hakodate takes place on Japan.
• 1870 - Alexandre Benois was born (d. 1960). Russian artist.
• 1871 - The National Association, the first professional baseball league, opens its first season in Fort Wayne, Indiana.
• 1873 - Joe De Grasse was born (d. 1940). Canadian film director.
• 1880 - Edward Clark dies (b. 1815). Governor of Texas.
• 1886 - Haymarket Square Riot: A bomb is thrown at policemen trying to break up a labor rally in Chicago, killing 8 and wounding 60. The police fire into the crowd.
• 1889 - Francis Cardinal Spellman was born (d. 1967). American religious leader.
• 1901 - John Jones Ross dies (b. 1831). Canadian politician.
• 1903 - Luther Adler was born (d. 1984). American stage actor.
• 1903 - Goce Delchev dies (b. 18972). Bulgarian revolutionary.
• 1904 - Construction begins on the Panama Canal.
• 1904 - Yoshishige Saito was born. Japanese painter and sculptor.
• 1904 - Umm Kulthumwas born (official birthday) (d. 1975). Egyptian singer.
• 1905 - Nascia em Mortágua o escritor Branquinho da Fonseca. Cultivou diferentes géneros literários mas talvez tenha sido o conto aquele em que mais se destacou. É autor de O Barão, conto inicialmente publicado sob o pseudónimo António Madeira.
• 1907 - Maxence van der Meersch was born in Roubaix (d. 14 Jan 1951). French writer.
• 1910 - The Royal Canadian Navy is created.
• 1912 - Italy occupies the island of Rhodes.
• 1913 - Lady Katherine Brandram was born. Princess of Greece and Denmark
• 1916 - Jane Jacobs was born (d. 2006). Canadian author and activist.
• 1917 - Hermenegildo (Carlos de) Brito Capelo dies (b. 4 Fev 1841). Portuguese explorer.
• 1918 - Tanaka Kakuei was born (d.1993). Japanese political leader.
• 1918 - Thomas Mead was born (d. 2004). Australian politician and journalist.
• 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.
• 1919 - Dory Funk was born (d. 1973). Professional wrestler.
• 1920 - Muere en Buenos Aires el jurisconsulto, legislador, profesor de derecho internacional y escritor Osvaldo Magnasco. Nació en Gualeguaychú (Provincia de Entre Ríos) el 4 de julio de 1864.
• 1921 - Edo Murtić was born (d. 2005). Croatian painter.
• 1922 - Viktor Kingissepp dies (b. 1888). Estonian Bolshevik politician.
• 1923 - Eric Sykes was born. British actor and comedian.
• 1923 - Ed Cassidy was born. American musician (Spirit).
• 1923 - Godfrey Quigley was born (d. 1994). British actor.
• 1923 - Assi Rahbani was born. Lebanese composer and author.
• 1924 - The 1924 Summer Olympics open in Paris, France.
• 1925 - Maurice R. Greenberg was born. American businessman
• 1927 - The American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is founded in Hollywood.
• 1928 - Maynard Ferguson was born (d. 2006). Canadian jazz musician.
• 1928 - Hosni Mubarak was born. President of Egypt.
• 1928 - Wolfgang von Trips was born (d. 1961). German racing driver.
• 1929 - Audrey Hepburn was born (d. 1993). Belgian actress.
• 1929 - Sidney Lamb was born. American linguist.
• 1929 - Ronald Golias was born in São Carlos, São Paulo. Brazilian acrobat and comedian.
• 1930 - British police arrest Mahatma Gandhi and place him in Yeravda Central Prison.
• 1930 - Roberta Peters was born. American soprano.
• 1931 - Gennady Rozhdestvensky was born. Russian conductor.
• 1931 - Thomas Stuttaford was born. British conductor.
• 1932 - In Atlanta, Georgia, mobster Al Capone begins serving an eleven-year prison sentence for tax evasion.
• 1935 - Mr. Fuji was born. Former professional wrestler.
• 1936 - Manuel Benítez El Cordobés was born. Spanish Bullfighter, matador.
• 1937 - Dick Dale was born. American guitarist.
• 1937 - Noel de Medeiros Rosa dies (b. 1910). Brazilian songwriter who is considered the Samba creator
• 1938 - Tyrone Davis was born (d. 2005). American soul singer.
• 1938 - Carl von Ossietzky dies (b. 1889). German pacifist, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize.
• 1939 - Amos Oz was born. Israeli writer, novelist, and journalist.
• 1939 - Paul Gleason was born (d. 2006). American actor.
• 1940 - Álvaro Manuel Machado was born in Porto. Portuguese essayst and poet.
• 1941 - George Will was born. American writer .
• 1942 - Tammy Wynette was born (d. 1998). Country musician.
• 1942 - Nickolas Ashford was born. American record producer, songwriter, musician (Ashford and Simpson)
• 1942 - World War II: Battle of the Coral Sea – The battle begins with an attack by aircraft from the United States aircraft carrier Yorktown on Japanese naval forces at Tulagi Island in the Solomon Islands. The Japanese forces had invaded Tulagi the day before.
• 1943 - Mikhail Chemiakin was born. Russian painter.
• 1944 - Roger Rees was born. British-born actor.
• 1945 - Narasinham Ram was born. Indian journalist
• 1945 - World War II: Liberation of the Neuengamme concentration camp near Hamburg by the British Army.
• 1945 - World War II: Surrender of the North Germany Army to Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery.
• 1945 - Fedor von Bock dies (b. 1880). German field marshal.
• 1946 - António Leal de Oliveira e Silva dies. Portuguese film director.
• 1946 - In San Francisco Bay, US Marines from the Treasure Island Marine Barracks stop a two-day riot at Alcatraz federal prison. Five people are killed in the riot.
• 1946 - John Watson was born. Northern Irish racecar driver
• 1948 - Norman Mailer's first novel, The Naked and the Dead, is published.
• 1949 - The entire Torino football (soccer) team (except for one player who did not take the trip due to an injury) is killed in a plane crash at the Superga hill at the edge of Turin, Italy.
• 1949 - John Force was born. American race car driver.
• 1949 - Stella Parton was born. American country music singer
• 1951 - Colin Bass was born. British bassist (Camel)
• 1951 - Mick Mars was born. American guitarist (Mötley Crüe)
• 1951 - Gérard Jugnot was born. French actor, film director, screenwriter and producer
• 1951 - Jackie Jackson was born. American singer and musician (The Jackson 5)
• 1952 - Michael Barrymore was born. English comedian, actor, quiz master and entertainer
• 1953 - Ernest Hemingway is awarded the Pulitzer Prize for The Old Man and the Sea.
• 1953 - Lulu Santos (Luís Maurício Pragana dos Santos) was born in Rio de Janeiro. Brazilian musician.
• 1954 - Pia Zadora was born. American actress.
• 1955 - Georges Enescu dies (b. 1881). Romanian composer.
• 1956 - David Guterson was born. American author.
• 1956 - Ulrike Meyfarth was born. German athlete, winner of 1976 Olympic Games in the high jump at 16.
• 1956 - Ken Oberkfell was born. American baseball player
• 1958 - Keith Haring was born (d. 1990). American graphical artist.
• 1958 - Delbert Fowler was born. American and Canadian professional football player.
• 1959 - Scott Armstrong, American professional wrestling referee
• 1959 - Randy Travis was born. American country musician.
• 1959 - The first Grammy Awards are announced.
• 1961 - American civil rights movement: The "Freedom Riders" begin a bus trip through the South.
• 1961 - Herbert Vianna (Herbert Lemos de Souza Vianna) was born in João Pessoa - PB. Brazilian composer and musician.
• 1961 - Luis Herrera was born. Colombian cyclist.
• 1961 - Anita Stewart dies (b. 1895). American film actress.
• 1962 - Oleta Adams was born. American singer.
• 1963 - A fire at a theater in Diourbel, Senegal kills 64 people.
• 1964 - The long-running soap opera Another World, which would run until 1999, debuts on NBC.
• 1967 - Ana Gasteyer was born. American actress.
• 1968 - Julian Barratt was born. English comedian and musician, one half of The Mighty Boosh.
• 1969 - Ryan Shamrock was born. wrestling valet
• 1969 - Micah Aivazoff was born. Canadian ice hockey player
• 1969 - Osbert Sitwell dies (b. 1892). English writer.
• 1970 - Kent State shootings - The Ohio National Guard, sent to Kent State University after the ROTC building was burnt down, opens fire on students protesting at the United States' invasion of Cambodia. Four students are killed, 9 are wounded.
• 1971 - Seamus Elliott dies (b. 1934). Irish cyclist.
• 1972 - The Don't Make A Wave Committee, a fledgling environmental organization founded in Canada in 1971, officially changes its name to "Greenpeace Foundation".
• 1972 - Mike Dirnt was born. American musician (Green Day)
• 1972 - Manny Aybar was born. Dominican baseball player
• 1972 - Edward Calvin Kendall dies (b. 1886). American chemist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.
• 1973 - Jane Bowles dies (b. 1917). American writer and playwright.
• 1974 - An all-female Japanese team reaches the summit of Manaslu, becoming the first women to climb an 8,000-meter peak.
• 1974 - Miguel Cairo was born. Venezuelan baseball player.
• 1975 - Laci Peterson was born (d. 2002). American murder victim.
• 1975 - Moe Howard dies (b. 1897). American actor and comedian; member of the Three Stooges.
• 1976 - España: aparece el diario El País.
• 1976 - Jason Michaels was born. American baseball player.
• 1976 - Ben Grieve was born. American baseball player.
• 1977 - Emily Perkins was born. Canadian actress
• 1979 - Margaret Thatcher is sworn in as Britain's first female Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.
• 1979 - Lance Bass was born. American singer (*NSYNC)
• 1979 - Wes Butters was born. British broadcaster
• 1980 - Josip Broz Tito dies (b. 1892). President of Yugoslavia .
• 1981 - Donald Eugene Webb is placed on the FBI's Ten Most Wanted List.
• 1981 - Eric Djemba-Djemba was born. Cameroon footballer
• 1982 - 20 sailors are killed when the British Type 42 destroyer HMS Sheffield (D80) is hit by Argentinian Exocet missile during the Falklands War.
• 1982 - Robert Hill was born. Australian athlete
• 1982 - Kleopas Giannou was born. Greek footballer
• 1982 - Markus Rogan was born. Austrian swimmer
• 1983 - Derek Roy was born. Canadian ice hockey player
• 1983 - Trisha Krishnan was born. Indian actress
• 1984 - Manjural Islam was born (d. 2007). Bangladeshi test cricket player.
• 1984 - Bob Clampett dies (b. 1913). Cartoonist, creator of Bugs Bunny.
• 1984 - Diana Dors dies (b. 1931). British actress.
• 1985 - In Gothenburg, Sweden, Bobbysocks win the thirtieth Eurovision Song Contest for Norway singing "La det swinge" (Let it swing).
• 1985 - Anthony Fedorov was born. American singer
• 1985 - Clarence Wiseman dies (b. 1907). the 10th General of The Salvation Army
• 1987 - Cesc Fàbregas was born. Spanish footballer.
• 1987 - Jorge Lorenzo was born. Spanish motorcycle racer.
• 1987 - Anjeza Shahini was born. Albanian singer.
• 1987 - Paul Butterfield dies (b. 1942). American blues harmonica player.
• 1988 - The PEPCON disaster rocked Henderson, Nevada, as tons of space shuttle fuel detonated during a fire.
• 1989 - Iran-Contra Affair: Former White House aide Oliver North is convicted of three crimes and was acquitted of nine other charges. The convictions, however, are later overturned on appeal.
• 1990 - Latvia proclaims independence.
• 1991 - In Rome, Italy, Carola wins the thirty-sixth Eurovision Song Contest for Sweden singing "Fångad av en stormvind" (Trapped in a storm wind).
• 1992 - Courtney Jines was born. American actress
• 1992 - Gregor Mackenzie dies (b. 1927). Labour Party (UK) politician.
• 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.
• 1994 - Alexander Gould was born. American actor
• 1994 - Pauline Ducruet was born. Daughter of HSH Princess Stéphanie of Monaco
• 1996 - José María Aznar is appointed Prime Minister of Spain, thus ending 13 years of Socialist rule.
• 1998 - A federal judge in Sacramento, California gives "Unabomber" Theodore Kaczynski four life sentences plus 30 years after Kaczynski accepted a plea agreement sparing him from the death penalty.
• 1999 - Several tornadoes hit the Midwestern part of the United States during the night, killing at least 45 people.
• 1999 - In California, Manuel Babbitt is executed for the 1980 murder of Leah Schendel. While on death row Babbitt was awarded a Purple Heart for injuries he received in the Vietnam War.
• 2000 - Ken Livingstone becomes the first Mayor of London.
• 2000 - The Philadelphia Flyers and Pittsburgh Penguins play the third longest NHL game in history with 5 Overtimes played, the game lasted until Keith Primeau of the Flyers Scored. 92 minutes and 1 second of overtime was played.
  2000 - Sandra Bréa dies (b. 1952). Brazilian actress.
• 2001 - Pope John Paul II follows Saint Paul's footsteps across the Mediterranean, from Greece to Syria to Malta / Papa João Paulo II chega à Grécia e pede desculpas aos ortodoxos.
• 2002 - An EAS Airlines BAC 1-11-500 crashes in a suburb of Kano, Nigeria shortly after takeoff killing more than 148 people.
• 2003 - The Outbreak of 2003 begins. Ninety-four tornadoes begin the week-long outbreak.
• 2004 - O espanhol Rodrigo Rato é confirmado como o novo diretor-geral do Fundo Monetário Internacional.
• 2005 - David Hackworth dies (b. 1930). U.S. Army officer and military journalist.
• 2006 - À 1 hora 2 minutos 3 segundos de hoje teve a seguinte sequencia 01:02:03 04-05-06. Só no ano 2106 se pode repetir uma sequencia semelhante.
• International - World Asthma Day .
• China - Youth Day (observing May Fourth Movement).
• International Firefighters' Day.
• The Netherlands - Remembrance of the Dead.
• People's Republic of China - Youth Day (commemorating May Fourth Movement).
• Republic of China - Literary Day ( commemorating May Fourth Movement).
• Latvia - Day of Re-establishment of Independence
• Denmark - Great praying day
• Star Wars day ("May the Forth" be with you)
• No Pants Day (2007)