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What happened in history on this day: August 4?
On August 4 in ...
- 1181 - Supernova seen in Cassiopia.
- 1265 - Simon de Montfort English baron, dies in battle.
- 1526 - Juan Sebastián Cano Spanish explorer, dies.
- 1578 - Battle of Alcazarquivir, Morrocans defeat Portugeese.
- 1693 - Dom Perignon invents champagne.
- 1710 - Edinburgh Mint in Scotland closes.
- 1735 - Jury acquits John Zenger (New York Weekly Journal) charged with seditious libel by royal governor of New York (victory for Freedom of press).
- 1753 - George Washington becomes a master mason.
- 1755 - Birth of Nicolas-Jacque Conte inventor (modern pencil).
- 1777 - Retired British cavalry officer Philip Astley establishes first circus.
- 1792 - Birth of Percy Bysshe Shelley in England; romantic poet (Adonais).
- 1823 - Birth of Oliver Perry Morton; American politician (Governor-Indiana).
- 1839 - Birth of Walter Pater in London, England; writer (Plato and Platoism).
- 1870 - Birth of Harry Lauder in Scotland; comedian/singer (Roman in the Gloamin).
- 1881 - In Seville, Spain, a European record hot temperature of 122 degrees F (50 degrees C) is recorded.
- 1883 - Siam issues its first postage stamps, depicting King Chulalongkorn.
- 1886 - US Congress makes silver certificates legal tender, and authorizes $1, $2, and $5 notes in addition to the higher amounts.
- 1888 - Death of John William Burgon, English cleric and numismatic curator at the British Museum.
- 1897 - Birth of Joseph Calleia in Malta; actor (Jungle Book, Gilda, Touch of Evil).
- 1900 - Birth of Arturo Umberto Illia; president of Argentina (1963-66).
- 1900 - Birth of Elizabeth Angela Marguerite Bowes-Lyon; Britain's Queen Mother.
- 1901 - Birth of Louis Armstrong in New Orleans, Louisiana, USA; jazz musician and bandleader, "Hello Dolly" - oldest musician in Billboard history to have a Number One song.
- 1909 - Birth of Glenn Cunningham; US middle distance runner in the 1930s.
- 1910 - Birth of William Howard Schuman in New York City, New York, USA; composer (American Festival Overture).
- 1912 - Birth of David Raksin in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; composer (Modern Times).
- 1912 - Birth of Raoul Gustav Wallenberg; Swedish diplomat.
- 1913 - Birth of Wesley Addy in Omaha, Nebraska, USA; actor (Bostonian, Loving).
- 1914 - Germany declares war on Belgium; Britain declares war on Germany.
- 1915 - Birth of Irving Fields in New York City, New York USA; pianist (Ilona Massey Show).
- 1916 - US agrees to buy Virgin Islands from Denmark for $25 million.
- 1919 - Romanians occupy Budapest.
- 1920 - Birth of Helen Thomas; UPI journalist (starts press conferences).
- 1921 - Birth of Maurice "Rocket" Richard; NHL Montreal Canadiens hockey player (Most Valuable Player-1947).
- 1922 - 13 million telephones in the U.S. and Canada go dead as the Bell System shuts down all its switchboards and switching stations at 6:25PM for one minute, in memory of Alexander Graham Bell.
- 1925 - US marines leave Nicaragua after 13-year occupation.
- 1927 - Peace Bridge between US and Canada is opened.
- 1928 - Birth of Udham Singh in India; field hockey player (Olympic-gold-1952, 1956, 1964).
- 1932 - In Sao Christovao, Brazil, a meteorite fall destroys a warehouse roof.
- 1934 - Birth of Dallas Green; baseball manager (Philadelphia Phillies, New York Yankees).
- 1934 - New York Giants' player Mel Ott sets record of six runs in game and beats Philadelphia Phillies 21-4.
- 1936 - Birth of Elsbeary Hobbs; singer, founding member of The Drifters.
- 1939 - Birth of Frankie Ford in Gretna, Louisiana, USA; rock vocalist ("Sea Cruise").
- 1940 - Birth of Timi Yuro; singer ("Hurt").
- 1941 - A large pocket of about 100,000 Soviet forces surrender in Uman.
- 1942 - Birth of David Russell Lange; Prime Minister (Liberal) of New Zealand (1984-).
- 1943 - Birth of Michael J McCulley in San Diego, California, USA; Commander US Navy/astronaut (STS-34).
- 1943 - Birth of Rodney Stuart Pattison; British yachtsman (Olympics-gold-1968).
- 1943 - Birth of Tina Cole in Hollywood, California, USA; singer (King Cousins), actress (Katie - My Three Sons).
- 1944 - German Gestapo discover the hiding place of Anne Frank and family, and others hiding in a warehouse. They are sent to the Auschwitz concentration camp in Poland, but Anne's diary is left behind, undiscovered by the Germans, later found in 1947.
- 1944 - Birth of Richard Belzer; actor-comedian (How to be a Stand Up, Law and Order: Special Victims Unit, Homicide).
- 1945 - Birth of Fred Hansen; American pole vaulter (Olympic-gold-1964).
- 1945 - Golfer Byron Nelson records most tournament wins (18) in a season.
- 1945 - Boston Red Sox player Tom McBride is third to get six RBIs in an inning (4th).
- 1948 - Five-day southern filibuster succeeds in maintaining poll tax.
- 1952 - Birth of Bobby Buntrock in Denver, Colorado, USA; actor (Harold Baxter - Hazel).
- 1952 - Birth of Kristoffer Tabori in Los Angeles, California, USA; actor (Rappaccini's Daughter).
- 1953 - Vic Raschi sets pitcher record by driving in seven runs and wins 15-0.
- 1955 - Birth of Andrew M Allen in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Captain US Marine Corp/astronaut (sk: STS-46).
- 1955 - Birth of Billy Bob Thornton in Hot Springs, Arkansas, USA; actor (Sling Blade, A Family Thing, The Outsiders, Hearts Afire).
- 1955 - Birth of Charles D "Sam" Gemar in Yankton, South Dakota, USA; army/astronaut (STS 38, 48).
- 1956 - First motorcycle rode over 200 mph (Wilhelm Herz-210 mph/338 kph).
- 1958 - Birth of Mary Decker Tabb in Slaney, New Jersey, USA; Olympic track star (mile record 4:16.71).
- 1958 - Birth of Kym Karath; actress (Family Affair, All My Children).
- 1959 - Birth of Lauren Tom; actress (Men In Trees, The Outsiders).
- 1960 - Birth of Robbin Crosby; heavy metal rocker (Ratt - "Round and Round").
- 1960 - Rocket propelled US Air Force research aircraft sets record at 2,150 MPH.
- 1961 - Birth of Michael Gelman; TV producer (Live with Regis and Kelly).
- 1962 - Birth of Roger Clemens in Dayton, Ohio, USA; Boston Red Sox pitcher (Cy Young, Most Valuable Player).
- 1964 - Civil rights workers Michael Schwerner, Andrew Goodman and James Chaney found buried inside an earthen dam in Mississippi.
- 1965 - Birth of Crystal Chappell in Silver Spring, Maryland, USA; actress (Carly - Days of Our Lives).
- 1967 - Shortwave group ANARC's first convention (Chicago, Illinois).
- 1968 - Birth of Rob Cieka; drummer (Boo Radleys).
- 1968 - Birth of Daniel Dae Kim; actor (Lost).
- 1968 - 100,000 attend Newport Pop Festival, Costa Mesa, California.
- 1971 - US launches first satellite into lunar orbit from manned spacecraft.
- 1971 - Birth of Yo-Yo; rapper (Miss Rap Supreme).
- 1973 - Eddie Condon, jazz guitarist (Eddie Condon's Floor Show), dies at age 68.
- 1974 - Crawford-Butler Act allows Puerto Ricans to elect own governor.
- 1975 - Birth of Andy Hallett; actor (Angel).
- 1977 - US President Jimmy Carter establishes Department of Energy.
- 1977 - Death of the Marxist philosopher, author (Das Prinzip Hoffnung) Ernst Bloch, in Stuttgart, Germany.
- 1979 - Opening game of the American Football Bundesliga played between Frankfurter Löwen and Düsseldorf Panther, first-ever league game of American football in Germany.
- 1981 - Birth of Marques Houston; American singer (Immature), actor.
- 1982 - The United Nations Security Council votes to censure Israel because its troops are still in Lebanon.
- 1982 - New York Mets' Joel Youngblood singles in Chicago Cubs' day game, then singles for Montreal Expos in Philadelphia night game. (He was traded in between).
- 1983 - Thomas Sankara becomes President in Upper Volta.
- 1984 - The African republic Upper Volta changes its name to Burkina Faso.
- 1984 - Carl Lewis wins gold medal in 100m dash at Los Angeles Summer Olympics.
- 1984 - Cliff Johnson sets a record with his 19th pinch hit home run.
- 1985 - California Angels' Rod Carew gets his 3,000th hit.
- 1985 - Phil Rizzuto Day, New York Yankees retire uniform number 10.
- 1987 - The US Federal Communications Commission votes 4-0 to rescind the Fairness Doctrine, which had required radio and television stations to "fairly" present controversial issues.
- 1988 - US Congress votes $20,000 to each Japanese-American interned in WW II.
- 1988 - Hertz car rental company will pay out US$23 million in consumer fraud case.
- 1989 - Toronto Blue Jays' Dave Steib's perfect game is broken up in 9th inning with two outs by New York Yankees' player Roberto Kelly.
- 1990 - European community proposes a boycott of Iraq.
- 1992 - Birth of Dylan and Cole Sprouse; twin American actors (Suite Life of Zack and Cody, Grace Under Fire).
- 1993 - A federal judge sentences Los Angeles Police Department officers Stacey Koon and Laurence Powell to 30 months in prison for violating motorist Rodney King's civil rights.
- 1995 - Death of Lee Newman, musician (Technohead).
- 1995 - Croatian forces launch Operation Storm against Serbian forces in Krajina, with the cooperation of the ARBiH, and force them to withdraw to central Bosnia.
- 1996 - The Games of the XXVI Olympiad conclude in Atlanta, Georgia, USA.
- 1997 - 185,000 UPS drivers (Teamsters Union) walk off the job.
- 1998 - Near the coast of Ecuador, a magnitude 7.2 earthquake occurs. Few deaths and injuries, but widespread damage.
- 2001 - The Seattle-based Windy Bay fishing vessel strikes a rock and sinks in Prince William Sound, 65km southwest of Valdez, Alaska. 133,000 litres of diesel fuel creates a sheen covering 10 square km, with about 36,800 litres recovered.
- 2001 - Death of Lorenzo Music at age 64; actor (voice of Garfield the cat, voice of the unseen Carlton the Doorman - Rhoda TV show), writer/producer (The Bob Newhart Show).
- 2003 - Death of Frederick Chapman Robbins, American pediatrician and virologist, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1916).
- 2004 - Death of Frank Maxwell at age 87 of complications from heart disease; actor (Our Man Higgins TV show, Felony Squad TV show, Return to Peyton Place TV show, The Young Marrieds TV show, General Hospital TV show).
- 2007 - Smoking in public places is banned in Slovenia.
- 2007 - At Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, NASA launches a Delta II rocket carrying the Mars Phoenix lander to explore the north of Mars.
- 2007 - (to August 11) The National Eisteddfod of Wales is held at Mold, Flintshire, Wales.
- 2007 - (to August 11) The 92nd World Congress of Esperanto is held in Yokohama, Japan.
- 2007 - A UK-wide ban on movement of all livestock is in place after foot and mouth disease is found on the Surrey farm.
- 2008 - In local elections in Bangladesh, the Awami League candidates win 12 of 13 mayoral races.
- 2008 - Two members of the East Turkestan Islamic Movement kill 16 and injure another 16 officers at a police station in Kashgar, Xinjiang, China.
- 2009 - North Korean leader Kim Jong-il pardons two American journalists, who had been arrested and imprisoned for illegal entry earlier in the year, after former U.S. President Bill Clinton meets with Kim in North Korea.
- 2010 - The New York Yankees' Alex Rodriguez hits the 600th home run of his career, at Yankee Stadium. He is the 7th player to hit 600, and the youngest (age 35).
- 2019 - Ten people, including the perpetrator, are killed and 27 others injured in a mass shooting in Dayton, Ohio, United States.
- 2019 - A car crashes into three other cars causing an explosion outside the National Cancer Institute Egypt in Cairo, Egypt, killing at least 20 people and injuring 47 others.
- 2020 - An explosion caused by unsafely stored ammonium nitrate kills over 220 people, injures thousands, and severely damages the port in Beirut, Lebanon. Damage is estimated at US$10-15 billion, and an estimated 300,000 people are left homeless.
- 2021 - The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases surpasses 200 million worldwide.
- 2021 - 2020 Summer Olympics: Belarusian sprinter Krystsina Tsimanouskaya is given political asylum in Poland through a humanitarian visa after attempts by the Belarus Olympic Committee to repatriate her against her will.
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