4th February
February 4 is the 35th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. There are 330 days remaining, (331 in leap years).
Events
- 1783 - American Revolutionary War: The United Kingdom formally declares that it will cease hostilities with the United States of America.
- 1787 - Shays' Rebellion fails.
- 1789 - George Washington is unanimously elected to be the first President of the United States by the U.S. Electoral College.
- 1794 - French legislature abolishes slavery throughout all territories of the French Republic.
- 1861 - American Civil War: In Montgomery, Alabama the Confederate States of America is formed by delegates from six break-away United States.
- 1899 - The Philippine-American War begins.
- 1927 - The first talkie is released - The Jazz Singer starring Al Jolson.
- 1932 - World War II: Japan occupies Harbin, China.
- 1932 - 1932 Winter Olympics open in Lake Placid, New York.
- 1936 - Radium E. becomes the first radioactive element to be made synthetically.
- 1938 - Thornton Wilder's play Our Town opens (New York City).
- 1941 - World War II: The United Service Organization (USO) is created to entertain American troops.
- 1945 - World War II: President Franklin D. Roosevelt, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Winston Churchill and Soviet leader Joseph Stalin begin the Yalta Conference.
- 1948 - Ceylon (later renamed Sri Lanka) becomes independent within the British Commonwealth.
- 1966 - All Nippon Airways Boeing 727 jet plunges into Tokyo Bay killing 133
- 1968 - Bowie Kuhn becomes the fifth commissioner of Major League Baseball, replacing William Eckert
- 1969 - Yasser Arafat takes over as chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organization.
- 1974 - The Symbionese Liberation Army kidnaps Patty Hearst in Berkeley, California.
- 1976 - In Guatemala and Honduras an earthquake kills more than 22,000.
- 1976 - 1976 Winter Olympics open in Innsbruck, Austria.
- 1977 - Fleetwood Mac releases one of the biggest-selling albums of all time, Rumours.
- 1980 - Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini names Abolhassan Banisadr as president of Iran.
- 1991 - The Baseball Hall of Fame votes to ban Pete Rose.
- 1997 - O. J. Simpson is found to be civilly liable for the deaths of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman.
- 1997 - Enroute to Lebanon, two Israeli Sikorsky CH-53 troop-transport helicopters collide in mid-air over northern Galilee, Israel killing 73.
- 1997 - After at first contesting the results, Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic recognizes opposition victories in the November 1996 elections.
- 1998 - An earthquake measuring 6.1 on the Richter Scale in northeast Afghanistan kills more than 5,000.
- 1999 - Hugo Chávez Frías, Venezuelan military and politician, is elected President of Venezuela.
- 1999 - Unarmed West African immigrant Amadou Diallo is shot dead by four plainclothes New York City police officers on an unrelated stake-out, enflaming race-relations in the city.
- 2003 - The Federal Republic of Yugoslavia officially renames to Serbia and Montenegro and adopts a new constitution.
Births
- 1842 - Arrigo Boito, poet and composer, (d. 1918)
- 1871 - Friedrich Ebert, president of the Weimar Republic, (d. 1925)
- 1881 - Fernand Leger, painter, (d. 1955)
- 1897 - Ludwig Erhard, German Bundeskanzler (Federal Chancellor), (d. 1977)
- 1900 - Jacques Prevert, lyricist and author, (d. 1977)
- 1902 - Charles Lindbergh, aviator, (d. 1974)
- 1904 - MacKinlay Kantor, historian, (d. 1977)
- 1906 - Dietrich Bonhoeffer, theologian, (d. 1945)
- 1906 - Clyde Tombaugh, astronomer, (d. 1997)
- 1913 - Rosa Parks, civil rights activist
- 1914 - Alfred Andersch, narrator and author of radio drama, (d. 1980)
- 1914 - Ida Lupino, actress, director, writer, (d. 1995)
- 1915 - Norman Wisdom, actor, comedian
- 1917 - Yahya Khan, President of Pakistan, (d. 1980)
- 1921 - Betty Friedan, feminist
- 1925 - Russell Hoban, writer
- 1940 - George Romero, horror movie writer, producer, director
- 1947 - Dan Quayle, Vice President of the United States
- 1948 - Alice Cooper, musician
- 1959 - Lawrence Taylor, American football star
- 1962 - Clint Black, country musician
- 1964 - Noodles, guitarist of The Offspring
- 1970 - Gabrielle Anwar, actress
- 1973 - Oscar De La Hoya, boxing champion
- 1975 - Natalie Imbruglia, musician
Deaths
- 211 - Septimius Severus, Emperor of Rome, (b. 146)
- 708 - Pope Sisinnius
- 869 - Saint Cyril, who invented the Cyrillic alphabet
- 1894 - Adolphe Sax, instrument maker, inventor of the saxophone, (b. 1814)
- 1928- Hendrik Lorentz, Dutch physicist and Nobel laureate, (b. 1853)
- 1958 - Henry Kuttner, science fiction author, (b. 1915)
- 1968 - Neal Cassady, writer, (b. 1926)
- 1969 - Thelma Ritter, actress, (b. 1905)
- 1975 - Louis Jordan, musician, (b. 1908)
- 1978 - Bergen Evans, television host
- 1983 - Karen Carpenter, singer, musician (The Carpenters), (b. 1950)
- 1987 - Liberace, musician, (b. 1919)
- 1995 - Patricia Highsmith, author, (b. 1921)
- 2001 - Iannis Xenakis, Greek/French composer, (b. 1922)
Holidays and observances
See Also:
February 3 - February 5 - January 4 - March 4 -- listing of all days
January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December
Referenced By
The Five Keys
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