February 4 — On This Day
254 entries
Events
-
211
Roman Emperor Septimius Severus dies at Eboracum (modern York, England) while preparing to lead a campaign against the Caledonians. He leaves the empire in the control of his two quarrelling sons.
-
634
Battle of Dathin: Rashidun forces under Yazid ibn Abi Sufyan defeat an outnumbered Byzantine force near Gaza in Palestine.
Battle of Dathin · Rashidun army · Yazid ibn Abi Sufyan · Byzantine · Gaza City
-
960
The coronation of Zhao Kuangyin as Emperor Taizu of Song, initiating the Song dynasty period of China that would last more than three centuries.
-
1169
A strong earthquake struck the Ionian coast of Sicily, causing tens of thousands of injuries and deaths, especially in Catania.
-
1454
In the Thirteen Years' War, the Secret Council of the Prussian Confederation sends a formal act of disobedience to the Grand Master.
Thirteen Years' War (1454-66) · Prussian Confederation · Grand Masters of the Teutonic Knights
-
1555
John Rogers is burned at the stake, becoming the first English Protestant martyr under Mary I of England.
John Rogers (Bible editor and martyr) · Burned at the stake · Protestant · Martyr · Mary I of England
-
1703
In Edo (now Tokyo), 46 of the Forty-seven Ronin commit seppuku (ritual suicide) as recompense for avenging their master's death.
- 1758
-
1789
George Washington is unanimously elected as the first President of the United States by the U.S. Electoral College.
George Washington · President of the United States · U.S. Electoral College
-
1794
The French legislature abolishes slavery throughout all territories of the French First Republic. It will be reestablished in the French West Indies in 1802.
-
1797
The Riobamba earthquake strikes Ecuador, causing up to 40,000 casualties.
-
1801
John Marshall is sworn in as Chief Justice of the United States.
-
1810
The Royal Navy seizes Guadeloupe.
-
1820
The Chilean Navy under the command of Lord Cochrane completes the 2-day long Capture of Valdivia with just 300 men and 2 ships.
Chilean Navy · Thomas Cochrane, 10th Earl of Dundonald · Capture of Valdivia
-
1825
The Ohio Legislature authorizes the construction of the Ohio and Erie Canal and the Miami and Erie Canal.
Ohio Legislature · Ohio and Erie Canal · Miami and Erie Canal
-
1846
The first Mormon pioneers make their exodus from Nauvoo, Illinois, westward towards Salt Lake Valley.
-
1859
The Codex Sinaiticus is discovered in Egypt.
-
1861
American Civil War: In Montgomery, Alabama, delegates from six break-away U.S. states meet and form the Confederate States of America.
American Civil War · Montgomery, Alabama · U.S. state · Confederate States of America
-
1899
The Philippine-American War begins with the Battle of Manila.
-
1932
Second Sino-Japanese War: Harbin, Manchuria, falls to Japan.
Second Sino-Japanese War · Harbin · Manchuria · Defense of Harbin · Empire of Japan
-
1941
The United Service Organization (USO) is created to entertain American troops.
-
1945
World War II: Santo Tomas Internment Camp is liberated from Japanese authority.
-
1945
World War II: The Yalta Conference between the "Big Three" (Churchill, Roosevelt, and Stalin) opens at the Livadia Palace in the Crimea.
Yalta Conference · Winston Churchill · Franklin D. Roosevelt · Joseph Stalin · Livadia Palace
-
1945
World War II: The British Indian Army and Imperial Japanese Army begin a series of battles known as the Battle of Pokoku and Irrawaddy River operations.
British Indian Army · Imperial Japanese Army · Battle of Pokoku and Irrawaddy River operations
-
1948
Ceylon (later renamed Sri Lanka) becomes independent within the British Commonwealth.
-
1961
The Angolan War of Independence and the greater Portuguese Colonial War begin.
-
1966
All Nippon Airways Flight 60 plunges into Tokyo Bay, killing 133.
-
1967
Lunar Orbiter program: Lunar Orbiter 3 lifts off from Cape Canaveral's Launch Complex 13 on its mission to identify possible landing sites for the Surveyor and Apollo spacecraft.
Lunar Orbiter program · Lunar Orbiter 3 · Cape Canaveral Air Force Station · Surveyor program · Apollo program
-
1969
Yasser Arafat takes over as chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organization.
-
1974
The Symbionese Liberation Army kidnaps Patty Hearst in Berkeley, California.
Symbionese Liberation Army · Patty Hearst · Berkeley, California
-
1974
M62 coach bombing: The Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) explodes a bomb on a bus carrying off-duty British Armed Forces personnel in Yorkshire, England. Nine soldiers and three civilians are killed.
M62 coach bombing · Provisional Irish Republican Army · British Armed Forces · Yorkshire
-
1975
Haicheng earthquake (magnitude 7.3 on the Richter scale) occurs in Haicheng, Liaoning, China.
1975 Haicheng earthquake · Richter magnitude scale · Haicheng, Liaoning
-
1976
In Guatemala and Honduras an earthquake kills more than 22,000.
-
1977
A Chicago Transit Authority elevated train rear-ends another and derails, killing 11 and injuring 180, the worst accident in the agency's history.
Chicago Transit Authority · Elevated train · 1977 Chicago Loop derailment
-
1992
A coup d'état is led by Hugo Chávez against Venezuelan President Carlos Andrés Pérez.
1992 Venezuelan coup d'état attempts · Hugo Chávez · Venezuela · Carlos Andrés Pérez
-
1996
Major snowstorm paralyzes Midwestern United States, Milwaukee, Wisconsin and ties all-time record low temperature at −26 °F (−32.2 °C)
-
1997
En route to Lebanon, two Israeli Sikorsky CH-53 troop-transport helicopters collide in mid-air over northern Galilee, Israel killing 73.
Lebanon · Sikorsky CH-53 Sea Stallion · 1997 Israeli helicopter disaster · Israel
-
1998
The 5.9 Mw Afghanistan earthquake shakes the Takhar Province with a maximum Mercalli intensity of VII (Very strong). With 2,323 killed, and 818 injured, damage is considered extreme.
February 1998 Afghanistan earthquake · Takhar Province · Mercalli intensity scale
-
1999
Unarmed West African immigrant Amadou Diallo is shot 41 times by four plainclothes New York City police officers on an unrelated stake-out, inflaming race relations in the city.
-
2003
The Federal Republic of Yugoslavia is officially renamed Serbia and Montenegro and adopts a new constitution.
-
2004
Facebook, a mainstream online social networking site, is founded by Mark Zuckerberg.
-
2015
A TransAsia Airways aircraft with 58 people on board, en route from the Taiwanese capital Taipei to Kinmen, crashes into the Keelung River just after take-off, killing at least 31 people.
TransAsia Airways · TransAsia Airways Flight 235 · Taipei · Kinmen · Keelung River
Famous Births
-
1447
Lodovico Lazzarelli, Italian poet (d. 1500)
-
1465
Frans van Brederode, Dutch rebel (d. 1490)
-
1495
Francesco II Sforza, Duke of Milan (d. 1535)
-
1495
Jean Parisot de Valette, Grand Master of the Knights Hospitaller (d. 1568)
-
1505
Mikołaj Rej, Polish poet and author (d. 1580)
-
1575
Pierre de Bérulle, French cardinal and theologian, founded the French school of spirituality (d. 1629)
-
1646
Hans Erasmus Aßmann, German poet and politician (d. 1699)
-
1676
Giacomo Facco, Italian violinist and composer (d. 1753)
-
1677
Johann Ludwig Bach, German violinist and composer (d. 1731)
-
1688
Pierre de Marivaux, French author and playwright (d. 1763)
-
1725
Dru Drury, English entomologist and author (d. 1804)
-
1740
Carl Michael Bellman, Swedish poet and composer (d. 1795)
-
1778
Augustin Pyramus de Candolle, Swiss botanist, mycologist, and academic (d. 1841)
-
1799
Almeida Garrett, Portuguese journalist and author (d. 1854)
-
1831
Oliver Ames, American financier and politician, 35th Governor of Massachusetts (d. 1895)
-
1848
Jean Aicard, French poet, author, and playwright (d. 1921)
-
1849
Jean Richepin, French poet, author, and playwright (d. 1926)
-
1862
Édouard Estaunié, French novelist (d. 1942)
-
1865
Abe Isoo, Japanese minister and politician (d. 1949)
-
1871
Friedrich Ebert, German lawyer and politician, 1st President of Germany (d. 1925)
-
1872
Gotse Delchev, Bulgarian and Macedonian revolutionary activist (d. 1903)
-
1873
Étienne Desmarteau, Canadian shot putter and discus thrower (d. 1905)
-
1875
Ludwig Prandtl, German physicist and engineer (d. 1953)
-
1877
Eddie Cochems, American football player and coach (d. 1953)
-
1881
Eulalio Gutiérrez, Mexican general and politician, President of Mexico (d. 1939)
-
1881
Fernand Léger, French painter and sculptor (d. 1955)
-
1883
Reinhold Rudenberg, German-American inventor and a pioneer of electron microscopy (d. 1961)
-
1891
M. A. Ayyangar, Indian lawyer and politician, 2nd Speaker of the Lok Sabha (d. 1978)
-
1892
E. J. Pratt, Canadian poet and academic (d. 1964)
-
1895
Nigel Bruce, English actor (d. 1953)
-
1896
Friedrich Glauser, Austrian-Swiss author (d. 1938)
-
1896
Friedrich Hund, German physicist and academic (d. 1997)
-
1897
Ludwig Erhard, German soldier and politician, 2nd Chancellor of West Germany (d. 1977)
Ludwig Erhard · Chancellor of Germany (Federal Republic of Germany)
-
1900
Jacques Prévert, French poet and screenwriter (d. 1977)
-
1902
Charles Lindbergh, American pilot and explorer (d. 1974)
-
1902
Hartley Shawcross, Baron Shawcross, German-English lawyer and politician, Attorney General for England and Wales (d. 2003)
Hartley Shawcross, Baron Shawcross · Attorney General for England and Wales
-
1903
Alexander Imich, Polish-American chemist, parapsychologist, and academic (d. 2014)
-
1904
MacKinlay Kantor, American author and screenwriter (d. 1977)
-
1906
Dietrich Bonhoeffer, German pastor and theologian (d. 1945)
-
1906
Clyde Tombaugh, American astronomer and academic, discovered Pluto (d. 1997)
-
1908
Julian Bell, English poet and academic (d. 1937)
-
1912
Ola Skjåk Bræk, Norwegian banker and politician, Norwegian Minister of Industry (d. 1999)
-
1912
Erich Leinsdorf, Austrian-American conductor (d. 1993)
-
1912
Byron Nelson, American golfer and sportscaster (d. 2006)
-
1913
Rosa Parks, American civil rights activist (d. 2005)
-
1913
Richard Seaman, English race car driver (d. 1939)
-
1914
Alfred Andersch, German-Swiss author and publisher (d. 1980)
-
1915
William Talman, American actor and screenwriter (d. 1968)
-
1915
Norman Wisdom, English singer-songwriter and actor (d. 2010)
-
1917
Yahya Khan, Pakistan general and politician, 3rd President of Pakistan (d. 1980)
-
1918
Ida Lupino, English-American actress and director (d. 1995)
-
1918
Luigi Pareyson, Italian philosopher and author (d. 1991)
-
1920
Janet Waldo, American actress and voice artist (d. 2016)
-
1921
Betty Friedan, American author and feminist (d. 2006)
-
1921
Lotfi Zadeh, Iranian-American mathematician and computer scientist and founder of fuzzy logic (d. 2017)
-
1923
Conrad Bain, Canadian-American actor (d. 2013)
-
1923
James Dibble, Australian journalist (d. 2010)
-
1925
Russell Hoban, American author and illustrator (d. 2011)
-
1925
Stanley Karnow, American journalist and historian (d. 2013)
-
1925
Christopher Zeeman, English mathematician and academic (d. 2016)
-
1926
Gyula Grosics, Hungarian footballer and manager (d. 2014)
-
1926
Dave Sands, Australian boxer (d. 1952)
-
1927
Rolf Landauer, German-American physicist and academic (d. 1999)
-
1928
Oscar Cabalén, Argentinian race car driver (d. 1967)
-
1928
Osmo Antero Wiio, Finnish journalist, academic, and politician (d. 2013)
-
1929
Paul Burlison, American rockabilly guitarist (d. 2003)
-
1930
Tibor Antalpéter, Hungarian volleyball player and diplomat, Hungarian Ambassador to the United Kingdom (d. 2012)
Tibor Antalpéter · List of Ambassadors of Hungary to the United Kingdom
-
1930
Arthur E. Chase, American businessman and politician (d. 2015)
-
1930
Jim Loscutoff, American basketball player (d. 2015)
-
1931
Isabel Martínez de Perón, Argentinian dancer and politician, 41st President of Argentina
-
1935
Wallis Mathias, Pakistani cricketer (d. 1994)
-
1935
Martti Talvela, Finnish opera singer (d. 1989)
-
1935
Collin Wilcox, American actress (d. 2009)
-
1936
David Brenner, American comedian, actor, and author (d. 2014)
-
1936
Claude Nobs, Swiss businessman, founded the Montreux Jazz Festival (d. 2013)
-
1937
David Newman, American director and screenwriter (d. 2003)
-
1938
Frank J. Dodd, American businessman and politician, president of the New Jersey Senate (d. 2010)
-
1939
Stan Lundine, American lawyer and politician, Lieutenant Governor of New York
-
1940
George A. Romero, American director and producer (d. 2017)
-
1941
Ron Rangi, New Zealand rugby player (d. 1988)
-
1941
Jiří Raška, Czech skier and coach (d. 2012)
-
1941
John Steel, English drummer
-
1943
Alberto João Jardim, Portuguese journalist and politician, 2nd President of the Regional Government of Madeira
Alberto João Jardim · Presidents of the Regional Government of Madeira
-
1943
Wanda Rutkiewicz, Lithuanian-Polish mountaineer (d. 1992)
-
1943
Ken Thompson, American computer scientist and programmer, co-developed the B programming language
-
1944
Florence LaRue, American singer and actress
-
1947
Dennis C. Blair, American admiral and politician, 3rd Director of National Intelligence
-
1947
Dan Quayle, American sergeant, lawyer, and politician, 44th Vice President of the United States
-
1948
Alice Cooper, American singer-songwriter
-
1948
Rod Grams, American journalist and politician (d. 2013)
-
1948
Mienoumi Tsuyoshi, Japanese sumo wrestler
-
1949
Michael Beck, American actor
-
1949
Rasim Delić, Bosnian general (d. 2010)
-
1951
Patrick Bergin, Irish actor
-
1951
Phil Ehart, American rock drummer and songwriter
-
1952
Jenny Shipley, New Zealand educator and politician, 36th Prime Minister of New Zealand
-
1952
Thomas Silverstein, American prisoner, founder and former leader of the Aryan Brotherhood prison gang
-
1955
Mikuláš Dzurinda, Slovak politician, Prime Minister of Slovakia
-
1957
Don Davis, American composer and conductor
-
1958
Tomasz Pacyński, Polish journalist and author (d. 2005)
-
1959
Christian Schreier, German footballer and manager
-
1959
Lawrence Taylor, American football player and sportscaster
-
1960
Siobhan Dowd, English author and activist (d. 2007)
-
1960
Adrienne King, American actress, dancer, and painter
-
1960
Jonathan Larson, American composer and playwright (d. 1996)
-
1961
Stewart O'Nan, American novelist
-
1961
Denis Savard, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
-
1962
Clint Black, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
-
1962
Stephen Hammond, English banker and politician
-
1963
Pirmin Zurbriggen, Swiss skier
-
1966
Tony Butterfield, Australian rugby league player
-
1966
Viatcheslav Ekimov, Russian cyclist
-
1967
Sergei Grinkov, Russian figure skater (d. 1995)
-
1970
Gabrielle Anwar, English actress
-
1971
Rob Corddry, American actor, producer, and screenwriter
-
1971
Eric Garcetti, American lieutenant and politician, 42nd Mayor of Los Angeles
-
1972
Dara Ó Briain, Irish comedian and television host
-
1972
Giovanni Silva de Oliveira, Brazilian footballer and manager
-
1973
Oscar De La Hoya, American boxer
-
1973
James Hird, Australian footballer and coach
-
1973
Manny Legace, Canadian ice hockey player and sportscaster
-
1975
Natalie Imbruglia, Australian singer-songwriter and actress
-
1977
Gavin DeGraw, American singer-songwriter
-
1979
Giorgio Pantano, Italian race car driver
-
1980
Raimonds Vaikulis, Latvian basketball player
-
1981
Jason Kapono, American basketball player
-
1981
Johan Vansummeren, Belgian cyclist
-
1982
Chris Sabin, American wrestler
-
1982
Ivars Timermanis, Latvian basketball player
-
1982
Tomas Vaitkus, Lithuanian cyclist
-
1983
Lee Stempniak, American ice hockey player
-
1984
Sandeep Acharya, Indian singer (d. 2013)
-
1984
Mauricio Pinilla, Chilean footballer
-
1986
Maximilian Götz, German race car driver
-
1986
Mahmudullah Riyad, Bangladeshi cricketer
-
1987
Darren O'Dea, Irish footballer
-
1987
Lucie Šafářová, Czech tennis player
-
1988
Carly Patterson, American gymnast and singer
-
1989
Kevin Naiqama, Australian-Fijian rugby league player
-
1990
Jake Friend, Australian rugby league player
-
1993
Bae Noo-ri, South Korean actress
-
1993
Jack Wighton, Australian rugby league player
-
1996
Tevita Pangai Junior, Australian rugby league player
Famous Deaths
-
211
Septimius Severus, Roman emperor (b. 145)
-
708
Pope Sisinnius (b. 650)
-
856
Rabanus Maurus, Frankish archbishop and theologian (b. 780)
-
870
Ceolnoth, archbishop of Canterbury
-
1169
John of Ajello, Bishop of Catania
-
1498
Antonio del Pollaiolo, Italian artist (b. 1429/1433)
-
1505
Jeanne de Valois, daughter of Louis XI of France (b. 1464)
-
1508
Conrad Celtes, German poet and scholar (b. 1459)
-
1555
John Rogers, English clergyman and translator (b. 1505)
-
1590
Gioseffo Zarlino, Italian composer and theorist (b. 1517)
-
1615
Giambattista della Porta, Italian playwright and scholar (b. 1535)
-
1617
Lodewijk Elzevir, Dutch publisher, co-founded the House of Elzevir (b. 1546)
-
1713
Anthony Ashley-Cooper, 3rd Earl of Shaftesbury, English philosopher and politician (b. 1671)
-
1774
Charles Marie de La Condamine, French mathematician and geographer (b. 1701)
-
1799
Étienne-Louis Boullée, French architect and educator (b. 1728)
-
1781
Josef Mysliveček, Czech composer (b. 1737)
-
1843
Theodoros Kolokotronis, Greek general (b. 1770)
-
1894
Adolphe Sax, Belgian instrument maker, invented the Saxophone (b. 1814)
-
1905
Louis-Ernest Barrias, French sculptor and academic (b. 1841)
-
1926
İskilipli Mehmed Atıf Hoca, Turkish author and scholar (b. 1875)
-
1928
Hendrik Lorentz, Dutch physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1853)
-
1933
Archibald Sayce, English linguist and educator (b. 1846)
-
1940
Nikolai Yezhov, Russian police officer and politician (b. 1895)
-
1943
Frank Calder, English-Canadian ice hockey player and journalist (b. 1877)
-
1944
Arsen Kotsoyev, Russian author and translator (b. 1872)
-
1956
Savielly Tartakower, Russian-French chess player, journalist, and author (b. 1887)
-
1958
Henry Kuttner, American author and screenwriter (b. 1915)
-
1959
Una O'Connor, Irish-American actress (b. 1880)
-
1968
Neal Cassady, American novelist and poet (b. 1926)
-
1970
Louise Bogan, American poet and critic (b. 1897)
-
1974
Satyendra Nath Bose, Indian physicist, mathematician, and academic (b. 1894)
-
1975
Louis Jordan, American singer-songwriter and saxophonist (b. 1908)
-
1982
Alex Harvey, Scottish singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1935)
-
1982
Georg Konrad Morgen, German lawyer and judge (b. 1909)
-
1983
Karen Carpenter, American singer (b. 1950)
-
1987
Liberace, American singer-songwriter and pianist, (b. 1919)
-
1987
Meena Keshwar Kamal, Afghan activist, founded the Revolutionary Association of the Women of Afghanistan (b. 1956)
Meena Keshwar Kamal · Revolutionary Association of the Women of Afghanistan
-
1987
Carl Rogers, American psychologist and academic (b. 1902)
-
1990
Whipper Billy Watson, Canadian-American wrestler and trainer (b. 1915)
-
1992
John Dehner, American actor (b. 1915)
-
1995
Patricia Highsmith, American novelist and short story writer (b. 1921)
-
2000
Carl Albert, American lawyer and politician, 54th Speaker of the United States House of Representatives (b. 1908)
Carl Albert · Speaker of the United States House of Representatives
-
2002
Count Sigvard Bernadotte of Wisborg (b. 1907)
-
2003
Benyoucef Benkhedda, Algerian pharmacist and politician (b. 1920)
-
2005
Ossie Davis, American actor, director, and playwright (b. 1917)
-
2006
Betty Friedan, American author and activist (b. 1921)
-
2007
José Carlos Bauer, Brazilian footballer and manager (b. 1925)
-
2007
Ilya Kormiltsev, Russian-English poet and translator (b. 1959)
-
2007
Barbara McNair, American singer and actress (b. 1934)
-
2007
Jules Olitski, Ukrainian-American painter and sculptor (b. 1922)
-
2008
Augusta Dabney, American actress (b. 1918)
-
2008
Stefan Meller, Polish academic and politician, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Poland (b. 1942)
-
2010
Kostas Axelos, Greek-French philosopher and author (b. 1924)
-
2010
Helen Tobias-Duesberg, Estonian-American composer (b. 1919)
-
2011
Martial Célestin, Haitian lawyer and politician, 1st Prime Minister of Haiti (b. 1913)
-
2012
István Csurka, Hungarian journalist and politician (b. 1934)
-
2012
Florence Green, English soldier (b. 1901)
-
2012
Robert Daniel, American farmer, soldier, and politician (b. 1936)
-
2012
Mike deGruy, American director, producer, and cinematographer (b. 1951)
-
2013
Donald Byrd, American trumpet player (b. 1932)
-
2013
Reg Presley, English singer-songwriter (b. 1941)
-
2014
Keith Allen, Canadian-American ice hockey player, coach, and manager (b. 1923)
-
2014
Eugenio Corti, Italian soldier, author, and playwright (b. 1921)
-
2014
Dennis Lota, Zambian footballer (b. 1973)
-
2015
Wes Cooley, American soldier and politician (b. 1932)
-
2015
Fitzhugh L. Fulton, American colonel and pilot (b. 1925)
-
2016
Edgar Mitchell, American captain, pilot, and astronaut (b. 1930)
-
2017
Steve Lang, Canadian bass player (b. 1949)
-
2017
Bano Qudsia, Pakistani writer (b. 1928)