May 4 is the 124th day of the year (125th in leap years ) in the Gregorian calendar . There are 241 days remaining until the end of the year.
Events
1256 – The Augustinian monastic order is constituted at the Lecceto Monastery when Pope Alexander IV issues a papal bull Licet ecclesiae catholicae .
1415 – Religious reformers John Wycliffe and Jan Hus are condemned as heretics at the Council of Constance .
1436 – Assassination of the Swedish rebel (later national hero) Engelbrekt Engelbrektsson
1471 – Wars of the Roses : The Battle of Tewkesbury : Edward IV defeats a Lancastrian Army and kills Edward of Westminster, Prince of Wales .
1493 – Pope Alexander VI divides the New World between Spain and Portugal along the Line of Demarcation .
1626 – Dutch explorer Peter Minuit arrives in New Netherland (present day Manhattan Island ) aboard the See Meeuw .
1675 – King Charles II of England orders the construction of the Royal Greenwich Observatory .
1686 – The Municipality of Ilagan is founded in the Philippines .
1776 – Rhode Island becomes the first American colony to renounce allegiance to King George III .
1799 – Fourth Anglo-Mysore War : The Battle of Seringapatam : The siege of Seringapatam ends when the city is invaded and Tipu Sultan killed by the besieging British army, under the command of General George Harris .
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 .
1836 – Formation of Ancient Order of Hibernians
1859 – The Cornwall Railway opens across the Royal Albert Bridge linking the counties of Devon and Cornwall in England.
1865 – Surrender of the Confederate departments of Alabama, Mississippi and East Louisiana at Citronelle, Alabama .
1869 – The Naval Battle of Hakodate is fought in Japan.
1871 – The National Association , the first professional baseball league, opens its first season in Fort Wayne, Indiana .
1886 – Haymarket affair : A bomb is thrown at policemen trying to break up a labor rally in Chicago , United States, killing eight and wounding 60. The police fire into the crowd.
1902 – Eight fishermen lose their lives in Galway Bay , Ireland in a drowning tragedy .
1904 – The United States begins construction of the Panama Canal .
1904 – Charles Stewart Rolls meets Frederick Henry Royce at the Midland Hotel in Manchester , England.
1910 – The Royal Canadian Navy is created.
1912 – Italy occupies the Greek island of Rhodes .
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.
1926 – The United Kingdom general strike begins.
1932 – In Atlanta , mobster Al Capone begins serving an eleven-year prison sentence for tax evasion .
1942 – World War II : The Battle of the Coral Sea begins with an attack by aircraft from the United States aircraft carrier USS Yorktown on Japanese naval forces at Tulagi Island in the Solomon Islands . The Japanese forces had invaded Tulagi the day before.
1945 – World War II: Neuengamme concentration camp near Hamburg is liberated by the British Army .
1945 – World War II: German surrender at Lüneburg Heath , the North German Army surrenders to Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery .
1945 – World War II: Denmark is liberated when Germany is forced to withdraw, thus ending five years of occupation.
1946 – In San Francisco Bay , U.S. Marines from the nearby Treasure Island Naval Base stop a two-day riot at Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary . Five people are killed in the riot.
1949 – The entire Torino football team (except for two players who did not take the trip: Sauro Tomà, due to an injury and Renato Gandolfi, because of coach request) is killed in a plane crash at the Superga hill at the edge of Turin , Italy.
1953 – Ernest Hemingway wins the Pulitzer Prize for The Old Man and the Sea .
1959 – The 1st Annual Grammy Awards are held.
1961 – American civil rights movement : The "Freedom Riders " begin a bus trip through the South .
1961 – Malcolm Ross and Victor Prather attain a new altitude record for manned balloon flight ascending in the Strato-Lab V open gondola to 113,740 feet (34.67 km).
1970 – Vietnam War : Kent State shootings : The Ohio National Guard , sent to Kent State University after disturbances in the city of Kent the weekend before, opens fire killing four unarmed students and wounding nine others. The students were protesting the United States' invasion of Cambodia .
1972 – The Don't Make A Wave Committee , a fledgling environmental organization founded in Canada in 1971, officially changes its name to "Greenpeace Foundation ".
1974 – An all-female Japanese team reaches the summit of Manaslu , becoming the first women to climb an 8,000-meter peak.
1979 – Margaret Thatcher becomes the first female Prime Minister of the United Kingdom .
1982 – Twenty sailors are killed when the British Type 42 destroyer HMS Sheffield is hit by an Argentinian Exocet missile during the Falklands War .
1988 – The PEPCON disaster rocks Henderson, Nevada , as tons of Space Shuttle fuel detonate during a fire.
1989 – Iran–Contra affair : Former White House aide Oliver North is convicted of three crimes and acquitted of nine other charges. The convictions, however, are later overturned on appeal.
1990 – Latvia proclaims the renewal of its independence after the Soviet occupation.
1994 – Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and PLO leader Yasser Arafat sign a peace accord , granting self-rule in the Gaza Strip and Jericho .
1998 – A federal judge in Sacramento, California , gives "Unabomber " Theodore Kaczynski four life sentences plus 30 years after Kaczynski accepts a plea agreement sparing him from the death penalty .
2000 – Ken Livingstone becomes the first Mayor of London .
2002 – EAS Airlines Flight 4226 crashes in a suburb of Kano , Nigeria shortly after takeoff, killing 149 people.
2007 – Greensburg, Kansas is almost completely destroyed by a 1.7 mi wide EF5 tornado . It was the first-ever tornado to be rated as such with the new Enhanced Fujita scale .
2014 – Three people are killed and 62 injured in a pair of bombings on buses in Nairobi, Kenya .
2015 – The Parliament of Malta moves from the Grandmaster's Palace to a purpose-built Parliament House .
Births
1008 – Khwaja Abdullah Ansari , Persian mystic and poet (d. 1088)
1008 – Henry I of France (d. 1060)
1649 – Chhatrasal , Indian warrior (d. 1731)
1654 – Kangxi Emperor of China (d. 1722)
1655 – Bartolomeo Cristofori , Italian instrument maker, invented the piano (d. 1731)
1715 – Richard Graves , English minister and author (d. 1804)
1733 – Jean-Charles de Borda , French mathematician, physicist, and sailor (d. 1799)
1752 – John Brooks , American soldier and politician, 11th Governor of Massachusetts (d. 1825)
1757 – Manuel Tolsá , Spanish sculptor and first director of the Academy of San Carlos in Mexico City (d. 1816)
1767 – Tyagaraja , Indian composer (d. 1847)
1772 – Friedrich Arnold Brockhaus , German publisher (d. 1823)
1796 – Horace Mann , American educator and politician (d. 1859)
1796 – William H. Prescott , American historian and scholar (d. 1859)
1820 – Julia Gardiner Tyler , American wife of John Tyler , 11th First Lady of the United States (d. 1889)
1820 – John Whiteaker , American soldier, judge, and politician, 1st Governor of Oregon (d. 1902)
1822 – Charles Boucher de Boucherville , Canadian physician and politician, 3rd Premier of Quebec (d. 1915)
1825 – Thomas Henry Huxley , English biologist, anatomist, and academic (d. 1895)
1825 – Augustus Le Plongeon , English-American historian, photographer, and academic (d. 1908)
1826 – Frederic Edwin Church , American painter (d. 1900)
1827 – John Hanning Speke , English soldier and explorer (d. 1864)
1851 – Thomas Dewing , American painter (d. 1938)
1852 – Alice Liddell , English model (d. 1934)
1856 – Pablo de Escandón , Mexican polo player (d. 1929)
1864 – Marie Booth , English daughter of William and Catherine Booth (d. 1937)
1870 – Alexandre Benois , Russian painter and critic (d. 1960)
1884 – Richard Baggallay , English army officer and cricketer (d. 1975)
1887 – Andrew Dasburg , French-American painter (d. 1979)
1889 – Francis Spellman , American cardinal (d. 1967)
1890 – Franklin Carmichael , Canadian painter (d. 1945)
1902 – Ronnie Aird , English cricketer and administrator (d. 1986)
1902 – Cola Debrot , Dutch physician, lawyer, and politician (d. 1981)
1903 – Luther Adler , American actor (d. 1984)
1907 – Lincoln Kirstein , American soldier and playwright, co-founded the New York City Ballet (d. 1996)
1907 – Walter Walsh , American target shooter and FBI agent (d. 2014)
1908 – Wolrad Eberle , German decathlete (d. 1949)
1911 – Evald Seepere , Estonian boxer (d. 1990)
1913 – John Broome , American author (d. 1999)
1913 – Princess Katherine of Greece and Denmark (d. 2007)
1914 – Maedayama Eigorō , Japanese sumo wrestler, the 39th Yokozuna (d. 1971)
1916 – Jane Jacobs , American-Canadian journalist, author, and activist (d. 2006)
1916 – Richard Proenneke , American soldier, carpenter, and meteorologist (d. 2003)
1917 – Edward T. Cone , American pianist and composer (d. 2004)
1918 – Tom Mead , Australian journalist and politician (d. 2004)
1918 – Kakuei Tanaka , Japanese soldier and politician, 64th Prime Minister of Japan (d. 1993)
1919 – Dory Funk , American wrestler and trainer (d. 1973)
1919 – Basil Yamey , South African-English economist and academic
1921 – Patsy Garrett , American actress and singer (d. 2015)
1921 – John van Kesteren , Dutch-American tenor and actor (d. 2008)
1921 – Edo Murtić , Croatian painter, sculptor, and illustrator (d. 2005)
1921 – Werner Schumacher , German actor (d. 2004)
1922 – Paul-Émile Charbonneau , Canadian archbishop (d. 2014)
1922 – Eugenie Clark , American biologist and academic (d. 2015)
1923 – Stanley Biber , American soldier and physician (d. 2006)
1923 – Assi Rahbani , Lebanese composer and producer (d. 1986)
1923 – John Toner , American football player and coach (d. 2014)
1925 – Jenő Buzánszky , Hungarian footballer and coach (d. 2015)
1925 – Maurice R. Greenberg , American businessman and philanthropist
1926 – David Stoddart, Baron Stoddart of Swindon , English politician
1928 – Maynard Ferguson , Canadian trumpet player and bandleader (Big Bop Nouveau ) (d. 2006)
1928 – Thomas Kinsella , Irish poet, translator, and publisher
1928 – Hosni Mubarak , Egyptian air marshal and politician, 4th President of Egypt
1928 – Betsy Rawls , American golfer
1928 – Wolfgang von Trips , German race car driver (d. 1961)
1929 – Manuel Contreras , Chilean general (d. 2015)
1929 – Ronald Golias , Brazilian actor (d. 2005)
1929 – Audrey Hepburn , British actress and humanitarian (d. 1993)
1929 – Sydney Lamb , American linguist and academic
1930 – Katherine Jackson , matriarch of the Jackson family
1930 – Roberta Peters , American soprano
1931 – Jan Pesman , Dutch speed skater (d. 2014)
1931 – Gennady Rozhdestvensky , Russian conductor and educator
1931 – Thomas Stuttaford , English physician, journalist, and politician
1932 – Harlon Hill , American football player and coach (d. 2013)
1932 – Alexander MacAra , Scottish epidemiologist and academic (d. 2012)
1933 – J. Fred Duckett , American journalist and educator (d. 2007)
1934 – Tatiana Samoilova , Russian actress (d. 2014)
1936 – El Cordobés , Spanish bullfighter
1937 – Ron Carter , American bassist and educator (Miles Davis Quintet )
1937 – Wim Verstappen , Dutch director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2004)
1938 – Carlos Monsiváis , Mexican journalist, author, and critic (d. 2010)
1938 – Gillian Tindall , English historian and author
1939 – Neil Fox , English rugby player and coach
1939 – Paul Gleason , American actor (d. 2006)
1939 – Amos Oz , Israeli journalist and author
1939 – Leon Rochefort , Canadian ice hockey player
1940 – Robin Cook , American physician and author
1941 – George Will , American journalist and author
1942 – Nickolas Ashford , American singer-songwriter, pianist, and producer (Ashford & Simpson ) (d. 2011)
1943 – Georgi Asparuhov , Bulgarian footballer (d. 1971)
1943 – Mihail Chemiakin , Russian painter and sculptor
1943 – Prasanta Pattanaik , Indian economist and academic
1945 – Jan Mulder , Dutch footballer and journalist
1946 – John Barnard , English car designer
1946 – Gary Bauer , American political activist
1946 – John Watson , British race car driver
1947 – John Bosley , Canadian businessman and politician, 31st Canadian Speaker of the House of Commons
1947 – Ronald Sørensen , Dutch historian and politician
1947 – Trivimi Velliste , Estonian politician, 17th Estonian Minister of Foreign Affairs
1948 – Alison Britton , English sculptor and educator
1948 – George Tupou V of Tonga (d. 2012)
1949 – Graham Swift , English author
1950 – Darryl Hunt , English bass player (The Pogues and Plummet Airlines )
1951 – Colin Bass , English bass player, songwriter, and producer (Camel and 3 Mustaphas 3 )
1951 – Colleen Hanabusa , American lawyer and politician
1951 – Jackie Jackson , American singer-songwriter and dancer (The Jackson 5 )
1952 – Belinda Green , Australian beauty queen and 1972 Miss World
1953 – Salman Hashimikov , Kazakh-Russian wrestler and martial artist
1953 – Pia Zadora , American actress and singer
1954 – Ryan Cayabyab , Filipino pianist, composer, and conductor
1956 – Michael L. Gernhardt , American astronaut and engineer
1956 – David Guterson , American journalist and author
1956 – Ken Oberkfell , American baseball player and coach
1957 – Jaak Huimerind , Estonian architect
1957 – Kathy Kreiner , Canadian skier
1957 – Marijke Vos , Dutch educator and politician
1958 – Delbert Fowler , American football player
1958 – Jane Kennedy , English politician
1958 – Caroline Spelman , English politician, Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
1959 – Valdemaras Chomičius , Lithuanian basketball player and coach
1959 – Randy Travis , American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actor
1960 – Werner Faymann , Austrian politician, 28th Chancellor of Austria
1961 – Jay Aston , English singer-songwriter and dancer (Bucks Fizz )
1963 – Vange Leonel , Brazilian singer-songwriter and activist (d. 2014)
1964 – Mónica Bardem , Spanish actress
1964 – Silvia Costa , Cuban high jumper
1964 – Zsuzsa Mathe , Hungarian painter
1964 – Terje Isungset , Norwegian percussionist (Isglem , Ice Music Festival )
1966 – Jane McGrath , English-Australian activist, co-founded the McGrath Foundation (d. 2008)
1967 – Kate Garraway , English journalist
1967 – Ana Gasteyer , American actress and singer
1969 – Micah Aivazoff , Canadian ice hockey player
1969 – Franz Resch , Austrian footballer and manager
1970 – Gregg Alexander , American singer-songwriter and producer
1970 – Will Arnett , Canadian actor and producer
1970 – Sergio Basañez , Mexican actor and lawyer
1970 – Giovanni Mirabassi , Italian jazz musician
1970 – Paul Wiseman , New Zealand cricketer and coach
1971 – Joe Borowski , American baseball player and sportscaster
1972 – Manny Aybar , Dominican baseball player
1972 – Mike Dirnt , American bass player and songwriter
1973 – Matthew Barnaby , Canadian ice hockey player and sportscaster
1973 – Guillermo Barros Schelotto , Argentinian footballer and coach
1973 – John Madden , Canadian ice hockey player and coach
1974 – Miguel Cairo , Venezuelan baseball player and coach
1974 – Tony McCoy , Northern Irish jockey and sportscaster
1976 – Ben Grieve , American baseball player
1976 – Jason Michaels , American baseball player
1976 – Indrek Visnapuu , Estonian basketball player and coach
1977 – Nestoras Kommatos , Greek basketball player
1977 – Mariano Pernía , Argentinian-Spanish footballer
1977 – John Tripp , Canadian-German ice hockey player
1978 – Erin Andrews , American sportscaster and journalist
1978 – Brett Burton , Australian footballer
1978 – Vladimíra Uhlířová , Czech tennis player
1979 – Lance Bass , American singer, dancer, and producer
1979 – Kristin Harmel , American journalist and author
1979 – Marie Poissonnier , French pole vaulter
1979 – Lesley Vainikolo , Tongan rugby player
1980 – Andrew Raycroft , Canadian ice hockey player
1981 – Eric Djemba-Djemba , Cameroon footballer
1982 – Kleopas Giannou , Greek footballer
1982 – Markus Rogan , Austrian swimmer
1982 – Giorgos Tsiaras , Greek basketball player
1983 – Derek Roy , Canadian ice hockey player
1983 – Robert Zwinkels , Dutch footballer
1984 – Brad Maddox , American wrestler and referee
1984 – Sarah Meier , Swiss figure skater
1984 – Montell Owens , American football player
1984 – Manjural Islam Rana , Bangladeshi cricketer (d. 2007)
1984 – Kevin Slowey , American baseball player
1985 – Ravi Bopara , English cricketer
1985 – Anthony Fedorov , Ukrainian-American singer and actor (7th Heaven )
1986 – Devan Dubnyk , Canadian ice hockey player
1986 – George Hill , American basketball player
1987 – Cesc Fàbregas , Spanish footballer
1988 – Giorgos Ioannidis , Greek footballer
1989 – Henna Lindholm , Finnish figure skater
1989 – Rory McIlroy , Northern Irish golfer
1989 – Aris Tatarounis , Greek basketball player
1989 – James van Riemsdyk , American ice hockey player
1990 – Irina Falconi , American tennis player
1993 – Jānis Bērziņš , Latvian basketball player
Deaths
1436 – Engelbrekt Engelbrektsson , Swedish rebel leader (b. 1390)
1471 – Edward of Westminster, Prince of Wales (b. 1453)
1519 – Lorenzo de' Medici, Duke of Urbino (b. 1492)
1566 – Luca Ghini , Italian physician and botanist (b. 1490)
1571 – Pierre Viret , Swiss theologian and reformer (b. 1511)
1604 – Claudio Merulo , Italian organist and composer (b. 1533)
1615 – Adriaan van Roomen , Flemish priest and mathematician (b. 1561)
1626 – Arthur Lake , English bishop and scholar (b. 1569)
1677 – Isaac Barrow , English mathematician and theologian (b. 1630)
1684 – John Nevison , English criminal (b. 1639)
1729 – Louis Antoine de Noailles , French cardinal (b. 1651)
1734 – James Thornhill , English painter and politician (b. 1675)
1737 – Eustace Budgell , English journalist and politician (b. 1686)
1774 – Duke Anthony Ulrich of Brunswick (b. 1714)
1776 – Jacques Saly , French painter and sculptor (b. 1717)
1790 – Matthew Tilghman , American politician (b. 1718)
1799 – Tipu Sultan of Mysore (b. 1750)
1811 – Nikolay Kamensky , Russian general (b. 1776)
1824 – Joseph Joubert , French author (b. 1754)
1839 – Denis Davydov , Russian general and poet (b. 1784)
1858 – Aimé Bonpland , French botanist and explorer (b. 1773)
1859 – Joseph Diaz Gergonne , French mathematician and philosopher (b. 1771)
1880 – Edward Clark , American lawyer and politician, 8th Governor of Texas (b. 1815)
1901 – John Jones Ross , Canadian lawyer and politician, 7th Premier of Quebec (b. 1831)
1903 – Gotse Delchev , Macedonian Bulgarian revolutionary IMRO (b. 1872)
1916 – Ned Daly , Irish rebel commander (Easter Rising ) (b. 1891)
1916 – Joseph Plunkett , Irish rebel and writer (b. 1887)
1916 – Willie Pearse , Irish rebel (b. 1891)
1919 – Milan Rastislav Štefánik , Slovak general and politician (b. 1880)
1922 – Viktor Kingissepp , Estonian politician (b. 1888)
1923 – Ralph McKittrick , American golfer and tennis player (b. 1877)
1924 – E. Nesbit , English author and poet (b. 1858)
1938 – Kanō Jigorō , Japanese founder of judo (b. 1860)
1938 – Carl von Ossietzky , German journalist and activist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1889)
1945 – Fedor von Bock , German field marshal (b. 1880)
1953 – Alexandre Pharamond , French rugby player (b. 1876)
1955 – George Enescu , Romanian pianist, composer, and conductor (b. 1881)
1961 – Johannes Hengeveld , Dutch tug of war competitor (b. 1894)
1961 – Anita Stewart , American actress and producer (b. 1895)
1964 – Karl Robert Pusta , Estonian politician, 4th Estonian Minister of Foreign Affairs (b. 1883)
1969 – Osbert Sitwell , English-Italian author and poet (b. 1892)
1970 – Victims of the Kent State shootings
1972 – Edward Calvin Kendall , American chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1886)
1973 – Jane Bowles , American author and playwright (b. 1917)
1975 – Moe Howard , American actor, singer, and screenwriter (b. 1897)
1976 – Frank Strahan , Australian public servant (b. 1886)
1980 – Josip Broz Tito , Yugoslav field marshal and politician, 1st President of Yugoslavia (b. 1892)
1981 – C. Loganathan , Sri Lankan banker (b. 1913)
1983 – Nino Sanzogno , Italian conductor and composer (b. 1911)
1984 – Diana Dors , English actress (b. 1931)
1985 – Fikri Sönmez , Turkish tailor and politician (b. 1938)
1985 – Clarence Wiseman , English-Canadian 10th General of The Salvation Army (b. 1907)
1987 – Paul Butterfield , American singer and harmonica player (b. 1942)
1987 – Cathryn Damon , American actress (b. 1930)
1990 – Emily Remler , American guitarist (b. 1957)
1991 – Mohammed Abdel Wahab , Egyptian singer-songwriter and mandolin player (b. 1907)
1992 – Gregor Mackenzie , Scottish politician (b. 1927)
1995 – Connie Wisniewski , American baseball player (b. 1922)
1997 – Esin Engin , Turkish actor and composer (b. 1945)
2000 – Hendrik Casimir , Dutch physicist and academic (b. 1909)
2005 – David Hackworth , American colonel and journalist (b. 1930)
2009 – Dom DeLuise , American actor, director, and producer (b. 1933)
2011 – Sammy McCrory , Northern Irish footballer (b. 1924)
2011 – Mary Murphy , American actress (b. 1931)
2012 – Haukur Angantýsson , Icelandic chess player (b. 1948)
2012 – Angelica Garnett , English painter and author (b. 1918)
2012 – Mort Lindsey , American pianist, composer, and conductor (b. 1923)
2012 – Bob Stewart , American television producer, founded Stewart Tele Enterprises (b. 1920)
2012 – Adam Yauch , American rapper and director (Beastie Boys ) (b. 1964)
2012 – Rashidi Yekini , Nigerian footballer (b. 1963)
2013 – Otis R. Bowen , American physician and politician, 44th Governor of Indiana (b. 1918)
2013 – Christian de Duve , English-Belgian cytologist and biochemist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1917)
2013 – Javier Diez Canseco , Peruvian sociologist and politician (b. 1948)
2013 – Mario Machado , Chinese-American journalist and actor (b. 1935)
2013 – Morgan Morgan-Giles , English admiral and politician (b. 1914)
2013 – César Portillo de la Luz , Cuban guitarist and composer (b. 1922)
2014 – Dick Ayers , American author and illustrator (b. 1924)
2014 – Elena Baltacha , Ukrainian-Scottish tennis player (b. 1983)
2014 – Edgar Cortright , American scientist and engineer (b. 1923)
2014 – Helga Königsdorf , German physicist and author (b. 1938)
2014 – Ross Lonsberry , Canadian-American ice hockey player (b. 1947)
2014 – Jean-Paul Ngoupandé , Central African politician, Prime Minister of the Central African Republic (b. 1948)
2015 – William Bast , American screenwriter and author (b. 1931)
2015 – Ellen Albertini Dow , American actress (b. 1913)
2015 – Marv Hubbard , American football player (b. 1946)
Holidays and observances
External links
Months and days of the year
January
February
March
April
May
June
July
August
September
October
November
December