Today June 4th in history click read more below to view detail events, deaths, births, Holidays and observances, and video clips in hisotry. Please comments, last database updated: Jan 17th, 2009
Events
781 BC – The first historic solar eclipse is recorded in China.
1039 – Henry III becomes Holy Roman Emperor.
1584 – Sir Walter Raleigh establishes first English colony on Roanoke Island, old Virginia (now North Carolina).
1615 – Siege of Osaka Forces under the shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu take Osaka Castle in Japan.
1760 – Great Upheaval: New England planters arrive to claim land in Nova Scotia, Canada taken from the Acadians.
1769 – A transit of Venus is followed five hours later by a total solar eclipse, the shortest such interval in history.
1783 – The Montgolfier brothers publicly demonstrate their montgolfière (hot air balloon).
1792 – Captain George Vancouver claims Puget Sound for the Kingdom of Great Britain.
1794 – British troops capture Port-au-Prince in Haiti.
1802 – Grieving over the death of his wife, Marie Clotilde of France, King Charles Emmanuel IV of Sardinia abdicates his throne in favor of his brother, Victor Emmanuel.
1812 – Following Louisiana s admittance as a U.S. state, the Louisiana Territory is renamed the Missouri Territory.
1859 – Italian Independence wars: In the Battle of Magenta, the French army, under Louis-Napoleon, defeat the Austrian army.
1862 – American Civil War: Confederate troops evacuate Fort Pillow on the Mississippi River, leaving the way clear for Union troops to take Memphis, Tennessee.
1876 – An express train called the Transcontinental Express arrives in San Francisco, California, via the First Transcontinental Railroad only 83 hours and 39 minutes after having left New York City.
1878 – Cyprus Convention: The Ottoman Empire cedes Cyprus to the United Kingdom but retains nominal title.
1912 – Massachusetts becomes the first state of the United States to set a minimum wage.
1913 – Emily Davison, a suffragette, runs out in front of King George V s horse, Anmer, at the Epsom Derby. She is trampled and dies a few days later, never having regained consciousness.
1917 – The first Pulitzer Prizes are awarded: Laura E. Richards, Maude H. Elliott, and Florence Hall receive the first Pulitzer for biography (for Julia Ward Howe). Jean Jules Jusserand receives the first Pulitzer for history for his work With Americans of Past and Present Days. Herbert B. Swope receives the first Pulitzer for journalism for his work for the New York World.
1919 – Women s rights: The U.S. Congress approves the 19th Amendment to the United States Constitution, which guarantees suffrage to women, and sends it to the U.S. states for ratification.
1920 – Hungary loses 71% of its territory and 63% of its population when the Treaty of Trianon is signed in Paris.
1928 – President of the Republic of China Zhang Zuolin is assassinated by Japanese agents.
1939 – Holocaust: The SS St. Louis, a ship carrying 963 Jewish refugees, is denied permission to land in Florida, United States, after already being turned away from Cuba. Forced to return to Europe, many of its passengers later died in Nazi concentration camps.
1940 – World War II: The Dunkirk evacuation ends – British forces complete evacuation of 300,000 troops from Dunkirk in France.
1942 – World War II: Reinhard Heydrich is assassinated by Czechoslovak paratrooper in Prague (Operation Anthropoid).
1942 – World War II: The Battle of Midway begins. Japanese Admiral Chuichi Nagumo orders a strike on Midway Island by much of the Imperial Japanese navy.
1943 – A military coup in Argentina ousts Ramón Castillo.
1944 – World War II: A hunter-killer group of the United States Navy captures the German submarine U-505 – the first time a U.S. Navy vessel captured an enemy vessel at sea since the 19th century.
1944 – World War II: Rome falls to the Allies, the first Axis capital to fall.
1967 – Stockport Air Disaster: British Midland flight G-ALHG crashes in Hopes Carr, Stockport, killing 72 passengers and crew.
1970 – Tonga gains independence from the United Kingdom.
1973 – A patent for the ATM is granted to Don Wetzel, Tom Barnes and George Chastain.
1979 – Flight Lieutenant Jerry Rawlings takes power in Ghana after a military coup in which General Fred Akuffo is overthrown.
1986 – Jonathan Pollard pleads guilty to espionage for selling top secret United States military intelligence to Israel.
1989 – Ali Khamenei is elected the new Supreme Leader of Islamic republic of Iran by the Assembly of Experts after the death of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini.
1989 – Tiananmen Square protests are violently ended in Beijing by People s Liberation Army.
1989 – Solidarity s victory in the first partly free parliamentary elections in post-war Poland sparks off a succession of peaceful anti-communist revolutions in Eastern Europe and leads to the creation of the so-called Contract Sejm.
1989 – Ufa train disaster: A natural gas explosion near Ufa, Russia, kills 575 as two trains passing each other throw sparks near a leaky pipeline.
1991 – The United Kingdom s Conservative government announces that some British regiments would disappear or be merged into others — the largest armed forces cuts in almost twenty years.
1996 – The first flight of Ariane 5 explodes after roughly 20 seconds. It was a Cluster mission.
1998 – Terry Nichols is sentenced to life in prison for his role in the Oklahoma City bombing.
2001 – Gyanendra, the last King of Nepal, ascends to the throne after the massacre in the Royal Palace.
Births
1394 – Philippa of England, queen of Denmark, Norway and Sweden (d. 1430)
1489 – Antoine, Duke of Lorraine (d. 1544)
1604 – Claudia de Medici, Grand Duchess of Tuscany (d. 1648)
1665 – Zacharie Robutel de La Noue, Canadian soldier (d. 1733)
1694 – François Quesnay, French economist (d. 1774)
1704 – Benjamin Huntsman, English inventor and manufacturer (d. 1776)
1738 – King George III of Great Britain (d. 1820)
1744 – Patrick Ferguson, Scots army officer and rifle designer (d. 1780)
1754 – Franz Xaver, Baron Von Zach, Austrian editor and astronomer (d. 1832)
1787 – Constant Prévost, French geologist (d. 1856)
1801 – James Pennethorne, English architect (d. 1871)
1821 – Apollon Maykov, Russian poet (d. 1897)
1866 – Miina Sillanpää, Finnish politician (d. 1952)
1867 – C.G.E. Mannerheim, Marshal, Supreme Commander and later President of Finland (d. 1951)
1877 – Heinrich Wieland, German biochemist, Nobel laureate (d. 1957)
1879 – Mabel Lucie Attwell, English children s author and illustrator (d. 1964)
1880 – Clara Blandick, American actress (d. 1962)
1881 – Natalia Goncharova, Russian painter (d. 1962)
1887 – Tom Longboat, marathon runner (d. 1949)
1894 – Madame Bolduc, French Canadian singer (d. 1941)
1899 – Hassan Fathy, Egyptian architect (d. 1989)
1907 – Rosalind Russell, American actress (d. 1976)
1907 – Jacques Roumain, Haitian writer (d. 1944)
1907 – Patience Strong, English poet and journalist (d. 1990)
1910 – Christopher Sydney Cockerell, British engineer and inventor (d. 1999)
1912 – Robert Jacobsen, Danish artist (d. 1993)
1916 – Robert F. Furchgott, American chemist, Nobel laureate
1916 – Fernand Leduc, Canadian painter (The Automatistes)
1917 – Robert Merrill, American baritone (d. 2004)
1921 – Bobby Wanzer, American professional basketball player and coach
1923 – Elizabeth Jolley, Australian writer (d. 2007)
1924 – Dennis Weaver, American actor (d. 2006)
1924 – Tofilau Eti Alesana, former Prime Minister of Samoa (d. 1999)
1926 – Robert Earl Hughes, American man who became the heaviest known human (d. 1958)
1927 – Geoffrey Palmer, English actor
1928 – Ruth Westheimer, German-born American sex therapist and author
1929 – Karolos Papoulias, Greek politician
1930 – Morgana King, American actress
1930 – Viktor Tikhonov, Russian hockey player and coach
1932 – Oliver Nelson, American jazz composer and arranger (d. 1975)
1932 – Maurice Shadbolt, New Zealand writer
1932 – John Drew Barrymore, American actor (d. 2004)
1934 – Seamus Elliott, Irish cyclist (d. 1971)
1935 – Colette Boky, Quebec operatic soprano
1936 – Bruce Dern, American actor
1937 – Freddy Fender, American musician (d. 2006)
1937 – Robert Fulghum, American author
1937 – Gorilla Monsoon, American professional wrestler (d. 1999)
1937 – Mortimer Zuckerman, American publisher
1938 – Art Mahaffey, American baseball player
1940 – Cliff Bennett, British singer with the Rebel Rousers
1940 – Ludwig Schwarz, Austrian bishop
1943 – Joyce Meyer, American religious leader
1944 – Michelle Phillips, American singer (The Mamas & the Papas) and actress
1945 – Anthony Braxton, American composer and instrumentalist
1945 – Gordon Waller, Scottish musician (Peter and Gordon)
1947 – Viktor Klima, Chancellor of Austria
1948 – Bob Champion, English Jump Jockey
1949 – Gabriel Arcand, French Canadian actor
1950 – Dagmar Krause, German singer (Slapp Happy, Henry Cow, Art Bears)
1950 – George Noory, American radio personality
1950 – Kevin Woodford, English celebrity chef
1951 – Charles Dickinson, American author
1951 – Wendy Pini, American comic book writer and artist
1952 – Parker Stevenson, American actor and director
1953 – Jimmy McCulloch, Scottish musician (d. 1979)
1953 – Susumu Ojima, Japanese entrepreneur (Huser)
1953 – Paul Samson, British guitarist (Samson) (d. 2002)
1955 – Paul Stewart, English writer
1955 – Mary Testa, American stage actress
1956 – Martin Adams, English darts player
1956 – Keith David, American actor
1956 – Gerry Ryan, Irish radio talkshow host
1956 – John Hockenberry, American journalist
1956 – Terry Kennedy, American baseball player
1957 – John Treacy, Irish athlete
1960 – Bradley Walsh, British actor
1961 – Ferenc Gyurcsány, Hungary prime minister
1961 – El DeBarge, American singer (DeBarge)
1962 – Zenon Jaskula, Polish cyclist
1962 – John P. Kee, American Gospel singer
1964 – Eva Fampas, Greek guitarist
1964 – Sean Pertwee, English actor
1965 – Mick Doohan, Australian motorcycle racer
1965 – Andrea Jaeger, American tennis player
1966 – Cecilia Bartoli, Italian mezzo-soprano
1966 – Vladimir Voevodsky, Russian mathematician
1967 – Robert Shane Kimbrough, American astronaut
1968 – Scott Wolf, American actor
1968 – Al B. Sure, American R&B singer
1969 – Horatio Sanz, Chilean-born comedian
1970 – Richie Hawtin, Canadian musician
1970 – David Pybus, British musician
1971 – Joseph Kabila, Congolese politician
1971 – James Callis, British actor
1971 – Shoji Meguro, Japanese composer
1971 – Noah Wyle, American actor
1972 – Nikka Costa, American singer
1972 – Derian Hatcher, American ice hockey player
1972 – Rob Huebel, American comedian
1974 – Darin Erstad, American baseball player
1974 – Andrew Gwynne, British politician
1974 – Stefan Lessard, American musician
1975 – Russell Brand, British comedian and television personality
1975 – Henry Burris, American Football Quarterback
1975 – Angelina Jolie, American actress
1977 – Dionisis Chiotis, Greek footballer
1977 – Berglind Icey, Icelandic actor
1977 – Quinten Hann, Australian former snooker player
1977 – Alex Manninger, Austrian footballer
1979 – Naohiro Takahara, Japanese footballer
1979 – Daniel Vickerman, Australian rugby union player
1980 – Alicja Janosz, Polish singer
1980 – François Beauchemin, French Canadian ice hockey player
1981 – T. J. Miller, American actor and comedian
1981 – Giourkas Seitaridis, Greek footballer
1982 – Ronnie Prude, National Football League player
1982 – Jin, Chinese-American rapper
1982 – Jamie Dornan, Irish model and actor
1983 – Emmanuel Eboué, Ivorian footballer
1984 – Ian White, Canadian hockey player
1984 – Rainie Yang, Taiwanese singer and actress
1984 – Jenaveve Jolie, Mexican-American pornographic actress
1985 – Lukas Podolski, Polish-born footballer
1985 – Bar Refaeli, Israeli model
1985 – Evan Lysacek, American figure skater
1985 – Ana Carolina Reston, Brazilian fashion model (d. 2006)
1986 – Shane Kippel, Canadian actor
1988 – Leigh Adams, Australian Footballer
1992 – Dino Jelusic, Croatian singer
Deaths
1039 – Conrad II, Holy Roman Emperor
1135 – Emperor Huizong of China (b. 1082)
1206 – Adèle of Champagne, wife of Louis VII of France
1257 – Duke Przemysl I of Poland
1394 – Mary de Bohun, wife of Henry IV of England (b. c 1369)
1463 – Flavio Biondo, Italian humanist (b. 1392)
1585 – Muretus, French humanist (b. 1526)
1663 – William Juxon, Archbishop of Canterbury (b. 1582)
1798 – Giacomo Casanova, Italian womanizer and writer (b. 1725)
1801 – Frederick Muhlenberg, American statesman (b. 1750)
1830 – Antonio José de Sucre, Great Marshall of Ayacucho (b. 1795)
1872 – Johan Rudolf Thorbecke, Dutch politician (b. 1798)
1875 – Eduard Mörike, German poet (b. 1804)
1922 – William Halse Rivers Rivers, English doctor (b. 1864)
1926 – Fred Spofforth, Australian cricketer (b. 1853)
1928 – Zhang Zuolin, Chinese warlord (b. 1873)
1929 – Harry Frazee, Boston Red Sox owner from 1916-1923 (b. 1881)
1939 – Tommy Ladnier, American musician (b. 1900)
1941 – Wilhelm II of Germany, German emperor (b. 1859)
1942 – Reinhard Heydrich, German SS senior officer and Nazi official, by assassination (b. 1904)
1951 – Serge Koussevitsky, Russian conductor (b. 1874)
1956 – Katherine MacDonald, American actress (b. 1881)
1962 – Clem McCarthy, American sportscaster (b. 1882)
1964 – Samuil Marshak, Russian poet (b. 1887)
1968 – Dorothy Gish, American actress (b. 1898)
1970 – Sonny Tufts, American actor (b. 1911)
1971 – Georg Lukács, Hungarian philosopher (b. 1885)
1973 – Maurice René Fréchet, French mathematician (b. 1878)
1973 – Murry Wilson, father of Brian Wilson, Dennis Wilson and Carl Wilson (b. 1917)
1989 – Dik Browne, American cartoonist (b. 1917)
1992 – Carl Stotz, American Little League Founder (b. 1910)
1994 – Derek Leckenby, British guitarist (Herman s Hermits) (b. 1943)
1994 – Massimo Troisi, Italian actor (b. 1953)
1997 – Ronnie Lane, British bass player (b. 1946)
2001 – Dipendra of Nepal (b. 1971)
2001 – John Hartford, American musician (b. 1937)
2002 – Fernando Belaúnde Terry, Peruvian politician (b. 1912)
2004 – Steve Lacy, American saxophonist (b. 1934)
2004 – Nino Manfredi, Italian actor (b. 1921)
2007 – Clete Boyer, American baseball player (b. 1937)
2007 – Jim Clark, American sheriff and segregationist (b. 1922)
2007 – Bill France Jr., NASCAR pioneer (b. 1933)
2007 – Sotiris Moustakas, Greek actor (b. 1940)
2007 – Freddie Scott, American singer and songwriter (b. 1933)
2007 – Craig L. Thomas, United States Senator (b. 1933)
2008 – Nikos Sergianopoulos, Greek actor (b. 1952)
Holidays and observances
Tonga – National Day.
Finland – National flag day of the Finnish Defence Forces (on Mannerheim s birthday).
Hong Kong – Tiananmen Square Protests of 1989 memorial day.
Saint Francis Caracciolo (died 1608)
Saint Petrock of Cornwall
Saint Quirinus of Sescia (died 308)
Saint Saturnina
