Today August 4th 2009 this day in history Read more below to view events, deaths, births, Holidays observances and video clips. Last database updated: Jan 17th, 2009
Events
70 – The destruction of the Second Temple in Jerusalem by the Romans.
1265 – Second Barons War: Battle of Evesham – the army of Prince Edward (future Edward I of England) defeats the forces of rebellious barons led by Simon de Montfort, 6th Earl of Leicester; killing de Montfort and many of his allies. This is sometimes considered the end of the age of chivalry in England.
1578 – Battle of Al Kasr al Kebir – the Moroccans defeat the Portuguese. King Sebastian of Portugal is defeated and killed in North Africa, leaving his elderly uncle, Cardinal Henry, as his heir. This initiates a succession crisis in Portugal.
1693 – Date traditionally ascribed to Dom Perignon s invention of Champagne.
1704 – War of the Spanish Succession: Gibraltar is captured by an English and Dutch fleet, commanded by Admiral Sir George Rooke and allied with Archduke Charles.
1789 – In France members of the National Constituent Assembly take an oath to end feudalism and abandon their privileges.
1790 – A newly passed tariff act creates the Revenue Cutter Service (the forerunner of the United States Coast Guard).
1791 – The Treaty of Sistova is signed, ending the Ottoman-Habsburg wars.
1821 – Atkinson & Alexander publish the Saturday Evening Post for the first time as a weekly newspaper.
1824 – Battle of Kos is fought between Turks and Greeks.
1854 – The Hinomaru is established as the official flag to be flown from Japanese ships.
1873 – Indian Wars: whilst protecting a railroad survey party in Montana, the United States 7th Cavalry, under Lieutenant Colonel George Armstrong Custer, clashes for the first time with the Sioux (near the Tongue River; only one man on each side is killed).
1892 – The family of Lizzie Borden is found murdered in their Fall River, Massachusetts home.
1902 – The Greenwich foot tunnel under the River Thames opens.
1906 – Central Railway Station, Sydney opens.
1914 – World War I: Germany invades Belgium. In response, the United Kingdom declares war on Germany. The United States declares its neutrality.
1916 – World War I: Liberia declares war on Germany.
1924 – Diplomatic relations between Mexico and the Soviet Union are established.
1936 – Greek General Ioannis Metaxas, leader of the 4th of August Regime, suspends parliament and the Constitution and declares himself dictator.
1944 – The Holocaust: a tip from a Dutch informer leads the Gestapo to a sealed-off area in an Amsterdam warehouse where they find Jewish diarist Anne Frank and her family.
1946 – 1946 Dominican Republic earthquake: an earthquake of magnitude 8.0 hits northern Dominican Republic. 100 are killed and 20,000 are left homeless.
1947 – The Supreme Court of Japan is established.
1954 – The Government of Pakistan approves the National Anthem, written by Hafeez Jullundhry and composed by Ahmed G. Chagla.
1964 – American civil rights movement: civil rights workers Michael Schwerner, Andrew Goodman and James Chaney are found dead in Mississippi after disappearing on June 21.
1964 – Vietnam War: United States destroyers USS Maddox and USS C. Turner Joy report coming under attack in the Gulf of Tonkin. The destroyers open fire at what they believe were Vietnam People s Army torpedo boats, although subsequent research has raised doubts that the targets were real. This engagement has become known as the Gulf of Tonkin Incident.
1969 – Vietnam War: at the apartment of French intermediary Jean Sainteny in Paris, U.S. representative Henry Kissinger and North Vietnamese representative Xuan Thuy begin secret peace negotiations. The negotiations will eventually fail.
1975 – The Japanese Red Army takes more than 50 hostages at the AIA Building housing several embassies in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The hostages include the U.S. consul and the Swedish charge d affaires. The gunmen win the release of five imprisoned comrades and fly with them to Libya.
1977 – US President Jimmy Carter signs legislation creating the United States Department of Energy.
1984 – The African republic Upper Volta changes its name to Burkina Faso.
1987 – The Federal Communications Commission rescinds the Fairness Doctrine which had required radio and television stations to present controversial issues fairly.
1990 – The Invasion of Kuwait stops and becomes the Gulf War.
1991 – The Greek cruise ship Oceanos sinks off the Wild Coast of South Africa.
1993 – A federal judge sentences LAPD officers Stacey Koon and Laurence Powell to 30 months in prison for violating motorist Rodney King s civil rights.
1995 – Operation Storm begins in Croatia.
1997 – 185,000 Teamsters union United Parcel Service drivers walk off the job.
2002 – Soham murders: 10 year old school girls Jessica Chapman and Holly Wells go missing from the town of Soham, Cambridgeshire.
2005 – Prime Minister Paul Martin announces that Michaëlle Jean will be Canada s 27th — and first black — Governor General.
2006 – Dame Silvia Cartwright steps down as the Governor-General of New Zealand and is replaced by The Honourable Anand Satyanand, who is sworn in on 23 August.
2006 – 2006 Trincomalee massacre of NGO workers, was carried out by Sri Lankan government forces, killing 17 employees of the French INGO Action Against Hunger (known internationally as Action Contre la Faim, or ACF).
2007 – NASA s Phoenix spaceship is launched.
Births
1222 – Richard de Clare, 6th Earl of Hertford, English soldier (d. 1262)
1290 – Duke Leopold I of Austria (d. 1326)
1521 – Pope Urban VII (d. 1590)
1604 – François Hédelin, abbé d Aubignac, French writer (d. 1676)
1701 – Thomas Blackwell, Scottish classical scholar (d. 1757)
1719 – Johann Gottlob Lehmann, German minerologist and geologist (d. 1767)
1721 – Granville Leveson-Gower, 1st Marquess of Stafford, English politician (d. 1803)
1755 – Nicolas-Jacques Conté, French painter and inventor (d. 1805)
1792 – Percy Bysshe Shelley, English poet (d. 1822)
1805 – William Rowan Hamilton, Irish mathematician (d. 1865)
1821 – James White, American theologian (d. 1881)
1821 – Louis Vuitton, French designer (d. 1892)
1834 – John Venn, English mathematician (d. 1923)
1844 – Henri Berger, German composer and royal bandmaster (d. 1929)
1848 – Vladimir Sukhomlinov, Russian general (d. 1926)
1859 – Knut Hamsun, Norwegian writer, Nobel Prize Laureate (d. 1952)
1865 – Gus Kempis, South African cricketer (d. 1890)
1867 – Jake Beckley, American baseball player (d. 1918)
1870 – Sir Harry Lauder, Scottish entertainer (d. 1950)
1884 – Henri Cornet, French cyclist (d. 1941)
1888 – Syedna Taher Saifuddin, Bohra spiritual leader (d. 1965)
1890 – Dolf Luque, Cuban baseball player (d. 1957)
1899 – Ezra Taft Benson, 13th president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (d. 1994)
1900 – Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon, (Queen Elizabeth, The Queen Mother), Queen consort of George VI of the United Kingdom (d. 2002)
1901 – Louis Armstrong, American jazz musician (d. 1971)
1901 – Clarence Passailaigue, Jamaican cricketer (d. 1972)
1902 – Wild Bill Hallahan, American baseball player (d. 1981)
1904 – Witold Gombrowicz, Polish novelist and dramatist (d. 1969)
1904 – Joe Tate, English footballer (d. 1973)
1906 – Eugen Schuhmacher, German zoologist (d. 1973)
1906 – Marie-José of Belgium, queen of Italy (d. 2001)
1908 – Kurt Eichhorn, German conductor (d. 1994)
1909 – Glenn Cunningham, American runner (d. 1988)
1909 – Saunders Mac Lane, American mathematician (d. 2005)
1910 – William Schuman, American composer (d. 1992)
1910 – Anita Page, American actress (d. 2008)
1912 – Aleksandr Danilovich Aleksandrov, Russian mathematician, physicist, philosopher, and mountaineer (d. 1999)
1912 – Raoul Wallenberg, Swedish diplomat (d. 1947)
1913 – Robert Hayden, American poet (d. 1980)
1915 – Warren Avis, American entrepreneur (d. 2007)
1918 – Iceberg Slim (a.k.a. Robert Beck), American author (d. 1992)
1920 – Helen Thomas, American journalist
1921 – Maurice Richard, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 2000)
1923 – Reg Grundy, Australian media and television mogul
1923 – Mushtaq Ahmad Yusufi, Pakistani satirical and humor writer
1927 – Jess Thomas, American tenor (d. 1993)
1928 – Christian Goethals, Belgian racing driver (d. 2003)
1929 – Kishore Kumar, Indian singer and actor (d. 1987)
1930 – Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, Iranian shia cleric
1931 – Naren Tamhane, Indian cricketer (d. 2002)
1936 – Assia Djebar, Algerian writer and filmmaker
1937 – David Bedford, English musician
1938 – Ellen Schrecker, American college professor
1939 – Frank Vincent, American actor
1940 – Abdurrahman Wahid, 4th President of Indonesia
1940 – Timi Yuro, American singer (d. 2004)
1941 – Martin Jarvis, English actor
1941 – Ted Strickland, American politician and current Governor of Ohio
1942 – Don S. Davis, American actor and artist (d. 2008)
1942 – Cleon Jones, American baseball player
1942 – David Lange, New Zealand politician (d. 2005)
1943 – Bjørn Wirkola, Norwegian ski jumper
1943 – Vicente Alberto Álvarez Areces, President of the Government of the Principality of Asturias in Spain
1944 – Richard Belzer, American actor and comedian
1944 – Doudou Ndoye?, Senegalese lawyer and politician
1946 – Maureen Starkey, ex-wife of Ringo Starr (d. 1994)
1947 – Klaus Schulze, German composer
1948 – Johnny Grubb, American baseball player
1949 – John Riggins, American football player
1952 – Moya Brennan, Irish singer
1952 – Gábor Demszky, Hungarian politician
1954 – François Valéry, French singer-songwriter and composer
1955 – Gerrie Coetzee, South African boxer
1955 – Alberto Gonzales, American U.S. Attorney General
1955 – Billy Bob Thornton, American actor and writer
1956 – Gerry Cooney, American boxer
1957 – Brooks D. Simpson, American historian
1957 – John Wark, Scottish footballer
1958 – Ian Broudie, English music producer and Lightning Seeds vocalist
1958 – Allison Hedge Coke, American poet and writer
1958 – Mary Decker, American athlete
1958 – Kym Karath, American actress
1959 – Robbin Crosby, American musician (Ratt) (d. 2002)
1959 – John Gormley, Irish politician
1960 – Dean Malenko, American professional wrestler
1960 – Bernard Rose, English director
1960 – Tim Winton, Australian author
1960 – José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, Spanish prime minister
1961 – Barack Obama, American politician, President-elect of the United States
1961 – Lauren Tom, American actress
1962 – Roger Clemens, American baseball player
1962 – Paul Reynolds, British musician
1963 – Andrew Bartlett, Australian politician
1964 – Gary King, British radio presenter
1965 – Dennis Lehane, American crime writer
1965 – Fredrik Reinfeldt, Swedish politician
1966 – Kensuke Sasaki, Japanese professional wrestler
1967 – Timothy Adams, American actor
1967 – Michael Marsh, American athlete
1968 – Daniel Dae Kim, American actor
1968 – Marcus Schenkenberg, Swedish model
1969 – Michael DeLuise, American actor
1969 – Troy O Leary, American baseball player
1970 – John August, American screenwriter
1970 – Jarrod Donoman, American filmmaker
1970 – Steven Jack, South African cricketer
1971 – Jeff Gordon, American race car driver
1972 – Stefan Brogren, Canadian actor
1973 – Eva Amaral, Spanish singer and songwriter
1973 – Xavier Marchand, French swimmer
1974 – Kily González, Argentine footballer
1974 – Keenan Milton, Professional Skater
1975 – Andy Hallett, American actor
1975 – Daniella van Graas, Dutch model and actress
1976 – Andrew McLeod, Australian footballer
1977 – Frankie Kazarian, American professional wrestler
1977 – Luís Boa Morte, Portuguese footballer
1978 – Kurt Busch, American race car driver
1979 – Robin Peterson, South African cricketer
1980 – Richard Dawson, English cricketer
1981 – Frédérick Bousquet, French swimmer
1981 – Marques Houston, American singer and actor (IMx)
1981 – Ben Scott, English cricketer
1981 – Abigail Spencer, American actress
1985 – Mark Milligan, Australian footballer
1985 – Ha Seung-Jin, Korean basketball player
1985 – Luis Antonio Valencia, Ecuadorean footballer
1989 – Ashley Biggin, American actor
1989 – Jessica Mauboy, Australian singer (Young Divas)
1992 – Tiffany Evans, American singer
1992 – Dylan and Cole Sprouse, American child actors
1994 – Mayuko Fukuda, Japanese Actress
Deaths
1060 – Henry I of France (b. 1008)
1113 – Gertrude of Saxony (b. 1030)
1265 – Killed in the Battle of Evesham:
Hugh le Despencer, 1st Baron le Despencer (b. 1223)
Henry de Montfort (b. 1238)
Peter de Montfort
Simon de Montfort, 6th Earl of Leicester (b. 1208)
1306 – Wenceslaus III of Bohemia (b. 1289)
1338 – Thomas of Brotherton, 1st Earl of Norfolk, son of Edward I of England (b. 1300)
1526 – Juan Sebastián Elcano, Spanish explorer (b. 1476)
1578 – Sebastian of Portugal (b. 1554)
1578 – Thomas Stucley, English adventurer
1598 – William Cecil, 1st Baron Burghley, English statesman (b. 1520)
1612 – Hugh Broughton, English scholar (b. 1549)
1639 – Juan Ruiz de Alarcón, Mexican dramatist
1718 – René Lepage de Ste-Claire, lord-founder of the town of Rimouski, in New France (b. 1656)
1727 – Victor-Maurice, comte de Broglie, French general (b. 1647)
1741 – Andrew Hamilton, American lawyer
1778 – Pierre de Rigaud, French colonial governor in North America (b. 1698)
1792 – John Burgoyne, British general (b. 1723)
1795 – Timothy Ruggles, American-born Tory politician (b. 1711)
1844 – Jakob Aall, Norwegian journalist and statesman (b. 1773)
1859 – Jean Vianney, French parish priest (b. 1786)
1873 – Viktor Hartmann, Russian painter (b. 1834)
1875 – Hans Christian Andersen, Danish writer (b. 1805)
1900 – Isaac Levitan, Russian painter (b. 1860)
1914 – Jules Lemaître, French critic and dramatist (b. 1853)
1919 – Dave Gregory, Former Australian cricketer (b. 1845)
1938 – Pearl White, American actress (b. 1889)
1957 – Washington Luís Pereira de Sousa, President of Brazil (b. 1869)
1958 – Ethel Anderson, Australian poet (b. 1883)
1967 – Peter Smith, English cricketer (b. 1908)
1976 – Roy Herbert Thomson, Canadian publisher (b. 1894)
1976 – Enrique Angelelli, Argentine bishop
1981 – Melvyn Douglas, American actor (b. 1901)
1982 – Bruce Goff, American Architect (b. 1904)
1992 – Seicho Matsumoto, Japanese writer and journalist (b. 1909)
1993 – Bernard Barrow, American actor (b. 1927)
1996 – Geoff Hamilton, British gardener and broadcaster (b. 1936)
1997 – Jeanne Calment, French supercentenarian; world s oldest human on record(b. 1875)
1998 – Yuri Artyukhin, Russian cosmonaut (b. 1930)
1999 – Victor Mature, American actor (b. 1915)
2000 – Leslie Glass, American adult film actress (b. 1963)
2001 – Lorenzo Music, American actor (b. 1937)
2003 – Frederick Chapman Robbins, American Nobel Prize Laureate (b. 1916)
2005 – Anatoly Larkin, Russian-American physicist (b. 1932)
2007 – Lee Hazlewood, American country singer, songwriter and producer (b. 1929)
2008 – Craig Jones, English motorcycle racer. (b. 1985)
Holidays and observances
Saint Sithney, patron saint of mad dogs
Saint John Vianney (Jean-Marie Vianney), parish priest, patron saint of priests
New Brunswick, Canada – New Brunswick Day
Toronto, Ontario, Canada – Simcoe Day
