Today May 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
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.
1471 – Wars of the Roses: The Battle of Tewkesbury: Edward IV defeats a Lancastrian Army and kills Edward, Prince of Wales.
1493 – Pope Alexander VI divides the New World between Spain and Portugal along the Line of Demarcation.
1494 – Christopher Columbus lands in Jamaica.
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 – Municipality of Ilagan is founded in the Philippines.
1799 – Fourth Anglo-Mysore War: The Battle of Seringapatam: The siege of Seringapatam ends when the city is assaulted and the 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.
1855 – American adventurer William Walker departs from San Francisco with about 60 men to conquer Nicaragua.
1859 – The Cornwall Railway opens across the Royal Albert Bridge linking the counties of Devon and Cornwall in England.
1863 – American Civil War: The Battle of Chancellorsville ends with a Union retreat.
1869 – The Naval Battle of Hakodate takes place in Japan.
1871 – The National Association, the first professional baseball league, opens its first season in Fort Wayne, Indiana.
1886 – Haymarket Square Riot: A bomb is thrown at policemen trying to break up a labor rally in Chicago, Illinois, United States, killing eight and wounding 60. The police fire into the crowd.
1904 – Construction begins by the United States on 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.
1930 – British police arrest Mahatma Gandhi and place him in Yeravda Central Prison.
1932 – In Atlanta, Georgia, 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 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: The liberation of the Neuengamme concentration camp near Hamburg by the British Army.
1945 – World War II: The surrender of the North Germany Army to Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery.
1946 – In San Francisco Bay, U.S. Marines from the nearby Treasure Island Navy Base stop a two-day riot at Alcatraz federal prison. Five people are killed in the riot.
1949 – The entire Torino football (soccer) team (except for one player who did not take the trip due to an injury) is killed in a plane crash at the Superga hill at the edge of Turin, Italy.
1953 – Ernest Hemingway is awarded the Pulitzer Prize for The Old Man and the Sea.
1961 – American civil rights movement: The Freedom Riders begin a bus trip through the South.
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, open fire killing four 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.
1980 – President Josip Broz Tito of Yugoslavia dies in Ljubljana at the age of 87.
1982 – Twenty sailors are killed when the British Type 42 destroyer HMS Sheffield (D80) is hit by an Argentinian Exocet missile during the Falklands War.
1988 – The PEPCON disaster rocks Henderson, Nevada, as tons of space shuttle fuel detonates 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 regarding Palestinian autonomy 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.
2001 – The Milwaukee Art Museum addition, the first Santiago Calatrava-designed structure in the United States, opens to the public.
2002 – An EAS Airlines BAC 1-11-500 crashes in a suburb of Kano, Nigeria shortly after takeoff killing more than 148 people.
2007 – Greensburg, Kansas is almost completely destroyed by a 1.7mi wide EF-5 tornado.
2007 – The Scottish National Party wins the Scottish general election and becomes the largest party in the Scottish Parliament for the first time ever.
Births
1008 – Khajeh Abdollah Ansari, The Persian Sufi (d. 1088)
1008 – King Henry I of France (d. 1060)
1649 – Maharaja Chhatrasal (d. 1731)
1654 – Kangxi Emperor of China (d. 1722)
1655 – Bartolomeo Cristofori, Italian maker of musical instruments (d. 1731)
1715 – Richard Graves, English writer (d. 1804)
1733 – Jean-Charles de Borda, French mathematician, physicist, political scientist, and sailor (d. 1799)
1752 – John Brooks, 11th Governor of Massachusetts (d. 1825)
1767 – Tyagaraja, Composer of Indian classical Carnatic music (d. 1847)
1772 – Friedrich Arnold Brockhaus, German publisher (d. 1823)
1781 – Karl Christian Friedrich Krause, German philosopher (d. 1832)
1796 – Horace Mann, American educator (d. 1859)
1796 – William H. Prescott, American historian (d. 1859)
1820 – Julia Tyler, First Lady of the United States (d. 1889)
1822 – Charles Boucher de Boucherville, Quebec politician (d. 1915)
1825 – Thomas Henry Huxley, English scientist (d. 1895)
1825 – Augustus Le Plongeon, French antiquitarian (d. 1908)
1826 – Frederic Edwin Church, American painter (d. 1900)
1827 – John Hanning Speke, British explorer (d. 1864)
1852 – Alice Pleasance Liddell, English schoolgirl model for Alice in Wonderland (d. 1934)
1864 – Marie Booth, the third daughter of William and Catherine Booth (d. 1937)
1870 – Alexandre Benois, Russian artist (d. 1960)
1873 – Joe De Grasse, Canadian film director (d. 1940)
1889 – Francis Cardinal Spellman, American religious leader (d. 1967)
1903 – Luther Adler, American stage actor (d. 1984)
1904 – Umm Kulthum, Egyptian singer (official Date of Birth) (d. 1975)
1907 – Lincoln Kirstein, American impresario (d. 1996)
1908 – Giovannino Guareschi, Italian journalist (d. 1968)
1913 – Lady Katherine Brandram, née Princess of Greece and Denmark (d. 2007)
1916 – Jane Jacobs, American-Canadian author and activist (d. 2006)
1918 – Tanaka Kakuei, Japanese political leader (d. 1993)
1918 – Thomas Mead, Australian politician and journalist (d. 2004)
1919 – Dory Funk, Professional wrestler (d. 1973)
1921 – Edo Murtic, Croatian painter (d. 2005)
1923 – Ed Cassidy, American musician (Spirit)
1923 – Stanley Biber, American physician, pioneer of transgender surgery (d. 2006)
1923 – Eric Sykes, British actor and comedian
1923 – Godfrey Quigley, British actor (d. 1994)
1923 – Assi Rahbani, Lebanese composer and author
1925 – Maurice R. Greenberg, American businessman
1928 – Maynard Ferguson, Canadian musician (d. 2006)
1928 – Hosni Mubarak, President of Egypt
1928 – Wolfgang von Trips, German racing driver (d. 1961)
1929 – Audrey Hepburn, Anglo-Dutch actress (d. 1993)
1929 – Sidney Lamb, American linguist
1930 – Roberta Peters, American soprano
1930 – Katherine Jackson, mother of the Jackson musical family
1931 – Gennady Rozhdestvensky, Russian conductor
1931 – Thomas Stuttaford, British doctor and writer
1933 – J. Fred Duckett, Texan sports announcer and teacher
1936 – El Cordobés, Spanish matador
1937 – Ron Carter, American jazz bassist
1937 – Dick Dale, American guitarist
1937 – Mr. Fuji, Former professional wrestler
1938 – Tyrone Davis, American soul singer (d. 2005)
1938 – Carlos Monsiváis, Mexican writer
1939 – Paul Gleason, American actor (d. 2006)
1939 – Amos Oz, Israeli writer, novelist, and journalist
1939 – Léon Rochefort, Quebec ice hockey player
1940 – Robin Cook, American novelist
1941 – George Will, American writer
1942 – Nickolas Ashford, American record producer, songwriter, and musician (Ashford and Simpson)
1943 – Mikhail Chemiakin, Russian painter
1944 – Roger Rees, British-born actor
1945 – Narasimhan Ram, Indian journalist
1946 – John Watson, Northern Irish racecar driver
1946 – Gary Bauer conservative American politician, former presidential candidate
1947 – Richard Jenkins, American actor
1948 – Hurley Haywood, American race car driver, and three-time winner of the 24 Hours of Le Mans
1949 – John Force, American race car driver
1949 – Stella Parton, American country music singer
1949 – Graham Swift, British author
1950 – Darryl Hunt, English musician (The Pogues)
1951 – Colin Bass, British bassist (Camel)
1951 – Jackie Jackson, American singer and musician (The Jackson 5)
1951 – Gérard Jugnot, French actor, film director, screenwriter and producer
1951 – Mick Mars, American guitarist (Mötley Crüe)
1951 – Tirso Cruz III, Filipino actor and singer.
1952 – Michael Barrymore, English comedian, actor, quiz master and entertainer
1953 – Salman Hashimikov, Soviet heavyweight wrestler
1954 – Pia Zadora, American actress
1955 – Robert Ellis Orrall, American singer
1955 – Avram Grant, Israeli football manager
1956 – David Guterson, American author
1956 – Ulrike Meyfarth, German athlete
1956 – Ken Oberkfell, American baseball player
1958 – Delbert Fowler, American football player
1958 – Keith Haring, American graphical artist (d. 1990)
1959 – Scott Armstrong, American professional wrestling referee
1959 – Inger Nilsson, Swedish actress
1959 – Randy Travis, American musician
1960 – Andrew Denton, Australian television presenter and comedian
1961 – Luis Herrera, Colombian cyclist
1961 – Jay Aston, British singer, star of Bucks Fizz
1961 – Ishita Bhaduri, Indian (Bengali) Poet
1962 – Oleta Adams, American singer
1964 – Mónica Bardem, Spanish actress
1964 – Zsuzsa Mathe, Hungarian painter and visual artist, founder of transrealism
1964 – Rocco Siffredi, Italian porn actor
1966 – Jane McGrath, co-founder of the McGrath Foundation for breast cancer (d. 2008)
1967 – Ana Gasteyer, American actress
1967 – Kate Garraway, English GMTV Presenter
1968 – Julian Barratt, English comedian and musician, one half of The Mighty Boosh
1969 – Micah Aivazoff, Canadian ice hockey player
1969 – Ryan Shamrock, American wrestling valet
1970 – Gregg Alexander, American musician (New Radicals)
1970 – Paul Wiseman, New Zealand cricketer
1971 – Joe Borowski, American baseball player
1971 – Luiz Garcia, Jr., Brazilian racing driver
1972 – Manny Aybar, Dominican baseball player
1972 – Mike Dirnt, American musician (Green Day)
1972 – Chris Tomlin, American musician
1973 – Guillermo Barros Schelotto, Argentine footballer
1973 – John Madden, Canadian ice hockey player
1974 – Miguel Cairo, Venezuelan baseball player
1975 – Laci Peterson, American murder victim (d. 2002)
1976 – Ben Grieve, American baseball player
1976 – Jason Michaels, American baseball player
1977 – Emily Perkins, Canadian actress
1977 – Mariano Pernía, Argentine-Spanish footballer
1978 – Shaenon K. Garrity, American webcomics writer and artist
1978 – Brett Burton, Australian football player
1978 – Erin Andrews, ESPN sideline reporter
1979 – Lance Bass, American singer (*NSYNC)
1979 – Wes Butters, British broadcaster
1979 – Lesley Vainikolo, Tongan born rugby union and rugby league player
1980 – Andrew Raycroft, Canadian ice hockey player
1981 – Eric Djemba-Djemba, Cameroon footballer
1982 – Kleopas Giannou, Greek footballer
1982 – Hector King, Mexican singer-songwriter
1982 – Markus Rogan, Austrian swimmer
1982 – Rasheeda,American hiphop singer
1983 – Trisha Krishnan, Indian actress
1983 – Derek Roy, Canadian ice hockey player
1984 – Manjural Islam, Bangladeshi test cricket player (d. 2007)
1984 – Kevin Slowey, American baseball player
1984 – Montell Owens, American football player
1985 – Anthony Fedorov, American singer
1985 – Ravinder Bopara, English cricketer
1987 – Cesc Fabregas, Spanish footballer
1987 – Jorge Lorenzo, Spanish motorcycle racer
1987 – Anjeza Shahini, Albanian singer
1989 – Rory McIlroy, Northern Irish golfer
1992 – Courtney Jines, American actress
1994 – Pauline Ducruet, daughter of HSH Princess Stéphanie of Monaco
1994 – Alexander Gould, American actor
Deaths
1436 – Engelbrekt Engelbrektsson, Swedish statesman
1471 – Edward of Westminster, Prince of Wales (killed in battle) (b. 1453)
1471 – Edmund Beaufort, 4th Duke of Somerset, English military commander (executed)
1506 – Husayn Bayqarah, ruler of Herat (b. 1438)
1519 – Lorenzo II de Medici, Duke of Urbino (b. 1492)
1566 – Luca Ghini, Italian physician and botanist (b. 1490)
1615 – Adriaan van Roomen, Flemish mathematician (b. 1561)
1626 – Arthur Lake, Bishop of Bath and Wells, English bishop and Bible translator (b. 1569)
1677 – Isaac Barrow, English mathematician (b. 1630)
1684 – John Nevison, English highwayman (b. 1639)
1729 – Louis-Antoine, Cardinal de Noailles, French cardinal (b. 1651)
1734 – James Thornhill, English painter
1737 – Eustace Budgell, English writer (b. 1686)
1774 – Anthony Ulrich II, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg (b. 1714)
1776 – Jacques Saly, French sculptor (b. 1717)
1790 – Matthew Tilghman, American delegate to the Continental Congress (b. 1718)
1799 – Tipu Sultan, Indian military leader (b. 1750)
1811 – Nikolay Kamensky, Russian general (b. 1776)
1824 – Joseph Joubert, French essayist and moralist (b. 1754)
1849 – Hokusai, Japanese artist (b. 1760)
1858 – Aimé Bonpland, French explorer and botanist (b. 1773)
1859 – Joseph Diaz Gergonne, French mathematician (b. 1771)
1880 – Edward Clark, Governor of Texas (b. 1815)
1901 – John Jones Ross, Canadian politician (b. 1831)
1903 – Goce Delchev, a revolutionary from the Balkans – leader of the Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization (b. 1872)
1916 – Joseph Mary Plunkett, Irish revolutionary (b. 1887)
1919 – Milan Rastislav Štefánik, Slovak politician, French general and astronomer (b. 1880)
1922 – Viktor Kingissepp, Estonian Bolshevik politician (b. 1888)
1937 – Noel Rosa, Brazilian songwriter (b. 1910)
1938 – Carl von Ossietzky, German pacifist, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize (b. 1889)
1945 – Fedor von Bock, German field marshal (b. 1880)
1955 – George Enescu, Romanian composer (b. 1881)
1961 – Anita Stewart, American film actress (b. 1895)
1969 – Osbert Sitwell, English writer (b. 1892)
1970 – Allison Krause – Kent State victim (b. 1951)
1970 – Jeffrey Miller – Kent State victim (b. 1950)
1970 – Sandra Scheuer – Kent State victim (b. 1949)
1970 – William Schroeder (b. 1950)
1971 – Seamus Elliott, Irish cyclist (b. 1934)
1972 – Edward Calvin Kendall, American chemist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (b. 1886)
1973 – Jane Bowles, American writer and playwright (b. 1917)
1975 – Moe Howard, American actor and comedian (b. 1897)
1980 – Josip Broz Tito, President of Yugoslavia (b. 1892)
1984 – Bob Clampett, American cartoonist (b. 1913)
1984 – Diana Dors, British actress (b. 1931)
1985 – Clarence Wiseman, the 10th General of The Salvation Army (b. 1907)
1987 – Paul Butterfield, American blues harmonica player (b. 1942)
1992 – Gregor Mackenzie, Labour Party (UK) politician (b. 1927)
2001 – Bonnie Lee Bakley, American murder victim (b. 1956)
2005 – David Hackworth, U.S. Army officer and military journalist (b. 1930)
Holidays and observances
International Firefighters Day
Latvia – Day of adoption of the Declaration of independence
Namibia – Cassinga Day
The Netherlands – Remembrance of the Dead.
People s Republic of China – Youth Day (???, commemorating May Fourth Movement).
Republic of China – Literary Day (???, commemorating May Fourth Movement).
