4 February
February 4 is the 35th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. There are 330 days remaining, (331 in leap years).
Events
- 1454 - In the Thirteen Years' War, the Secret Council of the Prussian Confederacy sends a formal act of disobedience to the Grand Master.
- 1783 - American Revolutionary War: The United Kingdom formally declares that it will cease hostilities with the United States of America.
- 1787 - Shays' Rebellion fails.
- 1789 - George Washington is unanimously elected to be the first President of the United States by the U.S. Electoral College.
- 1792 - George Washington is unanimously elected to a second term as President of the United States by the U.S. Electoral College.
- 1794 - French legislature abolishes slavery throughout all territories of the French Republic.
- 1801 - John Marshall sworn in as Chief Justice of the United States.
- 1810 - British Navy seizes Guadeloupe.
- 1859 - Codex Sinaiticus discovered in Egypt.
- 1861 - American Civil War: In Montgomery, Alabama the Confederate States of America is formed by delegates from six break-away United States.
- 1862 - Bacardi founded.
- 1899 - The Philippine-American War begins.
- 1915 - Germany establishes a submarine blockade around the UK and declares any vessel in it a legitimate target.
- 1927 - The first talkie is released - The Jazz Singer starring Al Jolson.
- 1932 - World War II: Japan occupies Harbin, China.
- 1932 - 1932 Winter Olympics open in Lake Placid, New York.
- 1932 - Asteroid 1239 Queteleta discovered by Eugène Joseph Delporte.
- 1934 - Asteroid 2824 Franke discovered by Karl Wilhelm Reinmuth.
- 1936 - Radium E. becomes the first radioactive element to be made synthetically.
- 1938 - Thornton Wilder's play Our Town opens (New York City).
- 1941 - World War II: The United Service Organization (USO) is created to entertain American troops.
- 1943 - Battle of Stalingrad ends.
- 1945 - World War II: President Franklin D. Roosevelt, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Winston Churchill and Soviet leader Joseph Stalin begin the Yalta Conference.
- 1948 - Ceylon (later renamed Sri Lanka) becomes independent within the British Commonwealth.
- 1962 - Ian Fleming's The Living Daylights first published
- 1966 - All Nippon Airways Boeing 727 jet plunges into Tokyo Bay killing 133
- 1968 - Bowie Kuhn becomes the fifth commissioner of Major League Baseball, replacing William Eckert
- 1969 - Yasser Arafat takes over as chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organization.
- 1974 - The Symbionese Liberation Army kidnaps Patty Hearst in Berkeley, California.
- 1976 - In Guatemala and Honduras an earthquake kills more than 22,000.
- 1976 - 1976 Winter Olympics open in Innsbruck, Austria.
- 1977 - Fleetwood Mac releases one of the biggest-selling albums of all time, Rumours.
- 1980 - Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini names Abolhassan Banisadr as president of Iran.
- 1991 - The Baseball Hall of Fame votes to ban Pete Rose.
- 1993 - First public alpha version, 0.2 of DOOM released.
- 1997 - O. J. Simpson is found to be civilly liable for the deaths of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman.
- 1997 - Enroute to Lebanon, two Israeli Sikorsky CH-53 troop-transport helicopters collide in mid-air over northern Galilee, Israel killing 73.
- 1997 - After at first contesting the results, Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic recognizes opposition victories in the November 1996 elections.
- 1998 - An earthquake measuring 6.1 on the Richter Scale in northeast Afghanistan kills more than 5,000.
- 1999 - Hugo Chávez Frías, Venezuelan military and politician, is elected President of Venezuela.
- 1999 - Unarmed West African immigrant Amadou Diallo is shot dead by four plainclothes New York City police officers on an unrelated stake-out, enflaming race-relations in the city.
- 2000 - USS Iwo Jima (LHD-7) launched.
- 2002 - Mozilla version 0.9.8 released.
- 2003 - The Federal Republic of Yugoslavia is officially renamed to Serbia and Montenegro and adopts a new constitution.
Births
- 1840 - Hiram Stevens Maxim, inventor of Maxim Gun (d. 1916)
- 1842 - Arrigo Boito, poet and composer (d. 1918)
- 1871 - Friedrich Ebert, president of the Weimar Republic (d. 1925)
- 1873 - Étienne Desmarteau, Canadian athlete
- 1881 - Fernand Léger, French painter (d. 1955)
- 1897 - Ludwig Erhard, German Bundeskanzler (Federal Chancellor) (d. 1977)
- 1892 - Prince George I, Duke of Westrogothia (d. 1971)
- 1900 - Jacques Prevert, lyricist and author (d. 1977)
- 1902 - Charles Lindbergh, aviator (d. 1974)
- 1904 - MacKinlay Kantor, historian (d. 1977)
- 1906 - Dietrich Bonhoeffer, theologian (d. 1945)
- 1906 - Clyde Tombaugh, astronomer (d. 1997)
- 1913 - Rosa Parks, civil rights activist
- 1914 - Alfred Andersch, narrator and author of radio drama (d. 1980)
- 1914 - Ida Lupino, actress, director, writer (d. 1995)
- 1915 - Norman Wisdom, actor, comedian
- 1917 - Yahya Khan, President of Pakistan (d. 1980)
- 1921 - Betty Friedan, feminist
- 1925 - Russell Hoban, writer
- 1931 - Isabel Martínez de Perón, third wife of Juan Perón
- 1940 - George Romero, horror movie writer, producer, director
- 1947 - Dan Quayle, Vice President of the United States
- 1948 - Alice Cooper, musician
- 1959 - Lawrence Taylor, American football star
- 1962 - Clint Black, country musician
- 1964 - Noodles, guitarist of The Offspring
- 1970 - Gabrielle Anwar, actress
- 1973 - Oscar De La Hoya, boxing champion
- 1975 - Natalie Imbruglia, musician
- 1988 - Carly Patterson, United States artistic gymnist
Deaths
- 211 - Septimius Severus, Emperor of Rome (b. 146)
- 708 - Pope Sisinnius
- 869 - Saint Cyril, after whom the Cyrillic alphabet is named
- 1713 - Anthony Ashley Cooper, 3rd Earl of Shaftesbury, (b. 1671)
- 1781 - Josef Myslivecek, composer (b. 1737)
- 1894 - Adolphe Sax, instrument maker, inventor of the saxophone (b. 1814)
- 1928- Hendrik Lorentz, Dutch physicist and Nobel laureate (b. 1853)
- 1933 - Archibald Sayce, educator (b. 1846)
- 1936 - Wilhelm Gustloff, German leader of the Swiss Nazi party (b. 1895)
- 1958 - Henry Kuttner, science fiction author (b. 1915)
- 1968 - Neal Cassady, writer (b. 1926)
- 1969 - Thelma Ritter, actress (b. 1905)
- 1975 - Louis Jordan, musician (b. 1908)
- 1978 - Bergen Evans, television host
- 1983 - Karen Carpenter, singer, musician (Carpenters) (b. 1950)
- 1987 - Liberace, musician (b. 1919)
- 1987 - Carl Rogers, psychologist (b. 1902)
- 1995 - Patricia Highsmith, author (b. 1921)
- 2001 - Iannis Xenakis, Greek/French composer (b. 1922)
Holidays and observances
February 3 - February 5 - January 4 - March 4 -- listing of all days
