April 4: Today in History – Historical Events
Early Centuries – April 4 Historic Events – Before the 1700s
1. 4th April 1541: Ignatius of Loyola became the first superior-general of the Jesuits.
2. 4th April 1558: Tsar Ivan IV today gave parts of North Russia to fur traders.
3. 4th April 1581: Francis Drake who a few months earlier had become the first Englishman to circumnavigate the world was today knighted by Queen Elizabeth I.
4. 4th April 1588: Christian IV today succeeded Frederik II as king of Denmark.
5. 4th April 1655: The miraculous statue called the Infant of Prague is solemnly crowned by the command of Cardinal Harrach.
6. 4th April 1660: English king Charles II sends the Declaration of Breda (freedom of religion).
7. 4th April 1686: English king James II published the Declaration of Indulgence.
8. 4th April 1687: King James II today ordered that his declaration of indulgence be read in church.
19th Century – April 4 This Day That Year – The 1800s
9. 4th April 1812: The territory of Orleans today became the 18th U.S. state. It will now be known as Louisiana.
10. 4th April 1814: French Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte abdicates for the first time in favor of his son.
11. 4th April 1818: U.S. Congress today passed a plan for the US flag. The flag would have 13 red and white stripes and 20 stars. A new would be added for each new state.
12. 4th April 1828: Chocolate milk powder was today patented in Amsterdam by Casparus van Wooden.
13. 4th April 1841: U.S. President William Henry Harrison died of pneumonia barely a month after he was sworn in. He was 68. He became the first president to die in office.
14. 4th April 1841: Vice President John Tyler today became the 10th President of the United States after the death of President William Henry Harrison.
15. 4th April 1848: Thomas Douglas became the first San Francisco public teacher.
16. 4th April 1850: The city of Los Angeles was incorporated today.
17. 4th April 1862: The Battle of Yorktown began in the U.S. as Union General George B. McClellan closed in on Richmond, VA.
18. 4th April 1866: There was an attempt to assassinate Alexander II of Russia in the city of Kyiv, which he narrowly escaped.
19. 4th April 1870: Golden Gate Park was formed today by City Order #800.
20. 4th April 1887: The U.S. today had its first woman mayor when Susanna M. Salter became mayor of Argonia.
20th Century – Important Events On This Day April 4th – The 1900s
21. 4th April 1900: The British garrison of Reddersberg today surrendered to Boer general De Wet.
22. 4th April 1900: There was an assassination attempt on the Prince of Wales, later King Edward VII of England in protest over the Boer War/
23. 4th April 1902: A $ 10 million provision was made in the will of British Financier Cecil Rhodes towards scholarships for Americans to Oxford University in England.
24. 4th April 1905: An earthquake killed an estimated 3,70,000 people in Kangra in India.
25. 4th April 1912: In the Lena gold fields in Siberia army today fired on striking mine workers.
26. 4th April 1912: Chinese republic proclaimed in Tibet.
27. 4th April 1913: Greek aviator Emmanuel Argyropoulos became the first victim of the Hellenic Air Force when his plane crashed.
28. 4th April 1914: The motion picture “The Perils of Pauline” opened today in New York City. This was the first known serialized moving picture.
29. 4th April 1915: Germany today protested vigorously to the US, claiming it must insist that Britain lift its blockade and assert American neutrality.
30. 4th April 1917: The U.S. Senate today voted 90-6 in favor of entering World War I on the Allied side.
31. 4th April 1918: There was a food riot in Amsterdam.
32. 4th April 1918: The Battle of Somme, an offensive by the British against the German Army ended today.
33. 4th April 1920: Arabs today attacked Jews in Jerusalem.
34. 4th April 1926: Greek dictator Theodorus Pangalos was today elected president.
35. 4th April 1930: The Communist Party of Panama was founded on this day.
36. 4th April 1932: Today professor C.G. King of the University of Pittsburgh, after five years of research, succeeded in isolating vitamin C.
37. 4th April 1932: George Bernard Shaw’s play “Too True to Be Good”, today premiered in New York City.
38. 4th April 1933: 73 people died as US Dirigible Akron crashed off the coast of New Jersey.
39. 4th April 1939: Faisal II today ascended the throne of Iraq.
40. 4th April 1941: Benghazi in Libya was today conquered by German troops.
41. 4th April 1944: De Gaulle forms a new regime in exile in association with communists.
42. 4th April 1944: Addis Ababa in Ethiopia was today captured by the British troops.
43. 4th April 1944: About 5000 people were killed in Allied Bucharest bombings targeting railroads.
44. 4th April 1945: Hungry was today liberated from Nazi occupation.
45. 4th April 1945: The U.S. forces today liberated the Nazi death camp Ohrdruf in Germany during the World War II.
46. 4th April 1947: The largest group of sunspots on record.
47. 4th April 1947: Convention of International Civil Aviation takes effect today.
48. 4th April 1947: The United Nations International Civil Aviation Organization was formed today.
49. 4th April 1949: The North Atlantic Treaty Organization was today created by twelve nations signing a treaty to the effect.
50. 4th April 1949: Today Israel and Jordan signed an armistice agreement.
51. 4th April 1953: Fifteen doctors, who were accused of plotting against Stalin arrested before his death, were today released by the Soviet leaders.
52. 4th April 1955: Today the British government signed a military treaty with Iraq.
53. 4th April 1958: The CND Peace Symbol was today displayed in public for the first time in London.
54. 4th April 1958: The first march against nuclear weapons in Aldermaston, England.
55. 4th April 1960: Project Ozma began today at Green Bank Radio Astronomy Center.
56. 4th April 1960: Senegal today declared independence from France.
57. 4th April 1965: The first model of the new Saab Viggen fighter aircraft was unveiled today.
58. 4th April 1966: The US today performed a nuclear test at its Nevada test site.
59. 4th April 1966: Pirate Radio Scotland changes its name to Radio Ireland.
60. 4th April 1967: Amsterdam Marines today chased “Nozems” (rebellious youth) from Central Station.
61. 4th April 1967: The U.S. today lost its 500th plane over Vietnam.
62. 4th April 1968: Unmanned spacecraft Apollo 6 was today launched atop Saturn V.
63. 4th April 1968: Martin Luther King Jr was today assassinated at the age of 39.
64. 4th April 1969: The first temporary heart was implanted by Dr. Denton Cooley today.
65. 4th April 1971: Marine clay under houses liquefies in Quebec. 31 people died.
66. 4th April 1971: The Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia was today dedicated.
67. 4th April 1972: The first electric power plant fueled by garbage begins operation.
68. 4th April 1973: The original World Trade Center twin towers were today opened in New York. They were then the tallest building in the world.
69. 4th April 1975: Steve Miller was today arrested for burning his girlfriend’s clothes.
70. 4th April 1975: Microsoft was today founded as a partnership between Bill Gates and Paul Allen to develop and sell BASIC interpreters for the Altair 8800.
71. 4th April 1975: A U.S. Air Force transport plane evacuating Vietnamese orphans crashed soon after taking off from Saigon killing over 130 people, most of them children.
72. 4th April 1979: The president of Pakistan, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto who was convicted of conspiring to murder a political opponent, was today executed in Pakistan.
73. 4th April 1980: USSR today performed a nuclear test at Eastern Kazakh/Semipalitinsk USSR.
74. 4th April 1981: Henry Cisneros was elected mayor of San Antonio in Texas. He was the first Mexican-American to be elected mayor of a major U.S. city.
75. 4th April 1983: The Space Shuttle Challenger took off for its first flight from Cape Canaveral today. This was the sixth in the shuttle program.
76. 4th April 1984: An international ban on the use of chemical weapons was today proposed by President Ronald Regan of the U.S.
77. 4th April 1985: In a coup in Sudan President Nimeiry was ousted and General Dahab replaced him.
78. 4th April 1987: Doe Jones index went up 69.89 points ending at a record 2,390.34 points.
79. 4th April 1987: The U.S. Today charged the Soviet Union wiretapping of a U.S. Embassy.
80. 4th April 1988: Eddy Hills today became the world’s fastest driver when he drove a quarter mile in less than 5 seconds.
81. 4th April 1988: The Arizona Senate today voted Governor Evan Mecham out of office. He was found guilty of diverting state funds to his auto business and also of trying to impede an investigation into a death threat to a grand jury witness.
82. 4th April 1990: The securities law violator Ivan Boesky was today released from federal custody in the U.S.
83. 4th April 1991: A plane in which Senator John Heinz of Pennsylvania was traveling collided with a helicopter over a schoolyard in Merion PA. The Senator with six others was killed in the crash.
84. 4th April 1992: Sali Berisha became the first non-Marxist president of Albania since World War II.
85. 4th April 1992: The jury deliberations began in the case of Panamin General and Dictator Manuel Noriega case.
86. 4th April 1994: Netscape Communications was founded as “ Mosaic Communications” today.
87. 4th April 1995: Senator Alfonse D’Amato of the United States today ridiculed Judge Lance Ito, mocking his Japanese accent on a radio program syndicated nationally. He later apologized for the act.
88. 4th April 1997: Columbia 22 was launched today.
89. 4th April 1997: Defense Meteorological Satellite Program Titan 2 was launched today.
21st Century – April 4 This Day In History – The 2000s
90. 4th April 2002: The Angolan government today signed a peace treaty with UNITA rebels, bringing the Angolan Civil War to an end.
91. 4th April 2007: The Iranian President today released fifteen British Royal Navy personnel who were held earlier in Iran.
92. 4th April 2008: Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints which owned YFZ Ranch in Texas was raided today. 401 children and 133 women were taken into state custody.
93. 4th April 2012: A suicide bomber today struck Somalia’s National Theatre. Ten people were killed including the presidents of the Somali Olympic Committee and Football Federation.
94. 4th April 2012: German Nobel Laureate, writer, and playwright Gunter Grass published a controversial poem that claims that Israel is plotting to wipe out Iran.
95. 4th April 2012: Serbian President, Boris Tadić, resigned today.
96. 4th April 2013: In Chhattisgarh state in India, nine people were killed on an axe-murdering rampage.
97. 4th April 2013: A building, which was constructed illegally collapsed in Thane, India. 74 people were killed in the collapse.
98. 4th April 2013: A giant tarantula of the Poecilothria genus with a 20 Cm leg span was today discovered in Sri Lanka.
99. 4th April 2014: World Bank President, Jim Yong Kim, today claimed that climate change will lead to battles over water and food within the next five to ten years.
100. 4th April 2017: At an auction in Hong Kong, Pink Star diamond set a world record price of $71 million for a gem.
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