On This Day: May 4 - Historical Events, Births & Deaths

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50 Events 115 Births 108 Deaths

2023 Nine people are killed and thirteen injured in a spree shooting in Mladenovac and Smederevo, Serbia. It is the second mass shooting in the country in two days. ↗
2019 The inaugural all-female motorsport series, W Series, takes place at Hockenheimring. The race was won by Jamie Chadwick, who would go on to become the inaugural season's champion. ↗
2014 Three people are killed and 62 injured in a pair of bombings on buses in Nairobi, Kenya. ↗
2007 Greensburg, Kansas is almost completely destroyed by the 2007 Greensburg tornado, a 1.7-mile wide EF5 tornado. It was the first-ever tornado to be rated as such with the new Enhanced Fujita scale. ↗
2002 One hundred three people are killed and 51 are injured in a plane crash near Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport in Kano, Nigeria. ↗
2000 Ken Livingstone becomes the first Mayor of London (an office separate from that of the Lord Mayor of London). ↗
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. ↗
1994 Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and PLO leader Yasser Arafat sign a peace accord, granting self-rule in the Gaza Strip and Jericho. ↗
1990 Latvia declares independence from the Soviet Union. ↗
1989 Iran–Contra affair: Former White House aide Oliver North is convicted of three crimes and acquitted of nine other charges; the convictions are later overturned on appeal. ↗
1989 Space Shuttle Atlantis launches on mission STS-30 to deploy the Venus-bound Magellan space probe. ↗
1988 The PEPCON disaster rocks Henderson, Nevada, as tons of Space Shuttle fuel detonate during a fire. ↗
1982 Twenty sailors are killed when the British Type 42 destroyer HMS Sheffield is hit by an Argentinian Exocet missile during the Falklands War. ↗
1979 Margaret Thatcher becomes the first female Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. ↗
1978 The South African Defence Force attacks a SWAPO base at Cassinga in southern Angola, killing about 600 people. ↗
1973 The 108-story Sears Tower in Chicago is topped out at 1,451 feet (442 m) as the world's tallest building. ↗
1972 The Don't Make A Wave Committee, a fledgling environmental organization founded in Canada in 1971, officially changes its name to "Greenpeace Foundation". ↗
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, opens fire killing four unarmed students and wounding nine others. The students were protesting the Cambodian Campaign of the United States and South Vietnam. ↗
1961 American civil rights movement: The "Freedom Riders" begin a bus trip through the South. ↗
1961 Malcolm Ross and Victor Prather attain a new altitude record for manned balloon flight ascending in the Strato-Lab V open gondola to 113,740 feet (34.67 km). ↗
1959 The 1st Annual Grammy Awards are held. ↗
1953 Ernest Hemingway wins the Pulitzer Prize for The Old Man and the Sea. ↗
1949 The entire Torino football team (except for two players who did not take the trip: Sauro Tomà, due to an injury and Renato Gandolfi, because of coach request) is killed in a plane crash. ↗
1946 In San Francisco Bay, U.S. Marines from the nearby Treasure Island Naval Base stop a two-day riot at Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary. Five people are killed in the riot. ↗
1945 World War II: Neuengamme concentration camp near Hamburg is liberated by the British Army. ↗
1945 World War II: The German surrender at Lüneburg Heath is signed, coming into effect the following day. It encompasses all Wehrmacht units in the Netherlands, Denmark and northwest Germany. ↗
1942 World War II: The Battle of the Coral Sea begins with an attack by aircraft from the United States aircraft carrier USS Yorktown on Japanese naval forces at Tulagi Island in the Solomon Islands. The Japanese forces had invaded Tulagi the day before. ↗
1932 Having been incarcerated at the Cook County Jail since his sentencing on October 24, 1931, mobster Al Capone is transferred to the federal penitentiary in Atlanta after the U.S. Supreme Court denies his appeal for conviction of tax evasion. ↗
1927 The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is incorporated. ↗
1926 The United Kingdom general strike begins. ↗
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. ↗
1912 Italy occupies the Ottoman island of Rhodes. ↗
1910 The Royal Canadian Navy is created. ↗
1904 The United States begins construction of the Panama Canal. ↗
1886 Haymarket affair: In Chicago, United States, a homemade bomb is thrown at police officers trying to break up a labor rally, killing one officer. Ensuing gunfire leads to the deaths of a further seven officers and four civilians. ↗
1871 The National Association, the first professional baseball league, opens its first season in Fort Wayne, Indiana. ↗
1869 The four-day Naval Battle of Hakodate begins. The newly formed Imperial Japanese Navy defeats the remnants of the Tokugawa shogunate navy in the Sea of Japan off the city of Hakodate, leading to the surrender of the Ezo Republic on May 17. ↗
1859 The Cornwall Railway opens across the Royal Albert Bridge linking Devon and Cornwall in England. ↗
1836 Formation of Ancient Order of Hibernians. ↗
1814 Emperor Napoleon arrives at Portoferraio on the island of Elba to begin his exile. ↗
1814 King Ferdinand VII abolishes the Spanish Constitution of 1812, returning Spain to absolutism. ↗
1799 Fourth Anglo-Mysore War: The Battle of Seringapatam: The siege of Seringapatam ends when the city is invaded and Tipu Sultan killed by the besieging British army, under the command of General George Harris. ↗
1776 Rhode Island becomes the first American colony to renounce allegiance to King George III. ↗
1738 The Imperial Theatrical School, the first ballet school in Russia, is founded. ↗
1626 Dutch explorer Peter Minuit arrives in New Netherland (present day Manhattan Island) aboard the See Meeuw. ↗
1493 In the papal bull Inter caetera, Pope Alexander VI divides the New World between Spain and Portugal along the Line of Demarcation. ↗
1471 Wars of the Roses: The Battle of Tewkesbury: Edward IV defeats a Lancastrian Army and kills Edward of Westminster, Prince of Wales. ↗
1436 Assassination of the Swedish rebel (later national hero) Engelbrekt Engelbrektsson (27 April O.S.). ↗
1415 Religious reformer John Wycliffe is condemned as a heretic at the Council of Constance. ↗
1256 The Augustinian monastic order is constituted at the Lecceto Monastery when Pope Alexander IV issues a papal bull Licet ecclesiae catholicae. ↗

1998 Alexander O'Connor, English musician ↗
1994 Abi Masatora, Japanese sumo wrestler ↗
1994 Joseph Tapine, New Zealand rugby league player ↗
1992 Victor Oladipo, American basketball player ↗
1991 Brianne Jenner, Canadian women's ice hockey player ↗
1989 Rory McIlroy, Northern Irish golfer ↗
1989 James van Riemsdyk, American ice hockey player ↗
1988 Radja Nainggolan, Belgian footballer ↗
1987 Cesc Fàbregas, Spanish footballer and manager ↗
1987 Jorge Lorenzo, Spanish motorcycle racer ↗
1986 Devan Dubnyk, Canadian ice hockey player ↗
1986 George Hill, American basketball player ↗
1985 Ravi Bopara, English cricketer ↗
1985 Fernandinho, Brazilian footballer ↗
1985 Jamie Adenuga, English MC and rapper ↗
1984 Brad Maddox, American wrestler and referee ↗
1983 Derek Roy, Canadian ice hockey player ↗
1981 Eric Djemba-Djemba, Cameroon footballer ↗
1981 Ruth Negga, Ethiopian-Irish actress ↗
1981 Dallon Weekes, American singer-songwriter and musician ↗
1980 Andrew Raycroft, Canadian ice hockey player ↗
1979 Lance Bass, American singer, dancer, and producer ↗
1979 Lesley Vainikolo, Tongan rugby player ↗
1978 Erin Andrews, American sportscaster and journalist ↗
1978 Igor Biscan, Croatian footballer and manager ↗
1978 James Harrison, American football player ↗
1975 Kimora Lee Simmons, American model ↗
1974 Tony McCoy, Northern Irish jockey and sportscaster ↗
1973 Guillermo Barros Schelotto, Argentinian footballer and coach ↗
1973 John Madden, Canadian ice hockey player and coach ↗
1972 Mike Dirnt, American bass player and songwriter ↗
1972 Chris Tomlin, American singer-songwriter ↗
1970 Will Arnett, Canadian actor and producer ↗
1970 Dawn Staley, American basketball player ↗
1967 Kate Garraway, English journalist ↗
1967 Ana Gasteyer, American actress and singer ↗
1961 Jay Aston, English singer-songwriter and dancer ↗
1960 Werner Faymann, Austrian politician, 28th Chancellor of Austria ↗
1959 Randy Travis, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actor ↗
1958 Keith Haring, American painter (died 1990) ↗
1958 Caroline Spelman, English politician, Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs ↗
1957 Kathy Kreiner, Canadian skier ↗
1956 Ken Oberkfell, American baseball player and coach ↗
1954 Ryan Cayabyab, Filipino pianist, composer, and conductor ↗
1953 Pia Zadora, American actress and singer ↗
1952 Belinda Green, Australian beauty queen and 1972 Miss World ↗
1951 Colin Bass, English bass player, songwriter, and producer ↗
1951 Colleen Hanabusa, American lawyer and politician ↗
1951 Jackie Jackson, American singer-songwriter and dancer ↗
1948 King George Tupou V of Tonga, (died 2012) ↗
1946 John Barnard, English car designer ↗
1946 Gary Bauer, American political activist ↗
1946 John Watson, British race car driver ↗
1945 Robert Machray, American actor (died 2025) ↗
1944 Russi Taylor, American voice actress (died 2019) ↗
1943 Georgi Asparuhov, Bulgarian footballer (died 1971) ↗
1941 George Will, American journalist and author ↗
1940 Robin Cook, American physician and author ↗
1939 Amos Oz, Israeli journalist and author (died 2018) ↗
1938 Carlos Monsiváis, Mexican journalist, author, and critic (died 2010) ↗
1937 Ron Carter, American bassist and educator ↗
1937 Dick Dale, American surf-rock guitarist, singer, and songwriter (died 2019) ↗
1932 Harlon Hill, American football player and coach (died 2013) ↗
1930 Katherine Jackson, matriarch of the Jackson family ↗
1929 Manuel Contreras, Chilean general (died 2015) ↗
1929 Audrey Hepburn – Belgian-British actress and humanitarian (died 1993) ↗
1928 Maynard Ferguson, Canadian trumpet player and bandleader (died 2006) ↗
1928 Hosni Mubarak, Egyptian air marshal and politician, 4th President of Egypt (died 2020) ↗
1928 Betsy Rawls, American golfer (died 2023) ↗
1925 Maurice R. Greenberg, American businessman and philanthropist ↗
1923 Eric Sykes, British actor and comedian (died 2012) ↗
1922 Eugenie Clark, American biologist and academic (died 2015) ↗
1921 Edo Murtić, Croatian painter, sculptor, and illustrator (died 2005) ↗
1918 Kakuei Tanaka, Japanese soldier and politician, 64th Prime Minister of Japan (died 1993) ↗
1917 Nick Joaquin, Filipino writer, journalist and historian (died 2004) ↗
1916 Jane Jacobs, American-Canadian journalist, author, and activist (died 2006) ↗
1916 Richard Proenneke, American soldier, carpenter, and meteorologist (died 2003) ↗
1914 Maedayama Eigorō, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 39th Yokozuna (died 1971) ↗
1913 Princess Katherine of Greece and Denmark (died 2007) ↗
1907 Lincoln Kirstein, American soldier and playwright, co-founded the New York City Ballet (died 1996) ↗
1907 Walter Walsh, American target shooter and FBI agent (died 2014) ↗
1905 Al Dexter, American country singer-songwriter and guitarist (died 1984) ↗
1903 Luther Adler, American actor (died 1984) ↗
1902 Ronnie Aird, English cricketer and administrator (died 1986) ↗
1890 Franklin Carmichael, Canadian painter (died 1945) ↗
1889 Francis Spellman, American cardinal (died 1967) ↗
1887 Andrew Dasburg, French-American painter (died 1979) ↗
1884 Richard Baggallay, English army officer and cricketer (died 1975) ↗
1883 Wang Jingwei, Chinese politician (died 1944) ↗
1852 Alice Liddell, English model (died 1934) ↗
1851 Thomas Dewing, American painter (died 1938) ↗
1843 Bianka Blume, German opera singer (died 1896) ↗
1827 John Hanning Speke, English soldier and explorer (died 1864) ↗
1826 Frederic Edwin Church, American painter (died 1900) ↗
1825 Thomas Henry Huxley, English biologist, anatomist, and academic (died 1895) ↗
1825 Augustus Le Plongeon, English-American historian, photographer, and academic (died 1908) ↗
1822 Charles Boucher de Boucherville, Canadian physician and politician, 3rd Premier of Quebec (died 1915) ↗
1820 Julia Gardiner Tyler, American wife of John Tyler, 11th First Lady of the United States (died 1889) ↗
1820 John Whiteaker, American soldier, judge, and politician, 1st Governor of Oregon (died 1902) ↗
1796 Horace Mann, American educator and politician (died 1859) ↗
1796 William Pennington, American lawyer and politician, 13th Governor of New Jersey, 23rd Speaker of the United States House of Representatives (died 1862) ↗
1796 William H. Prescott, American historian and scholar (died 1859) ↗
1772 Friedrich Arnold Brockhaus, German publisher (died 1823) ↗
1770 François Gérard, French painter (died 1837) ↗
1767 Tyagaraja, Indian composer (died 1847) ↗
1757 Manuel Tolsá, Spanish sculptor and first director of the Academy of San Carlos in Mexico City (died 1816) ↗
1752 John Brooks, American soldier and politician, 11th Governor of Massachusetts (died 1825) ↗
1733 Jean-Charles de Borda, French mathematician, physicist, and sailor (died 1799) ↗
1715 Richard Graves, English minister and author (died 1804) ↗
1677 Françoise-Marie de Bourbon, French noblewoman (died 1749) ↗
1655 Bartolomeo Cristofori, Italian instrument maker, invented the piano (died 1731) ↗
1649 Chhatrasal, Indian ruler (died 1731) ↗
1634 Katherine Ferrers, English aristocrat and heiress (died 1660) ↗
1559 Alice Spencer, English noblewoman (died 1637) ↗
1006 Khwaja Abdullah Ansari, Persian mystic and poet (died 1088) ↗

2024 Ron Kavana, Irish singer, songwriter, guitarist and band leader (born 1950) ↗
2024 Frank Stella, American painter (born 1936) ↗
2021 Nick Kamen, English model, songwriter (born 1962) ↗
2020 Don Shula, American football player and coach (born 1930) ↗
2020 Greg Zanis, American carpenter and activist (born 1950) ↗
2016 Jean-Baptiste Bagaza, Burundian politician (born 1946) ↗
2015 William Bast, American screenwriter and author (born 1931) ↗
2015 Ellen Albertini Dow, American actress (born 1913) ↗
2015 Marv Hubbard, American football player (born 1946) ↗
2014 Dick Ayers, American author and illustrator (born 1924) ↗
2014 Elena Baltacha, Ukrainian-Scottish tennis player (born 1983) ↗
2014 Edgar Cortright, American scientist and engineer (born 1923) ↗
2014 Helga Königsdorf, German physicist and author (born 1938) ↗
2014 Ross Lonsberry, Canadian-American ice hockey player (born 1947) ↗
2014 Jean-Paul Ngoupandé, Central African politician, Prime Minister of the Central African Republic (born 1948) ↗
2013 Otis Bowen, American physician and politician, 44th Governor of Indiana (born 1918) ↗
2013 Christian de Duve, English-Belgian cytologist and biochemist, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1917) ↗
2013 Javier Diez Canseco, Peruvian sociologist and politician (born 1948) ↗
2013 Mario Machado, Chinese-American journalist and actor (born 1935) ↗
2013 Morgan Morgan-Giles, English admiral and politician (born 1914) ↗
2013 César Portillo de la Luz, Cuban guitarist and composer (born 1922) ↗
2012 Mort Lindsey, American pianist, composer, and conductor (born 1923) ↗
2012 Bob Stewart, American television producer, founded Stewart Tele Enterprises (born 1920) ↗
2012 Adam Yauch, American rapper and director (born 1964) ↗
2012 Rashidi Yekini, Nigerian footballer (born 1963) ↗
2011 Sammy McCrory, Northern Irish footballer (born 1924) ↗
2009 Dom DeLuise, American actor, director, and producer (born 1933) ↗
2008 Fred Baur, American chemist and founder of Pringles (born 1918) ↗
2005 David Hackworth, American colonel and journalist (born 1930) ↗
2004 David Reimer, Canadian man, born male but reassigned female and raised as a girl after a botched circumcision (born 1965) ↗
2001 Bonnie Lee Bakley, American model, wife of Robert Blake (born 1956) ↗
2000 Hendrik Casimir, Dutch physicist and academic (born 1909) ↗
1998 Christine Kurzhals, German politician (born 1950) ↗
1995 Connie Wisniewski, American baseball player (born 1922) ↗
1993 France Štiglic, Slovenian film director and screenwriter (born 1919) ↗
1992 Gregor Mackenzie, Scottish politician (born 1927) ↗
1991 Mohammed Abdel Wahab, Egyptian singer-songwriter and mandolin player (born 1902) ↗
1990 Emily Remler, American guitarist (born 1957) ↗
1988 Lillian Estelle Fisher, American historian of Spanish America (born 1891) ↗
1987 Paul Butterfield, American singer and harmonica player (born 1942) ↗
1987 Cathryn Damon, American actress (born 1930) ↗
1985 Fikri Sönmez, Turkish tailor and politician (born 1938) ↗
1985 Clarence Wiseman, English-Canadian 10th General of The Salvation Army (born 1907) ↗
1984 Diana Dors, English actress (born 1931) ↗
1983 Nino Sanzogno, Italian conductor and composer (born 1911) ↗
1981 C. Loganathan, Sri Lankan banker (born 1913) ↗
1980 Josip Broz Tito, Yugoslav field marshal and politician, 1st President of Yugoslavia (born 1892) ↗
1980 Joe "Mr Piano" Henderson, Scottish pianist and composer (born 1920) ↗
1976 Frank Strahan, Australian public servant (born 1886) ↗
1975 Moe Howard, American actor, singer, and screenwriter (born 1897) ↗
1973 Jane Bowles, American author and playwright (born 1917) ↗
1972 Father Chrysanthus, Dutch arachnologist (born 1905) ↗
1972 Edward Calvin Kendall, American chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1886) ↗
1971 William Brown Meloney, writer and theatrical producer (born 1902) ↗
1969 Osbert Sitwell, English-Italian author and poet (born 1892) ↗
1964 Karl Robert Pusta, Estonian politician, 4th Estonian Minister of Foreign Affairs (born 1883) ↗
1955 George Enescu, Romanian pianist, composer, and conductor (born 1881) ↗
1953 Alexandre Pharamond, French rugby player (born 1876) ↗
1945 Fedor von Bock, German field marshal (born 1880) ↗
1941 Chris McKivat, Australian rugby player and coach (born 1880) ↗
1938 Kanō Jigorō, Japanese founder of judo (born 1860) ↗
1938 Carl von Ossietzky, German journalist and activist, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1889) ↗
1937 Gina Oselio, Norwegian opera singer (born 1858). ↗
1924 E. Nesbit, English author and poet (born 1858) ↗
1923 Ralph McKittrick, American golfer and tennis player (born 1877) ↗
1922 Viktor Kingissepp, Estonian politician (born 1888) ↗
1919 Milan Rastislav Štefánik, Slovak general and politician (born 1880) ↗
1916 Ned Daly, Irish rebel commander (Easter Rising) (born 1891) ↗
1916 John Murray, Australian politician, 23rd Premier of Victoria (born 1851) ↗
1916 Willie Pearse, Irish rebel (born 1881) ↗
1916 Joseph Plunkett, Irish rebel and writer (born 1887) ↗
1912 Nettie Stevens, American geneticist credited with discovering sex chromosomes (born 1861) ↗
1903 Gotse Delchev, Macedonian Bulgarian revolutionary IMRO (born 1872) ↗
1901 John Jones Ross, Canadian lawyer and politician, 7th Premier of Quebec (born 1831) ↗
1880 Edward Clark, American lawyer and politician, 8th Governor of Texas (born 1815) ↗
1859 Joseph Diaz Gergonne, French mathematician and philosopher (born 1771) ↗
1839 Denis Davydov, Russian general and poet (born 1784) ↗
1826 Sebastián Kindelán y O'Regan, colonial governor of East Florida, Santo Domingo and Cuba (born 1757) ↗
1824 Joseph Joubert, French author (born 1754) ↗
1816 Samuel Dexter, American lawyer and politician, 4th United States Secretary of War, 3rd United States Secretary of the Treasury (born 1761) ↗
1811 Nikolay Kamensky, Russian general (born 1776) ↗
1799 Tipu, ruler of Mysore (born 1750) ↗
1790 Matthew Tilghman, American politician (born 1718) ↗
1776 Jacques Saly, French painter and sculptor (born 1717) ↗
1774 Anthony Ulrich of Brunswick, Prussian nobleman (born 1714) ↗
1737 Eustace Budgell, English journalist and politician (born 1686) ↗
1734 James Thornhill, English painter and politician (born 1675) ↗
1729 Louis Antoine de Noailles, French cardinal (born 1651) ↗
1684 John Nevison, English criminal (born 1639) ↗
1677 Isaac Barrow, English mathematician and theologian (born 1630) ↗
1626 Arthur Lake, English bishop and scholar (born 1569) ↗
1615 Adriaan van Roomen, Flemish priest and mathematician (born 1561) ↗
1605 Ulisse Aldrovandi, Italian naturalist (born 1522) ↗
1604 Claudio Merulo, Italian organist and composer (born 1533) ↗
1571 Pierre Viret, Swiss theologian and reformer (born 1511) ↗
1566 Luca Ghini, Italian physician and botanist (born 1490) ↗
1562 Lelio Sozzini, Italian Protestant theologian (born 1525) ↗
1535 John Houghton, Carthusian monk and saint ↗
1519 Lorenzo de' Medici, duke of Urbino (born 1492) ↗
1506 Husayn Mirza Bayqara, Timurid ruler of Herat (born 1438) ↗
1483 George Neville, Duke of Bedford (born 1457) ↗
1471 Edward of Westminster, Prince of Wales, son and heir of Henry VI of England (born 1453) ↗
1436 Engelbrekt Engelbrektsson, Swedish rebel leader (27 April O.S.). ↗
1406 Coluccio Salutati, chancellor of Florence (born 1331) ↗
1038 Gotthard of Hildesheim, German bishop (born 960) ↗
1003 Herman II, duke of Swabia ↗
784 Arbeo, bishop of Freising ↗
408 Venerius, archbishop of Milan ↗