On This Day

What Happened on

A complete timeline of historical events, famous births, notable deaths, and holidays that occurred on May 4 throughout history.

109

Events

7

Births

5

Deaths

Historical Events on May 4

Battle of Tewkesbury, Gloucestershire: Final battle between the Houses of Lancaster and York sees Prince of Wales, Edwar

Battle of Tewkesbury, Gloucestershire: Final battle between the Houses of Lancaster and York sees Prince of Wales, Edward of Westminster, killed and King Edward IV return to his throne, restoring political stability to England until his death in 1483

Spanish Pope Alexander VI decrees in the papal bull "Inter caetera" that all lands west of a line 100 leagues west of an

Spanish Pope Alexander VI decrees in the papal bull "Inter caetera" that all lands west of a line 100 leagues west of any of the islands of the Azores or the Cape Verde Islands belong to Castile, ultimately dividing the Americas between Spain and Portugal

King Ferdinand VII of Spain signs the Decree of the 4th of May, returning Spain to absolutism

King Ferdinand VII of Spain signs the Decree of the 4th of May, returning Spain to absolutism

United States begins construction of the Panama Canal

The Panama Canal (Spanish: Canal de Panamá) is an artificial 82-kilometer (51-mile) waterway in Panama that connects the Caribbean Sea with the Pacific Ocean.

Margaret Thatcher becomes the first woman to be elected Prime Minister of the United Kingdom

Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher, was a British stateswoman who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990 and Leader of the Conservative Party from 1975 to 1990.

Seth MacFarlane reaches an agreement worth $100 million with Fox to keep "Family Guy" and "American Dad" on television u

Seth MacFarlane reaches an agreement worth $100 million with Fox to keep "Family Guy" and "American Dad" on television until 2012, making him the world's highest-paid television writer

First Grammy Awards: Perry Como and Ella Fitzgerald win major awards

First Grammy Awards: Perry Como and Ella Fitzgerald win major awards

Cincinnati Red Stockings play their first official baseball game, defeating the Great Western Base Ball Club 45-9

Cincinnati Red Stockings play their first official baseball game, defeating the Great Western Base Ball Club 45-9

Los Angeles Mayor Tom Bradley (23) weds Ethel Arnold

Los Angeles Mayor Tom Bradley (23) weds Ethel Arnold

Baseball player Ted Williams marries Doris Soule (divorced 1954)

Baseball player Ted Williams marries Doris Soule (divorced 1954)

Canadian actor Christopher Plummer (32) weds second wife, British columnist Patricia Lewis at the Marylebone Registry of

Canadian actor Christopher Plummer (32) weds second wife, British columnist Patricia Lewis at the Marylebone Registry office in London

Augustinian monastic order constituted at the Lecceto Monastery when Pope Alexander IV issues papal bull Licet ecclesiae

Augustinian monastic order constituted at the Lecceto Monastery when Pope Alexander IV issues papal bull Licet ecclesiae catholicae

Flemish forces conquer Middelburg in Zeeland

Flemish forces conquer Middelburg in Zeeland

Religious reformers John Wycliffe and Jan Hus are condemned as heretics at the Council of Constance

John Wycliffe (also spelled Wyclif, Wickliffe, Wicklyf etc.; c. 1328 – 31 December 1384) was an English scholastic philosopher, Christian reformer, Catholic priest, and a theology professor at the...

Venice and Turkey sign Treaty of Constantinople

Venice and Turkey sign Treaty of Constantinople

Dutch towns of Flushing and Veere side with Dutch rebels, the Sea Beggers (Geuzen) during the uprising against the Spani

Dutch towns of Flushing and Veere side with Dutch rebels, the Sea Beggers (Geuzen) during the uprising against the Spanish

Peter Minuit becomes director-general of New Netherlands

Peter Minuit (French: Pierre Minuit, Dutch: Peter Minnewit; c. 1580 – August 5, 1638) was a Walloon merchant and politician who was the 3rd director of the Dutch North American colony of New...

Johannes van Walbeeck's fleet of four ships leaves Holland tasked with taking Curaçao from the Spanish

Johannes van Walbeeck's fleet of four ships leaves Holland tasked with taking Curaçao from the Spanish

Battle of Etampes: French army under Turenne beats Fronde rebels

Battle of Etampes: French army under Turenne beats Fronde rebels

Municipality of Ilagan is founded in the Philippines

Ilagan, officially the City of Ilagan (Ibanag: Siudad nat Ilagan; Ilocano: Siudad ti Ilagan; Filipino: Lungsod ng Ilagan), is a component city and capital of the province of Isabela, Philippines.

William IV Prince of Orange appointed Stadtholder of Overijssel

William IV (Willem Karel Hendrik Friso; 1 September 1711 – 22 October 1751) was Prince of Orange from birth and the first hereditary stadtholder of all the United Provinces of the Netherlands from...

Rhode Island declares independence from Great Britain

Rhode Island ( ROHD) is a state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States.

Henry C. Overing buys 80 acres of Throggs Neck in the Bronx

Henry C. Overing buys 80 acres of Throggs Neck in the Bronx

Bourbon reign restored in France

The House of Bourbon is a dynasty that originated in the Kingdom of France as a branch of the Capetian dynasty, the royal House of France.

Netherlands & Britain sign treaty against illegal slave handling

Netherlands & Britain sign treaty against illegal slave handling

The Cunard Steamship Company Ltd forms San Bonifacio

The Cunard Steamship Company Ltd forms San Bonifacio

Great Britain annexes Natal

The Colony of Natal was a British colony in south-eastern Africa. It was proclaimed a British colony on 4 May 1843 after the British government had annexed the Boer Republic of Natalia, and on 31 May...

US state of Michigan ends the death penalty

US state of Michigan ends the death penalty

NY State creates a Board of Commissioners of Emigration

NY State creates a Board of Commissioners of Emigration

War of Reform (Mexico); Liberals establish capital at Vera Cruz

Maximilian I (Spanish: Fernando Maximiliano José María de Habsburgo-Lorena; German: Ferdinand Maximilian Josef Maria von Habsburg-Lothringen; 6 July 1832 – 19 June 1867) was an Austrian archduke who...

Cornwall Railway opens across the Royal Albert Bridge, linking the English counties of Devon and Cornwall

The Royal Albert Bridge is a railway bridge which spans the River Tamar in England between Plymouth, Devon and Saltash, Cornwall.

At Gretna, Louisiana, one of 1st guns of Rebel navy is cast

At Gretna, Louisiana, one of 1st guns of Rebel navy is cast

U.S. Civil War: Battle of Chancellorsville, action at Salem Church; Union Army withdraws

The Battle of Chancellorsville, April 30 – May 6, 1863, was a major battle of the American Civil War (1861–1865), and the principal engagement of the Chancellorsville campaign. Confederate General...

-16] actions at Drewry's Bluff, Virginia

Bellwood, also known at various times over the past two centuries as Sheffields, New Oxford, Auburn Chase, and currently as Defense Supply Center Richmond Officers' Club-Building 42, is a historic...

Battle of Citronelle, Alabama; Confederate General Richard Taylor surrenders to Union General Edward Canby

Richard "Dick" Taylor was an American planter, politician, military historian, and Confederate general.

Woodward's Gardens opens to the public in San Francisco

Woodward's Gardens, commonly referred to as The Gardens, was a combination amusement park, museum, art gallery, zoo, and aquarium operating from 1866 to 1891 in the Mission District of San Francisco,...

World's largest book, the "Kuthodaw Inscription Shrines," recording the whole of Buddhist scriptures on 729 marble table

World's largest book, the "Kuthodaw Inscription Shrines," recording the whole of Buddhist scriptures on 729 marble tablets, is completed and opened to the public in Mandalay, Burma

1st baseball league game (National Association of Baseball Players), (Ft Wayne 2, Cleveland 0) Deacon Jim White gets 1st

1st baseball league game (National Association of Baseball Players), (Ft Wayne 2, Cleveland 0) Deacon Jim White gets 1st hit, a double

John Gordon Cashman publishes the first edition of the "Vicksburg Evening Post" in Mississippi

John Gordon Cashman publishes the first edition of the "Vicksburg Evening Post" in Mississippi

Haymarket riot in Chicago; bomb kills 7 policemen

The Haymarket affair, also known as the Haymarket massacre, the Haymarket riot, the Haymarket Square riot, or the Haymarket Incident, was the aftermath of a bombing that took place at a labor...

Italy and Spain sign a military agreement

Italy and Spain sign a military agreement

Cowboy Bill Pickett invents bulldogging, the skill of grabbing cattle by the horns and wrestling them to the ground

Cowboy Bill Pickett invents bulldogging, the skill of grabbing cattle by the horns and wrestling them to the ground

Wilhelm Kienzl's opera "Der Evangelimann" (The Evangelist), 1st performed at the Neues Königliches Opernhaus in Berlin,

Wilhelm Kienzl's opera "Der Evangelimann" (The Evangelist), 1st performed at the Neues Königliches Opernhaus in Berlin, Germany

First edition of the London Daily Mail, costs a halfpenny

The Daily Mail, often known simply as the Mail, is a British daily middle-market tabloid conservative newspaper founded in 1896 and published in London.

Fire in Paris bazaar at Rue Jean Goujon kills 200

Fire in Paris bazaar at Rue Jean Goujon kills 200

Canadian Currency Act, 1910, receives Royal Assent

Canadian Currency Act, 1910, receives Royal Assent

Italian mariners occupy Turkish Island of Rhodes

Italian mariners occupy Turkish Island of Rhodes

Italy leaves the Triple Alliance with Austria-Hungary and Germany

The Triple Alliance was a defensive military alliance between Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Italy. It was formed on 20 May 1882 and renewed periodically until it expired in 1915 during World War I.

At request of US, Germany curtails its submarine warfare

At request of US, Germany curtails its submarine warfare

A flotilla of US destroyer ships arrive in Queenstown, Ireland, to aid in convoying ships to England

A flotilla of US destroyer ships arrive in Queenstown, Ireland, to aid in convoying ships to England

Demonstrates organised by students erupt in China, after news from the Paris Peace Conference that the Allies intend to

Demonstrates organised by students erupt in China, after news from the Paris Peace Conference that the Allies intend to give Shangtung to Japan

KNX-AM in Los Angeles CA begins radio transmissions

KNX-AM in Los Angeles CA begins radio transmissions

Bloody street battles between Nazis, socialist & police in Vienna

Bloody street battles between Nazis, socialist & police in Vienna

German Republic election: fascists & communists win

German Republic election: fascists & communists win

League of Nations conference on arms control and poison gas usage

League of Nations conference on arms control and poison gas usage

First balloon flight over 40,000 feet takes place at Scott Field, Illinois

First balloon flight over 40,000 feet takes place at Scott Field, Illinois

Mustafa Kemal Pasja becomes Turkish president

Mustafa Kemal Pasja becomes Turkish president

Pulitzer prize for the novel awarded to Harold L. Davis for "Honey in the Horn"

Pulitzer prize for the novel awarded to Harold L. Davis for "Honey in the Horn"

Protestant Douglas Hyde is the only nominee for the position of the first President of Ireland

The president of Ireland (Irish: Uachtarán na hÉireann) is the head of state of Ireland and the supreme commander of the Irish Defence Forces.

21 "non-neutral" Nazis and Communists are arrested in the Netherlands

Portugal was officially neutral during World War II and the period of the Holocaust in German-occupied Europe.

Battle of Coral Sea begins (1st naval battle fought solely in air) between Japanese, US and Australian navies and air fo

Battle of Coral Sea begins (1st naval battle fought solely in air) between Japanese, US and Australian navies and air forces

German forces in Bavaria surrender unconditionally to American commander Jacob L. Devers

German forces in Bavaria surrender unconditionally to American commander Jacob L. Devers

5 die in a 2 day riot at Alcatraz prison in San Francisco bay

San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the fourth-most populous city in California and the 17th-most populous in the United States, with a population of 827,526 in 2024.

Leroy Anderson's "Sleigh Ride" is first performed, by the Boston Pops Orchestra, with Arthur Fiedler conducting

"Sleigh Ride" is a light orchestra standard composed by Leroy Anderson, who formed the idea for the piece during a heat wave in July 1947, and finished it in February 1948.

Plane carrying the entire Torino Serie A soccer squad crashes on the outskirts of Turin, Italy; 31 killed; Torino awarde

Plane carrying the entire Torino Serie A soccer squad crashes on the outskirts of Turin, Italy; 31 killed; Torino awarded League title at the request of their rivals

US performs atmospheric nuclear test at Bikini Island

US performs atmospheric nuclear test at Bikini Island

Alan Freed hosts "Rock n' Roll Show" 1st prime-time network rock show, cancelled after 4 episodes

Alan Freed hosts "Rock n' Roll Show" 1st prime-time network rock show, cancelled after 4 episodes

Alberto Lleras Camargo chosen as president of Colombia

Alberto Lleras Camargo chosen as president of Colombia

"The 400 Blows", French film directed by François Truffaut, starring Jean-Pierre Léaud, is released

François Roland Truffaut was a French filmmaker, actor, and critic. He is widely regarded as one of the founders of the French New Wave.

First Great Delta Dam closes in North-South Beveland, Netherlands

First Great Delta Dam closes in North-South Beveland, Netherlands

CORE begins freedom rides from Washington, D.C.

CORE begins freedom rides from Washington, D.C.

US performs atmospheric nuclear test at Christmas Island

US performs atmospheric nuclear test at Christmas Island

Pitcher Bob Shaw sets record of 5 balks in a game

Pitcher Bob Shaw sets record of 5 balks in a game

"Another World" premieres on TV in the US

"Another World" premieres on TV in the US

Soviet government signs accord about building Fiat factory in USSR

Soviet government signs accord about building Fiat factory in USSR

Lunar Orbiter 4 launched by US; begins orbiting Moon May 7

The Moon is the only natural satellite of Earth. It orbits around Earth at an average distance of 384,399 kilometres (238,854 mi), a distance roughly 30 times the width of Earth.

Dancer Image disqualified due to drugs after winning 94th Kent Derby in 2:02½

Dancer Image disqualified due to drugs after winning 94th Kent Derby in 2:02½

Charles Gordone's "No Place to be Somebody" premieres in NYC

Charles Gordone's "No Place to be Somebody" premieres in NYC

National Guard kills 4 student anti-war protesters at Kent State University in Kent, Ohio

The Kent State shootings (also known as the Kent State massacre) were the killing of four and wounding of nine unarmed college students by the Ohio National Guard on the Kent State University campus...

"The Don't Make A Wave Committee," a fledgling environmental organization founded in Canada in 1971, officially changes

"The Don't Make A Wave Committee," a fledgling environmental organization founded in Canada in 1971, officially changes its name to the "Greenpeace Foundation"

BPAA US Women's Bowling Open won by Millie Martorella

BPAA US Women's Bowling Open won by Millie Martorella

Ed Bullins's stage drama "The Taking of Miss Janie" opens in NYC

Ed Bullins's stage drama "The Taking of Miss Janie" opens in NYC

Schiedam train accident kills 24 people and injures 11

Schiedam train accident kills 24 people and injures 11

US Catholic bishops rescind automatic excommunications for divorced and remarried Catholics (receiving communion still o

US Catholic bishops rescind automatic excommunications for divorced and remarried Catholics (receiving communion still outlawed if the previous marriages were not annulled by Church tribunals)

Russian leader Brezhnev visits West-Germany

Russian leader Brezhnev visits West-Germany

Dodgers bat out of order against Phillies in 1st inning

Dodgers bat out of order against Phillies in 1st inning

Rockline premieres on KLOS FM in Los Angeles

Rockline premieres on KLOS FM in Los Angeles

British destroyer HMS Sheffield hit by Exocet rocket off Falkland Islands: 20 of her crew died.

British destroyer HMS Sheffield hit by Exocet rocket off Falkland Islands: 20 of her crew died.

China performs nuclear test at Lop Nor, PRC

China performs nuclear test at Lop Nor, PRC

President Babrak Karmal resigns as party leader of Afghanistan

Babrak Karmal was an Afghan communist revolutionary and politician who was the leader of Afghanistan, serving in the post of general secretary of the People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan from...

Dufuna Canoe - the oldest known boat in Africa, 8,000-8,500 years old, is discovered in Dufuna, northeastern, Nigeria [1

Dufuna Canoe - the oldest known boat in Africa, 8,000-8,500 years old, is discovered in Dufuna, northeastern, Nigeria [1]

PEPCON chemical plant in Henderson, Nevada explodes killing 2 and injuring 372 causing damage within 10-mile (16 km) rad

PEPCON chemical plant in Henderson, Nevada explodes killing 2 and injuring 372 causing damage within 10-mile (16 km) radius

Junior Felix of Toronto Blue Jays becomes 53rd MLB player to hit HR on 1st at bat

Junior Felix of Toronto Blue Jays becomes 53rd MLB player to hit HR on 1st at bat

ABC Masters Bowling Tournament won by Doug Kent

Doug Kent is a right-handed American professional ten-pin bowler, a member of the Professional Bowlers Association (PBA), and a PBA and USBC Hall of Famer.

"I Saw the Light" single released by Wynonna (Billboard Song of the Year, 1992)

"I Saw the Light" is a song by American country music artist Wynonna Judd, released on May 4, 1992, as the second official single from her self-titled debut studio album (1992).

Greg Pavlik one-hits Tigers making the Rangers 1st AL team to pitch back-to-back one-hitters since the Washington Senato

Greg Pavlik one-hits Tigers making the Rangers 1st AL team to pitch back-to-back one-hitters since the Washington Senators in 1917

Ken Livingstone becomes the first Mayor of London

Kenneth Robert Livingstone is an English politician who served as the Leader of the Greater London Council (GLC) from 1981 until the council was abolished in 1986, and as the first mayor of London...

The Milwaukee Art Museum addition, the first Santiago Calatrava-designed structure in the United States, opens to the pu

The Milwaukee Art Museum addition, the first Santiago Calatrava-designed structure in the United States, opens to the public

Greensburg, Kansas is almost completely destroyed by a 1.7m wide EF-5 tornado

Greensburg, Kansas is almost completely destroyed by a 1.7m wide EF-5 tornado

14 decapitated bodies and 9 hung from a bridge are found in Nuevo Laredo, Mexico

14 decapitated bodies and 9 hung from a bridge are found in Nuevo Laredo, Mexico

39 people are killed at a funeral in Wukari, Nigeria

39 people are killed at a funeral in Wukari, Nigeria

Juan Carlos Varela is elected President of Panama

Juan Carlos Varela is elected President of Panama

Ohio Governor John Kasich bows out of the race for US Republican Presidential nominee

This article contains the results of the 2016 Republican presidential primaries and caucuses, the processes by which the Republican Party selected delegates to attend the 2016 Republican National...

California overtakes Great Britain to become the worlds fifth largest economy

California () is a state in the Western United States that lies on the Pacific Coast.

Countries in Europe begin cautious reopening after COVID-19 lockdown, Italy restarts construction and takeaways, Germany

Countries in Europe begin cautious reopening after COVID-19 lockdown, Italy restarts construction and takeaways, Germany reopens schools

Malian woman Halima Cisse gives birth to nonuplets (nine babies) in Morocco, in only the third known case worldwide

Malian woman Halima Cisse gives birth to nonuplets (nine babies) in Morocco, in only the third known case worldwide

"'World's most dangerous trafficker" Colombian drug kingpin Dairo Antonio Úsuga (known as Otoniel) is extradited to the

"'World's most dangerous trafficker" Colombian drug kingpin Dairo Antonio Úsuga (known as Otoniel) is extradited to the US for drug charges [1]

"Primary" Trust" written by Eboni Booth and starring William Jackson Harper premieres at the Roundabout Theater in New Y

"Primary" Trust" written by Eboni Booth and starring William Jackson Harper premieres at the Roundabout Theater in New York - 2024 Pulitzer Prize for Drama [1]

Nearly three weeks of uninterrupted 24-hour live streaming (478 hours) of Sweden's 'Great Moose Migration' end after moo

Nearly three weeks of uninterrupted 24-hour live streaming (478 hours) of Sweden's 'Great Moose Migration' end after moose cross the Ångerman River [1]

Famous Births on May 4

Notable Deaths on May 4

Frequently Asked Questions

What happened on May 4, 1471?
Battle of Tewkesbury, Gloucestershire: Final battle between the Houses of Lancaster and York sees Prince of Wales, Edward of Westminster, killed and King Edward IV return to his throne, restoring political stability to England until his death in 1483
What happened on May 4, 1493?
Spanish Pope Alexander VI decrees in the papal bull "Inter caetera" that all lands west of a line 100 leagues west of any of the islands of the Azores or the Cape Verde Islands belong to Castile, ultimately dividing the Americas between Spain and Portugal
What happened on May 4, 1814?
King Ferdinand VII of Spain signs the Decree of the 4th of May, returning Spain to absolutism
What happened on May 4, 1904?
The Panama Canal (Spanish: Canal de Panamá) is an artificial 82-kilometer (51-mile) waterway in Panama that connects the Caribbean Sea with the Pacific Ocean.
What happened on May 4, 1979?
Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher, was a British stateswoman who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990 and Leader of the Conservative Party from 1975 to 1990.

Complete Timeline — May 4 Through the Ages

  1. Augustinian monastic order constituted at the Lecceto Monastery when Pope Alexander IV issues papal bull Licet ecclesiae

    Augustinian monastic order constituted at the Lecceto Monastery when Pope Alexander IV issues papal bull Licet ecclesiae catholicae

  2. Flemish forces conquer Middelburg in Zeeland

    Flemish forces conquer Middelburg in Zeeland

  3. Religious reformers John Wycliffe and Jan Hus are condemned as heretics at the Council of Constance

    John Wycliffe (also spelled Wyclif, Wickliffe, Wicklyf etc.; c. 1328 – 31 December 1384) was an English scholastic philosopher, Christian reformer, Catholic priest, and a theology professor at the...

  4. Battle of Tewkesbury, Gloucestershire: Final battle between the Houses of Lancaster and York sees Prince of Wales, Edwar

    Battle of Tewkesbury, Gloucestershire: Final battle between the Houses of Lancaster and York sees Prince of Wales, Edward of Westminster, killed and King Edward IV return to his throne, restoring political stability to England until his death in 1483

  5. Spanish Pope Alexander VI decrees in the papal bull "Inter caetera" that all lands west of a line 100 leagues west of an

    Spanish Pope Alexander VI decrees in the papal bull "Inter caetera" that all lands west of a line 100 leagues west of any of the islands of the Azores or the Cape Verde Islands belong to Castile, ultimately dividing the Americas between Spain and Portugal

  6. Venice and Turkey sign Treaty of Constantinople

    Venice and Turkey sign Treaty of Constantinople

  7. Dutch towns of Flushing and Veere side with Dutch rebels, the Sea Beggers (Geuzen) during the uprising against the Spani

    Dutch towns of Flushing and Veere side with Dutch rebels, the Sea Beggers (Geuzen) during the uprising against the Spanish

  8. Peter Minuit becomes director-general of New Netherlands

    Peter Minuit (French: Pierre Minuit, Dutch: Peter Minnewit; c. 1580 – August 5, 1638) was a Walloon merchant and politician who was the 3rd director of the Dutch North American colony of New...

  9. Johannes van Walbeeck's fleet of four ships leaves Holland tasked with taking Curaçao from the Spanish

    Johannes van Walbeeck's fleet of four ships leaves Holland tasked with taking Curaçao from the Spanish

  10. Battle of Etampes: French army under Turenne beats Fronde rebels

    Battle of Etampes: French army under Turenne beats Fronde rebels

  11. Municipality of Ilagan is founded in the Philippines

    Ilagan, officially the City of Ilagan (Ibanag: Siudad nat Ilagan; Ilocano: Siudad ti Ilagan; Filipino: Lungsod ng Ilagan), is a component city and capital of the province of Isabela, Philippines.

  12. William IV Prince of Orange appointed Stadtholder of Overijssel

    William IV (Willem Karel Hendrik Friso; 1 September 1711 – 22 October 1751) was Prince of Orange from birth and the first hereditary stadtholder of all the United Provinces of the Netherlands from...

  13. Rhode Island declares independence from Great Britain

    Rhode Island ( ROHD) is a state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States.

  14. Horace Mann is born

    Horace Mann, American educational reformer and politician, known for american educational reformer and politician, was born on 1796-05-04.

  15. Tipu Sultan dies

    Tipu Sultan dies

  16. Henry C. Overing buys 80 acres of Throggs Neck in the Bronx

    Henry C. Overing buys 80 acres of Throggs Neck in the Bronx

  17. King Ferdinand VII of Spain signs the Decree of the 4th of May, returning Spain to absolutism

    King Ferdinand VII of Spain signs the Decree of the 4th of May, returning Spain to absolutism

  18. Bourbon reign restored in France

    The House of Bourbon is a dynasty that originated in the Kingdom of France as a branch of the Capetian dynasty, the royal House of France.

  19. Netherlands & Britain sign treaty against illegal slave handling

    Netherlands & Britain sign treaty against illegal slave handling

  20. The Cunard Steamship Company Ltd forms San Bonifacio

    The Cunard Steamship Company Ltd forms San Bonifacio

  21. Great Britain annexes Natal

    The Colony of Natal was a British colony in south-eastern Africa. It was proclaimed a British colony on 4 May 1843 after the British government had annexed the Boer Republic of Natalia, and on 31 May...

  22. US state of Michigan ends the death penalty

    US state of Michigan ends the death penalty

  23. NY State creates a Board of Commissioners of Emigration

    NY State creates a Board of Commissioners of Emigration

  24. War of Reform (Mexico); Liberals establish capital at Vera Cruz

    Maximilian I (Spanish: Fernando Maximiliano José María de Habsburgo-Lorena; German: Ferdinand Maximilian Josef Maria von Habsburg-Lothringen; 6 July 1832 – 19 June 1867) was an Austrian archduke who...

  25. Aimé Bonpland dies

    Aimé Bonpland, French explorer and botanist, known for french explorer and botanist, died on 1858-05-04.

  26. Cornwall Railway opens across the Royal Albert Bridge, linking the English counties of Devon and Cornwall

    The Royal Albert Bridge is a railway bridge which spans the River Tamar in England between Plymouth, Devon and Saltash, Cornwall.

  27. At Gretna, Louisiana, one of 1st guns of Rebel navy is cast

    At Gretna, Louisiana, one of 1st guns of Rebel navy is cast

  28. U.S. Civil War: Battle of Chancellorsville, action at Salem Church; Union Army withdraws

    The Battle of Chancellorsville, April 30 – May 6, 1863, was a major battle of the American Civil War (1861–1865), and the principal engagement of the Chancellorsville campaign. Confederate General...

  29. -16] actions at Drewry's Bluff, Virginia

    Bellwood, also known at various times over the past two centuries as Sheffields, New Oxford, Auburn Chase, and currently as Defense Supply Center Richmond Officers' Club-Building 42, is a historic...

  30. Battle of Citronelle, Alabama; Confederate General Richard Taylor surrenders to Union General Edward Canby

    Richard "Dick" Taylor was an American planter, politician, military historian, and Confederate general.

  31. Woodward's Gardens opens to the public in San Francisco

    Woodward's Gardens, commonly referred to as The Gardens, was a combination amusement park, museum, art gallery, zoo, and aquarium operating from 1866 to 1891 in the Mission District of San Francisco,...

  32. World's largest book, the "Kuthodaw Inscription Shrines," recording the whole of Buddhist scriptures on 729 marble table

    World's largest book, the "Kuthodaw Inscription Shrines," recording the whole of Buddhist scriptures on 729 marble tablets, is completed and opened to the public in Mandalay, Burma

  33. Cincinnati Red Stockings play their first official baseball game, defeating the Great Western Base Ball Club 45-9

    Cincinnati Red Stockings play their first official baseball game, defeating the Great Western Base Ball Club 45-9

  34. 1st baseball league game (National Association of Baseball Players), (Ft Wayne 2, Cleveland 0) Deacon Jim White gets 1st

    1st baseball league game (National Association of Baseball Players), (Ft Wayne 2, Cleveland 0) Deacon Jim White gets 1st hit, a double

  35. John Gordon Cashman publishes the first edition of the "Vicksburg Evening Post" in Mississippi

    John Gordon Cashman publishes the first edition of the "Vicksburg Evening Post" in Mississippi

  36. Haymarket riot in Chicago; bomb kills 7 policemen

    The Haymarket affair, also known as the Haymarket massacre, the Haymarket riot, the Haymarket Square riot, or the Haymarket Incident, was the aftermath of a bombing that took place at a labor...

  37. Italy and Spain sign a military agreement

    Italy and Spain sign a military agreement

  38. Cowboy Bill Pickett invents bulldogging, the skill of grabbing cattle by the horns and wrestling them to the ground

    Cowboy Bill Pickett invents bulldogging, the skill of grabbing cattle by the horns and wrestling them to the ground

  39. Wilhelm Kienzl's opera "Der Evangelimann" (The Evangelist), 1st performed at the Neues Königliches Opernhaus in Berlin,

    Wilhelm Kienzl's opera "Der Evangelimann" (The Evangelist), 1st performed at the Neues Königliches Opernhaus in Berlin, Germany

  40. First edition of the London Daily Mail, costs a halfpenny

    The Daily Mail, often known simply as the Mail, is a British daily middle-market tabloid conservative newspaper founded in 1896 and published in London.

  41. Fire in Paris bazaar at Rue Jean Goujon kills 200

    Fire in Paris bazaar at Rue Jean Goujon kills 200

  42. United States begins construction of the Panama Canal

    The Panama Canal (Spanish: Canal de Panamá) is an artificial 82-kilometer (51-mile) waterway in Panama that connects the Caribbean Sea with the Pacific Ocean.

  43. Umm Kulthum is born

    Umm Kulthum is born

  44. Canadian Currency Act, 1910, receives Royal Assent

    Canadian Currency Act, 1910, receives Royal Assent

  45. Italian mariners occupy Turkish Island of Rhodes

    Italian mariners occupy Turkish Island of Rhodes

  46. Italy leaves the Triple Alliance with Austria-Hungary and Germany

    The Triple Alliance was a defensive military alliance between Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Italy. It was formed on 20 May 1882 and renewed periodically until it expired in 1915 during World War I.

  47. At request of US, Germany curtails its submarine warfare

    At request of US, Germany curtails its submarine warfare

  48. A flotilla of US destroyer ships arrive in Queenstown, Ireland, to aid in convoying ships to England

    A flotilla of US destroyer ships arrive in Queenstown, Ireland, to aid in convoying ships to England

  49. Demonstrates organised by students erupt in China, after news from the Paris Peace Conference that the Allies intend to

    Demonstrates organised by students erupt in China, after news from the Paris Peace Conference that the Allies intend to give Shangtung to Japan

  50. KNX-AM in Los Angeles CA begins radio transmissions

    KNX-AM in Los Angeles CA begins radio transmissions

  51. Bloody street battles between Nazis, socialist & police in Vienna

    Bloody street battles between Nazis, socialist & police in Vienna

  52. German Republic election: fascists & communists win

    German Republic election: fascists & communists win

  53. League of Nations conference on arms control and poison gas usage

    League of Nations conference on arms control and poison gas usage

  54. First balloon flight over 40,000 feet takes place at Scott Field, Illinois

    First balloon flight over 40,000 feet takes place at Scott Field, Illinois

  55. Betsy Rawls is born

    Betsy Rawls, American athlete, known for american professional golfer, was born on 1928-05-04.

  56. Mustafa Kemal Pasja becomes Turkish president

    Mustafa Kemal Pasja becomes Turkish president

  57. Pulitzer prize for the novel awarded to Harold L. Davis for "Honey in the Horn"

    Pulitzer prize for the novel awarded to Harold L. Davis for "Honey in the Horn"

  58. Protestant Douglas Hyde is the only nominee for the position of the first President of Ireland

    The president of Ireland (Irish: Uachtarán na hÉireann) is the head of state of Ireland and the supreme commander of the Irish Defence Forces.

  59. 21 "non-neutral" Nazis and Communists are arrested in the Netherlands

    Portugal was officially neutral during World War II and the period of the Holocaust in German-occupied Europe.

  60. Los Angeles Mayor Tom Bradley (23) weds Ethel Arnold

    Los Angeles Mayor Tom Bradley (23) weds Ethel Arnold

  61. Battle of Coral Sea begins (1st naval battle fought solely in air) between Japanese, US and Australian navies and air fo

    Battle of Coral Sea begins (1st naval battle fought solely in air) between Japanese, US and Australian navies and air forces

  62. Baseball player Ted Williams marries Doris Soule (divorced 1954)

    Baseball player Ted Williams marries Doris Soule (divorced 1954)

  63. German forces in Bavaria surrender unconditionally to American commander Jacob L. Devers

    German forces in Bavaria surrender unconditionally to American commander Jacob L. Devers

  64. 5 die in a 2 day riot at Alcatraz prison in San Francisco bay

    San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the fourth-most populous city in California and the 17th-most populous in the United States, with a population of 827,526 in 2024.

  65. Leroy Anderson's "Sleigh Ride" is first performed, by the Boston Pops Orchestra, with Arthur Fiedler conducting

    "Sleigh Ride" is a light orchestra standard composed by Leroy Anderson, who formed the idea for the piece during a heat wave in July 1947, and finished it in February 1948.

  66. Richard Jenkins is born

    Richard Jenkins, American actor, known for american actor, was born on 1948-05-04. Richard Dale Jenkins is an American actor.

  67. Plane carrying the entire Torino Serie A soccer squad crashes on the outskirts of Turin, Italy; 31 killed; Torino awarde

    Plane carrying the entire Torino Serie A soccer squad crashes on the outskirts of Turin, Italy; 31 killed; Torino awarded League title at the request of their rivals

  68. US performs atmospheric nuclear test at Bikini Island

    US performs atmospheric nuclear test at Bikini Island

  69. Alan Freed hosts "Rock n' Roll Show" 1st prime-time network rock show, cancelled after 4 episodes

    Alan Freed hosts "Rock n' Roll Show" 1st prime-time network rock show, cancelled after 4 episodes

  70. Alberto Lleras Camargo chosen as president of Colombia

    Alberto Lleras Camargo chosen as president of Colombia

  71. First Grammy Awards: Perry Como and Ella Fitzgerald win major awards

    First Grammy Awards: Perry Como and Ella Fitzgerald win major awards

  72. "The 400 Blows", French film directed by François Truffaut, starring Jean-Pierre Léaud, is released

    François Roland Truffaut was a French filmmaker, actor, and critic. He is widely regarded as one of the founders of the French New Wave.

  73. First Great Delta Dam closes in North-South Beveland, Netherlands

    First Great Delta Dam closes in North-South Beveland, Netherlands

  74. Randy Travis is born

    Randy Travis, American singer, known for american singer, was born on 1960-05-04. Randy Bruce Traywick, known professionally as Randy Travis, is an American country and gospel music singer and…

  75. CORE begins freedom rides from Washington, D.C.

    CORE begins freedom rides from Washington, D.C.

  76. Canadian actor Christopher Plummer (32) weds second wife, British columnist Patricia Lewis at the Marylebone Registry of

    Canadian actor Christopher Plummer (32) weds second wife, British columnist Patricia Lewis at the Marylebone Registry office in London

  77. US performs atmospheric nuclear test at Christmas Island

    US performs atmospheric nuclear test at Christmas Island

  78. Pitcher Bob Shaw sets record of 5 balks in a game

    Pitcher Bob Shaw sets record of 5 balks in a game

  79. "Another World" premieres on TV in the US

    "Another World" premieres on TV in the US

  80. Soviet government signs accord about building Fiat factory in USSR

    Soviet government signs accord about building Fiat factory in USSR

  81. Lunar Orbiter 4 launched by US; begins orbiting Moon May 7

    The Moon is the only natural satellite of Earth. It orbits around Earth at an average distance of 384,399 kilometres (238,854 mi), a distance roughly 30 times the width of Earth.

  82. Dancer Image disqualified due to drugs after winning 94th Kent Derby in 2:02½

    Dancer Image disqualified due to drugs after winning 94th Kent Derby in 2:02½

  83. Charles Gordone's "No Place to be Somebody" premieres in NYC

    Charles Gordone's "No Place to be Somebody" premieres in NYC

  84. National Guard kills 4 student anti-war protesters at Kent State University in Kent, Ohio

    The Kent State shootings (also known as the Kent State massacre) were the killing of four and wounding of nine unarmed college students by the Ohio National Guard on the Kent State University campus...

  85. "The Don't Make A Wave Committee," a fledgling environmental organization founded in Canada in 1971, officially changes

    "The Don't Make A Wave Committee," a fledgling environmental organization founded in Canada in 1971, officially changes its name to the "Greenpeace Foundation"

  86. BPAA US Women's Bowling Open won by Millie Martorella

    BPAA US Women's Bowling Open won by Millie Martorella

  87. Mike Dirnt is born

    Mike Dirnt, American musician, known for american rock musician, was born on 1973-05-04.

  88. Ed Bullins's stage drama "The Taking of Miss Janie" opens in NYC

    Ed Bullins's stage drama "The Taking of Miss Janie" opens in NYC

  89. Moe Howard dies

    Moe Howard, American comedian and actor, known for american comedian and actor, died on 1975-05-04. Moe Howard was an American comedian and actor.

  90. Schiedam train accident kills 24 people and injures 11

    Schiedam train accident kills 24 people and injures 11

  91. US Catholic bishops rescind automatic excommunications for divorced and remarried Catholics (receiving communion still o

    US Catholic bishops rescind automatic excommunications for divorced and remarried Catholics (receiving communion still outlawed if the previous marriages were not annulled by Church tribunals)

  92. Russian leader Brezhnev visits West-Germany

    Russian leader Brezhnev visits West-Germany

  93. Margaret Thatcher becomes the first woman to be elected Prime Minister of the United Kingdom

    Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher, was a British stateswoman who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990 and Leader of the Conservative Party from 1975 to 1990.

  94. Dodgers bat out of order against Phillies in 1st inning

    Dodgers bat out of order against Phillies in 1st inning

  95. Josip Broz Tito dies

    Josip Broz Tito dies

  96. Rockline premieres on KLOS FM in Los Angeles

    Rockline premieres on KLOS FM in Los Angeles

  97. British destroyer HMS Sheffield hit by Exocet rocket off Falkland Islands: 20 of her crew died.

    British destroyer HMS Sheffield hit by Exocet rocket off Falkland Islands: 20 of her crew died.

  98. China performs nuclear test at Lop Nor, PRC

    China performs nuclear test at Lop Nor, PRC

  99. President Babrak Karmal resigns as party leader of Afghanistan

    Babrak Karmal was an Afghan communist revolutionary and politician who was the leader of Afghanistan, serving in the post of general secretary of the People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan from...

  100. Dufuna Canoe - the oldest known boat in Africa, 8,000-8,500 years old, is discovered in Dufuna, northeastern, Nigeria [1

    Dufuna Canoe - the oldest known boat in Africa, 8,000-8,500 years old, is discovered in Dufuna, northeastern, Nigeria [1]

  101. PEPCON chemical plant in Henderson, Nevada explodes killing 2 and injuring 372 causing damage within 10-mile (16 km) rad

    PEPCON chemical plant in Henderson, Nevada explodes killing 2 and injuring 372 causing damage within 10-mile (16 km) radius

  102. Junior Felix of Toronto Blue Jays becomes 53rd MLB player to hit HR on 1st at bat

    Junior Felix of Toronto Blue Jays becomes 53rd MLB player to hit HR on 1st at bat

  103. Rory McIlroy is born

    Rory McIlroy, Irish athlete, known for northern irish golfer, was born on 1990-05-04. Rory Daniel McIlroy is a Northern Irish professional golfer who plays on the European Tour and the PGA Tour.

  104. ABC Masters Bowling Tournament won by Doug Kent

    Doug Kent is a right-handed American professional ten-pin bowler, a member of the Professional Bowlers Association (PBA), and a PBA and USBC Hall of Famer.

  105. "I Saw the Light" single released by Wynonna (Billboard Song of the Year, 1992)

    "I Saw the Light" is a song by American country music artist Wynonna Judd, released on May 4, 1992, as the second official single from her self-titled debut studio album (1992).

  106. Greg Pavlik one-hits Tigers making the Rangers 1st AL team to pitch back-to-back one-hitters since the Washington Senato

    Greg Pavlik one-hits Tigers making the Rangers 1st AL team to pitch back-to-back one-hitters since the Washington Senators in 1917

  107. Ken Livingstone becomes the first Mayor of London

    Kenneth Robert Livingstone is an English politician who served as the Leader of the Greater London Council (GLC) from 1981 until the council was abolished in 1986, and as the first mayor of London...

  108. The Milwaukee Art Museum addition, the first Santiago Calatrava-designed structure in the United States, opens to the pu

    The Milwaukee Art Museum addition, the first Santiago Calatrava-designed structure in the United States, opens to the public

  109. Greensburg, Kansas is almost completely destroyed by a 1.7m wide EF-5 tornado

    Greensburg, Kansas is almost completely destroyed by a 1.7m wide EF-5 tornado

  110. Seth MacFarlane reaches an agreement worth $100 million with Fox to keep "Family Guy" and "American Dad" on television u

    Seth MacFarlane reaches an agreement worth $100 million with Fox to keep "Family Guy" and "American Dad" on television until 2012, making him the world's highest-paid television writer

  111. 14 decapitated bodies and 9 hung from a bridge are found in Nuevo Laredo, Mexico

    14 decapitated bodies and 9 hung from a bridge are found in Nuevo Laredo, Mexico

  112. Adam Yauch dies

    Adam Yauch, American musician, known for american musician, died on 2012-05-04. Adam Nathaniel Yauch ( YOWK; August 5, 1964 – May 4, 2012), also known by the stage name MCA, was an American rapper,…

  113. 39 people are killed at a funeral in Wukari, Nigeria

    39 people are killed at a funeral in Wukari, Nigeria

  114. Juan Carlos Varela is elected President of Panama

    Juan Carlos Varela is elected President of Panama

  115. Ohio Governor John Kasich bows out of the race for US Republican Presidential nominee

    This article contains the results of the 2016 Republican presidential primaries and caucuses, the processes by which the Republican Party selected delegates to attend the 2016 Republican National...

  116. California overtakes Great Britain to become the worlds fifth largest economy

    California () is a state in the Western United States that lies on the Pacific Coast.

  117. Countries in Europe begin cautious reopening after COVID-19 lockdown, Italy restarts construction and takeaways, Germany

    Countries in Europe begin cautious reopening after COVID-19 lockdown, Italy restarts construction and takeaways, Germany reopens schools

  118. Malian woman Halima Cisse gives birth to nonuplets (nine babies) in Morocco, in only the third known case worldwide

    Malian woman Halima Cisse gives birth to nonuplets (nine babies) in Morocco, in only the third known case worldwide

  119. "'World's most dangerous trafficker" Colombian drug kingpin Dairo Antonio Úsuga (known as Otoniel) is extradited to the

    "'World's most dangerous trafficker" Colombian drug kingpin Dairo Antonio Úsuga (known as Otoniel) is extradited to the US for drug charges [1]

  120. "Primary" Trust" written by Eboni Booth and starring William Jackson Harper premieres at the Roundabout Theater in New Y

    "Primary" Trust" written by Eboni Booth and starring William Jackson Harper premieres at the Roundabout Theater in New York - 2024 Pulitzer Prize for Drama [1]

  121. Nearly three weeks of uninterrupted 24-hour live streaming (478 hours) of Sweden's 'Great Moose Migration' end after moo

    Nearly three weeks of uninterrupted 24-hour live streaming (478 hours) of Sweden's 'Great Moose Migration' end after moose cross the Ångerman River [1]

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