Did you know about John Vianney
Canonized a saint in 1925, he is known for his priestly and pastoral work in his parish in Ars, France, resulting in the radical spiritual transformation of the community and its surroundings.
Notable Deaths on August 4
August 4 has 92 recorded notable deaths across history, from 221 to 2024. This focused page highlights 20 people with the strongest available profile context.
1859 — John Vianney
French priest and saint (born 1786)
By thisDay.info Editorial Team · — Wikipedia
Notable Deaths
92 source records
221 – 2024
Today in history
Major events on August 4
See what else happened on this day in history.
- 1944 Under the state of emergency law, the Finnish Parliament elects Marshal C. G. E. Mannerheim as the President of Finland to replace the resigned Risto Ryti. Source
- 1936 Prime Minister of Greece Ioannis Metaxas suspends parliament and the Constitution and establishes the 4th of August Regime. Source
Did you know about William Cecil
William Cecil, 1st Baron Burghley, was an English statesman, the chief adviser of Queen Elizabeth I for most of her reign, twice Secretary of State and Lord High Treasurer from 1572.
Did you know about Lee Hazlewood
Barton Lee Hazlewood was an American country and pop singer, songwriter, and record producer, most widely known for his work with guitarist Duane Eddy during the late 1950s and singer Nancy Sinatra in the 1960s and 1970s.
Did you know about Nuon Chea
Nuon Chea was commonly known as "Brother Number Two" (បងធំទី២), as he was second-in-command to Khmer Rouge leader Pol Pot, General Secretary of the Party, during the Cambodian genocide of 1975–1979.
Did you know about Berengar II of Italy (born 900)
Berengar II was the king of Italy from 950 until his deposition in 961.
More major people who died on August 4
Notable people are ranked by substantive profile depth and public notability.
1598
William Cecil
1st Baron Burghley, English academic and politician, Lord High Treasurer (born 1520)
William Cecil, 1st Baron Burghley, was an English statesman, the chief adviser of Queen Elizabeth I for most of her reign, twice Secretary of State and Lord High Treasurer from 1572. In his description in the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, A. F. Pollard wrote, "From 1558 for forty years the biography of Cecil is almost indistinguishable from that of Elizabeth and from the history of England." He was raised to the peerage as Baron Burghley in February 1571.
2007
Lee Hazlewood
American singer-songwriter and producer (born 1929)
Barton Lee Hazlewood was an American country and pop singer, songwriter, and record producer, most widely known for his work with guitarist Duane Eddy during the late 1950s and singer Nancy Sinatra in the 1960s and 1970s. His collaborations with Sinatra as well as his solo output in the late 1960s and early 1970s have been praised as an essential contribution to a sound often described as "cowboy psychedelia" or "saccharine underground". Rolling Stone ranked Lee Hazlewood & Nancy Sinatra No. 9 on its list of the 20 Greatest Duos of All Time.
2019
Nuon Chea
Cambodian politician and theorist for the Khmer Rouge (born 1926)
Nuon Chea, also known as Long Bunruot or Rungloet Laodi, was a Cambodian politician and revolutionary who was the chief ideologist of the Khmer Rouge. He also briefly served as acting Prime Minister of Democratic Kampuchea. He was commonly known as "Brother Number Two" (បងធំទី២), as he was second-in-command to Khmer Rouge leader Pol Pot, General Secretary of the Party, during the Cambodian genocide of 1975–1979. In 2014, Nuon Chea received a life sentence for crimes against humanity, alongside another top-tier Khmer Rouge leader, Khieu Samphan, and a further trial convicted him of genocide in 2018. These life sentences were merged into a single life sentence by the Trial Chamber on 16 November 2018. He died while serving his sentence in 2019. Nuon Chea was a proponent of what he called "Dialectical Materialist Buddhism".
966
Berengar II of Italy (born 900)
Berengar II was the king of Italy from 950 until his deposition in 961. He was a scion of the Anscarid and Unruoching dynasties, and was named after his maternal grandfather, Berengar I. He succeeded his father as margrave of Ivrea around 923, and after 940 led the aristocratic opposition to kings Hugh and Lothair II. In 950 he succeeded the latter and had his son, Adalbert, crowned as his co-ruler. In 952 he recognised the suzerainty of Otto I of Germany, but he later joined a revolt against him. In 960 he invaded the Papal States, and the next year his kingdom was conquered by Otto. Berengar remained at large until his surrender in 964. He died imprisoned in Germany two years later.
2015
Billy Sherrill
American songwriter and producer (born 1936)
Billy Norris Sherrill was an American record producer, songwriter, and arranger associated with country artists, notably Tammy Wynette and George Jones. Sherrill and business partner Glenn Sutton are regarded as the defining influences of the countrypolitan sound, a smooth amalgamation of pop and country music that was popular during the late 1960s and throughout the 1970s. Sherrill also co-wrote many hit songs, including "Stand by Your Man" and "The Most Beautiful Girl".
1741
Andrew Hamilton
Scottish-American lawyer and politician (born 1676)
Andrew Hamilton was a Scottish lawyer in the Thirteen Colonies who settled in Philadelphia. He was best known for his legal victory on behalf of the printer and newspaper publisher John Peter Zenger. His involvement with the 1735 decision in New York helped to establish that truth is a defense to an accusation of libel. His eloquent defense concluded with saying that the press has "a liberty both of exposing and opposing tyrannical power by speaking and writing truth."
1961
Margarito Bautista
Nahua-Mexican evangelizer, theologian, and religious founder (born 1878)
Margarito Bautista was a Mexican evangelist and religious founder who wrote and preached for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. After converting in 1901, Bautista preached for the church through word and writing for three decades and spent time in Mexico and Utah. During this time, Bautista developed a theology that fused Book of Mormon doctrine with Mexican nationalism, and he claimed Mexicans held a birthright to lead the church and someday the world. The church's Anglo-American leaders often considered Bautista's interpretations out of line with official doctrine, but they became very popular with Mexican Latter-day Saints.
1378
Galeazzo II Visconti
Lord of Milan (born c. 1320)
Galeazzo II Visconti was a member of the Visconti dynasty and a ruler of Milan, Italy. His most notable military campaigns were against Pope Gregory XI, around 1367. These battles fought between the papacy and the Visconti family ultimately ended in a peace treaty. Politically active, he expanded the power of his family, where the Visconti first became hereditary rulers of Milan starting in 1349. He is remembered in conjunction with his patronage of intellectuals and writers, from his sponsorship of Petrarch to the founding of the University of Pavia in 1361.
2005
Iván Szabó
Hungarian economist and politician, Minister of Finance of Hungary (born 1934)
Iván Szabó was a Hungarian politician, who served as Minister of Finance between 1993 and 1994. He joined to the Hungarian Democratic Forum in 1988. He was chosen to the party's presidency in 1990. After the death of József Antall (1993) he served as manager president. Szabó was member of the National Assembly of Hungary since 1990. Between June 1990 and December 1991 he served as the Chairman of the Assembly's Economical Committee. He was appointed Minister of Industry, Trade and Tourism in 1991. He became faction leader in 1994.
1964
Nätti-Jussi
Finnish lumberjack and forest laborer (born 1890)
Juho Vihtori Nätti, known as "Nätti-Jussi" was a Finnish forest laborer. The stories told by Nätti made him a legendary figure, particularly in Lapland. Nätti was born to a six-member family in Karstula, Central Finland, in August 1890. His parents were log driver Juho Nätti and hostess Maija Nätti. He had three sisters. Nätti migrated with other members of his family to the Northern logging sites, and worked there for most of his life. He was a well-known lumberjack who was known in Tervola, Pisa, Muurola and Rovaniemi.
1919
Dave Gregory
Australian cricketer and umpire (born 1845)
David William Gregory was an Australian cricketer. A right-handed batsman, Gregory was the first Australian national cricket captain, leading the side for the first three recognised Test matches between England and Australia in March and April 1877 and January 1879. Gregory was also the captain of the New South Wales team, notably during the Sydney Riot of 1879 when he rebelled against an unpopular decision by Victorian umpire George Coulthard during a game against the touring English team.
1265
Casualties of the Battle of Evesham
Sir Henry de Montfort was the son of Simon de Montfort, 6th Earl of Leicester, and with his father played an important role in the struggle of the barons against King Henry III. Henry's mother was Princess Eleanor of England, a daughter of King John, whose marriage to Simon further increased the foreign influence begun by the king, which was to result in great hostility by those very barons who later revolted against the king.
1265
Casualties of the Battle of Evesham
Simon de Montfort, 6th Earl of Leicester, 1st Earl of Chester, also known as Simon V de Montfort, was an English nobleman of French origin and a member of the English peerage, who led the baronial opposition to the rule of King Henry III, culminating in the Second Barons' War. Following his initial victories over royal forces, he became de facto ruler of England, and played a major role in the constitutional development of England.
1060
Henry I of France (born 1008)
Henry I was King of the Franks from 1031 to 1060. The royal demesne of France reached its smallest size during his reign, and for this reason he is often seen as emblematic of the weakness of the early Capetians. This is not entirely agreed upon, however, as other historians regard him as a strong but realistic king, who was forced to conduct a policy mindful of the limitations of the French monarchy.
2015
Elsie Hillman
American philanthropist and politician (born 1925)
Elsie Hilliard Hillman was a Pittsburgh based philanthropist and a former Republican National Committeewoman. She was the wife of billionaire industrialist Henry Hillman. During her life, Hillman helped to advance the careers of a number of moderate Republican politicians to state and national offices. Among the politicians whose careers she fostered are President George H. W. Bush, Senator John Heinz, and Pennsylvania governors Dick Thornburgh and Tom Ridge.
1999
Victor Mature
American actor (born 1913)
Victor John Mature was an American stage, film, and television actor who was a leading man in Hollywood during the 1940s and 1950s. His best known film roles include One Million B.C. (1940), My Darling Clementine (1946), Kiss of Death (1947), Samson and Delilah (1949), and The Robe (1953). He also appeared in many musicals opposite such stars as Rita Hayworth and Betty Grable.
1997
Jeanne Calment
French super-centenarian; holds records for the world's substantiated longest-lived person (born 1875)
Jeanne Louise Calment was a French supercentenarian who is the oldest person in recorded history whose age has been verified, with a documented lifespan of 122 years and 164 days. Her longevity attracted media attention and medical studies of her health and lifestyle. Calment is the only person in history who has been verified to have reached the age of 120 years.
2014
James Brady
American activist and politician, 15th White House Press Secretary (born 1940)
James Scott Brady was an American journalist, politician, activist and American public official who served as assistant to the U.S. president and the 17th White House press secretary, serving under President Ronald Reagan. On March 30, 1981, John Hinckley Jr. shot and wounded Brady during Hinckley’s attempted assassination of Ronald Reagan, which occurred two months and 10 days after Reagan's inauguration.
1113
Gertrude of Saxony
countess and regent of Holland (born c. 1030)
Gertrude of Saxony, also known as Gertrude Billung, was a countess of West-Frisia by marriage to Floris I, Count of West-Frisia, and countess of Flanders by marriage to Robert I, Count of Flanders. She was regent of Holland in 1061-1067 during the minority of her son Dirk V, and regent of Flanders during the absence of her spouse in 1086–1093.