August 4 in History

Under the state of emergency law, the Finnish Parliament elects Marshal C. G. E.

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.

August 4 spans 52 recorded events across recorded history, from 70 BC to 2020. Below is a curated digest of the most significant moments tied to this date.

By · — Wikipedia

Historical Events 52 events 70 BC – 2020

More major events on August 4

The featured story and these ranked highlights form a quick summary. Every recorded event remains available in the chronology below.

  1. 1936 Prime Minister of Greece Ioannis Metaxas suspends parliament and the Constitution and establishes the 4th of August Regime. Source
  2. 1969 Vietnam War: At the apartment of French intermediary Jean Sainteny in Paris, American representative Henry Kissinger and North Vietnamese representative Xuân Thuỷ begin secret peace negotiations. The negotiations will eventually fail. Source
  3. 1863 Matica slovenská, Slovakia's public-law cultural and scientific institution focusing on topics around the Slovak nation, is established in Martin. Source

Did you know

In 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. This featured entry focuses on the immediate decision and its direct historical impact.

Did you know

The Parliament of Finland is the unicameral and supreme legislature of Finland, founded on 9 May 1906. This helps explain why the event mattered beyond the initial announcement.

Did you know

In accordance with the Constitution of Finland, sovereignty belongs to the people, and that power is vested in the Parliament. This clarifies the institutional and public response around the event.

Did you know

The Parliament consists of 200 members, 199 of whom are elected every four years from 13 multi-member districts electing 6 to 37 members using the proportional D'Hondt method. This shows how the event shaped policy and public communication in the same period.

Did you know

In addition, there is one member from Åland. This helps explain why the event mattered beyond the initial announcement.

-70
The trial against Gaius Verres for corruption is opened, with Marcus Tullius Cicero as prosecutor and renowned orator Quintus Hortensius as defending lawyer.
Roman politician, enemy of Cicero
Wikipedia source
598
Goguryeo-Sui War: In response to a Goguryeo (Korean) incursion into Liaoxi, Emperor Wéndi of Sui orders his youngest son, Yang Liang (assisted by the co-prime minister Gao Jiong), to conquer Goguryeo during the Manchurian rainy season, with a Chinese army and navy.
Series of failed invasions of Korea by Sui-dynasty China between 598 and 614
Wikipedia source
1265 Second_Barons'_War
Second Barons' War: Battle of Evesham: The army of Prince Edward (the future king Edward I of England) defeats the forces of rebellious barons led by Simon de Montfort, 6th Earl of Leicester, killing de Montfort and many of his allies.
1264–67 civil war in England
Wikipedia source
1320 Scone_Palace
The so-called Black Parliament at Scone tries William II de Soules and other nobles who had plotted against Robert I of Scotland and intended to place William on the Scottish throne.
Castle owned by the Earl of Mansfield in Perth & Kinross, Scotland
Wikipedia source
1327 First_War_of_Scottish_Independence
First War of Scottish Independence: James Douglas leads a raid into Weardale and almost kills Edward III of England.
1296–1328 war between England and Scotland
Wikipedia source
1578 Battle_of_Alcácer_Quibir
Battle of Al Kasr al Kebir: The Moroccans defeat the Portuguese but both the Moroccan king Abd al-Malik and the Portuguese king Sebastian die.
Ahmad al-Mansur follows Abd al-Malik as sultan of Morocco while the death of Sebastian leads to a succession crisis in Portugal.
Wikipedia source
1693 Dom_Pérignon_(monk)
Date traditionally ascribed to Dom Perignon's invention of champagne; it is not clear whether he actually invented champagne, however he has been credited as an innovator who developed the techniques used to perfect sparkling wine.
French Benedictine monk (1638–1715)
Wikipedia source
1701 Great_Peace_of_Montreal
Great Peace of Montreal between New France and First Nations is signed.
1701 peace treaty between New France and First Nations
Wikipedia source
1704 War_of_the_Spanish_Succession
War of the Spanish Succession: Gibraltar is captured by an English and Dutch fleet, commanded by Admiral Sir George Rooke and allied with Archduke Charles.
1701–1714 European great power conflict
Wikipedia source
1781 Fourth_Anglo-Dutch_War
Fourth Anglo-Dutch War, a fleet of six East India Company ships sets sail from Fort Marlborough to raid the Dutch VOC factories on the West coast of Sumatra including the major port of Padang.
War between Great Britain and Dutch Republic, 1780–1784
Wikipedia source
1783 Mount_Asama
Mount Asama erupts in Japan, killing about 1,400 people (Tenmei eruption).
The eruption causes a famine, which results in an additional 20,000 deaths.
Wikipedia source
1789 France
France: abolition of feudalism by the National Constituent Assembly.
Country primarily in Western Europe
Wikipedia source
1790 Tariff
A newly passed tariff act creates the Revenue Cutter Service (the forerunner of the United States Coast Guard).
Goods import or export tax
Wikipedia source
1791 Treaty_of_Sistova
The Treaty of Sistova is signed, ending the Ottoman–Habsburg wars.
Treaty ending the Austro-Turkish War of 1787–91
Wikipedia source
1796 French_Revolutionary_Wars
French Revolutionary Wars: Napoleon leads the French Army of Italy to victory in the Battle of Lonato.
1792–1802 wars
Wikipedia source
1814 War_of_1812
War of 1812: The ultimately unsuccessful Siege of Fort Erie begins as British forces attempt to recapture the fort and drive American forces out of Canada.
1812–1815 conflict in North America
Wikipedia source
1821 The_Saturday_Evening_Post
The Saturday Evening Post is published for the first time as a weekly newspaper.
American mainstream weekly magazine
Wikipedia source
1854 Flag_of_Japan
The Hinomaru is established as the official flag to be flown from Japanese ships.
Wikipedia source
1863 Matica_slovenská
Matica slovenská, Slovakia's public-law cultural and scientific institution focusing on topics around the Slovak nation, is established in Martin.
Cultural institution based in Martin, Slovakia
Wikipedia source
1873 American_Indian_Wars
American Indian Wars: While protecting a railroad survey party in Montana, the United States 7th Cavalry, under Lieutenant Colonel George Armstrong Custer clashes for the first time with the Cheyenne and Lakota people near the Tongue River; only one man on each side is killed.
Frontier conflicts in North America, 1609–1890s
Wikipedia source
1887 Granny_(sea_anemone)
Granny, a sea anemone, died in Edinburgh after nearly 60 years in captivity.
Her death was reported in The Scotsman and The New York Times.
Wikipedia source
1889 Great_Spokane_Fire
The Great Fire of Spokane, Washington destroys some 32 blocks of the city, prompting a mass rebuilding project.
1889 disaster in Washington state
Wikipedia source
1892 Lizzie_Borden
The father and stepmother of Lizzie Borden are found murdered in their Fall River, Massachusetts home.
She will be tried and acquitted for the crimes a year later.
Wikipedia source
1914 World_War_I
World War I: In response to the German invasion of Belgium, Belgium and the British Empire declare war on Germany.
The United States declares its neutrality.
Wikipedia source
1915 12th_Army_(German_Empire)
World War I: The German 12th Army occupies Warsaw during the Gorlice–Tarnów Offensive and the Great Retreat of 1915.
German army group on the Eastern Front of World War I
Wikipedia source
1921
Bolshevik–Makhnovist conflict: Mikhail Frunze declares victory over the Makhnovshchina.
1920–21 political and military conflict in southern Ukraine
Wikipedia source
1922 Enver_Pasha
Enver Pasha dies in a skirmish between the Bolshevik Red Army and Basmachi troops, to whom he had defected earlier.
Turkish general and politician (1881–1922)
Wikipedia source
1924 Mexico–Russia_relations
Diplomatic relations between Mexico and the Soviet Union are established.
Bilateral relations
Wikipedia source
1936
Prime Minister of Greece Ioannis Metaxas suspends parliament and the Constitution and establishes the 4th of August Regime.
Wikipedia source
1944 The_Holocaust
The Holocaust: A tip from a Dutch informer leads the Gestapo to a sealed-off area in an Amsterdam warehouse, where they find and arrest Jewish diarist Anne Frank, her family, and four others.
Genocide of European Jews by Nazi Germany
Wikipedia source
1946 1946_Dominican_Republic_earthquake
An earthquake of magnitude 8.0 hits northern Dominican Republic.
One hundred are killed and 20,000 are left homeless.
Wikipedia source
1947 Supreme_Court_of_Japan
The Supreme Court of Japan is established.
Highest court of Japan
Wikipedia source
1964 Civil_rights_movement
Civil rights movement: Civil rights workers Michael Schwerner, Andrew Goodman and James Chaney are found dead in Mississippi after disappearing on June 21.
1954–1968 U.S. social movement
Wikipedia source
1964 Gulf_of_Tonkin_incident
Second Gulf of Tonkin Incident: U.S.
destroyers USS Maddox and USS Turner Joy mistakenly report coming under attack in the Gulf of Tonkin.
Wikipedia source
1965 Politics_of_the_Cook_Islands
The Constitution of the Cook Islands comes into force, giving the Cook Islands self-governing status within New Zealand.
Wikipedia source
1969 Vietnam_War
Vietnam War: At the apartment of French intermediary Jean Sainteny in Paris, American representative Henry Kissinger and North Vietnamese representative Xuân Thuỷ begin secret peace negotiations.
The negotiations will eventually fail.
Wikipedia source
1972 President_of_Uganda
Ugandan President Idi Amin announces that Uganda is no longer responsible for the care of British subjects of Asian origin, beginning the expulsions of Ugandan Asians.
Head of state and the head of government of Uganda
Wikipedia source
1974 Italicus_Express_bombing
A bomb explodes in the Italicus Express train at San Benedetto Val di Sambro, Italy, killing 12 people and wounding 22.
1974 terror attack in San Benedetto Val di Sambro, Emilia-Romagna, Italy
Wikipedia source
1975 Japanese_Red_Army
The Japanese Red Army takes more than 50 hostages at the AIA Building housing several embassies in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
The hostages include the U.S. consul and the Swedish Chargé d'affaires. The gunmen win the release of five imprisoned comrades and fly with them to Libya.
Wikipedia source
1977 President_of_the_United_States
U.S.
President Jimmy Carter signs legislation creating the United States Department of Energy.
Wikipedia source
1983 Jean-Baptiste_Ouédraogo
Jean-Baptiste Ouédraogo, president of the military government of Upper Volta, is ousted from power in a coup d'état led by Captain Thomas Sankara.
Burkinabé politician (born 1942)
Wikipedia source
1984 Republic_of_Upper_Volta
The Republic of Upper Volta changes its name to Burkina Faso.
Former country in West Africa (1958–1984); now Burkina Faso
Wikipedia source
1984
The Ariane 3 rocket is launched for the first time, carrying the Eutelsat I F-2 and Télécom 1A satellites into geosynchronous transfer orbit.
European medium-lift space launch vehicle (1984–1989)
Wikipedia source
1987 Federal_Communications_Commission
The Federal Communications Commission rescinds the Fairness Doctrine which had required radio and television stations to give equal time to opposing views.
U.S. government agency
Wikipedia source
1995 Operation_Storm
Operation Storm, the last major battle of the Croatian War of Independence begins.
1995 military offensive and last major battle of the Croatian War of Independence
Wikipedia source
2006
A massacre is carried out by Sri Lankan government forces, killing 17 employees of the French INGO Action Against Hunger (known internationally as Action Contre la Faim, or ACF).
Massacre of humanitarian workers in Muttur, Sri Lanka, 2006
Wikipedia source
2007 NASA
NASA's Phoenix Mars lander is launched.
American space and aeronautics agency
Wikipedia source
2018 Syrian_civil_war
Syrian civil war: The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) expel the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) from the Iraq–Syria border, concluding the second phase of the Deir ez-Zor campaign.
2011–2024 armed conflict in Syria
Wikipedia source
2018 Crisis_in_Venezuela
Crisis in Venezuela: Seven people are injured when two drones detonate explosives on Avenida Bolívar, Caracas while president Nicolás Maduro is giving a speech to the Venezuelan National Guard.
Socioeconomic and political conjuncture in 21st century Venezuela
Wikipedia source
2019 2019_Dayton_shooting
Nine people are killed and 26 injured in a shooting in Dayton, Ohio.
This comes only 13 hours after another mass shooting in El Paso, Texas, where 23 people were killed.
Wikipedia source
2020 2020_Beirut_explosion
Beirut Port explosion: At least 220 people are killed and over 5,000 are wounded when 2,700 tons of ammonium nitrate explodes in Beirut, Lebanon.
Ammonium nitrate explosion in Lebanon
Wikipedia source

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