Who are famous people born on May 4?

Famous people born on May 4 include: Joan García, Alexander O'Connor, Shameik Moore.

What famous people died on May 4?

Notable historical figures who died on May 4 include: Ron Kavana, Frank Stella, Nick Kamen.

May 4 in History

Q: What happened on May 4 in history?

On May 4, 2002: One hundred three people are killed and 51 are injured in a plane crash near Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport in Kano, Nigeria.

50 events 1256 – 2023

May 4 spans 50 recorded events across recorded history — from 1256 – 2023. Below is a curated digest of the most significant moments tied to this date.

By thisDay.info Editorial Team · May 4 — Wikipedia

2002 — One hundred three people are killed and 51 are injured in a plane crash near Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport in Kano, Nigeria

Did you know

Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport was originally a Royal Air Force station before Nigeria gained independence.

Did you know

The airport is named after 20th-century politician Aminu Kano, a prominent figure in Nigerian history.

Did you know

A new domestic terminal at the airport was commissioned on 23 May 2011, following construction.

Did you know

In 2009, the airport handled 323,482 passengers, with many traveling for Muslim pilgrimages to Mecca.

Did you know

The airport serves as a major hub for the large Sudanese community in Kano, facilitating international flights to Sudan.

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

Members of religious orders that follow the Rule of Saint Augustine

Augustinians are members of several religious orders that follow the Rule of Saint Augustine, written about 400 A.D. by Augustine of Hippo. There are two distinct types of Augustinians in Catholic religious orders dating back to the 12th–13th centuries:Various congregations of Canons Regular follow the Rule of Saint Augustine, embracing the evangelical counsels and leading a semi-monastic life, while remaining committed to pastoral care appropriate to their primary vocation as priests. They generally form one large community which might serve parishes in the vicinity, and are organized into autonomous congregations. Several orders of friars who live a mixed religious life of contemplation and apostolic ministry. The largest and most familiar is the Order of Saint Augustine (O.S.A.), founded in 1244 and originally known as the Hermits of Saint Augustine (O.E.S.A.). They are commonly known as the Austin Friars in England. Two other orders, the Order of Augustinian Recollects (O.A.R.) and the Discalced Augustinians (O.A.D.), were once part of the original Order under a single Prior General. The Recollects, begun in 1588 as a reform movement in Spain to recover the Order's eremitical roots, became autonomous in 1612. At the 100th General Chapter of the Order held in Rome in May 1592, those seeking reform of their way of life came to be called the Discalced (barefoot) and were authorized to seek their goals as an semi-independent branch. They were raised to the status of a separate mendicant Order in 1610.

1256

Religious reformer John Wycliffe is condemned as a heretic at the Council of Constance.

English theologian (1328–1384)

John Wycliffe was an English scholastic philosopher, Christian reformer, Catholic priest, and a theology professor at the University of Oxford. Wycliffe is traditionally believed to have advocated for or made a vernacular translation of the Vulgate Bible into Middle English, though more recent scholarship has minimised the extent of his advocacy or involvement for lack of direct contemporary evidence.

1415

Assassination of the Swedish rebel (later national hero) Engelbrekt Engelbrektsson (27 April O.S.).

Swedish nobleman and nationalist rebel leader (1390s – 1436)

Engelbrekt Engelbrektsson was a Swedish nobleman, rebel leader and military leader of German ancestry. He was the leader of the Engelbrekt rebellion in 1434 against Eric of Pomerania, king of the Kalmar Union.

1436

Wars of the Roses: The Battle of Tewkesbury: Edward IV defeats a Lancastrian Army and kills Edward of Westminster, Prince of Wales.

Series of civil wars in England (1455–1487)

The Wars of the Roses, known at the time and in following centuries as the Civil Wars, and also the Cousins' War, were a series of armed confrontations, machinations, battles and campaigns fought for control of the English throne from 1455 to 1487. The conflict was fought between supporters of the House of Lancaster and House of York, two rival cadet branches of the royal House of Plantagenet. The conflict resulted in the end of Lancaster's male line in 1471, leaving the Tudor family to inherit, through the female line, the Lancaster claim to the throne. Conflict was largely brought to an end upon the union of the two houses through marriage, creating the Tudor dynasty that would subsequently rule England.

1471

In the papal bull Inter caetera, Pope Alexander VI divides the New World between Spain and Portugal along the Line of Demarcation.

Type of decree by the Catholic pope

A papal bull is a type of public decree, letters patent, or charter issued by the pope of the Catholic Church. It is named after the leaden seal (bulla) traditionally appended to authenticate it.

1493

Dutch explorer Peter Minuit arrives in New Netherland (present day Manhattan Island) aboard the See Meeuw.

3rd Director of New Netherland (1626–31)

Peter Minuit was a Walloon merchant and politician who was the 3rd director of the Dutch North American colony of New Netherland from 1626 until 1631, and 3rd Governor of New Netherland. He founded the Swedish colony of New Sweden on the Delaware Peninsula in 1638.

1626

The Imperial Theatrical School, the first ballet school in Russia, is founded.

Ballet school in Russia

The Vaganova Academy of Russian Ballet is a school of classical ballet in St Petersburg, Russia. Established in 1738 during the reign of Empress Anna, the academy was known as the Imperial Ballet School until the Soviet era, when, after a brief hiatus, the school was re-established as the Leningrad State Choreographic Institute. In 1957, the school was renamed in honor of the pedagogue Agrippina Vaganova, who cultivated the method of classical ballet training that has been taught there since the late 1920s. Many of the world's leading ballet schools have adopted elements of the Vaganova method into their own training.

1738

Rhode Island becomes the first American colony to renounce allegiance to King George III.

British colony in North America (1636–1776)

The Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations was an English colony on the eastern coast of North America, founded in 1636 on former land of the Narragansett tribe by Puritan minister Roger Williams, at a settlement he originally called Providence Plantations, after his exile from the Massachusetts Bay Colony. Joined by three other settlements soon founded on Narragansett Bay, the colony became a haven for religious dissenters and was known for its commitment to religious freedom and self-governance.

1776

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.

1798–99 conflict in the Kingdom of Mysore

The Fourth Anglo-Mysore War was a conflict in South India between the Mysore State against the East India Company, Maratha Empire and the Hyderabad State in 1798–99.

1799

Emperor Napoleon arrives at Portoferraio on the island of Elba to begin his exile.

French general and emperor (1769–1821)

Napoleon Bonaparte, later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was Emperor of the French from 18 May 1804 until his first abdication in 1814, with a brief restoration during the Hundred Days in 1815. He rose to prominence as a general during the French Revolution and led a series of military campaigns across Europe and the Middle East during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars. As a statesman, he implemented numerous legal and administrative reforms in France and Europe.

1814

King Ferdinand VII abolishes the Spanish Constitution of 1812, returning Spain to absolutism.

First Constitution of Spain

The Political Constitution of the Spanish Monarchy, also known as the Constitution of Cádiz and nicknamed La Pepa, was the first Constitution of Spain and one of the earliest codified constitutions in world history. The Constitution was ratified on 19 March 1812 by the Cortes of Cádiz, the first Spanish legislature that included delegates from the entire nation and its possessions, including Spanish America and the Philippines. "It defined Spanish and Spanish American liberalism for the early 19th century."

1814

Formation of Ancient Order of Hibernians.

Irish Catholic fraternal organisation primarily active in the US

The Ancient Order of Hibernians is an Irish Catholic fraternal organization. Members must be male, Catholic, and either born in Ireland or of Irish descent. Its largest membership is in the United States, where it was founded in New York City in 1836.

1836

The Cornwall Railway opens across the Royal Albert Bridge linking Devon and Cornwall in England.

Former railway company in southwestern England

The Cornwall Railway was a 7 ft 1⁄4 in broad gauge railway from Plymouth in Devon to Falmouth in Cornwall, England, built in the second half of the nineteenth century. It was constantly beset with shortage of capital for the construction, and was eventually forced to sell its line to the dominant Great Western Railway.

1859

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.

The Naval Battle of Hakodate was fought from 4 to 10 May 1869, between the remnants of the Tokugawa shogunate navy, consolidated into the armed forces of the rebel Ezo Republic, and the newly formed Imperial Japanese Navy. It was one of the last stages of Battle of Hakodate during the Boshin War, and occurred near Hakodate in the northern Japanese island of Hokkaido.

1869

The National Association, the first professional baseball league, opens its first season in Fort Wayne, Indiana.

American professional baseball league in the late 19th century

The National Association of Professional Base Ball Players (NAPBBP), often known simply as the National Association (NA), was the first fully-professional sports league in baseball. The NA was founded in 1871 and continued through the 1875 season. It incorporated several professional clubs from the National Association of Base Ball Players (NABBP) of 1857–1870, sometimes called "the amateur Association". In turn, several NA clubs created the succeeding National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, which joined with the American League of Professional Baseball Clubs in the National Agreement of 1903, a "peace pact" that recognized each other as legitimate "major leagues". Following nearly a century of cooperation, the two leagues eventually merged into one organization in 2000 as Major League Baseball (MLB).

1871

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.

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 demonstration on May 4, 1886, at Haymarket Square in Chicago. The rally began peacefully in support of workers striking for an eight-hour work day; it was held the day after a May 3 rally at a McCormick Harvesting Machine Company plant on the West Side of Chicago, during which two demonstrators had been killed and many demonstrators and police had been injured. At the Haymarket Square rally on May 4, an unknown person threw a dynamite bomb at the police as they acted to disperse the meeting, and the bomb blast and ensuing retaliatory gunfire by the police caused the deaths of seven police officers and at least four civilians; dozens of others were wounded.

1886

The United States begins construction of the Panama Canal.

Shipping route across Central America

The Panama Canal is an artificial 82-kilometer (51-mile) waterway in Panama that connects the Caribbean Sea with the Pacific Ocean. It cuts across the narrowest point of the Isthmus of Panama, and is a conduit for maritime trade between the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean. Locks at each end lift ships up to Gatun Lake, an artificial fresh water lake 26 meters (85 ft) above sea level, created by damming the Chagres River and Lake Alajuela to reduce the amount of excavation work required for the canal. Locks then lower the ships at the other end. The original locks are 33.5 meters (110 ft) wide and allow the passage of Panamax ships. A third, wider lane of locks was constructed between September 2007 and May 2016. The expanded waterway began commercial operation on 26 June 2016. The new locks allow for the transit of larger, Neopanamax ships. An average of 200,000,000 litres of fresh water is used in a single passing of a ship. The canal is threatened by low water levels during droughts.

1904

The Royal Canadian Navy is created.

Maritime component of the Canadian Armed Forces

The Royal Canadian Navy is the naval force of Canada. The navy is one of three environmental commands within the Canadian Armed Forces. As of February 2024, the RCN operates 12 Halifax-class frigates, 4 Kingston-class coastal defence vessels, 4 Victoria-class submarines, 5 Harry DeWolf-class offshore patrol vessels, 8 Orca-class patrol vessels, and several auxiliary vessels. Officially, the RCN consisted of 7,700 Regular Force and 4,100 Primary Reserve sailors, supported by 3,800 civilians.

1910

Italy occupies the Ottoman island of Rhodes.

Island in Greece

Rhodes is the largest of Greece's Dodecanese islands and their historical capital; it is the ninth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Administratively, Rhodes constitutes a separate municipality within the Rhodes regional unit, which is part of the South Aegean administrative region. The principal town of the island and seat of the municipality is the city of Rhodes, home to 50,636 inhabitants according to the 2011 census. By 2022, the island’s population had grown to 125,113 people. Located northeast of Crete and southeast of Athens, Rhodes is often referred to by several nicknames: the "Island of the Sun" after its patron sun god Helios; "The Pearl Island"; and "The Island of the Knights", a reference to the Knights of Saint John of Jerusalem, who ruled the island from 1310 to 1522.

1912

May Fourth Movement: Student demonstrations take place in Tiananmen Square in Beijing, China, protesting the Treaty of Versailles, which transferred Chinese territory to Japan.

1919 political movement in China

The May Fourth Movement was a Chinese cultural and anti-imperialist political movement which grew out of student protests in Beijing on May 4, 1919. Students gathered in front of Tiananmen to protest the Chinese government's weak response to the Treaty of Versailles decision to allow the Empire of Japan to retain territories in Shandong that had been surrendered by the German Empire after the Siege of Tsingtao in 1914. The demonstrations sparked nationwide protests and spurred an upsurge in Chinese nationalism, a shift towards political mobilization, away from cultural activities, and a move towards a populist base, away from traditional intellectual and political elites.

1919

The United Kingdom general strike begins.

Country in northwestern Europe

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in northwestern Europe, off the coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, with a population of over 69 million in 2024. The UK includes the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland, and most of the smaller islands within the British Isles, covering 94,354 square miles (244,376 km2). It shares a land border with the Republic of Ireland and is surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, the North Sea, the English Channel, the Celtic Sea and the Irish Sea, while maintaining sovereignty over the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. The capital and largest city of England and the UK is London; Edinburgh, Cardiff and Belfast are the national capitals of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

1926

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is incorporated.

Professional organization in the film industry

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is a professional honorary organization in Beverly Hills, California, U.S., with the stated goal of advancing the arts and sciences of motion pictures. The Academy's corporate management and general policies are overseen by a board of governors, which includes representatives from each of the craft branches.

1927

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.

The Cook County Jail, located on 96 acres in South Lawndale, Chicago, Illinois, is operated by the Sheriff of Cook County. It is sometimes referred to as 26th and Cal or Hotel California, as its address is on California Avenue. A city jail has existed on this site since after the Great Chicago Fire of 1871, but major County prisoners were not generally collocated here until closure of the old Hubbard Street Criminal Court Building and jail in 1929. Since then, a 1920s neoclassical and art deco courthouse for the criminal division of the Cook County Circuit Court has operated at the South Lawndale complex.

1932

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.

World War II, or the Second World War, was a global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies and the Axis powers. Nearly all of the world's countries participated. Tanks and aircraft played major roles, the latter enabling the strategic bombing of cities and delivery of the only nuclear weapons used in war. World War II was the deadliest conflict in history, causing the death of 60 to 75 million people. Millions died as a result of massacres, starvation, disease, and genocides, including the Holocaust. After the Allied victory, Germany, Austria, Japan, and Korea were occupied, and German and Japanese leaders were tried for war crimes.

1942

World War II: Neuengamme concentration camp near Hamburg is liberated by the British Army.

Nazi concentration camp network in northern Germany

Neuengamme was a network of Nazi concentration camps in northern Germany that consisted of the main camp, Neuengamme, and more than 85 satellite camps. Established in 1938 near the village of Neuengamme in the Bergedorf district of Hamburg, the Neuengamme camp became the largest concentration camp in Northwest Germany. Over 100,000 prisoners came through Neuengamme and its subcamps, 24 of which were for women. The verified death toll is 42,900: 14,000 in the main camp, 12,800 in the subcamps, and 16,100 in the death marches and bombings during the final weeks of World War II. Following Germany's defeat in 1945, the British Army used the site as an internment camp for SS and other Nazi officials. In 1948, the British transferred the land to the Free Hanseatic City of Hamburg, which summarily demolished the camp's wooden barracks and built in its stead a prison cell block, converting the former concentration camp site into two state prisons operated by the Hamburg authorities from 1950 to 2004. Following protests by various groups of survivors and allies, the site now serves as a memorial. It is situated 15 km southeast of the centre of Hamburg.

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.

On 4 May 1945, at 18:30 British Double Summer Time, at Lüneburg Heath, south of Hamburg, British Field Marshal Sir Bernard Montgomery accepted the unconditional surrender of the German forces in the Netherlands, northwest Germany including all islands, in Denmark and all naval ships in those areas. The surrender preceded the end of World War II in Europe and was signed in a carpeted tent at Montgomery's headquarters on the Timeloberg hill at Wendisch Evern.

1945

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.

San Francisco Bay is a large tidal estuary in the U.S. state of California, and gives its name to the San Francisco Bay Area. It is dominated by the cities of San Francisco, San Jose, and Oakland.

1946

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.

Association football club in Italy

Torino Football Club, colloquially referred to as Toro, is an Italian professional football club based in Turin, Piedmont that currently plays in the Serie A, the highest football league of Italy. Founded in 1906 as Foot-Ball Club Torino, they are historically among the most successful clubs in the nation with seven league titles, many of which coming from the Grande Torino era in the 1940s. Their most recent Serie A title was won in 1976. Torino have won the Coppa Italia five times, and have won one international, now-defunct tournament—the Mitropa Cup—in 1991.

1949

Ernest Hemingway wins the Pulitzer Prize for The Old Man and the Sea.

American author and journalist (1899–1961)

Ernest Miller Hemingway was an American novelist, short-story writer and journalist. Known for an economical, understated style that influenced later 20th-century writers, he has been romanticized for his adventurous lifestyle and outspoken, blunt public image. Some of his seven novels, six short-story collections and two non-fiction works have become classics of American literature, and he was awarded the 1954 Nobel Prize in Literature.

1953

The 1st Annual Grammy Awards are held.

1959 award ceremony for music

The 1st Annual Grammy Awards, which began as The Gramophone Awards, were held on May 4, 1959. They recognized musical accomplishments by performers for the year 1958. Two separate ceremonies were held simultaneously on the same day: one in the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, California, and the other in the Park Sheraton Hotel in New York City. Ella Fitzgerald, Count Basie, Domenico Modugno, Ross Bagdasarian, and Henry Mancini, each won 2 awards.

1959

American civil rights movement: The "Freedom Riders" begin a bus trip through the South.

1954–1968 U.S. social movement

The civil rights movement was a social movement in the United States from 1954 to 1968 which aimed to abolish legalized racial segregation, discrimination, and disenfranchisement in the country, which most commonly affected African Americans. The movement had origins in the Reconstruction era in the late 19th century, and modern roots in the 1940s and in Mohandas Gandhi's nonviolent movement in India. After years of nonviolent protests and civil disobedience campaigns, the civil rights movement achieved many of its legislative goals in the 1960s, during which it secured new protections in federal law for the civil rights of all Americans, including the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Voting Rights Act of 1965, and the Civil Rights Act of 1968.

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).

20th-century U.S. Navy Reserve captain, atmospheric scientist, and balloonist

Malcolm David Ross was a captain in the United States Naval Reserve (USNR), an atmospheric scientist, and a balloonist who set several records for altitude and scientific inquiry, with more than 100 hours flight time in gas balloons by 1961. Along with Lieutenant Commander Victor A. Prather (USN), he set the altitude record for a manned balloon flight.

1961

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.

The Vietnam War was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam and South Vietnam and their allies. North Vietnam was supported by the Soviet Union and China, while South Vietnam was supported by the United States and other anti-communist nations. The conflict was the second of the Indochina wars and a proxy war of the Cold War between the Soviet Union and US. The Vietnam War was one of the postcolonial wars of national liberation, a theater in the Cold War, and a civil war, with civil warfare a defining feature from the outset. Direct US military involvement escalated from 1965 until US forces were withdrawn in 1973. The fighting spilled into the Laotian and Cambodian civil wars, which ended with all three countries becoming communist in 1975.

1970

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

Anti-nuclear organization

The Don't Make a Wave Committee was the name of the anti-nuclear organization which later evolved into Greenpeace, a global environmental organization. The Don't Make a Wave Committee was founded in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada to protest and attempt to halt further underground nuclear testing by the United States in the National Wildlife Refuge at Amchitka in the Aleutian Islands of Alaska. The Don't Make a Wave Committee was first formed in October 1969 and officially established in early 1970.

1972

The 108-story Sears Tower in Chicago is topped out at 1,451 feet (442 m) as the world's tallest building.

Skyscraper in Chicago, Illinois

The Willis Tower, formerly and still commonly referred to as the Sears Tower, is a 110-story, 1,451-foot (442.3 m) skyscraper in the Loop of Chicago, Illinois, United States. Designed by architect Bruce Graham and engineer Fazlur Rahman Khan of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM), it opened in 1973 as the world's tallest building, a title that it held for nearly 25 years. It is the third-tallest building in the Western Hemisphere, as well as the 26th-tallest in the world. Each year, more than 1.7 million people visit the Skydeck, the highest observation deck in the United States, making it one of Chicago's most popular tourist destinations. Due to its height and location, the tower is visible from a great distance. The building has appeared in numerous films and television shows set in Chicago.

1973

The South African Defence Force attacks a SWAPO base at Cassinga in southern Angola, killing about 600 people.

Military of South Africa from 1957 to 1994

The South African Defence Force (SADF) comprised the armed forces of South Africa from 1957 until 1994. Shortly before the state reconstituted itself as a republic in 1961, the former Union Defence Force was officially succeeded by the SADF, which was established by the Defence Act of 1957. The SADF, in turn, was superseded by the South African National Defence Force in 1994.

1978

Margaret Thatcher becomes the first female Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.

Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990

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. She was the longest-serving British prime minister of the 20th century and the first woman to hold the office. As prime minister, she implemented policies that came to be known as Thatcherism. A Soviet journalist dubbed her the "Iron Lady", a nickname that became associated with her uncompromising politics and leadership style.

1979

Twenty sailors are killed when the British Type 42 destroyer HMS Sheffield is hit by an Argentinian Exocet missile during the Falklands War.

British guided missile destroyer class

The Type 42 or Sheffield class was developed to provide the Royal Navy with a cost-effective, medium-sized guided-missile destroyer focused on fleet air defence. Conceived in the late 1960s after the cancellation of the more complex and expensive Type 82, the Type 42 was intended to protect naval task groups against airborne threats using the Sea Dart missile system.

1982

The PEPCON disaster rocks Henderson, Nevada, as tons of Space Shuttle fuel detonate during a fire.

1988 explosions and fire in Nevada

On May 4, 1988, a fire followed by several explosions occurred at the Pacific Engineering and Production Company of Nevada (PEPCON) chemical plant in Henderson, Nevada, United States. The disaster caused two fatalities, 372 injuries, and an estimated $100 million of damage. A large portion of the Las Vegas Valley within a 10-mile (16 km) radius of the plant was affected and several agencies activated disaster plans.

1988

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.

1985–1987 political scandal in the U.S.

The Iran–Contra affair, also referred to as the Iran–Contra scandal, the Contragate, Iran Initiative, or simply Iran–Contra, was a political scandal in the United States that centered on arms trafficking to Iran between 1981 and 1986, facilitated by senior officials of the Reagan administration. The administration hoped to use the proceeds of the arms sale to fund the Contras, an anti-Sandinista rebel group in Nicaragua. Under the Boland Amendments, a series of laws passed by Congress and signed by Ronald Reagan, further funding of the Contras by legislative appropriations was prohibited by Congress, but the Reagan administration continued funding them secretly using non-appropriated funds.

1989

Space Shuttle Atlantis launches on mission STS-30 to deploy the Venus-bound Magellan space probe.

Space Shuttle orbiter (1985–2011)

Space Shuttle Atlantis is a retired Space Shuttle orbiter vehicle which belongs to NASA, the spaceflight and space exploration agency of the United States. Atlantis was manufactured by the Rockwell International company in Southern California and was delivered to the Kennedy Space Center in Eastern Florida in April 1985. Atlantis is the fourth operational and the second-to-last Space Shuttle built. Its maiden flight was STS-51-J made from October 3 to 7, 1985.

1989

Latvia declares independence from the Soviet Union.

Country in Northern Europe

Latvia, officially the Republic of Latvia, is a country in the Baltic region of northern Europe. It is one of the three Baltic states, along with Estonia to the north and Lithuania to the south. It borders Russia to the east and Belarus to the southeast and shares a maritime border with Sweden to the west. Latvia covers an area of 64,573 km2 (24,932 sq mi), with a population of 1.83 million. The country has a temperate seasonal climate. Its capital and largest city is Riga. Latvians, who are the titular nation and comprise 65.5% of the country's population, belong to the ethnolinguistic group of the Balts and speak Latvian. Russians are the most prominent minority in the country, at almost a quarter of the population; 37.7% of the population speak Russian as their native tongue.

1990

Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and PLO leader Yasser Arafat sign a peace accord, granting self-rule in the Gaza Strip and Jericho.

Top minister of cabinet and government

A prime minister, also known as a chief of cabinet, chief minister, first minister, minister-president or premier, is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but rather the head of government, serving as the chief of the executive under either a monarch or a president in a republican form of government.

1994

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.

Capital city of California, United States

Sacramento is the capital city of the U.S. state of California. The county seat of Sacramento County, it is located at the confluence of the Sacramento and American Rivers in the Sacramento Valley. It is the fourth-most populous city in Northern California, sixth-most populous city in the state, and 35th-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 524,943 at the 2020 census. The Sacramento metropolitan area, with 2.46 million residents, is the 27th-largest metropolitan area in the country.

1998

Ken Livingstone becomes the first Mayor of London (an office separate from that of the Lord Mayor of London).

English politician (born 1945)

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 from the creation of the office in 2000 until 2008. He also served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Brent East from 1987 to 2001. He is a former member of the Labour Party, ideologically identifying as a socialist.

2000

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.

Greensburg is a city in and the county seat of Kiowa County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, the population of the city was 740. It is home to the world's largest hand-dug well.

2007

Three people are killed and 62 injured in a pair of bombings on buses in Nairobi, Kenya.

From late 2011 to 2014, Kenya experienced an upsurge in violent terrorist attacks. Kenyan government officials asserted that many of the murders and blasts were carried out by al-Shabaab in retaliation for Operation Linda Nchi, a coordinated military mission between the Somalian military and Kenyan military that began in October 2011, when troops from Kenya crossed the border into the conflict zones of southern Somalia. According to Kenyan security experts, the bulk of the attacks were increasingly carried out by radicalized Kenyan youth who were hired for the purpose. Kenya security officials also indicated that they were part of death squads, which carried out many of the killings under the orders of a government security council. By mid-2014, the cumulative attacks began affecting Kenya's tourism industry, as Western nations issued travel warnings to their citizens.

2014

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.

W Series was an all-female single-seater racing championship. It was held over a total of three seasons in 2019, 2021 and 2022 before the championship fell into administration and later liquidated, with a planned season in 2020 cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. All three editions were won by Jamie Chadwick.

2019

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.

On the evening of 4 May 2023, a shooting spree occurred in the villages of Dubona and Malo Orašje, between Mladenovac and Smederevo, Serbia. Armed with an automatic assault rifle, the shooter opened fire from a car, resulting in the deaths of nine individuals, including an off-duty police officer, and leaving thirteen others injured. The perpetrator, 20-year-old Uroš Blažić, fled the scene but was apprehended the next day near Kragujevac.

2023

Born on May 4

20 people 1981 – 2001

Joan García

Spanish footballer

Joan Garcia Pons is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for La Liga club Barcelona and the Spain national team.

2001

Alexander O'Connor

English musician

Alexander James O'Connor, known professionally as Rex Orange County, is a British singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist from Grayshott, England. NPR Music's Zoë Jones has described O'Connor's music as "a bright…

1998

Shameik Moore

American actor and musician

Shameik Alti Moore is an American actor and musician. He made his lead acting debut in Dope (2015), and is best known for voicing Miles Morales / Spider-Man in the animated Spider-Verse film series and for portraying…

1995

Abi Masatora

Japanese sumo wrestler

Abi Masatora is a Japanese professional sumo wrestler from Saitama Prefecture. He made his debut in May 2013 and wrestles for Shikoroyama stable. He reached the top makuuchi division in January 2018 and has four…

1994

Joseph Tapine

New Zealand rugby league player

Joseph Tapine is a New Zealand professional rugby league footballer who captains and plays as a prop or lock forward for the Canberra Raiders in the National Rugby League and New Zealand and New Zealand Māori at…

1994

Victor Oladipo

American basketball player

Kehinde Babatunde Victor Oladipo is a Nigerian-American professional basketball player who last played for the Wisconsin Herd of the NBA G League. He played college basketball for the Indiana Hoosiers, where in the…

1992

Brianne Jenner

Canadian women's ice hockey player

Brianne Alexandra Jenner is a Canadian professional ice hockey player and captain for the Ottawa Charge of the Professional Women's Hockey League (PWHL) and a member of Canada women's national ice hockey team.

1991

Rory McIlroy

Northern Irish golfer

Rory Daniel McIlroy is a Northern Irish professional golfer who plays on the PGA Tour and the European Tour. He is a former world number one in the Official World Golf Ranking and has spent over 100 weeks in that…

1989

James van Riemsdyk

American ice hockey player

James van Riemsdyk, often known by his initials JVR, is an American professional ice hockey player who is a left winger for the Detroit Red Wings of the National Hockey League (NHL). He has previously played for the…

1989

Radja Nainggolan

Belgian footballer

Radja Nainggolan is a Belgian professional footballer who plays as a central midfielder for Challenger Pro League club Patro Eisden.

1988

Cesc Fàbregas

Spanish footballer and manager

Francesc Fàbregas Soler is a Spanish professional football manager and former player who played as a central midfielder. He is the head coach of Serie A club Como.

1987

Jorge Lorenzo

Spanish motorcycle racer

Jorge Lorenzo Guerrero is a Spanish former Grand Prix motorcycle racer. He is a five-time World Champion, having won three titles in the MotoGP class and two titles in 250cc.

1987

Devan Dubnyk

Canadian ice hockey player

Devan Dubnyk is a Canadian former professional ice hockey goaltender who played in the National Hockey League (NHL). He was originally drafted by the Edmonton Oilers in the first round, 14th overall, of the 2004 NHL…

1986

George Hill

American basketball player

George Jesse Hill Jr. is an American professional basketball player who last played for the Indiana Pacers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). While playing for Indiana University–Purdue University…

1986

Ravi Bopara

English cricketer

Ravinder Singh Bopara is an English cricketer who plays for Northamptonshire and has represented the England national team. Originally a top-order batsman, his developing medium pace bowling has made him a batting all…

1985

Fernandinho

Brazilian footballer

Fernando Luiz Roza, known as Fernandinho, is a Brazilian former professional footballer who played as a defensive midfielder. He is regarded as one of the best defensive midfielders of his generation and one of the best…

1985

Jamie Adenuga

English MC and rapper

Jamie Adenuga, known professionally as Jme, is an English grime MC, songwriter, record producer, rapper and DJ. He is the co-founder of the crew and label Boy Better Know. He also serves as a sole owner and director of…

1985

Brad Maddox

American wrestler and referee

Joshua Tyler Kluttz is an American retired professional wrestler and senior referee, best known for his tenure in WWE, where he performed under the ring name Brad Maddox.

1984

Derek Roy

Canadian ice hockey player

Derek Leonard Roy is a Canadian former professional ice hockey centre who played in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the Buffalo Sabres, Dallas Stars, Vancouver Canucks, St. Louis Blues, Nashville Predators and the…

1983

Eric Djemba-Djemba

Cameroon footballer

Eric Daniel Djemba-Djemba is a Cameroonian former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. He previously played club football in France, England, Qatar, Denmark, Israel, Serbia, Scotland, India and Indonesia.…

1981

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Died on May 4

20 people 2013 – 2024

Ron Kavana

Irish singer, songwriter, guitarist and band leader (born 1950)

Ronnie Kavanagh, known by his stage name Ron Kavana, was an Irish singer, songwriter, guitarist and multi-instrumentalist, and band leader. Born in the County Cork town of Fermoy, he was the son of an Irish father and…

2024

Frank Stella

American painter (born 1936)

Frank Philip Stella was an American painter, sculptor, and printmaker, noted for his work in the areas of minimalism and post-painterly abstraction. He lived and worked in New York City for much of his career before…

2024

Nick Kamen

English model, songwriter (born 1962)

Ivor Neville "Nick" Kamen was a British singer, songwriter and model. He was best known for the singles "Each Time You Break My Heart" from 1986 and "I Promised Myself" from 1990, as well as for appearing in a 1985…

2021

Don Shula

American football player and coach (born 1930)

Donald Francis Shula was an American football defensive back and coach who served as a head coach in the National Football League (NFL) from 1963 to 1995. The head coach of the Miami Dolphins for most of his career,…

2020

Greg Zanis

American carpenter and activist (born 1950)

Greg Zanis was an American carpenter known for building and delivering personalized crosses to shooting victims across the United States.

2020

Alia Abdulnoor

Emirati imprisoned woman (born 1977)

Alia Abdulnoor was an Emirati woman convicted of supporting and financing Al Qaeda. She was arrested in 2015 and sentenced in 2017 to a 10 year imprisonment on convictions of financing Al Qaeda, transmitting it's…

2019

Jean-Baptiste Bagaza

Burundian politician (born 1946)

Jean-Baptiste Bagaza was a Burundian army officer and politician who ruled Burundi as president and de facto military dictator from November 1976 to September 1987.

2016

William Bast

American screenwriter and author (born 1931)

William Bast was an American screenwriter and author. In addition to writing scripts for motion pictures and television, he was the author of two biographies of the screen actor James Dean. He often worked with his…

2015

Ellen Albertini Dow

American actress (born 1913)

Ellen Rose Albertini Dow was an American film and television character actress and drama coach. She portrayed feisty old ladies and is best known as the rapping grandmother Rosie in The Wedding Singer (1998), performing…

2015

Marv Hubbard

American football player (born 1946)

Marvin Ronald Hubbard was an American professional football fullback who played seven seasons in the National Football League (NFL), primarily for the Oakland Raiders.

2015

Dick Ayers

American author and illustrator (born 1924)

Richard Bache Ayers was an American comic book artist and cartoonist best known for his work as one of Jack Kirby's inkers during the late-1950s and 1960s period known as the Silver Age of Comics, including on some of…

2014

Elena Baltacha

Ukrainian-Scottish tennis player (born 1983)

Elena Sergeevna Baltacha was a Ukrainian-born British professional tennis player. Being a four-time winner of the AEGON Awards, she was also a long-term British No. 1, a position she held intermittently from 2002 to…

2014

Edgar Cortright

American scientist and engineer (born 1923)

Edgar Maurice Cortright was a scientist and engineer, and senior official at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) in the United States. His most prominent positions during his career were Director of…

2014

Helga Königsdorf

German physicist and author (born 1938)

Helga Königsdorf was an East German statistician and novelist. She is notable for becoming distinguished in two distinct careers - science and literature. She wrote three books on mathematics, two co-written with her…

2014

Ross Lonsberry

Canadian-American ice hockey player (born 1947)

David Ross Lonsberry was a Canadian professional ice hockey left winger who played 15 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Boston Bruins, Los Angeles Kings, Philadelphia Flyers and Pittsburgh Penguins. He…

2014

Jean-Paul Ngoupandé

Central African politician, Prime Minister of the Central African Republic (born 1948)

Jean-Paul Ngoupandé was a Central African politician who was Prime Minister of the Central African Republic from 1996 to 1997. He stood as a presidential candidate in 1999 and 2005, and he served as Minister of Foreign…

2014

Otis Bowen

American physician and politician, 44th Governor of Indiana (born 1918)

Otis Ray Bowen was an American politician and physician who served as the 44th Governor of Indiana from 1973 to 1981 and as Secretary of Health and Human Services in the Cabinet of President Ronald Reagan from 1985 to…

2013

Christian de Duve

English-Belgian cytologist and biochemist, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1917)

Christian René Marie Joseph, Viscount de Duve was a Nobel Prize-winning Belgian cytologist and biochemist. He made serendipitous discoveries of two cell organelles, peroxisomes and lysosomes, for which he shared the…

2013

Javier Diez Canseco

Peruvian sociologist and politician (born 1948)

Javier Diez Canseco Cisneros was a Peruvian politician and member of the Peruvian Congress representing the Socialist Party of Peru (PS), of which he was a founding member and also served as its Party President.

2013

Mario Machado

Chinese-American journalist and actor (born 1935)

Mário Machado was an American television and radio broadcaster and actor. He made television history when, in 1970, he became the first American of Chinese heritage to be an on-air television news reporter and anchor in…

2013

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What happened on May 4 in history?

On May 4, one notable event in history was 2002: One hundred three people are killed and 51 are injured in a plane crash near Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport in Kano, Nigeria..

This date currently highlights 50 recorded events on thisDay.info, spanning 1256 – 2023.

DateMay 4

Featured year2002

Locationa plane crash near Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport in Kano, Nigeria

Events listed50

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May 4 in History

2002 — One hundred three people are killed and 51 are injured in a plane crash near Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport in Kano, Nigeria

Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport was originally a Royal Air Force station before Nigeria gained independence.

The airport is named after 20th-century politician Aminu Kano, a prominent figure in Nigerian history.

A new domestic terminal at the airport was commissioned on 23 May 2011, following construction.

In 2009, the airport handled 323,482 passengers, with many traveling for Muslim pilgrimages to Mecca.

The airport serves as a major hub for the large Sudanese community in Kano, facilitating international flights to Sudan.

Born on May 4

Died on May 4

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May 4 in History

2002 — One hundred three people are killed and 51 are injured in a plane crash near Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport in Kano, Nigeria

Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport was originally a Royal Air Force station before Nigeria gained independence.

The airport is named after 20th-century politician Aminu Kano, a prominent figure in Nigerian history.

A new domestic terminal at the airport was commissioned on 23 May 2011, following construction.

In 2009, the airport handled 323,482 passengers, with many traveling for Muslim pilgrimages to Mecca.

The airport serves as a major hub for the large Sudanese community in Kano, facilitating international flights to Sudan.

Born on May 4

Died on May 4

More questions about May 4

What happened on May 4?

Why is May 4 remembered in history?

Who was born on May 4?

Who died on May 4?

What happened on May 4 in history?

Explore May 4

Explore May 4

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