Did you know
In 2008, Barack Obama becomes the first person of biracial or African-American descent to be elected as President of the United States. This featured entry focuses on the immediate decision and its direct historical impact.
November 4 in History
2008 — Barack Obama becomes the first person of biracial or African-American descent to be elected as President of the United States
November 4 spans 50 recorded events across recorded history, from 512 to 2025. Below is a curated digest of the most significant moments tied to this date.
By thisDay.info Editorial Team · — Wikipedia
Historical Events
50 events
512 – 2025
Today in history
More major events on November 4
The featured story and these ranked highlights form a quick summary. Every recorded event remains available in the chronology below.
- 1924 Nellie Tayloe Ross of Wyoming becomes the first female elected as governor in the United States. Source
- 1980 Ronald Reagan is elected as the 40th President of the United States, defeating incumbent Jimmy Carter. Source
- 1973 The Netherlands experiences the first car-free Sunday caused by the 1973 oil crisis. Highways are used only by cyclists and roller skaters. Source
Did you know
Barack Hussein Obama II is an American former politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. This helps explain why the event mattered beyond the initial announcement.
Did you know
A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American to serve as president. This clarifies the institutional and public response around the event.
Did you know
Obama represented Illinois in the United States Senate from 2005 to 2008 and served as an Illinois state senator from 1997 to 2004. This shows how the event shaped policy and public communication in the same period.
Did you know
In 2008, Barack Obama becomes the first person of biracial or African-American descent to be elected as President of the United States had consequences that extended beyond the first headline. The key context is the institutions involved, the policy shift, and how the public response evolved afterward.
512
Following Byzantine emperor Anastasius' deposition of Chalcedonian patriarchs and attempts to make Monophysite changes to liturgy, riots break out in Constantinople with a mob trying to proclaim Areobindus as emperor.
1354
War of the Straits: The Genoese fleet under Paganino Doria defeats and captures the entire Venetian fleet under Niccolò Pisani at the Battle of Sapienza.
1350–1355 war between Venice and Genoa
1429
Armagnac–Burgundian Civil War: Joan of Arc liberates Saint-Pierre-le-Moûtier.
French dynastic war from 1407 to 1435
1493
Christopher Columbus reaches the Leeward Islands.
Italian navigator and explorer (1451–1506)
1501
Catherine of Aragon (later Henry VIII's first wife) meets Arthur, Prince of Wales, Henry VIII's older brother – they would later marry.
Queen of England from 1509 to 1533
1576
Eighty Years' War: In Flanders, Spain captures Antwerp (which is nearly destroyed after three days).
c. 1566/1568–1648 war in Habsburg Netherlands
1677
The future Mary II marries William, Prince of Orange; they later jointly reign over England, Scotland, and Ireland as William and Mary.
Queen of England, Scotland, and Ireland from 1689 to 1694
1737
The Teatro di San Carlo, the oldest working opera house in Europe, is inaugurated in Naples, Italy.
Opera house in Naples, Italy
1780
The Rebellion of Túpac Amaru II against Spanish rule in the Viceroyalty of Peru begins.
1780–83 uprising in Spanish-ruled Peru
1783
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's Symphony No.
36 is performed for the first time in Linz, Austria.
1791
Northwest Indian War: The Western Confederacy of American Indians wins a major victory over the United States in the Battle of the Wabash.
Part of the American Indian Wars (1786–1795)
1798
The Russo-Ottoman siege of Corfu begins.
Russian and Ottoman military offensive during the War of the Second Coalition
1839
Newport Rising: The last large-scale armed rebellion against authority in mainland Britain.
1839 pro-democracy revolt by Chartists in Newport, Wales
1847
Sir James Young Simpson, a Scottish medical doctor, discovers the anaesthetic properties of chloroform.
Scottish obstetrician (1811–1870)
1852
Camillo Benso, Count of Cavour, becomes the prime minister of Piedmont-Sardinia, which soon expands to become Italy.
First Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Italy from March to June in 1861
1864
American Civil War: Confederate troops bombard a Union supply base and destroy millions of dollars in materiel at the Battle of Johnsonville.
1861–1865 conflict in the United States
1890
City and South London Railway: London's first deep-level tube railway opens between King William Street and Stockwell.
Underground railway company in London
1918
World War I: The Armistice of Villa Giusti between Italy and Austria-Hungary is implemented.
Global conflict from 1914 to 1918
1921
The Saalschutz Abteilung (hall defense detachment) of the Nazi Party is renamed the Sturmabteilung (storm detachment) after a large riot in Munich.
Far-right political party in Germany (1920–1945)
1921
1922
In Egypt, British archaeologist Howard Carter and his men find the entrance to Tutankhamun's tomb in the Valley of the Kings.
British archaeologist and Egyptologist (1874–1939)
1924
Nellie Tayloe Ross of Wyoming becomes the first female elected as governor in the United States.
American politician (1876–1977)
1936
Spanish Civil War: Largo Caballero reshuffles his war cabinet, persuading the anarcho-syndicalist CNT to join the government.
1936–1939 civil war in Spain
1939
World War II: U.S.
president Franklin D. Roosevelt orders the United States Customs Service to implement the Neutrality Act of 1939, allowing cash-and-carry purchases of weapons by belligerents.
1942
World War II: Disobeying a direct order by Adolf Hitler, General Field Marshal Erwin Rommel begins a retreat of his forces after a costly defeat during the Second Battle of El Alamein.
The retreat would ultimately last five months.
1944
World War II: The 7th Macedonian Liberation Brigade liberates Bitola for the Allies.
Anti-fascist movement in occupied Yugoslavia
1944
World War II: Operation Pheasant, an Allied offensive to liberate North Brabant in the Netherlands, ends successfully.
WWII Allied action liberating North Brabant, Netherlands
1952
The United States government establishes the National Security Agency, or NSA.
National government of the United States
1956
Soviet troops enter Hungary to end the Hungarian revolution against the Soviet Union that started on October 23.
Thousands are killed, more are wounded, and nearly a quarter million leave the country.
1960
At the Kasakela Chimpanzee Community in Tanzania, Jane Goodall observes chimpanzees creating tools, the first-ever observation in non-human animals.
Community of wild eastern chimpanzees in Tanzania
1962
The United States concludes Operation Fishbowl, its final above-ground nuclear weapons testing series, in anticipation of the 1963 Partial Nuclear Test Ban Treaty.
Series of 1960s US high-altitude nuclear tests
1966
The Arno River floods Florence, Italy, to a maximum depth of 6.7 m (22 ft), leaving thousands homeless and destroying millions of masterpieces of art and rare books.
Venice is also submerged on the same day at its record all-time acqua alta of 194 cm (76 in).
1967
Iberia Flight 062 crashes in Blackdown, West Sussex, killing all 37 people on board including British actress June Thorburn.
Aviation accident in 1967
1970
Vietnam War: The United States turns over control of the air base at Bình Thủy in the Mekong Delta to South Vietnam.
1955–1975 war in Southeast Asia
1970
Salvador Allende takes office as President of Chile, the first Marxist to become president of a Latin American country through open elections.
President of Chile from 1970 to 1973
1973
The Netherlands experiences the first car-free Sunday caused by the 1973 oil crisis.
Highways are used only by cyclists and roller skaters.
1979
Iran hostage crisis: A group of Iranian college students overruns the U.S.
embassy in Tehran and takes 90 hostages.
1980
Ronald Reagan is elected as the 40th President of the United States, defeating incumbent Jimmy Carter.
President of the United States from 1981 to 1989
1993
China Airlines Flight 605, a brand-new 747-400, overruns the runway at Hong Kong Kai Tak Airport.
1993 aviation accident in Hong Kong
1995
Israel-Palestinian conflict: Israeli prime minister Yitzhak Rabin is assassinated by an extremist Israeli.
Ongoing military and political conflict in West Asia
2002
Chinese authorities arrest cyber-dissident He Depu for signing a pro-democracy letter to the 16th Communist Party Congress.
Chinese dissident (born 1956)
2010
Aero Caribbean Flight 883 crashes into Guasimal, Sancti Spíritus; all 68 passengers and crew are killed.
2010 aviation accident
2010
Qantas Flight 32, an Airbus A380, suffers an uncontained engine failure over Indonesia shortly after taking off from Singapore, crippling the jet.
The crew manage to safely return to Singapore, saving all 469 passengers and crew.
2015
A cargo plane crashes shortly after takeoff from Juba International Airport in Juba, South Sudan, killing at least 37 people.
Aviation disaster in Juba, South Sudan
2015
A building collapses in the Pakistani city of Lahore resulting in at least 45 deaths and at least 100 injuries.
Fatal building collapse in Pakistan
2020
The Tigray War begins with Tigrayan rebels launching attacks on Ethiopian command centers.
Armed conflict in Ethiopia (2020–2022)
2022
The Khash massacre, which refers to the repression of protesters by Iranian security forces, resulting in 18 deaths and more than 20 injuries.
Khash
2025
UPS Airlines Flight 2976, a McDonnell Douglas MD-11F crashes into multiple buildings during takeoff at Louisville Muhammad Ali International Airport in Louisville, Kentucky, killing 15 people, including the 3 crew members.
2025 aviation accident in Louisville, Kentucky, US