This Day in History
September 4

Copyright © 2006-2024 Ken Polsson
internet e-mail: ken@kpolsson.com
URL: http://kpolsson.com/thisday/
(this URL will automatically re-direct to the file containing a single day's events)

What happened in history on this day: September 4?

On September 4 in ...

  • 422 - Saint Boniface I ends his reign as Catholic Pope.
  • 476 - Romulus Augustulus, last Roman emperor in west, is deposed.
  • 1417 - After 17-day siege of Caen, army of Henry V of England breaks through. 1800 boys and men over age 12 are put to death.
  • 1511 - A great fireball appears over Crema in Lombardy, Italy, followed by huge shower of meteorites. One meteorite kills a monk, several birds, and a sheep.
  • 1547 - Duke of Somerset invades Scotland with 14,000 men, 4000 horses, 15 cannon, crossing River Tweed. Included are wagonloads of Bibles to be distributed in conquered Catholic areas.
  • 1553 - Cornelia da Nomatalcino monk converted to Judaism, burned at stake.
  • 1609 - Navigator Henry Hudson discovers island of Manhattan (or 0911).
  • 1618 - "Rodi" avalanche destroys Plurs Switzerland, 1,500 killed.
  • 1736 - Birth of Robert Raikes England, Sunday school pioneer.
  • 1781 - Los Angeles founded in Bahia de las Fumas by 44 settlers, (Valley of Smokes).
  • 1802 - Birth of Marcus Whitman; missionary, led to US securing Oregon.
  • 1803 - Birth of Sarah Childress in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, USA; spouse of US President James Polk.
  • 1810 - Birth of Donald McKay; US naval architect, built fastest clipper ships.
  • 1824 - Birth of Phoebe Cary in Cincinnati, Ohio, USA; American poet (Poems of Alice and Phoebe Cary).
  • 1842 - Work on Köln cathedral recommences after 284-year hiatus.
  • 1862 - North Beach and Mission Railway Company is organized in San Francisco, California.
  • 1864 - Bread riots in Mobile, Alabama.
  • 1870 - Third French republic proclaimed by Léon Gambetta in Paris as they overthrow their king.
  • 1872 - Birth of Darius Milhaud in Aix-en-Provence, France; composer (Maximilien).
  • 1882 - First district lit by electricty (New York's Pearl Street Station).
  • 1884 - Death of Charles Folger; US Treasury Secretary.
  • 1885 - First cafeteria opens (New York City).
  • 1886 - Geronimo is captured, ending last major US-Indian war.
  • 1888 - George Eastman registers the trademark Kodak and receives a patent for his camera that uses roll film.
  • 1891 - Birth of Felix Oskar Schlag in Germany; sculptor (1938 US Jefferson nickel).
  • 1899 - Near Cape Yakataga, Alaska, a magnitude 7.9 earthquake occurs.
  • 1901 - Birth of Paul Osborn; playwright (Mornings at Seven).
  • 1902 - Birth of Lorna Johnstone in England; equestrian dressage (Olympic-13th-1968).
  • 1904 - Birth of Hjordis Töpel in Sweden; diving, 4 X 100m relay (Olympic-bronze-1924).
  • 1908 - Birth of Richard Wright; American author (Native Son, Uncle Tom's Children) (dies 1960).
  • 1911 - Garros sets world altitude record of 4,250 m (13,944 ft).
  • 1915 - Birth of Dick Thomas in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; TV host (Village Barn).
  • 1917 - Birth of Henry Ford II; automaker (Ford).
  • 1918 - Birth of Gerald Wilson in Shelby, Mississippi, USA; orchestra leader (Redd Foxx).
  • 1918 - Birth of Paul Harvey in Tulsa, Oklahoma, USA; news commentator (The rest of the story) (dies 2009).
  • 1918 - Birth of William Talbert; tennis doubles champion (US 1942, 1945, 1946, 1948).
  • 1918 - US troops land in Archangel, Russia.
  • 1919 - Birth of Howard Morris in New York City, New York, USA; comedic actor (High Anxiety).
  • 1920 - Birth of Craig Claiborne; food columnist (New York Times Cookbook).
  • 1920 - Last day of Julian civil calendar (in parts of Bulgaria).
  • 1923 - The first U.S. airship, the USS Shenandoah, makes its maiden flight.
  • 1923 - New York Yankees pitcher Sad Sam Jones no-hits Philadelphia Athletics, 2-0.
  • 1926 - Birth of Robert J Lagomarsino; American politician (Representative-Republican-California).
  • 1928 - Birth of Dick York in Fort Wayne, Indiana, USA; actor (Darrin - Bewitched, Inherit the Wind) (dies 1992).
  • 1928 - Birth of Donald E Petersen in Minnesota, USA; executive (Ford Motors).
  • 1929 - Birth of Thomas Eagleton; American politician (Senator-Democrat-Missouri, Democratic Vice Presidential candidate 1972).
  • 1931 - Birth of Mitzi Gaynor in Chicago, Illinois, USA; actress (South Pacific).
  • 1933 - J.R. Wendell flies first airplane to exceed 300 mph (483 kph), in Glenview, Illinois, USA.
  • 1933 - Birth of Richard Castellano in Bronx, New York, USA; actor (The Godfather, Lovers and Other Strangers).
  • 1937 - Birth of Dawn Fraser in Australia; 100m freestyle swimmer (Olympic-gold-1956, 1960, 1964).
  • 1937 - Doris Kopsky becomes first NABA woman cycling champion (4:22.4).
  • 1938 - Birth of Leonard Frey in Brooklyn, New York, USA; American comedian/actor (Best of West, Mr Smith, Fiddler on the Roof).
  • 1938 - New York Archbishop Patrick Cardinal Hayes dies at age 70.
  • 1939 - (morning Wellington time) Governor General Viscount Galway proclaims New Zealand is at war with Germany.
  • 1939 - (early) Polish troops cross into Germany north of Breslau.
  • 1939 - British Admiralty orders convoys be organized for all merchant ships, with naval escorts.
  • 1939 - Argentina and Uruguay issue decrees declaring their neutrality.
  • 1939 - President Jorge Ubico of Guatemala issues a manifesto declaring strict neutrality.
  • 1939 - Mexican President Lazaro Cardenas declares the neutrality of his country.
  • 1939 - A Protocol of Mutual Assistance is signed between Poland and France.
  • 1939 - German forces capture Bydgoszcz and Grudziadz in northern Poland.
  • 1939 - (1530 hours) Fifteen Blenheim bombers take off from England to attack the German pocket battleship Admiral von Scheer sighted at the western end of Kiel Canal, near Wilhelmshaven. The few bombs that hit do not explode. Five planes and sixteen crew are lost.
  • 1939 - (evening) Yugoslavia, Romania, and Bulgaria officially declare neutrality unless attacked.
  • 1939 - The Polish ghetto of Mir is exterminated.
  • 1940 - Adolf Hitler announces that British cities will be bombed night after night, in retaliation for their bombing of Berlin.
  • 1940 - In Japan, a meeting is held of four principal ministers to establish guidelines for negotiating joining an alliance with Germany and Italy. They establish that Japan's sphere of influence would encompass China, Manchuria, former German-mandated islands, French Indochina and Pacific islands, Siam, British Malaya and Borneo, Netherlands East Indies, Burma, Australia, New Zealand, and possibly India.
  • 1941 - New York Yankees beat Boston Red Sox 6-3 and clinch their 12th and earliest pennant.
  • 1942 - Birth of Raymond Floyd in Fort Bragg, North Carolina, USA; PGA golfer (Masters 1976).
  • 1943 - Birth of Giuseppi Gentile in Italy; triple jumper (Olympic-bronze-1968).
  • 1944 - Birth of Jennifer Salt in Los Angeles, California, USA; actress (Sisters, Soap, Wedding Party).
  • 1944 - The Belgian port of Antwerp falls to the British 2nd Army.
  • 1945 - Ruben Fine wins four simultaneous rapid chess games blindfolded.
  • 1945 - US regains possession of Wake Island from Japan.
  • 1947 - Birth of Alan Greisman; Sally Field's husband/producer (Fletch, Surrender).
  • 1948 - Queen Wilhelmina of Netherlands abdicates the throne.
  • 1949 - The Bristol Brabazon makes its maiden flight.
  • 1949 - Birth of Tom Watson in Kansas City, Missouri; PGA golfer (British Open 1975,1977,1980,1982).
  • 1949 - Marie Robie sinks 393 yard hole-in-one (first hole in Furnace Brook).
  • 1950 - First helicopter rescue of American pilot behind enemy lines.
  • 1950 - Duncan Hodgson of Saint Ann Bay, Nova Scotia, Canada, catches a 997-pound tuna.
  • 1951 - The first live transcontinental television broadcast takes place in San Francisco, California, from the Japanese Peace Treaty Conference.
  • 1951 - Birth of Judith Ivey in El Paso, Texas, USA; actress (Lady in Red, Hello Again).
  • 1951 - NBC extends to become a 61-station coast-to-coast network.
  • 1953 - Birth of Lawrence-Hilton Jacobs in New York City, New York, USA; actor (Freddie - Welcome Back Kotter).
  • 1953 - New York Yankees become first team to win five consecutive championships.
  • 1954 - First passage of McClure Strait, fabled Northwest Passage completed.
  • 1954 - Peter B Cortese of the US achieves a one-arm deadlift of 370 pounds; 22 pounds, over triple his body weight, at York, Pennsylvania.
  • 1957 - Ford Motor Company introduces the Edsel car.
  • 1959 - Birth of Armin Kogler in Austria; skier (two-time winner of jumping World Cup).
  • 1961 - US authorizes Agency for International Development.
  • 1964 - Forth Road Bridge opens in England over the "Firth of Forth".
  • 1964 - NASA launches its first Orbital Geophysical Observatory (OGO-1).
  • 1965 - Death of Albert Schweitzer in Lambarene, Gabon, Africa (born 1875); philosopher (doctorate 1899), theologian (doctorate 1900), musician, humanitarian (medicine doctorate 1913), author (Kulturphilosophie, 1923), won the Nobel Prize for Peace in 1952.
  • 1965 - The Beatles' "Help!" single goes #1 and stays #1 for three weeks.
  • 1966 - Birth of Debra Lewin in South Burlington, Vermont, USA; Miss Vermont-America (1991).
  • 1966 - CBS airs the last Perry Mason TV show.
  • 1966 - Houston Oilers holds Denver Broncos to no first downs, winning 45-7.
  • 1967 - 6.5 earthquake of Kolya Dam, India, kills 200.
  • 1968 - Birth of John Preston in Utah; actor (Greg - General Hospital).
  • 1970 - Birth of Ione Skye (Leitch) in Hertfordshire, England; actress (Say Anything).
  • 1970 - Birth of Jennifer Nakken in Cedar City, Utah, USA; Miss Utah-America (1991).
  • 1970 - George Harrison releases "My Sweet Lord" single.
  • 1971 - Alaskan 727 crashes into Chilkoot Mountain, kills 109 (Alaska).
  • 1972 - Birth of Danny Ponce in Waltham, Massachusetts, USA; actor (Willie - Valerie / Hogan Family).
  • 1972 - Birth of Merald Knight in Atlanta, Georgia, USA; singer (Gladys Knights and Pips).
  • 1972 - US swimmer Mark Spitz becomes first athlete to win seven Olympic gold medals.
  • 1975 - Walter Tetley, voice of Sherman - Bullwinkle Show, dies at age 60.
  • 1978 - New York Yankees' pitcher Ron Guidry wins his 20th (on way to 25-3 season).
  • 1979 - Jamaica recognizes the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR).
  • 1979 - Birth of Killer Reese One, American rapper (King Fantastic).
  • 1981 - Birth of Lacey Mosley; American lead vocalist (Flyleaf).
  • 1981 - An explosion at a mine in Záluží, Czechoslovakia, kills 65 people.
  • 1981 - Birth of Beyoncé Knowles; American actress and rhythm and blues singer (Destiny's Child).
  • 1981 - Seattle Mariners beat Boston Red Sox, 8-7, in 20 innings (started September 3).
  • 1981 - Verne Rowe, actor (Verne - Fernwood 2 Night), dies at age 59.
  • 1983 - Six men walk underwater across the Sydney Harbor - 82.9 km in 48 hours.
  • 1983 - Greg LeMond becomes only American to win cycling's Road Championship.
  • 1983 - Scott Michael Pellaton sets barefoot waterski speed record (119.36 mph).
  • 1983 - Death of Clark Todd, age 38, of shrapnel from artillery of Druze militiamen in Chouf Mountains, Lebanon; Canadian CTV TV journalist.
  • 1984 - The Progressive Conservative Party of Canada, led by Brian Mulroney, wins 211 seats in the House of Commons, forming the largest majority government in Canadian history.
  • 1984 - The Nicaraguan general elections are held, Sandinista Front is the winner.
  • 1985 - Igor Paklin of the USSR sets a new high jump world record at 2.41 metres.
  • 1985 - New York Mets' Gary Carter's two home runs ties record of five home runs in two games.
  • 1986 - Death of Hank Greenberg, baseball player (born 1911).
  • 1988 - Phoenix Cardinals play first regular-season NFL game.
  • 1989 - In Semidi Islands, Alaska, a magnitude 6.9 earthquake occurs.
  • 1989 - Death of Ronald Syme, New Zealand-born classicist and historian (born 1903).
  • 1990 - Irene Dunne, American actress (winner of five Oscars), dies of heart failure at age 91 (born 1898).
  • 1990 - Jerry Lewis' 25th Muscular Dystrophy telethon raises $44,172,186.
  • 1991 - Death of Charlie Barnet at age 77 of pneumonia; big band leader, saxophonist ("Cherokee").
  • 1991 - Death of Thomas Tryon of stomach cancer at age 65; actor (John Slaughter - Texas John Slaughter, The Virginian, Cardinal), writer (Other).
  • 1992 - The Disney Channel airs the last episode of The New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh.
  • 1993 - The ABC TV network airs the last episode of The New Adventures of Winnie the Pooh.
  • 1993 - The CBS TV network airs the last episode of Raw Toonage.
  • 1993 - The Essendon Football Club wins its 15th AFL premiership over rivals Carlton Football Club.
  • 1993 - Death of Hervé Villechaize, French-born actor (Tattoo - Fantasy Island) (born 1943).
  • 1994 - Kansai International Airport in Osaka, Japan opens. All international services are transferred from Itami to Kansai.
  • 1994 - The Fox TV network airs the first episode of the Disney TV show Hardball.
  • 1995 - The Fourth World Conference on Women opens in Beijing with over 4,750 delegates from 181 countries in attendance.
  • 1995 - The UPN TV network premieres the Touchstone Television series Nowhere Man.
  • 1996 - The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia attack a military base in Guaviare, Colombia, starting three weeks of guerrilla warfare that will claim the lives of at least 130 Colombians.
  • 1997 - In Lorain, Ohio, the last Ford Thunderbird for three years rolls off the assembly line.
  • 1998 - Larry Page and Sergey Brin, two students at Stanford University in California, found Google.
  • 2001 - Google is awarded a patent, number 6,285,999, for the PageRank search algorithm used in the Google search engine.
  • 2001 - The Tokyo DisneySea theme park opens in Japan. It features seven "ports of call": American Waterfront, Port Discovery, Lost River Delta, Mermaid Lagoon, Arabian Coast, Mysterious Island, and Mediterranean Harbor. There are initially 23 attractions. The park is owned by the Oriental Land Company, Ltd., operated under licence from the Walt Disney Company.
  • 2001 - Hewlett-Packard announces it will acquire Compaq Computer in a stock swap worth about US$25 billion.
  • 2003 - Europe's largest shopping centre, the Bullring in Birmingham, is officially opened by Sir Albert Bore.
  • 2007 - Three are arrested in a village in central Germany, charged with plotting a bomb attack on Frankfurt airport.
  • 2007 - Northeast Nicaragua takes a direct hit from Hurricane Felix. The hurricane is a strong Category 5 storm when it reaches the coast.
  • 2009 - British author (Billy Liar) and playwright (Whistle Down the Wind, Mr and Mrs Nobody, Jeffrey Bernard is Unwell) Keith Waterhouse dies at the age of 80.
  • 2019 - Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam announces the official withdrawal of the controversial Fugitive Offenders and Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters Legislation (Amendment) Bill 2019, and setting up of an independent study to probe social and economic inequality within the territory.
  • 2020 - The La Línea highway tunnel, the longest road tunnel in South America at a length of 8.65 kilometres (5.37 miles), is opened in Colombia after 14 years of construction.
  • 2020 - Kosovo and Serbia announce that they will normalize economic relations. The two countries will also move their Israeli embassies to Jerusalem, becoming the third and fourth countries to recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital.
  • 2020 - Bahrain and Israel agree to normalise relations, marking the fourth Israel-Arab peace deal.
  • 2020 - Pope Benedict XVI becomes the longest-lived pope at 93 years, four months, and 16 days, surpassing Pope Leo XIII, who died in 1903.
  • 2020 - Death of Joe Williams, 5th Prime Minister of the Cook Islands (born 1934).
  • 2022 - In Chile, citizens vote 62-38 percent to reject a new constitution.
  • 2022 - Death of Peter Straub at age 79; writer (Julia, Ghost Story, The Talisman).
  • 2023 - Death of Steve Harwell at age 56 of liver failure at home in Boise, Idaho, USA; singer (Smash Mouth - "All Star").
  • 2023 - Death of Ferid Murad at age 86; American pharmacologist (Nobel prize winner).
  • 2023 - Death of Gary Wright at age 80 of Parkinson's disease at home in Palos Verdes Estates, California; singer-songwriter ("Dream Weaver" song, "Love is Alive" song).

vvv advertisement vvv

^^^ advertisement ^^^

You can pick a particular day to view that day's events in history.

Bookmark this URL:   http://kpolsson.com/thisday/   and revisit each day. (this URL will automatically re-direct to the file containing the current day's events)

Or, visit my Timelines of History page.

Copyright © 2006-2024 Ken Polsson (email: ken@kpolsson.com).
URL: http://kpolsson.com/thisday/
Link to Ken P's home page.


vvv advertisement vvv

^^^ advertisement ^^^
History Timelines Postage Stamps Today in History
PCs Video Games Timeline Today
Amiga World Silly This Day
Apple Space Coins Sports
Commodore 64 Impacts Corvettes Disney
Processors Sports Cruise Ships USA
Corvettes Gambling Disney Music
World War II Weather Errors PC and Game
Sweden Earthquakes Novelties TV and Movies
A&W USA Births Finder Anniversaries
A&W Canada Deaths
Postage Stamps Dow Jones Coins Chevrolet Corvettes
Walt Disney Co. Television Timeline: Canada Timeline
Disneyland Cruise Ships Timeline: USA Racing Success
Walt Disney World Oak Island Timeline: World On Stamps
Disney Cruise Line Killing JFK Novelties Pop Culture
Canada coins On Stamps
USA coins Other
World coins Mug Shots(A&W)
Stuff For Sale

Privacy Policy

kpolsson.com does not collect or share personal information. I have better things to do. There are links to advertiser sites that are beyond my control, from which I may receive a placement fee or a sale commission. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.