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  • Virginia, U.S.
    Wednesday May 4, 1864
    Abraham Lincoln

    Overland Campaign

    Virginia, U.S.
    Wednesday May 4, 1864

    Grant in 1864 waged the bloody Overland Campaign, which exacted heavy losses on both sides. When Lincoln asked what Grant's plans were, the persistent general replied, "I propose to fight it out on this line if it takes all summer".




  • Alabama and Mississippi, United States
    Thursday May 4, 1865
    USA civil war

    Confederate forces in Alabama and Mississippi surrendered

    Alabama and Mississippi, United States
    Thursday May 4, 1865

    On May 4, all remaining Confederate forces in Alabama and Mississippi surrendered. President Johnson officially declared an end to the insurrection on May 9, 1865; Confederate president, Jefferson Davis, was captured the following day.




  • U.S.
    Sunday May 4, 1919
    Anna May Wong

    The Red Lantern

    U.S.
    Sunday May 4, 1919

    Wong was working at Hollywood's Ville de Paris department store when Metro Pictures needed 300 female extras to appear in Alla Nazimova's film The Red Lantern (1919). Without her father's knowledge, a friend of his with movie connections helped her land an uncredited role as an extra carrying a lantern.




  • Ixelles, Brussels, Belgium
    Saturday May 4, 1929
    Audrey Hepburn

    Birth

    Ixelles, Brussels, Belgium
    Saturday May 4, 1929

    Hepburn was born Audrey Kathleen Ruston or, later, Hepburn-Ruston on 4 May 1929 at number 48 Rue Keyenveld in Ixelles, Brussels, Belgium. She was known to her family as Adriaantje.




  • Vietnam
    Tuesday May 4, 1954
    First Indochina War

    The Last French offensive Took Place

    Vietnam
    Tuesday May 4, 1954

    With French supply lines interrupted, the French position became untenable, particularly when the advent of the monsoon season made dropping supplies and reinforcements by parachute difficult. With defeat imminent, the French sought to hold on until the opening of the Geneva peace meeting on April 26. The last French offensive took place on May 4, but it was ineffective. The Việt Minh then began to hammer the outpost with newly supplied Soviet Katyusha rockets and other weaponry provided by communist allies.




  • Omaha, Nebraska, U.S.
    Sunday May 4, 1958
    Warren Buffett

    Third Child

    Omaha, Nebraska, U.S.
    Sunday May 4, 1958

    In May 4, 1958, the Buffetts' third child, Peter Andrew, was born.




  • Geneva, Switzerland
    Monday May 4, 1964
    World Trade Organization

    Kennedy Round

    Geneva, Switzerland
    Monday May 4, 1964

    The Kennedy Round was the sixth session of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) multilateral trade negotiations held between 1964 and 1967 in Geneva, Switzerland. Congressional passage of the U.S. Trade Expansion Act in 1962 authorized the White House to conduct mutual tariff negotiations, ultimately leading to the Kennedy Round. Participation greatly increased over previous rounds. Sixty-six nations, representing 80% of world trade, attended the official opening on May 4, 1964, at the Palais des Nations. Despite several disagreements over details, the director-general announced the round’s success on May 15, 1967, and the final agreement was signed on June 30, 1967—the last day permitted under the Trade Expansion Act. The main objectives of the Kennedy Round were to: Slash tariffs by half with a minimum of exceptions. Break down farm trade restrictions. Remove non-tariff barriers. Help developing countries.


  • Ohio, U.S.
    Monday May 4, 1970
    Richard Nixon

    Ohio National Guardsmen shot and killed four unarmed students (Protesters)

    Ohio, U.S.
    Monday May 4, 1970

    Further protests erupted against what was perceived as an expansion of the conflict, and the unrest escalated to violence when Ohio National Guardsmen shot and killed four unarmed students on May 4.


  • London, England
    Friday May 4, 1979
    Margaret Thatcher

    The First Female British Prime Minister

    London, England
    Friday May 4, 1979

    The Labour government then faced fresh public unease about the direction of the country and a damaging series of strikes during the winter of 1978–79, dubbed the "Winter of Discontent". The Conservatives attacked the Labour government's unemployment record, using advertising with the slogan "Labour Isn't Working". A general election was called after the Callaghan ministry lost a motion of no confidence in early 1979. The Conservatives won a 44-seat majority in the House of Commons and Thatcher became the first female British prime minister.


  • Iran
    Friday May 4, 1979
    Iranian Revolution

    The establishement of The Revolutionary Guard

    Iran
    Friday May 4, 1979

    The Revolutionary Guard, or Pasdaran-e Enqelab, was established by Khomeini on 5 May 1979, as a counterweight both to the armed groups of the left, and to the Shah's military. The guard eventually grew into "a full-scale" military force,becoming "the strongest institution of the revolution."


  • Ljubljana, SR Slovenia, SFR Yugoslavia (now Slovenia)
    Sunday May 4, 1980
    Josip Broz Tito

    Death

    Ljubljana, SR Slovenia, SFR Yugoslavia (now Slovenia)
    Sunday May 4, 1980

    Tito died at the Medical Centre of Ljubljana on 4 May 1980, three days short of his 88th birthday.


  • Serbia
    Sunday May 4, 1980
    Kosovo War

    Tito's Death

    Serbia
    Sunday May 4, 1980

    Provincial power was still exercised by the Communist Party, but now devolved mainly to ethnic Albanian communists. Tito's death on 4 May 1980 ushered in a long period of political instability, worsened by growing economic crisis and nationalist unrest.


  • Falklands
    Tuesday May 4, 1982
    Falklands War

    The British lost the Type 42 destroyer HMS Sheffield to fire following an Exocet missile strike

    Falklands
    Tuesday May 4, 1982

    On 4 May, two days after the sinking of General Belgrano, the British lost the Type 42 destroyer HMS Sheffield to fire following an Exocet missile strike from the Argentine 2nd Naval Air Fighter/Attack Squadron.


  • Beijing, China
    Thursday May 4, 1989
    1989 Tiananmen Square protests

    100,000 Students marched on the Streets of Beijing

    Beijing, China
    Thursday May 4, 1989

    While some 100,000 students marched on the streets of Beijing on 4 May to commemorate the May Fourth Movement and repeat demands from earlier marches, many students were satisfied with the government's concessions. On 4 May, all Beijing universities except PKU and BNU announced the end of the class boycott. Subsequently, the majority of students began to lose interest in the movement.


  • Manhattan, New York, U.S.
    Thursday May 4, 1989
    Central Park Jogger Case

    Jermaine Robinson

    Manhattan, New York, U.S.
    Thursday May 4, 1989

    Jermaine Robinson, 15, was indicted on multiple counts of robbery and assault in the attacks on Lewis and John Loughlin, another jogger near the reservoir. In a plea deal, he pleaded guilty on October 5, 1989, to the robbery of Loughlin and was sentenced to a year in a juvenile facility.


  • Manhattan, New York, U.S.
    Thursday May 4, 1989
    Central Park Jogger Case

    Michael Briscoe

    Manhattan, New York, U.S.
    Thursday May 4, 1989

    Michael Briscoe, 17, was initially arrested for the rape of the female jogger, but his indictment was for riot and assault related to the attack of David Lewis, one of the four male joggers near the reservoir. In a plea deal arranged in June 1990, he pleaded guilty to assault and was immediately sentenced to a year in prison, with credit for time served.


  • Latvia
    Friday May 4, 1990
    Dissolution of the Soviet Union

    The Restoration of independence

    Latvia
    Friday May 4, 1990

    Latvia declared the restoration of independence on May 4, 1990, with the declaration stipulating a transitional period to complete independence.


  • U.S.
    Friday May 4, 2001
    Dwayne Johnson

    The Mummy Returns

    U.S.
    Friday May 4, 2001

    Johnson began his theatrical career in The Mummy Returns (2001).


  • Hong Kong, China
    Sunday May 4, 2003
    SARS Coronavirus (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome)

    SARS Infections dropping in Hong Kong

    Hong Kong, China
    Sunday May 4, 2003

    On May 4, the newly infected number of people in Hong Kong dropped to a single digit.


  • Espoo, Finland
    Friday May 4, 2012
    Nokia

    Ollila stepped down as Chairman

    Espoo, Finland
    Friday May 4, 2012

    Ollila stepped down as chairman on 4 May 2012 and was replaced by Risto Siilasmaa.


  • Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan
    Saturday May 4, 2019
    Sooronbay Jeenbekov

    Banning all mining of uranium in the Country

    Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan
    Saturday May 4, 2019

    On May 4 Jeenbekov ordered that all mining of uranium in the country will be banned.


  • United States
    Monday May 4, 2020
    Elon Musk

    Another Son

    United States
    Monday May 4, 2020

    On 8 January 2020, Grimes announced that she was pregnant with her first child with Musk. On 4 May 2020, Grimes gave birth to a son named X Æ A-Xii, where his first name is X and Æ is pronounced Ash.


  • North America
    Monday May 4, 2020
    Covid-19 Pandemic: 2020 Coronavirus outbreak

    North America state on May 4

    North America
    Monday May 4, 2020

    Canada reported 60,616 cases and 3,842 deaths on 4 May, while Mexico reported 23,471 cases and 2,154 deaths. The Dominican Republic and Cuba are the only Caribbean countries reporting more than 1,000 cases (7,954 and 1,649, respectively), while Panama and Honduras lead Central America with 7,197 and 1,055 cases, respectively.


  • Massachusetts
    Thursday May 4, 1752

    John Brooks Birth

    Massachusetts
    Thursday May 4, 1752

    The 11th Governor of Massachusetts, John Brooks, was born in 1752.


  • Oldenburg
    Saturday May 4, 1776

    Johann Herbart Birth

    Oldenburg
    Saturday May 4, 1776

    The German philosopher and psychologist, Johann Friedrich Herbart, was born in Oldenburg, Germany in 1776.


  • London
    Saturday May 4, 1535

    Five monks were strangled in London.

    London
    Saturday May 4, 1535

    Five monks from the London Charterhouse monastery were hung, drawn and quartered at Tyburn, London, for refusing to acknowledge Henry VIII as the head of the Church of England.


  • Tewkesbury, Gloucestershire, England, United Kingdom
    Thursday May 4, 1471

    Edward's death in battle

    Tewkesbury, Gloucestershire, England, United Kingdom
    Thursday May 4, 1471

    The only heir apparent to the English throne to ever die in battle was Edward of Westminster, who died at 17 years old.


  • New Netherlands
    Monday May 4, 1626

    Peter Minuit became directorof the New Netherland

    New Netherlands
    Monday May 4, 1626

    Peter Minuit (1580-1638) was director general of the New Netherland colony in America and founder of New Amsterdam.


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