May 4

Events
Up to 1900
1415 - Religious reformers John Wycliffe and Jan Hus are condemned as heretics at the Council of Constance.
1436 - Assassination of Swedish rebel (later national hero) Engelbrekt Engelbrektsson.
1471 - Wars of the Roses: Battle of Tewkesbury - Edward IV of England defeats the Lancastrian Army under Edward of Westminster, Prince of Wales, who is killed in the battle.
1493 - Pope Alexander VI divides the "New World" between Spain and Portugal along the Line of Demarcation.
1626 - Dutch explorer Peter Minuit arrives at the island that is now known as Manhattan.
1675 - Charles II of England orders the construction of the Greenwich Royal Observatory.
1776 - Rhode Island becomes the first American colony to withdraw its allegiance to King George III of Great Britain.
1780 - The first derby in horse racing is held at Epsom, England.
1799 - Fourth Anglo-Mysore War: Battle of Seringapatam - Siege of Seringatapatam ends with the city being invaded and Tipu Sultan being killed by the besieging British army under command of George Harris.
1814 - Napoleon I begins his exile on the Italian island of Elba.
1814 - Ferdinand VII returns Spain to absolute rule.
1859 - The Cornwall Railway opens across the Royal Albert Bridge, linking the counties of Devon and Cornwall in the Southwest of England.
1869 - The naval Battle of Hakodate is fought in Japan.
1886 - Haymarket Square Riot: A bomb is thrown at policemen trying to break up a labor rally in Chicago, killing 8 people and injuring 60. The police fire into the crowd.
1901 2000
1902 - Eight fishermen die in the Galway Bay drowning tragedy.
1904 - The construction of the Panama Canal begins.
1904 - German football club FC Schalke 04 is founded.
1910 - The Royal Canadian Navy is created.
1912 - Italy occupies the island of Rhodes.
1919 - May Fourth Movement: Student demonstrations take place in Tiananmen Square, Beijing, against the Treaty of Versailles, which would transfer Chinese territory to Japan.
1924 - The 1924 Summer Olympics in Paris begin.
1932 - Gangster Al Capone begins an eleven-year prison sentence for tax evasion.
1942 - World War II: The Battle of the Coral Sea begins with an attack by aircraft from the US aircraft carrier USS Yorktown on Japanese naval forces at Tulagi island in the Solomon Islands, which Japanese forces had invaded a day before.
1945 - World War II: British forces liberate Neuengamme Concentration camp near Hamburg.
1945 - World War II: At Luneburg Heath, the North German army surrenders to British field marshal Bernard Montgomery.
1945 - World War II: Denmark is liberated.
1946 - United States Marines stop a two-day riot at Alcatraz, in which five people were killed.
1949 - In Italy, almost the whole entire Torino football team is killed in a plane crash.
1953 - Ernest Hemingway wins the Pulitzer Prize for The Old Man and the Sea.
1959 - The first Grammy Awards are given.
1961 - Civil rights: The "Freedom Riders" begin a bus trip through the Southern United States.
1970 - Kent State shootings: The Ohio National Guard opens fire on student anti-war demonstrators at Kent State University. Four students are killed, and nine students are injured.
1974 - An all-female Japanese team reaches the summit of Manaslu in the Himalayas. This is the first time that women have reached the top of a peak over 8000 metres high.
1979 - Margaret Thatcher becomes Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.
1980 - Yugoslavia's President Josip Broz Tito dies in Ljubljana, at the age of 87.
1982 - Argentine bombers destroy the HMS Sheffield in the Falklands War, as 20 sailors are killed.
1988 - The PEPCON disaster rocks Henderson, Nevada, as tons of space shuttle fuel detonate during a fire.
1989 - Iran-Contra Affair: Oliver North is convicted of three crimes and acquitted of nine other charges. The convictions are later overturned.
1990 - Latvia declares independence from the Soviet Union.
1993 - A new democratic constitution takes effect in Andorra, ending its feudal system, which had lasted since 1278. It becomes a co-principality with the elected President of France and the Catalan Bishop of Urgel as joint heads of state, with an elected Prime Minister as Head of Government.
1994 - Yitzhak Rabin and Yasser Arafat sign a peace accord regarding Palestinian autonomy granting self-rule to Jericho and the Gaza Strip.
1998 - "Unabomber" Theodore Kaczynski is given four life sentences in prison.
2000 - Ken Livingstone becomes Mayor of London.
From 2001
2001 - Guido Westerwelle becomes leader of Germany's Free Democratic Party.
2002 - A plane crash in a suburb of Kano, Nigeria kills more than 148 people.
2002 - NASA launches the satellite Aqua to explore the role of water in Earth's ecosystem.
2007 - Greensburg, Kansas, is destroyed by a tornado.
2010 - The painting Nude, Green Leaves and Bust by Pablo Picasso is sold at auction, at a record price for a work of art.
2018 - It is announced that the awarding of the 2018 Nobel Prize in Literature will be delayed until October 2019 because of a sexual harassment and corruption scandal at the Swedish Academy.
2019 - The first of three days of coronation ceremonies takes place for King Vajiralongkorn of Thailand.
Births
Up to 1900
1008 - King Henry I of France (d. 1060)
1649 - Chhatrasal, Indian warrior (d. 1731)
1654 - Kangxi Emperor of China (d. 1722)
1655 - Bartolomeo Cristofori, Italian instrument maker (d. 1731)
1733 - Jean-Charles de Borda, French mathematician and physicist (d. 1799)
1752 - John Brooks, 11th Governor of Massachusetts (d. 1825)
1767 - Tyagaraja, Indian composer (d. 1847)
1772 - Friedrich Arnold Brockhaus, German publisher (d. 1823)
1777 - Louis Jacques Thenard, French chemist (d. 1857)
1796 - Horace Mann, American educator (d. 1859)
1810 - Count Alexandre Joseph Colonna-Walewski, son of Napoleon Bonaparte (d. 1868)
1820 - Julia Gardiner Tyler, First Lady of the United States (d. 1889)
1822 - Charles Boucher de Boucherville, 3rd Premier of Quebec (d. 1915)
1825 - Thomas Henry Huxley, British biologist and educator (d. 1895)
1825 - Augustus Le Plongeon, British-American photographer and antiquarian (d. 1908)
1826 - Frederic Edwin Church, American painter (d. 1900)
1827 - John Hanning Speke, British explorer (d. 1864)
1845 - William Kingdon Clifford, British philosopher and mathematician (d. 1879)
1852 - Alice Pleasance Liddell, inspiration for Alice in Wonderland (d. 1934)
1864 - Marie Booth, English daughter of William Booth and Catherine Booth (d. 1937)
1870 - Alexandre Benois, Russian artist (d. 1960)
1872 - A. Mitchell Palmer, United States Attorney General (d. 1936)
1873 - Joe De Grasse, Canadian-American actor and director (d. 1940)
1875 - John J. Blaine, 24th Governor of Wisconsin (d. 1934)
1881 - Alexander Kerensky, Russian political figure (d. 1970)
1883 - Wang Jingwei, Chinese politician (d. 1944)
1887 - Andrew Dasburg, American painter (d. 1979)
1889 - Francis Spellman, American archbishop (d. 1967)
1890 - Franklin Carmichael, Canadian artist (d. 1945)
1895 - Cornelius Van Til, Dutch theologian (d. 1987)
1899 - Fritz von Opel, German industrialist, rocket pioneer and racing driver (d. 1971)
1901 1950
1903 - Luther Adler, American actor (d. 1984)
1904 - Umm Kulthum, Egyptian singer (d. 1975) (official birthdate)
1907 - Walter Walsh, American FBI agent and Olympic shooter (d. 2014)
1907 - Lincoln Kirstein, American writer and impresario (d. 1996)
1913 - Princess Katherine of Greece and Denmark (d. 2007)
1914 - Maedayama Eigoro, Japanese sumo wrestler (d. 1971)
1916 - Jane Jacobs, American-Canadian journalist, writer and activist (d. 2006)
1918 - Kakuei Tanaka, Prime Minister of Japan (d. 1993)
1919 - Basil Yamey, South African economist
1921 - Harry K. Daghlian, Jr., American physicist (d. 1945)
1922 - Eugenie Clark, American icthyologist (d. 2015)
1922 - King Fleming, American jazz pianist (d. 2014)
1922 - John Paul Hammerschmidt, American politician (d. 2015)
1922 - Paul-Emile Charbonneau, Canadian bishop (d. 2014)
1923 - Eric Sykes, British comedian (d. 2012)
1925 - Luis Herrera Campins, former President of Venezuela (d. 2007)
1925 - Jeno Buzansky, Hungarian footballer (d. 2015)
1927 - Terry Scott, English actor (d. 1994)
1928 - Hosni Mubarak, former President of Egypt (d. 2020)
1928 - Maynard Ferguson, Canadian jazz trumpeter and bandleader (d. 2006)
1928 - Wolfgang von Trips, German racecar driver (d. 1961)
1929 - Sydney Lamb, American linguist and academic
1929 - Audrey Hepburn, Belgian-born British actress (d. 1993)
1929 - Manuel Contreras, Chilean general, convicted of crimes against humanity (d. 2015)
1930 - Katherine Jackson, mother of Jackson musical family
1930 - Roberta Peters, American soprano
1931 - Gennady Rozhdestvensky, Russian conductor
1934 - Tatiana Samoilova, Russian actress (d. 2014)
1935 - Don Friedman, American jazz pianist (d. 2016)
1937 - Ron Carter, American jazz musician
1938 - Carlos Monsivais, Mexican writer and journalist (d. 2010)
1939 - Paul Gleason, American actor (d. 2006)
1940 - Robin Cook, American physician and author
1940 - Sean Barrett, British voice actor
1943 - Georgi Asparuhov, Bulgarian footballer (d. 1971)
1943 - Mihail Chemyakin, Russian painter and sculptor
1944 - Russi Taylor, American voice actress
1944 - Monica Bleibtreu, Austrian actress (d. 2009)
1945 - Jan Mulder, Dutch footballer
1947 - Trivimi Velliste, Estonian politician
1947 - Richard Jenkins, American actor
1948 - George Tupou V, King of Tonga (d. 2012)
1949 - Stella Parton, American singer-songwriter and actress
1950 - Darryl Hunt, musician
1951 1975
1951 - Jackie Jackson, American singer, member of the Jackson musical family
1951 - Gerard Jugnot, French actor and director
1951 - Mick Mars, American musician (Motley Crue)
1951 - Colleen Hanabusa, American politician
1953 - Oleta Adams, American singer and pianist
1954 - Pia Zadora, American actress and singer
1956 - Charlotte Green, English radio and television presenter
1956 - Michael L. Gernhardt, American engineer and astronaut
1956 - David Guterson, American novelist
1956 - Ulrike Meyfarth, German athlete
1958 - Keith Haring, American artist (d. 1990)
1958 - Caroline Spelman, British politician
1959 - Inger Nilsson, Swedish actress
1959 - Maurizio Cheli, Italian astronaut and air force officer
1959 - Randy Travis, American singer-songwriter, musician and actor
1960 - Werner Faymann, Chancellor of Austria
1961 - Jay Aston, English singer-songwriter and dancer
1961 - Chris Packham, English wildlife expert and television presenter
1961 - Luis Herrera, Colombian cyclist
1963 - Vange Leonel, Brazilian singer-songwriter, journalist, novelist, playwright and activist (d. 2014)
1964 - Monica Bardem, Spanish actress
1964 - Rocco Siffredi, Italian pornographic actor and director
1967 - Ana Gasteyer, American actress
1968 - Francesca Bortolozzi, Italian fencer
1970 - Paul Wiseman, New Zealand cricketer
1970 - Will Arnett, Canadian actor
1972 - Mike Dirnt, American musician (Green Day)
1973 - Guillermo Barros Schelotti, Argentine footballer
1974 - Tony McCoy, Northern Irish jockey
1975 - Louise Hansen, Danish footballer
1975 - Catherine Trudeau, Canadian actress
From 1976
1977 - Emily Perkins, Canadian actress
1978 - Daisuke Ono, Japanese voice actor
1979 - Lance Bass, American singer (*NSYNC)
1979 - Lesley Vainikolo, Tongan-born rugby player
1982 - Nathan Tyson, English footballer
1983 - Trisha Krishnan, Indian actress
1984 - Little Boots, British singer
1985 - Ravinder Bopara, English cricketer
1987 - Cesc Fabregas, Spanish footballer
1987 - Jorge Lorenzo, Spanish motorcycle racer
1988 - David Gray, Scottish footballer
1989 - Rory McIlroy, Northern Irish golfer
1989 - Daniel Gyurta, Hungarian swimmer
1990 - Shunki Takahashi, Japanese footballer
1992 - Ashley Rickards, American actress
1992 - Courtney Jines, American actress
1994 - Alexander Gould, American actor
1994 - Pauline Ducruet, Monegasque royal
2002 - Anastasiya Petryk, Ukrainian singer
2009 - Prince Henrik of Denmark
Deaths
Up to 1900
1406 - Coluccio Salutati, Italian humanist and politician (b. 1331)
1436 - Engelbrekt Engelbrektsson, Swedish statesman
1471 - Edward of Westminster, Prince of Wales (b. 1453)
1471 - Edmund of Beaufort, 4th Duke of Somerset, English military commander (b. 1438)
1519 - Lorenzo de' Medici, Duke of Urbino (b. 1492)
1566 - Luca Ghini, Italian physician and botanist (b. 1490)
1604 - Claudio Merulo, Italian organist and composer (b. 1533)
1605 - Ulisse Aldrovandi, Italian physician and naturalist (b. 1522)
1615 - Adriaan van Roomen, Flemish mathematician (b. 1561)
1677 - Isaac Barrow, English mathematician and theologian (b. 1630)
1729 - Louis-Antoine, Cardinal de Noailles, French cardinal (b. 1651)
1734 - James Thornhill, English painter
1774 - Duke Anthony Ulrich of Brunswick (b. 1714)
1790 - Matthew Tilghman, American planter and revolutionary leader (b. 1718)
1799 - Tipu Sultan, Indian military leader (b. 1750)
1811 - Mikolay Kamensky, Russian general (b. 1776)
1839 - Denis Davydov, Russian general and poet (b. 1784)
1849 - Hokusai, Japanese artist (b. 1760)
1859 - Joseph Diaz Gergonne, French mathematician (b. 1771)
1880 - Edward Clark, 8th Governor of Texas (b. 1815)
1897 - Duchess Sophie Charlotte of Bavaria (b. 1847)
1901 2000
1901 - John Jones Ross, 7th Premier of Quebec (b. 1831)
1903 - Goce Delchev, Macedonian revolutionary figure (b. 1872)
1916 - Easter Rising leaders executed in Ireland:
Edward Daly (b. 1891)
Joseph Mary Plunkett (b. 1887)
Willie Pearse (b. 1891)
1921 - Alfred Hermann Fried, Austrian pacifist and writer (b. 1864)
1923 - Ralph McKittrick, American golfer and tennis player (b. 1877)
1924 - E. Nesbit, English author and poet (b. 1858)
1938 - Carl von Ossietzky, German pacifist (b. 1889)
1945 - Fedor von Bock, German field marshal (b. 1877)
1949 - Torino footballers killed in plane crash:
Aldo Ballarin, Italian footballer (b. 1922)
Dino Ballarin, Italian footballer (b. 1925)
Guglielmo Gabetto, Italian footballer (b. 1916)
Leslie Lievesley, English footballer (b. 1911)
Valentino Mazzola, Italian footballer (b. 1919)
Romeo Menti, Italian footballer (b. 1919)
1953 - Alexandre Pharamond, French rugby player (b. 1876)
1955 - George Enescu, Romanian composer (b. 1881)
1961 - Maurice Merleau-Ponty, French philosopher (b. 1908)
1961 - Anita Stewart, American actress (b. 1895)
1970 - Victims of the Kent State shootings:
Allison Krause, Kent State victim (b. 1951)
Jeffrey Miller, Kent State victim (b. 1950)
Sandra Scheuer, Kent State victim (b. 1949)
William Schroeder, Kent State victim (b. 1950)
1971 - Seamus Elliott, Irish cyclist (b. 1934)
1972 - Edward Calvin Kendall, American chemist (b. 1886)
1980 - Josip Broz Tito, President of Yugoslavia (b. 1892)
1984 - Willie Ormond, Scottish footballer (b. 1927)
1984 - Diana Dors, English actress (b. 1931)
1985 - Clarence Wiseman, 10th General of the Salvation Army (b. 1907)
1987 - Paul Butterfield, American musician (b. 1942)
1991 - Mohammed Abdel Wahab, Egyptian singer-songwriter and mandolin player (b. 1907)
2000 - Hendrik Casimir, Dutch physicist (b. 1909)
From 2001
2002 - Francois Adam, Belgian cyclist (b. 1911)
2008 - Kishan Maharaj, Indian tabla player (b. 1923)
2009 - Dom DeLuise, American entertainer (b. 1933)
2010 - Luigi Poggi, Italian cardinal (b. 1917)
2012 - Adam Yauch, American musician (Beastie Boys) (b. 1964)
2012 - Rashidi Yekini, Nigerian footballer (b. 1963)
2013 - Christian de Duve, Belgian biochemist (b. 1917)
2013 - Otis R. Bowen, 44th Governor of Indiana (b. 1918)
2013 - Mario Machado, Chinese-American journalist and actor (b. 1935)
2014 - Elena Baltacha, Ukrainian-born British tennis player (b. 1983)
2014 - Dick Ayers, American comic book artist and cartoonist (b. 1924)
2014 - Edgar Cortright, American scientist and engineer (b. 1923)
2014 - Tatiana Samoilova, Russian actress (b. 1934)
2015 - Eva Aeppli, Swiss artist (b. 1925)
2015 - Ellen Albertini Dow, American actress (b. 1913)
2015 - Andrew Lewis, Guyanese boxer (b. 1970)
2015 - Joshua Ozersky, American food writer (b. 1967)
2015 - Zhivko Gospodinov, Bulgarian footballer (b. 1957)
2016 - Jean-Baptiste Bagaza, President of Burundi (b. 1946)
2016 - Bob Bennett, American politician (b. 1933)
2016 - Karl W. Butzer, German-American geographer (b. 1934)
2016 - Olle Ljungstrom, Swedish singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1961)
2016 - Rita Renoir, French entertainer and actress (b. 1934)
2016 - Friedrich Schattleitner, Austrian sports shooter (b. 1923)
2017 - William Baumol, American economist (b. 1922)
2017 - Bart Carlier, Dutch footballer (b. 1929)
2017 - C. Jackson Grayson, American businessman and writer (b. 1923)
2017 - Victor Lanoux, French actor (b. 1936)
2017 - Edwin Sherin, American-Canadian television director and producer (b. 1930)
2017 - R. Lee Wrights, American political activist and consultant (b. 1958)
2018 - Abi Ofarim, Israeli musician (b. 1937)
2018 - Naser Cheshm Azar, Iranian musician, composer and arranger (b. 1950)
2018 - Renate Dorrestein, Dutch writer and journalist (b. 1954)
2019 - Prospero Nograles, Filipino politician (b. 1947)
2019 - Rachel Held Evans, American Christian writer (b. 1981)
2019 - Terje Moe Gustavsen, Norwegian politician (b. 1954)
Observances
Unofficial Star Wars Day ("May the fourth be with you")
International Firefighters Day
Youth Day (China, Fiji)
Greenery Day (Japan)
Bird Day (United States)
Cassinga Day (Namibia)
Remembrance of the Dead (Netherlands)
May 04