September 4

Events
Up to 1900
476 - Romulus Augustus, the last emperor of the Western Roman Empire, is deposed when Odoacer proclaims himself King of Italy.
626 - Li Shimin, known after his death as Emperor Taizong of Tang, assumes the throne over the Tang Dynasty in China.
1260 - The forces of King Manfred of Sicily, in league with the Ghibellines, defeat the Guelphs at Monte Aperto.
1618 - A rock fall in the Val Bregaglia in the north of present-day Italy kills 2,430 people.
1666 - The most destructive damage of the Great Fire of London occurs.
1774 - Members of James Cook's expedition become the first Europeans to sight New Caledonia (presently part of France) in the Pacific Ocean, and name it after Scotland, for which Caledonia is another name.
1781 - Los Angeles is founded as El Pueblo de Nuestra Senora La Reina de Los Angeles de Porciuncula (the City of Our Lady, the Queen of the Angels of Porciuncula) by a group of 44 Spanish settlers.
1800 - The French garrison of Valletta surrenders to British troops who had been called at the invitation of the Maltese. The islands of Malta and Gozo become the Malta protectorate.
1812 - War of 1812: The Siege of Fort Harrison begins when the fort is set on fire.
1857 - Ernst Rietschl's Goethe-Schiller Monument in Weimar is unveiled.
1862 - American Civil War: Maryland campaign - General Robert E. Lee takes the army of Northern Virginia, and the war, into the North.
1870 - Emperor Napoleon III of France is deposed and the Third Republic is declared.
1882 - Thomas Edison flips the switch on the first-ever commercial electrical power plant, which lights up a square mile of Lower Manhattan.
1886 - Indian Wars: After almost 30 years of fighting, Apache leader Geronimo surrenders with his last band of warriors to General Nelson Miles at Skeleton Canyon in Arizona.
1888 - George Eastman registers the trademark Kodak, and receives a patent for his camera which uses roll film.
1890 - The now-Greek city of Thessaloniki is heavily damaged by fire, making 20,000 people homeless.
1894 - In New York City, 12,000 tailors strike against sweatshop working conditions.
1901 2000
1912 - Albanian rebels are successful in their revolt when the Ottoman Empire agrees to fulfill their demands.
1923 - In Lakehurst, New Jersey, the first American airship, the USS Shenandoah, takes to the sky for the first time.
1940 - World War II: The USS Greer becomes the first United States ship fired upon by a German submarine in the war, even though the United States is a neutral power. Tension heightens between the two nations as a result.
1941 - World War II: A German submarine carries out the first attack on a United States ship, the USS Greer.
1944 - World War II: Finland ends its state of war with the Soviet Union.
1944 - World War II: The British 11th Armored Division liberate the city of Antwerp in Belgium.
1945 - World War II: Japanese forces surrender on Wake Island after hearing word of their nation's surrender.
1948 - Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands abdicates for health reasons.
1950 - Beetle Bailey comic strip started.
1951 - The first live transcontinental television broadcast takes place in San Francisco, California from the Japanese Peace Treaty Conference.
1957 - Civil Rights Movement: Little Rock Crisis - Orval Faubus, governor of Arkansas, calls out the National Guard to prevent black students from enrolling in Central High School in Little Rock.
1957 - Ford Motor Company introduces the Edsel.
1962 - The 4th Asian Games in Jakarta end.
1963 - Swissair Flight 306 crashes near Durrenasch, Switzerland killing all on board.
1964 - Forth Road Bridge, near Edinburgh, is officially opened.
1967 - The last new episode of the television sitcom Gilligan's Island airs on CBS-TV.
1967 - Vietnam War: Operation Swift begins - The United States Marines launch a search-and-destroy mission in Quang Nam and Quang Tin Provinces. The ensuing 4-day battle in Que Son Valley kills 114 Americans and 376 North Vietnamese.
1970 - Salvador Allende is elected President of Chile.
1970 - The 6th Asian Games in Bangkok end.
1971 - A Boeing 727 carrying Alaska Airlines Flight 1866 crashes into the side of a mountain near Juneau, Alaska killing all 111 people on board.
1971 - The Lawrence Welk Show airs its last show.
1972 - Mark Spitz wins his seventh swimming gold medal at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, Germany, becoming the first Olympian to win seven gold medals.
1972 - The Price Is Right, hosted by Bob Barker, returns to television with a new format on CBS. Over three decades later, it continues to air and give away prizes galore.
1984 - Brian Mulroney is elected Prime Minister of Canada.
1985 - Discovery of Buckminsterfullerene, the first fullerene molecule of carbon.
1989 - In Leipzig, then-East Germany, the first of the so-called Monday Demonstrations takes place, calling for opposition groups to be allowed.
1995 - The Fourth World Conference on Women opens in Beijing with over 4,750 delegates from 181 countries in attendance.
1996 - War on Drugs: Colombian Revolutionary Armed Forces (FARC) 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 rolls off the assembly line.
1997 - A U.S. Air Force C-141 cargo plane and a German TU-154 collide in mid-air over southwest Africa killing 33.
1998 - Google is founded by Larry Page and Sergey Brin, two students at Stanford University.
From 2001
2006 - Australian naturalist and TV presenter Steve Irwin (Crocodile Hunter) is killed by a stingray off the Queensland coast.
2007 - Three terrorists are arrested in Germany on suspicion of being part of Al-Qaeda and allegedly planning attacks on Frankfurt International Airport and US military installations.
2009 - An airstrike in Kunduz, Afghanistan kills 142 people.
2010 - 2010 Canterbury earthquake: A magnitude 7.1 earthquake strikes New Zealand's South Island, causing widespread damage and power outages, particularly in Christchurch. No deaths are reported.
2014 - NATO leaders meet in South Wales to discuss conflicts in Ukraine and Iraq.
2016 - Canonization of Mother Teresa by Pope Francis.
2017 - The Queensferry Crossing, linking Fife and Lothian in Scotland, is officially opened by Queen Elizabeth II, exactly 53 years to the day after the opening of the nearby Forth Road Bridge.
2018 - Japan is hit by one of its strongest-ever typhoons.
Births
Up to 1900
1241 - King Alexander III of Scotland (died 1286)
1383 - Antipope Felix V (died 1451)
1454 - Henry Stafford, 2nd Duke of Buckingham, English politician (died 1483)
1557 - Sofie of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, Queen of Denmark and Norway (died 1631)
1563 - Wanli, Emperor of China (died 1620)
1596 - Constantijn Huygens, Dutch poet and composer (died 1687)
1681 - Carl Heinrich Biber, Austrian violinist and composer (died 1749)
1755 - Axel von Fersen the Younger, Swedish general and politician (died 1810)
1756 - Christen Pram, Norwegian-Danish writer (died 1821)
1768 - Francois-Rene de Chateaubriand, French writer and diplomat (died 1848)
1798 - Raynold Kaufgetz, Swiss soldier, economist and politician (died 1869)
1803 - Sarah Childress Polk, First Lady of the United States (died 1891)
1805 - William E. Dodge, American businessman and politician (died 1883)
1809 - Juliusz Slowacki, Polish poet (died 1849)
1809 - Federico Luigi Menabrea, Italian scientist, general and politician (died 1896)
1809 - Manuel Montt, 6th President of Chile (died 1880)
1824 - Anton Bruckner, Austrian composer (died 1896)
1825 - Dadabhai Naoroji, Indian academic and politician (died 1917)
1826 - Martin Wiberg, Swedish philosopher and inventor (died 1905)
1832 - Antonio Agliardi, Italian diplomat (died 1915)
1838 - William Gibson Sloan, Scottish missionary (died 1914)
1840 - William, Prince of Orange (died 1879)
1846 - Daniel Burnham, American architect (died 1912)
1848 - Lewis Howard Latimer, American inventor (died 1928)
1851 - John Dillon, Irish nationalist (died 1927)
1852 - Eilif Peterssen, Norwegian painter (died 1928)
1877 - Karlis Ulmanis, Latvian politician (died 1942)
1882 - Leonhard Frank, German writer (died 1961)
1885 - Antonio Bacci, Italian cardinal (died 1971)
1886 - Albert Orsborn, 6th General of the Salvation Army (died 1967)
1890 - La Argentina, Argentine-Spanish dancer and choreographer (died 1936)
1890 - Naime Wifstrand, Swedish actress (died 1968)
1891 - Fritz Todt, Nazi official (died 1942)
1892 - Darius Milhaud, French composer (died 1974)
1896 - Antonin Artaud, French playwright, actor, director (died 1948)
1896 - Aspasia Manos, Queen consort of Greece (died 1972)
1901 1950
1901 - William Lyons, English businessman (died 1985)
1901 - Ahmet Kutsi Tecer, Turkish poet and politician (died 1967)
1904 - Sabin Carr, American athlete (died 1983)
1905 - Walter Zapp, Latvian-Estonian inventor (died 2003)
1905 - Mary Renault, English novelist (died 1983)
1905 - Meade Lux Lewis, American pianist and composer (died 1964)
1906 - Max Delbruck, German biologist (died 1981)
1908 - Richard Wright, American writer (died 1960)
1908 - Edward Dmytryk, movie director (died 1999)
1913 - Stanford Moore, American chemist (died 1982)
1913 - Kenzo Tange, Japanese architect (died 2005)
1913 - Shmuel Wosner, Israeli rabbi (died 2015)
1915 - Rudolf Schock, German tenor (died 1986)
1917 - Henry Ford II, American businessman (died 1987)
1918 - Bill Talbert, American tennis player (died 1999)
1918 - Paul Harvey, American radio broadcaster (died 2009)
1918 - Gerald Wilson, American trumpeter and composer (died 2014)
1919 - Xavier Atencio, American animator, lyricist and engineer (died 2017)
1919 - Emile Bouchard, Canadian ice hockey player (died 2012)
1920 - Teddy Johnson, British singer
1921 - Ariel Ramirez, Argentine composer (died 2010)
1922 - Per Olof Sundman, Swedish politician (died 1992)
1924 - Joan Aiken, English author (died 2004)
1925 - Forrest Carter, writer (died 1979)
1926 - Bert Olmstead, Canadian ice hockey player (died 2015)
1927 - John McCarthy, American computer scientist (died 2011)
1928 - Dick York, American actor (died 1992)
1929 - Robert V. Keeley, American diplomat (died 2015)
1931 - Mitzi Gaynor, American actress
1932 - Dinsdale Landen, English actor (died 2003)
1934 - Clive Granger, Welsh economist (died 2009)
1934 - Eduard Khil, Russian singer and actor (died 2012)
1937 - Dawn Fraser, Australian swimmer
1939 - Erwin Teufel, German politician
1941 - Earl Ross, Canadian racing driver (died 2014)
1941 - Sushilkumar Shinde, Indian politician
1942 - Raymond Floyd, American golfer
1942 - Jerry Jarrett, American wrestler and promoter
1942 - Merald "Bubba" Knight, American singer-songwriter and producer
1943 - Hedi Annabi, Tunisian diplomat (died 2010)
1944 - Tony Atkinson, British economist (died 2017)
1944 - Jennifer Salt, American actress, producer and screenwriter
1946 - Dave Liebman, American saxophonist, flautist and composer
1948 - Samuel Hui, Hong Kong singer
1949 - Tom Watson, American golfer
1951 1975
1951 - Martin Chambers, English drummer and singer (The Pretenders)
1951 - Marita Ulvskog, Swedish politician
1952 - Stephen Easley, American politician (died 2013)
1952 - Rishi Kapoor, Indian actor, director and producer
1953 - Fatih Terim, Turkish football manager
1955 - Brian Schweitzer, American politician, former Governor of Montana
1955 - David Broza, Israeli singer-songwriter and guitarist
1957 - Khandi Alexander, American actress
1957 - Patricia Tallman, American actress
1958 - George Hurley, American drummer
1958 - Drew Pinsky, American radio and television host
1958 - Satoshi Tezuka, Japanese footballer
1959 - Kevin Harrington, Australian actor
1959 - Armin Kogler, Austrian ski jumper
1960 - Damon Wayans, American actor and comedian
1962 - Shinya Yamanaka, Japanese physician, 2012 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine winner
1963 - John Vanbiesbrouck, American ice hockey player, coach and manager
1963 - Sami Yaffa, Finnish singer-songwriter and bass player
1964 - Anthony Weiner, American politician
1964 - Aadesh Shrivastava, Indian composer and singer (died 2015)
1966 - Yanka Dyagileva, Russian singer-songwriter (died 1991)
1966 - Jeff Tremaine, American director, producer and screenwriter
1968 - Mike Piazza, American baseball player
1968 - John DiMaggio, American voice actor
1969 - Sasha, Welsh DJ and music producer
1969 - Ramon Dekkers, Dutch kick-boxer (died 2013)
1969 - Giorgi Margvelashvili, former President of Georgia
1970 - Daisy Dee, American singer and actress
1970 - Igor Cavalera, Brazilian drummer
1970 - Ione Skye, British actress
1970 - Richard Speight Jr., American actor, director, screenwriter and producer
1974 - Carmit Bachar, American singer, dancer and actress (Pussycat Dolls)
1974 - Nona Gaye, American singer, model and actress
1975 - Mark Ronson, English music producer
From 1976
1977 - Lucie Silvas, English singer
1977 - Sun-woo Kim, South Korean baseball player
1978 - Wes Bentley, American actor
1979 - Maxim Afinogenov, Russian ice hockey player
1979 - Kerstin Garefrekes, German footballer
1980 - Zachary Abel, American actor
1980 - Max Greenfield, American actor
1981 - Beyonce Knowles, American singer
1982 - Mark Lewis-Francis, English athlete
1982 - Sarah Solemani, English actress
1983 - Jennifer Metcalfe, English actress
1984 - Hamish McIntosh, Australian footballer
1984 - Camila Bordonaba, Argentine singer and actress
1985 - Raul Albiol, Spanish footballer
1986 - Aaron Hunt, German footballer
1988 - JJ Hickson, American basketball player
1990 - Stefania Fernandez, Venezuelan model
1990 - Jonny Lomax, English rugby player
1990 - James Bay, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
1991 - Carter Jenkins, American actor
Deaths
Up to 1950
422 - Pope Boniface I
799 - Musa al-Kazim, Shia Imam (born 745)
1037 - Bermudo III of Leon (born 1010)
1063 - Tughril, Turkish ruler (born 990)
1199 - Joan of England, Queen of Sicily (born 1165)
1588 - Robert Dudley, 1st Earl of Leicester, English statesman (born 1532)
1767 - Charles Townshend, English politician (born 1725)
1784 - Cesar-Francois Cassini de Thury, French astronomer and cartographer (born 1714)
1804 - Richard Somers, American naval officer (born 1778)
1821 - Jose Miguel Carrera, Chilean politician (born 1785)
1852 - William MacGillivray, naturalist and ornithologist (born 1796)
1864 - John Hunt Morgan, American Confederate military leader (born 1825)
1907 - Edvard Grieg, Norwegian composer (born 1843)
1914 - William Gibson Sloan, Scottish missionary (born 1838)
1914 - Charles Peguy, French poet and philosopher (born 1873)
1916 - Jose Echegaray y Eizaguirre, Spanish writer (born 1832)
1930 - Vladimir Arsenyev, Russian adventurer and writer (born 1872)
1940 - George William de Carteret, French-English journalist and author (born 1869)
1944 - Erich Fellgiebel, German general (born 1886)
1949 - Liberato Pinto, Prime Minister of Portugal (born 1880)
1951 2010
1963 - Robert Schuman, French politician (born 1886)
1965 - Albert Schweitzer, German physician (born 1875)
1974 - Marcel Achard, French playwright (born 1899)
1974 - Lewi Pethrus, Swedish minister (born 1884)
1977 - Jean Rostand, French biologist and philosopher (born 1894)
1977 - E. F. Schumacher, German economist and statistician (born 1911)
1986 - Hank Greenberg, American baseball player (born 1911)
1987 - Bill Bowes, English cricketer (born 1908)
1989 - Georges Simenon, Belgian-French writer (born 1903)
1989 - Ronald Syme, New Zealand classicist and historian (born 1903)
1990 - Irene Dunne, American actress and singer (born 1898)
1991 - Charlie Barnet, American saxophonist, composer and producer (born 1950)
1991 - Tom Tryon, American actor and novelist (born 1926)
1991 - Dottie West, American country music singer (born 1932)
1993 - Herve Villechaize, actor (born 1943)
1995 - William Kunstler, lawyer (born 1919)
1997 - Aldo Rossi, Italian architect (born 1931)
2003 - Lola Bobesco, Romanian-Belgian violinist (born 1921)
2003 - Tibor Varga, Hungarian violinist and conductor (born 1921)
2004 - Alphonso Ford, American basketball player (born 1971)
2004 - Moe Norman, golfer (born 1929)
2004 - James O. Page, American founder of modern emergency medical response (born 1936)
2006 - Steve Irwin, Australian naturalist and TV presenter (born 1962).
2006 - Giacinto Facchetti, Italian footballer (born 1942).
2006 - Astrid Varnay, Swedish soprano (born 1918)
From 2011
2011 - Princess Lalla Aicha of Morocco (born 1930)
2014 - Habib Wali Mohammad, Pakistani singer (born 1921)
2014 - Martynas Andriukaitis, Lithuanian basketball player (born 1981)
2014 - Donatas Banionis, Lithuanian actor (born 1924)
2014 - Gustavo Cerati, Argentine singer and musician (born 1959)
2014 - Franca Falcucci, Italian politician (born 1926)
2014 - Wlodzimierz Kotonski, Polish composer (born 1925)
2014 - Gerrit Kouwenaar, Dutch poet (born 1923)
2014 - Roy Leonard, American radio personality (born 1931)
2014 - Hopeton Lewis, Jamaican singer (born 1947)
2014 - Orunamamu, American-Canadian storyteller (born 1921)
2014 - Wolfhart Pannenberg, German theologian (born 1928)
2014 - Joan Rivers, American comedienne, actress and entertainer (born 1933)
2015 - Geoffrey Bolton, Australian historian (born 1931)
2015 - Graham Brazier, New Zealand musician and songwriter (born 1952)
2015 - Wilfred de Souza, Indian politician (born 1927)
2015 - Chandra Bahadur Dangi, Nepalese shortest-man-ever record holder (born 1939)
2015 - Rico Rodriguez, Cuban trombonist (born 1934)
2015 - Sylvie Joly, French actress and comedienne (born 1934)
2015 - Jean Darling, American actress (born 1922)
2017 - Sultan Ahmed, Indian politician (born 1953)
2017 - David Consunji, Filipino engineer and industrialist (born 1921)
2017 - Mountaga Diallo, Senegalese diplomat (born 1942)
2017 - Rogeria, Brazilian actress and drag queen (born 1943)
2017 - Gastone Moschin, Italian actor (born 1929)
2017 - Les McDonald, British-Canadian runner (born 1933)
2018 - Sheldon S. Cohen, American politician (born 1927)
2018 - Bill Daily, American actor (born 1927)
2018 - Christopher Lawford, American actor, writer and political activist (born 1955)
2018 - Ab McDonald, Canadian ice hockey player (born 1936)
2018 - Ralph Wolfe Cowan, American portrait artist (born 1931)
2018 - Don Gardner, American singer-songwriter and drummer (born 1931)
2018 - Istvan Bethlen, Hungarian aristocrat and economist (born 1946)
2019 - Dai Tielang, Singaporean-Chinese animator (born 1930)
2019 - Patrick Dehornoy, French mathematician (born 1952)
2019 - Peter Ellis, New Zealand child sex offender (born 1958)
2019 - Roger Etchegaray, French cardinal (born 1922)
Observances
Immigrant's Day (Argentina)
September 04