April 4 is the 94th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (95th in leap years). There are 271 days remaining.
Events 1581 - Francis Drake completes a circumnavigation of the world and is knighted by Elizabeth I. 1814 - Napoleon abdicates for the first time. 1818 - The United States Congress adopts the flag of the United States as having 13 red and white stripes and one star for each state (20 stars) with additional stars to be added whenever a new state is added to the Union. 1841 - President William Henry Harrison dies of pneumonia becoming the first President of the United States to die in office and at one month, the elected president with the shortest term served. 1850 - Los Angeles, California is incorporated as a city. 1887 - Argonia, Kansas elects Susanna Medora Salter as the first female mayor in the United States. 1905 - In India, an earthquake near Kangra, kills 370,000. 1939 - Faisal II becomes King of Iraq. 1945 - World War II: American troops liberate Ohrdruf death camp in Germany. 1949 - Twelve nations sign The North Atlantic Treaty creating the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. 1964 - The Beatles occupy all of the top 5 positions on the Billboard singles chart in the United States. 1968 - Martin Luther King Jr assassinated. 1968 - Apollo program: NASA launches Apollo 6. 1969 - Dr. Denton Cooley implants the first temporary artificial heart. 1975 - A United States Air Force C-5A Galaxy crashes near Saigon, South Vietnam shortly after takeoff, transportnig orphans. 172 people are killed. 1976 - Prince Norodom Sihanouk resigns as leader of Cambodia and is placed under house arrest. 1979 - President Zulfikar Ali Bhutto of Pakistan is executed. 1983 - Space Shuttle Challenger makes its maiden voyage into space. 1984 - President Ronald Reagan calls for an international ban on chemical weapons. 1991 - Senator John Heinz of Pennsylvania and six others are killed when a helicopter collided with their plane over Merion, Pennsylvania. Births 186 - Caracalla, Roman emperor († 217) 1648 - Grinling Gibbons master wood-worker 1785 - Bettina von Arnim, lyricist († 1859) 1843 - William Jackson, photographer 1875 - Pierre Monteux, conductor († 1964) 1876 - Maurice de Vlaminck, painter († 1958) 1884 - Isoroku Yamamoto, naval commander († 1943) 1885 - Arthur Murray, dancer 1888 - Tris Speaker, Baseball Hall of Famer († 1958) 1902 - Louise Leveque de Vilmorin, actress († 1969) 1906 - John Cameron Swayze, journalist, television host († 1995) 1906 - Bea Benaderet, actress († 1968) 1910 - Juri Pawlowitsch German, writer († 1967) 1914 - Marguerite Duras, writer († 1996) 1915 - Muddy Waters, blues musician († 1983) 1922 - Elmer Bernstein, composer 1928 - Maya Angelou, poet, novelist 1932 - Andrei Tarkovsky, film director († 1986) 1932 - Anthony Perkins, actor († 1992) 1938 - A. Bartlett Giamatti, president of Yale Univ. and baseball commissioner who banned Pete Rose. († 1989). 1939 - Hugh Masakela, musician 1945 - Daniel Cohn-Bendit, political activist 1945 - Craig T. Nelson, actor "Coach" "The District" 1950 - Christine Lahti, actress 1956 - David E. Kelley, writer, television producer 1957 - Aki Kaurismäki, Finnish film-director 1960 - Hugo Weaving, actor 1963 - Graham Norton, talk show host 1965 - Robert Downey Jr, actor 1970 - Barry Pepper, actor 1973 - David Blaine, illusionist 1974 - Dave Mirra, extreme sports champion 1979 - Heath Ledger, actor 1991 - Jamie Spears, television show host Deaths 397 - St. Ambrose, bishop of Milan 1774 - Oliver Goldsmith, playwright 1841 - William Henry Harrison, 9th President of the United States 1884 - Marie Bashkirtseff, artist 1919 - Sir William Crookes, chemist and physicist 1951 - Al Christie, early Hollywood director/producer 1968 - Dr. Martin Luther King Jr, civil rights activist, minister 1972 - Stefan Wolpe, composer 1972 - Adam Clayton Powell Jr, American politician 1979 - Ali Bhutto, President and Prime Minister of Pakistan 1980 - Red Sovine, country music entertainer 1983 - Gloria Swanson, actress 1987 - C.L. Moore, science fiction writer 1991 - H. John Heinz III, Member of the U.S. Senate in a plane crash 1999 - Early Wynn, Baseball Hall of Famer Holidays and observances See Also: April 3 - April 5 - March 4 - May 4 -- listing of all days January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December
April 3 - April 5 - March 4 - May 4 -- listing of all days
January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December