Poll without page-refresh
Article on other languages:
February 4 Gregorian calendar . There are 330 days remaining until the end of the year (331 in leap years ).
Events
211 - Roman Emperor Septimius Severus dies, leaving the Roman Empire in the hands of his two quarrelsome sons, Caracalla and Geta .960 - The coronation of Zhao Kuangyin as Emperor Taizu of Song , initiating the Song Dynasty period of China that would last more than three centuries.1454 - In the Thirteen Years' War , the Secret Council of the Prussian Confederation sends a formal act of disobedience to the Grand Master .1703 - In Edo (now Tokyo ), 46 of the Forty-Seven Ronin commit seppuku (ritual suicide) as recompense for avenging their master's death.1789 - George Washington is unanimously elected to be the first President of the United States by the U.S. Electoral College .1792 - George Washington is unanimously elected to a second term as President of the United States by the U.S. Electoral College .1794 - The French legislature abolishes slavery throughout all territories of the French Republic .1801 - John Marshall is sworn in as Chief Justice of the United States .1810 - Royal Navy seizes Guadeloupe .1825 - The Ohio Legislature authorizes the construction of the Ohio and Erie Canal and the Miami and Erie Canal .1859 - The Codex Sinaiticus is discovered in Egypt .1861 - American Civil War : In Montgomery, Alabama , Delegates from six break-away U.S. states meet and form The Confederate States of America .1899 - The Philippine-American War begins.1932 - World War II : Japan occupies Harbin, China .1936 - Radium E becomes the first radioactive element to be made synthetically.1941 - World War II : The United Service Organization (USO) is created to entertain American troops.1943 - World War II: Battle of Stalingrad ends.1945 - World War II: The Yalta Conference begins.1948 - Ceylon (later renamed Sri Lanka ) becomes independent within the British Commonwealth .1957 - The first nuclear-powered submarine , the USS Nautilus (SSN-571) , logs its 60,000th nautical mile , matching the endurance of the fictional Nautilus Jules Verne 's novel "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea" 1966 - All Nippon Airways Boeing 727 jet plunges into Tokyo Bay , killing 133.1969 - Yasser Arafat takes over as chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organization .1974 - The Symbionese Liberation Army kidnaps Patty Hearst in Berkeley, California .1975 - Haicheng earthquake , M 7.3, occurred in Haicheng, Liaoning , China.1976 - In Guatemala and Honduras an earthquake kills more than 22,000.1980 - Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini names Abolhassan Banisadr as president of Iran .1992 - A Coup d'état is led by Hugo Chávez Frías , against Venezuelan President Carlos Andrés Pérez .1996 - Major snowstorm paralyzes Midwestern United States , Milwaukee, Wisconsin ties all-time record low temperature at -26°F (-32.2°C)1997 - En route to Lebanon , two Israeli Sikorsky CH-53 troop-transport helicopters collide in mid-air over northern Galilee, Israel killing 73.1997 - After at first contesting the results, Serbian President Slobodan Milošević recognizes opposition victories in the November 1996 elections.1998 - An earthquake measuring 6.1 on the Richter Scale in northeast Afghanistan kills more than 5,000.1999 - Unarmed West African immigrant Amadou Diallo is shot dead by four plainclothes New York City police officers on an unrelated stake-out, inflaming race-relations in the city.1999 - The New Carissa Coos Bay, Oregon .2000 - German extortionist Klaus-Peter Sabotta is jailed for life for attempted murder and extortion in connection with the sabotage of German railway lines.2003 - The Federal Republic of Yugoslavia is officially renamed to Serbia and Montenegro and adopts a new constitution.2006 - A stampede occurs in the ULTRA Stadium near Manila killing 71.2008 - One of the biggest marches took place in the Colombia when almost 9 million people walked in the streets of almost every town and city in the country to protest against the violent actions of FARC and against kidnapping. "No More FARC" (No Más FARC) was the name of the march.
Births
1524 - Luis de Camões , Portugal's greatest poet. (d. 1580 )1575 - Pierre de Bérulle , French cardinal and statesman (d. 1629 )1620 - Gustaf Bonde , Swedish statesman (d. 1667 )1646 - Hans Erasmus Aßmann, Freiherr von Abschatz , German statesman and poet (d. 1699 )1677 - Johann Ludwig Bach , German composer (d. 1731 )1688 - Pierre de Marivaux , French writer (d. 1763 )1725 - Dru Drury , English entomologist (d. 1804 )1746 - Tadeusz Kościuszko , Polish , Belarusian and Lithuanian national hero (d. 1817 )1778 - A. P. de Candolle , Swiss botanist (d. 1841 )1799 - Almeida Garrett , Portuguese writer (d. 1854 )1808 - Josef Kajetán Tyl , Czech playwright, author of the Czech national anthem (d. 1856 )1831 - Oliver Ames , 35th Governor of Massachusetts (d. 1895 )1841 - Clément Ader , French aviation pioneer (d. 1926 )1846 - Nikolay Umov , Russian physicist (d. 1915 )1848 - Jean Aicard , French poet (d. 1921 )1849 - Jean Richepin , French poet (d. 1926 )1859 - Timofei Mikhailov , Russian revolutionary, member of Narodnaya Volya (d. 1881 )1871 - Friedrich Ebert , German politician, 1st Reichspräsident of the Weimar Republic (d. 1925 )1872 - Gotse Delchev , a great Macedonian revolutionary, (d. 1903 )1873 - Étienne Desmarteau , Canadian athlete (d. 1905 )1875 - Ludwig Prandtl , German physicist (d. 1953 )1881 - Fernand Léger , French painter (d. 1955 )1892 - Andreu Nin , Catalan politician (d. 1937 )1892 - E. J. Pratt , Canadian poet (d. 1964 )
1895 - Nigel Bruce , English actor (d. 1953 )1896 - Friedrich Glauser , German-language Swiss writer (d. 1938 )1896 - Friedrich Hund , German physicist (d. 1997 )
1897 - Ludwig Erhard , 2nd Bundeskanzler of Germany (d. 1977 )1900 - Jacques Prévert , French poet and lyricist (d. 1977 )1901 - Jascha Heifetz , Lithuanian violinist (d. 1987 )1902 - Charles Lindbergh , American pilot (d. 1974 )1902 - Hartley Shawcross , British lawyer and politician (d. 2003 )
1904 - MacKinlay Kantor , American writer (d. 1977 )1905 - Hylda Baker , English comedy actress (d. 1986 )1906 - Dietrich Bonhoeffer , German theologian (d. 1945 )1906 - Clyde Tombaugh , American astronomer (d. 1997 )
1908 - Julian Bell , British poet (d. 1937 )1912 - Ola Skjåk Bræk , Norwegian politician (d. 1999 )1912 - Erich Leinsdorf , Austrian conductor (d. 1993 )
1912 - Byron Nelson , American golfer (d. 2006 )
1912 - Louis-Albert Cardinal Vachon , archbishop of Quebec (d. 2006 )
1913 - Rosa Parks , American civil rights activist (d. 2005 )1914 - Alfred Andersch , German writer (d. 1980 )1915 - Ray Evans , American songwriter with Jay Livingston (d. 2007 )1915 - William Talman , American actor (d. 1968 )
1915 - Norman Wisdom , English actor and comedian
1916 - Shah Maghsoud Sadegh Angha , 41st master of the Oveyssi-Shahmaghsoudi Sufi Order (d. 1980 )1917 - Yahya Khan , President of Pakistan (d. 1980 )1918 - Ida Lupino , English film actress and director (d. 1995 )1918 - Luigi Pareyson , Italian philosopher (d. 1991 )
1918 - Janet Waldo , American actress
1921 - Betty Friedan , American feminist (d. 2006 )1923 - Conrad Bain , Canadian-born actor1925 - Russell Hoban , American writer1929 - Jerry Adler , American actor1931 - Isabel Martínez de Perón , third wife of Argentine president Juan Perón 1935 - Martti Talvela , Finnish bass (d. 1989 )1936 - David Brenner , American comedian1936 - Gary Conway , American actor
1937 - David Newman , American filmmaker (d. 2003 )1940 - George Romero , American director, screenwriter and producer1940 - John Schuck , American actor
1941 - John Steel , British musician (The Animals )1943 - Alberto João Jardim , Portuguese president of the regional government of Madeira1943 - Ken Thompson , American computer scientist
1944 - Florence LaRue , American singer (The Fifth Dimension )1947 - Dan Quayle , 44th Vice President of the United States 1948 - Alice Cooper , American musician1949 - Michael Beck , American actor1950 - Pamela Franklin , British actress1951 - Patrick Bergin , Irish actor1951 - Phil Ehart , American musician (Kansas )
1951 - Dariush Eghbali , Iranian singer and musician
1951 - Stan Papi , American baseball player
1952 - Lisa Eichhorn , American actress1952 - Jerry Shirley , drummer of rock band Humble Pie .
1952 - Li Yinhe , Chinese sexologist
1953 - Kitaro , Japanese composer1955 - Mikuláš Dzurinda , Slovak Prime minister1957 - Don Davis , American composer1957 - Evan Wolfson , American attorney and activist
1958 - Tomasz Pacyński , Polish writer1959 - Pamelyn Ferdin , American actress1959 - Lawrence Taylor , American football player.
1960 - Tim Booth , British singer (James 1960 - Siobhan Dowd , British/Irish author (d. 2007 )
1960 - Jenette Goldstein , American actress
1960 - Jonathan Larson , American composer (d. 1996 )
1961 - Stewart O'Nan , American author1961 - Denis Savard , Canadian ice hockey player
1962 - Clint Black , American musician1962 - Michael Riley , Canadian actor
1962 - Alfred Twardecki , Polish historian
1963 - Pirmin Zurbriggen , Swiss skier1964 - Noodles , American guitarist (The Offspring )1965 - Jerome Brown , American football player (d. 1992 )1966 - Viatcheslav Ekimov , Russian cyclist1966 - Kyoko Koizumi , Japanese actress and singer
1967 - Sergei Grinkov , Russian figure skater (d. 1995 )1968 - Marko Matvere , Estonian actor1969 - Duncan Coutts , Canadian bassist (Our Lady Peace )1969 - Dallas Drake , ice hockey player
1969 - Brandy Ledford , American actress and model
1970 - Gabrielle Anwar , English actress1971 - Rob Corddry , American actor and comedian1971 - Michael A. Goorjian , American actor
1972 - Giovanni Silva De Oliveira , Brazilian footballer1973 - Oscar de la Hoya , Mexican-born boxer1974 - Eric Townsend , American musician and record producer1974 - Mijntje Donners , Dutch hockey international
1975 - Natalie Imbruglia , Australian musician and actress1975 - Konstantinos Nebegleras , Greek footballer
1976 - Cam'ron , American rapper1977 - Gavin DeGraw , American musician1978 - Danna Garcia , Colombian actress1979 - Andrei Arlovski , Russian mixed martial artist1979 - Giorgio Pantano , Italian racing car driver1981 - Ben Hendrickson , American baseball player1981 - Jason Kapono , America professional basketball player
1981 - Tom Mastny , Indonesian baseball player
1982 - Chris Sabin , American professional wrestler1982 - Tomas Vaitkus , Lithuanian professional road racing cyclist
1982 - Kimberly Wyatt , American singer and dancer (Pussycat Dolls )
1984 - Mauricio Pinilla , Chilean footballer1985 - Bug Hall , American actor1986 - Mohammad Mahmudullah , Bangladeshi cricketer1987 - Lucie Šafářová , Czech tennis player1988 - Eoin McDowell , Irish rugby player1988 - Alexandros Pagalis , Greek footballer
1988 - Carly Patterson , American gymnast
1990 - Haruka Tomatsu , Japanese Seiyū
Deaths
211 - Septimius Severus , Emperor of Rome (b. 146 )708 - Pope Sisinnius 856 - Rabanus Maurus , Bishop of Mainz (b. circa 780 )869 - Saint Cyril , Greek missionary to the Slavs (b. 827 )1508 - Conrad Celtes , German humanist scholar (b. 1459 )1590 - Gioseffo Zarlino , Italian composer (b. 1517 )1615 - Dom Justo Takayama , Japanese warlord (b. 1552 )1615 - Giovanni Battista della Porta , Italian physicist (b. 1535 )
1617 - Louis Elsevier , Dutch publisher (b. 1546 )1694 - Nataliya Kyrillovna Naryshkina , Tsaritsa of Russia (b. 1651 )1713 - Anthony Ashley Cooper, 3rd Earl of Shaftesbury , English politician and philosopher (b. 1671 )1774 - Charles Marie de La Condamine , French mathematician and geographer (b. 1701 )1799 - Étienne-Louis Boullée , French architect (b. 1728 )1781 - Josef Mysliveček , Czech composer (b. 1737 )1894 - Adolphe Sax , Belgian instrument maker (b. 1814 )1905 - Louis-Ernest Barrias , French sculptor (b. 1841 )1928 - Hendrik Lorentz , Dutch physicist, Nobel Prize Laureate (b. 1853 )1933 - Archibald Sayce , English educator (b. 1846 )1936 - Wilhelm Gustloff , German leader of the Swiss Nazi party (b. 1895 )1940 - Nikolai Yezhov , Head of Soviet NKVD (b. 1895 )1943 - Frank Calder , the first NHL President (b. 1877 )1944 - Yvette Guilbert , French singer and actress (b. 1867 )1944 - Arsen Kotsoyev , Russian writer (b. 1872 )
1958 - Henry Kuttner , American author (b. 1915 )1959 - Una O'Connor , Irish actress (b. 1880 )1966 - Gilbert H. Grosvenor , American president of the National Geographic Society (b. 1875 )1967 - Albert Orsborn , 6th General of The Salvation Army (b. 1886 )1968 - Neal Cassady , American writer (b. 1926 )1974 - Satyendra Nath Bose , Indian physicist (b. 1894 )1975 - Louis Jordan , American musician (b. 1908 )1975 - Howard Hill , American archer (b. 1899 )
1977 - Brett Halliday , American writer (b. 1904 )1982 - Alex Harvey , Scottish musician (b. 1935 )1982 - Georg Konrad Morgen , German judge (b. 1909 )
1983 - Karen Carpenter , American singer and drummer (The Carpenters ) (b. 1950 )1987 - Liberace , American musician (b. 1919 )1987 - Carl Rogers , American psychologist (b. 1902 )
1990 - Whipper Billy Watson , Canadian professional wrestler (b. 1917 )1992 - Lisa Fonssagrives , Swedish model (b. 1911 )1994 - Fred De Bruyne , Belgian cyclist (b. 1930 )1995 - Godfrey Brown , British athlete and teacher (b. 1915 )1995 - Patricia Highsmith , American author (b. 1921 )
2000 - Carl Albert , American politician, 54th Speaker of the United States House of Representatives (b. 1908 )2000 - Doris Coley , American singer (Shirelles ) (b. 1941 )
2000 - Phil Tonken , American radio and television announcer (b. 1919 )
2001 - J. J. Johnson , American jazz trombonist and composer (b. 1924 )2001 - Iannis Xenakis , Greek composer and architect (b. 1922 )
2002 - George Nader , American film and television actor (b. 1921 )2003 - Charlie Biddle , Canadian jazz bassist (b. 1926 )2003 - Benyoucef Ben Khedda , Algerian politician (b. 1920 )
2006 - Betty Friedan , American feminist (b. 1921 )2006 - Myron Waldman , American animator (b. 1908 )
2007 - Steve Barber , American baseball pitcher (b. 1938 )2007 - José Carlos Bauer , Brazilian World Cup footballer (b. 1925 )
2007 - Ilya Kormiltsev , Russian poet and translator (b. 1959 )
2007 - Barbara McNair , American singer and actress (b. 1934 )
2007 - Jules Olitski , Ukrainian-born American abstract painter and sculptor (b. 1922 )
2008 - Stefan Meller , Polish foreign minister (b. 1942 )
Holidays and observances
In the Roman Catholic Church :
February 4 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
External links
