Holidays
May the 4th Be With You
Celebrate your galactic powers.
What Happened On
Iraq War
May 4, 2003
Secretary of State Colin Powell on WMDs: "I'm absolutely sure that there are weapons of mass destruction there and the evidence will be forthcoming. We're just getting it just now."
Previously in 2001 he had stated, "He has not developed any significant capability with respect to weapons of mass destruction."
Photo Credit: John Paul Filo
Photo Credit: John Paul Filo
Kent State Massacre
May 4, 1970
National Guardsmen kill four unarmed students of Kent State University (Ohio) during a Vietnam War protest. Two of the students killed were bystanders.
Mob beats Freedom Riders in Birmingham, Alabama
Mob beats Freedom Riders in Birmingham, Alabama
First Freedom Riders
May 4, 1961
The first of the "Freedom Riders" rides occurred when civil rights activists begin their challenge to U.S. bus segregation by riding buses as racially-mixed groups. They would be repeatedly attacked and arrested for mixing racially in segregated buses and terminals. The group, which included seven black and six white riders, rode Greyhound and Trailways buses out of Washington, DC planning on riding to New Orleans, Louisiana for a civil rights rally. On May 14 one of the buses was attacked by Ku Klux Klan (KKK) members who slashed its tires and firebombed the bus. A short while later, another bus was attacked by Klansmen who beat the Freedom Riders. They eventually abandoned the buses after more threats of violence and the refusal of the bus drivers to drive them. They finished their journey to New Orleans via airplane.
1924 Summer Olympics
May 4, 1924
The 1924 Summer Olympics are held in Paris, France. Gold medal winners included:
• Johnny Weissmuller, who went on to Tarzan fame. He won three gold medals in swimming and a bronze in water polo.
• Gertrude Ederle, who became the first woman to swim the English Channel two years later.
• DeHart Hubbard, the first black to win an individual Olympic gold medal (the running long jump).
• Dr. Benjamin Spock, future famed baby doctor and author of The Common Sense Book of Baby and Child Care (1946).
The 1981 movie Chariots of Fire was based on the competition of runners Eric Liddell and Harold Abrahams in these Olympics.
Iran-Contra Affair
May 4, 1989
Lt. Col. Oliver North is convicted of aiding and abetting in the obstruction of Congress, destroying classified government documents, and receiving an illegal gratuity, as part of the Iran-Contra Affair. The destruction of classified documents charge was overturned in 1990.
Hinckley Goes On Trial
May 4, 1982
The trial begins for John Hinckley, Jr. who shot U.S. President Ronald Reagan and James Brady in an attempt impress actress Jodie Foster. Brady was left paralyzed from a gunshot wound to the head. He would die in 2014 due to causes directly related to the shooting. A secret service agent and a D.C. police officer were also shot, but survived the shooting. Hinckley was subdued and apprehended at the scene.
Hinckley had developed an obsession with Foster after seeing the film Taxi Driver.
He would be found not guilty by reason of insanity and sentenced to institutional psychiatric care, from which he was released in 2016 to live full-time at his mother's home.
First Philatelic Museum
May 4, 1963
The Cardinal Spellman Philatelic museum in Massachusetts, the first museum designed and built for purpose of honoring the postal system, is dedicated.
First Non-American Film to Win Best Picture Oscar
May 4, 1948
The British adaptation of William Shakespeare's Hamlet, starring Laurence Olivier, is released. It would go on to win a total of four Oscars (Best Picture, Best Actor, Best Art Direction-Set Decoration – Black-and-White, Best Costume Design – Black-and-White).
It was also the first time an individual directed himself in an Oscar-winning performance (Laurence Olivier, best Actor).
Prohibition
May 4, 1923
New York State repeals its Prohibition Enforcement Act. While prohibition laws were still in effect federally, New York no longer made an effort to enforce them.
Federal prohibition had been in effect as per the 18th Amendment since 1920 and while it did not prohibit the consumption of alcohol, it did ban the sale, manufacture, and transportation of alcoholic beverages.
Civil War
May 4, 1865
Last major Confederate Army surrenders.
First U.S. State to Ban Capital Punishment
May 4, 1846
Michigan passes a law banning capital punishment for murder and lesser crimes. It went into effect the following year. This made Michigan the first English-speaking territory in the world to abolish capital punishment.
The last execution under Michigan law occurred in 1830, when Michigan was still a territory.
American Revolution
May 4, 1776
Rhode Island declares its independence from Great Britain, two months before the Continental Congress.
Queen Anne's War
May 4, 1702
The war begins in Europe. It soon spread to North America, lasting until 1713.
Birthdays
Audrey Hepburn (Audrey Kathleen Ruston)
Born May 4, 1929 d. 1993
British Oscar-Tony-Emmy-Grammy winning actress. Film: Roman Holiday (1953, Oscar), Breakfast at Tiffany's (1961), and Wait Until Dark (1967).
During World War II, she performed silent dance performances to raise money for the Dutch resistance effort.
She received the Presidential Medal of Freedom (1992) for her work with UNICEF.
Alice Liddell
Born May 4, 1852 d. 1934
English child. For whom Lewis Carroll wrote the Alice in Wonderland stories. While on a rowboat to a picnic, 10-year-old Alice asked Charles Dodgson (AKA Lewis Carroll) to tell her and her sisters a story. He spun the story of a girl named Alice and her adventures when she fell down a rabbit hole. He then turned this into his most famous book.
Discovered the Source of the Nile
John Hanning Speke
Born May 4, 1827 d. 1864
English explorer. He discovered the source of the Nile (1858).
Inventor of the Piano
Bartolomeo Cristofori
Born May 4, 1655 d. 1731
Italian harpsichord maker and inventor of the piano (circa 1700). The word piano is a shortened form of pianoforte, the Italian term for the instrument in the early 1700s. The terms piano and forte indicate "soft" and "loud" respectively, referring to the variations in volume that occur depending on how hard the keys are struck.
Randy Travis
Born May 4, 1959
American country singer. Music: Always and Forever (1987).
Jackie Jackson (Sigmund Esco Jackson)
Born May 4, 1951
American singer, one of the Jackson Five.
Ronnie Bond (Ronald James Bullis)
Born May 4, 1943 d. 1992
British drummer, founding member of the Troggs. Music: Wild Thing (1966, #1).
Nickolas Ashford
Born May 4, 1942 d. 2011
American Songwriters Hall of Fame songwriter with his wife Valerie Simpson. Music: Ain't Nothing Like the Real Thing (1968) and Ain't No Mountain High Enough (1970).
Robin Cook
Born May 4, 1940
American physician, author. Writings: Coma (1977), and Outbreak (1987).
Maynard Ferguson
Born May 4, 1928 d. 2006
Canadian jazz musician. Music: Conquistador (1977), which had the song Gonna Fly Now (from the movie Rocky).
Hints from Heloise
Heloise Bowles Cruse
Born May 4, 1919 d. 1977
American newspaper columnist, "Hints from Heloise" (1961). Her daughter took over the column after her death.
Robert Moore Brinkerhoff
Born May 4, 1880 d. 1958
American cartoonist. Creator of Little Mary Mixup (1917).
Father of Public Education
Horace Mann
Born May 4, 1796 d. 1859
American educator. "Father of Public Education" in the U.S. He was elected to the Hall of Fame for Great Americans (1900).
Henry I
Born May 4, 1008 d. 1060
King of France (1031-60).
Deaths
Left to right: Curly, Moe, Larry
Left to right: Curly, Moe, Larry
Moe Howard (Moses Harry Horwitz)
Died May 4, 1975 b. 1897
American comic actor. Leader of the original Three-Stooges.
Jean Nicot presenting tobacco to Queen Catherine de Medicis
Jean Nicot presenting tobacco to Queen Catherine de Medicis
For Whom Nicotine is Named
Jean Nicot (Jean Nicot de Villemain)
Died May 4, 1604 b. 1530
French ambassador to Portugal (1559-61). Nicot introduced tobacco to France (1561), presenting it to the French royal court. He promoted tobacco's medicinal use, as tobacco was believed to protect against illness and disease, particularly the plague, and tobacco could even be applied to heal cancerous tumors.
Nicot learned of tobacco when he was sent from France to Portugal to negotiate the marriage of six-year-old princess Margaret of Valois to five-year-old King Sebastian of Portugal. He brought back tobacco plants and introduced snuff tobacco to the French royal court where it was an instant success, making Nicot a celebrity of the day.
Nicotine is named after the tobacco plant Nicotiana tabacum, which is named after Jean Nicot. Nicotine later came to refer specifically to the particular chemical in the plant.
He also compiled one of the first French dictionaries, which was published posthumously in 1606.
Sada Thompson
Died May 4, 2011 b. 1927
American Emmy-winning actress. TV: Family (1976-80, Kate Lawrence).
Dom DeLuise
Died May 4, 2009 b. 1933
American actor, comedian. Film: Blazing Saddles (1974), Silent Movie (1976), Dom DeLuise: The End (1978), and History of the World, Part I (1981).
Alvy Moore
Died May 4, 1997 b. 1921
America actor. TV: Green Acres (1965-71, county agent Hank Kimble, "Good morning, Mr. Douglas! Well, it's not a good morning… but it's not a bad morning either!").
William Rose Benet
Died May 4, 1950 b. 1886
American Pulitzer-winning poet, novelist. Writings: The Dust Which is God (1941).