Vintage News · Odd history for April 4

What Happened On April 4

Q: What happened on April 4?

1841: William Henry Harrison became the first U.S. president to die in office, sparking a brief constitutional crisis regarding questions of presidential succession that were unanswered by the U.S. Constitution. 1887: Argonia, Kansas elects Susanna M. Salter as the first female mayor in the United States. 1866: Alexander II of Russia narrowly escapes an assassination attempt by Dmitry Karakozov in the city of Saint Petersburg. 1814: Napoleon abdicates (conditionally) for the first time and names his son Napoleon II as Emperor of the French, followed by unconditional abdication two days later. 1796: Georges Cuvier delivers the first paleontological lecture. 1973: A C-141, dubbed the Hanoi Taxi, flew the last mission of Operation Homecoming to return American prisoners of war from Vietnam. 1873: The Kennel Club, the world's oldest kennel club, was founded in the United Kingdom after Sewallis Shirley became frustrated by trying to organise dog shows without a consistent set of rules. 1996: Comet Hyakutake is imaged by the USA Asteroid Orbiter Near Earth Asteroid Rendezvous. 1973: A Lockheed C-141 Starlifter, dubbed the Hanoi Taxi, makes the last flight of Operation Homecoming. 1969: Dr. Denton Cooley implants the first temporary artificial heart.

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10 odd things that happened on April 4

1841 First ever
William Henry Harrison became the first U.S. president to die in office, sparking a brief constitutional crisis regarding questions of presidential succession that were unanswered by the U.S. Constitution.
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Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0
1887 First ever
Argonia, Kansas elects Susanna M. Salter as the first female mayor in the United States.
Read more →
Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0
1866 Oddly true
Alexander II of Russia narrowly escapes an assassination attempt by Dmitry Karakozov in the city of Saint Petersburg.
Read more →
Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0
1814 First ever
Napoleon abdicates (conditionally) for the first time and names his son Napoleon II as Emperor of the French, followed by unconditional abdication two days later.
Read more →
Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0
1796 First ever
Georges Cuvier delivers the first paleontological lecture.
Read more →
Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0
1973 Oddly true
A C-141, dubbed the Hanoi Taxi, flew the last mission of Operation Homecoming to return American prisoners of war from Vietnam.
Read more →
Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0
1873 Oddly true
The Kennel Club, the world's oldest kennel club, was founded in the United Kingdom after Sewallis Shirley became frustrated by trying to organise dog shows without a consistent set of rules.
Read more →
Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0
1996 Oddly true
Comet Hyakutake is imaged by the USA Asteroid Orbiter Near Earth Asteroid Rendezvous.
Read more →
Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0
1973 Oddly true
A Lockheed C-141 Starlifter, dubbed the Hanoi Taxi, makes the last flight of Operation Homecoming.
Read more →
Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0
1969 First ever
Dr. Denton Cooley implants the first temporary artificial heart.
Read more →
Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

Observed today

2025The impeachment of President Yoon Suk Yeol of South Korea in response to his declaration of martial law is unanimously upheld by the country's Constitutional Court, ending his presidency. Wikipedia →
2024Russo-Ukrainian war: The Battle of Chasiv Yar begins. Wikipedia →
2023Finland becomes a member of NATO after Turkey accepts its membership request. Wikipedia →
2020China holds a national day of mourning for martyrs who died in the fight against the novel coronavirus disease outbreak. Wikipedia →
2017Syria conducts an air strike on Khan Shaykhun using chemical weapons, killing 89 civilians. Wikipedia →
2013Seventy-four people are killed in a building collapse in Thane, India. Wikipedia →
2011Georgian Airways Flight 834 crashes at N'djili Airport in Kinshasa, killing 32. Wikipedia →
2010A magnitude 7.2 earthquake hits south of the Mexico-USA border, killing at least two and damaging buildings across the two countries. Wikipedia →
2009France announces its return to full participation of its military forces within NATO. Wikipedia →
2002The MPLA government of Angola and UNITA rebels sign a peace treaty ending the Angolan Civil War. Wikipedia →
1997Space Shuttle program: Space Shuttle Columbia is launched on STS-83. However, the mission is later cut short due to a fuel cell problem. Wikipedia →
1996Comet Hyakutake is imaged by the USA Asteroid Orbiter Near Earth Asteroid Rendezvous. Wikipedia →
1994Three people are killed when KLM Cityhopper Flight 433 crashes at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol. Wikipedia →
1991Senator John Heinz of Pennsylvania and six others are killed when a helicopter collides with their airplane over an elementary school in Merion, Pennsylvania. Wikipedia →
1991Forty-one people are taken hostage inside a Good Guys! Electronics store in Sacramento, California. Three of the hostage takers and three hostages are killed. Wikipedia →
1990The current flag of Hong Kong is adopted for post-colonial Hong Kong during the Third Session of the Seventh National People's Congress. Wikipedia →
1988Governor Evan Mecham of Arizona is convicted in his impeachment trial and removed from office. Wikipedia →
1987Garuda Indonesia Flight 032 crashes at Medan Airport, killing 23. Wikipedia →
1984President Ronald Reagan calls for an international ban on chemical weapons. Wikipedia →
1983Space Shuttle program: Space Shuttle Challenger makes its maiden voyage into space on STS-6. Wikipedia →
1981Iran–Iraq War: The Islamic Republic of Iran Air Force mounts an attack on H-3 Airbase and destroys about 50 Iraqi aircraft. Wikipedia →
1979Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto of Pakistan is executed. Wikipedia →
1977Southern Airways Flight 242 crashes in New Hope, Paulding County, Georgia, killing 72. Wikipedia →
1975Microsoft is founded as a partnership between Bill Gates and Paul Allen in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Wikipedia →
1975Vietnam War: A United States Air Force Lockheed C-5A Galaxy transporting orphans, crashes near Saigon, South Vietnam shortly after takeoff, killing 172 people. Wikipedia →
1973The Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in New York City are officially dedicated. Wikipedia →
1973A Lockheed C-141 Starlifter, dubbed the Hanoi Taxi, makes the last flight of Operation Homecoming. Wikipedia →
1969Dr. Denton Cooley implants the first temporary artificial heart. Wikipedia →
1968Martin Luther King Jr. is assassinated by James Earl Ray at a motel in Memphis, Tennessee. Wikipedia →
1968Apollo program: NASA launches Apollo 6. Wikipedia →
1967Martin Luther King Jr. delivers his "Beyond Vietnam: A Time to Break Silence" speech in New York City's Riverside Church. Wikipedia →
1964The Beatles occupy the top five positions on the Billboard Hot 100 pop chart. Wikipedia →
1963Bye Bye Birdie, a musical romantic comedy film directed by George Sidney, was released. Wikipedia →
1960France agrees to grant independence to the Mali Federation, a union of Senegal and French Sudan. Wikipedia →
1958The CND peace symbol is displayed in public for the first time in London. Wikipedia →
1949Cold War: Twelve nations sign the North Atlantic Treaty creating the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. Wikipedia →
1946Greek judge and archeologist Panagiotis Poulitsas is appointed Prime Minister of Greece in the midst of the Greek Civil War. Wikipedia →
1945World War II: United States Army troops liberate Ohrdruf forced labor camp in Germany. Wikipedia →
1945World War II: United States Army troops capture Kassel. Wikipedia →
1945World War II: Soviet Red Army troops liberate Hungary from German occupation. Wikipedia →
1944World War II: First bombardment of oil refineries in Bucharest by Anglo-American forces kills 3,000 civilians. Wikipedia →
1933U.S. Navy airship USS Akron is wrecked off the New Jersey coast due to severe weather. Wikipedia →
1925The Schutzstaffel (SS) is founded under Adolf Hitler's Nazi Party in Germany. Wikipedia →
1920The four-day Nebi Musa riots commence. Wikipedia →
1913First Balkan War: Greek aviator Emmanouil Argyropoulos becomes the first pilot to die in the Hellenic Air Force when his plane crashes. Wikipedia →
1905In India, an earthquake hits the Kangra Valley, killing 20,000, and destroying most buildings in Kangra, McLeod Ganj and Dharamshala. Wikipedia →
1904Two Ms ~7.1 earthquakes, among the largest in Europe, strike Bulgaria, killing over 200 people and causing destruction. Wikipedia →
1894Foyot bombing by the Russian or French state during the Ère des attentats. Wikipedia →
1887Argonia, Kansas elects Susanna M. Salter as the first female mayor in the United States. Wikipedia →
1866Alexander II of Russia narrowly escapes an assassination attempt by Dmitry Karakozov in the city of Saint Petersburg. Wikipedia →
1865American Civil War: A day after Union forces capture Richmond, Virginia, U.S. President Abraham Lincoln visits the Confederate capital. Wikipedia →
1860The declaration on the introduction of the Finnish markka as an official currency is read in different parts of the Grand Duchy of Finland. Wikipedia →
1841William Henry Harrison dies of pneumonia, becoming the first President of the United States to die in office, and setting the record for the briefest administration. Vice President John Tyler succeeds Harrison as President. Wikipedia →
1818The United States Congress, affirming the Second Continental Congress, adopts the flag of the United States with 13 red and white stripes and one star for each state (20 at that time). Wikipedia →
1814Napoleon abdicates (conditionally) for the first time and names his son Napoleon II as Emperor of the French, followed by unconditional abdication two days later. Wikipedia →
1796Georges Cuvier delivers the first paleontological lecture. Wikipedia →
1660Declaration of Breda by King Charles II of Great Britain promises, among other things, a general pardon to all royalists and opponents of the monarchy for crimes committed during the English Civil War and the Interregnum. Wikipedia →
1609Moriscos are expelled from the Kingdom of Valencia. Wikipedia →
1581Francis Drake is knighted by Queen Elizabeth I for completing a circumnavigation of the world. Wikipedia →
1423Death of the Venetian Doge Tommaso Mocenigo, under whose rule victories were achieved against the Kingdom of Hungary and against the Ottoman Empire at the Battle of Gallipoli (1416). Wikipedia →
1268A five-year Byzantine–Venetian peace treaty is concluded between Venetian envoys and Emperor Michael VIII Palaiologos. Wikipedia →
801King Louis the Pious captures Barcelona from the Moors after a siege of several months. Wikipedia →
619The Bijapur-Mumbai inscription is issued by Pulakeshin II, describing the Battle of Narmada.: 207 Wikipedia →
611Maya king Uneh Chan of Calakmul sacks rival city-state Palenque in southern Mexico. Wikipedia →
190Dong Zhuo has his troops evacuate the capital Luoyang and burn it to the ground. Wikipedia →
503 BCRoman consul Agrippa Menenius Lanatus celebrates a triumph for a military victory over the Sabines. Wikipedia →

Facts from Wikipedia On This Day API (CC BY-SA 4.0) via Wikimedia. Thumbnails CC BY-SA. Headlines via The Guardian Open Platform. Historic pages via Library of Congress Chronicling America. Curated by OddlyTrue.