September 4 is the 247th day of the year (248th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 118 days remaining until the end of the year.
Holidays
- Christian feast day:
- Candida the Elder
- Blessed Catherine of Racconigi
- Blessed Dina Bélanger
- Hermione of Ephesus
- Ida of Herzfeld
- Irmgardis (of Süchteln)
- Moses and Aaron (Lutheran Church and Eastern Orthodox Church)
- Paul Jones (Episcopal Church)
- Rosalia
- Rose of Viterbo
- Rufinus, Silvanus, and Vitalicus
- Thamel and companions
- Ultan of Ardbraccan
- September 4 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
- Immigrant’s Day (Argentina)
- Newspaper Carrier Day (United States)
General events on September 4th
In 1833, Barney Flaherty at age 10 became the first known U.S. newsboy after he was hired by the New York Sun to peddle papers.
In 1885, the Exchange Buffet opened in New York City. It was the first self-service cafeteria in the country.
In 1888, George Eastman of Rochester, New York, received a patent for his hand-held roll-film camera, and registered his trademark: Kodak.
In 1894, some 12,000 tailors in New York City went on strike to protest the existence of sweat shops.
In 1904, The St. Regis Hotel in New York City is the first to have individual air conditioning and heating in every room.
In 1909, The world’s first Boy Scout Rally was held at Crystal Palace near London.
n 1957, the Ford Motor Company began selling its ill-fated Edsel, which proved so unpopular, it was taken off the market in 1959.
In 1998, Mexico’s bankers stop approving personal loans and mortgages. International Monetary Fund approves $257 million loan for the Ukraine. Makers of Norplant contraceptive, facing lawsuits claiming failure to warn of potential side effects, win first jury challenge, in Harlingen, Texas.
Government and Politics on September 4th
In 1479, After four years of war, Spain agrees to allow a Portuguese monopoly of trade along Africa’s west coast and Portugal acknowledges Spain’s rights in the Canary Islands both parties agreeing by the Treaty of Alcáçovas is signed by the Catholic Monarchs of Castile and Aragon on one side and Afonso V and his son, Prince John of Portugal on the other.
In 1768, Francois-Rene (Vicomte de) Chateaubriand born. He was a politician, one of the first French romantic writers and ambassador to the British court. He wrote “Rene,” a seminal work in the French romantic movement and a famous autobiography “Memoires d’Outre Tombe.”
In 1781, Los Angeles was founded by 44 Spanish settlers in the Bahia de las Fumas/(Valley of Smokes, an Indian Name). Its original name: “El Pueblo de Nuestra Senora La Reina de Los Angeles de Porciuncula.”
In 1870, the Third French Republic was proclaimed as they overthrow their king, Emperor Napoleon III of France.
In 1862, (thru Sep 9), General Lee invades the North with 50,000 Confederates and heads for Harpers Ferry, located 50 miles northwest of Washington. The Union Army, 90,000 strong, under the command of McClellan, pursues Lee.
In 1884, The United Kingdom ends its policy of penal transportation to New South Wales in Australia (unverified).
In 1886, the Apache Indians led by chief Geronimo surrendered to Gen. Nelson Miles at Skeleton Canyon in Arizona, ending the last major U.S.-Indian war.
In 1914, British, French & Russian government signs Pact of London, against Germany.
In 1917, the American expeditionary force in France suffered its first fatalities in World War I.
In 1918, U.S. troops land in Archangel, Russia, and stay 10 months.
In 1919, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, who founded the Republic of Turkey, gathers a congress in Sivas to make decisions as to the future of Anatolia and Thrace.
In 1951, More than 14 million people watch as President Harry S. Truman addresses the opening of the Japanese Peace Treaty Conference in San Francisco, a speech that becomes the first coast-to-coast television broadcast in history. To achieve this unprecedented technical feat, the signal is passed via microwave relays by 107 steel-and-concrete towers spaced 28 miles apart between New York and San Francisco. And you thought the Olympic torch relay was impressive.
In 1957, Arkansas Gov. Orval Faubus called out the National Guard to prevent nine black students from entering Central High School in Little Rock.
In 1967, Michigan Gov. George Romney told a TV interview he’d undergone a “brainwashing” by U.S. officials during a 1965 visit to Vietnam, a comment that apparently damaged Romney’s bid for the Republican presidential nomination.
In 1969, the Food and Drug Administration issued a report calling birth control pills safe, despite a slight risk of fatal blood-clotting disorders linked to the pills.
In 1973, William E Colby, becomes 10th director of CIA.
In 1974, the U.S. establishes diplomatic relations with East Germany.
In 1983, U.S. officials acknowledged an American reconnaissance plane had been in the vicinity of a Korean Air Lines Boeing 747 that was shot down by the Soviet union, leading to speculation the Soviets had confused the two.
In 1984, Canada’s Progressive Conservatives, led by Brian Mulroney, won a landslide victory in general elections over the Liberal Party of Prime Minister John N. Turner.
In 1987, a Soviet court convicted West German pilot Mathias Rust of charges stemming from his daring flight to Moscow’s Red Square, and sentenced him to four years in a labor camp. Rust was released the following August.
In 1991, South African President F.W. de Klerk proposed a new constitution that would allow blacks to vote and govern; the African National Congress rejected the plan, charging it was designed to maintain white privileges.
In 1992, the government reported the nation’s unemployment rate had edged down to 7.6 percent in August 1992, but also said adult joblessness had worsened slightly and the economy had lost thousands of crucial manufacturing jobs. The Federal Reserve Board responded by cutting a key short-term interest rate.
In 1994, On the eve of a U.N.-sponsored conference on population in Cairo, Egypt, Vice President Al Gore told NBC the United States was seeking a blueprint for world population growth that rejected abortion as a family planning tool and an international right.
In 1995, Sen. Bob Dole, R-Kansas, a Republican presidential hopeful, called for English to be declared the official language of the United States.
In 1996, Whitewater prosecutors had Susan McDougal held in contempt for refusing to tell a grand jury whether President Clinton had lied at her trial.
In 1998, During a visit to Ireland, President Clinton said the words “I’m sorry” for the first time about his affair with Monica Lewinsky, describing his behavior as indefensible.
In 1999, Prime Minister Ehud Barak of Israel and Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat signed a breakthrough land-for-security agreement during a ceremony in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt.
War, Crime and Disaster events on September 4th
In 1260, The Sienese Ghibellines, supported by the forces of King Manfred of Sicily, defeat the Florentine Guelphs at Montaperti.
In 1800, The French garrison in 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.
In 1812, War of 1812: The Siege of Fort Harrison begins when the fort is set on fire.
In 1862, American Civil War Maryland Campaign: General Robert E. Lee takes the Army of Northern Virginia, and the war, into the North.
In 1912, Albanian rebels succeed in their revolt when the Ottoman Empire agrees to fulfill their demands
In 1939, German submarine U-30 sinks British passenger ship Athenia.
In 1939, Netherlands & Belgium declare neutrality.
In 1941, German submarine U-652 fires at the U.S. destroyer Greer off Iceland, beginning an undeclared shooting war.
In 1942, 60 years ago, Soviet planes bomb Budapest in the war’s first air raid on the Hungarian capital.
In 1943, Allied troops capture Lae-Salamaua, in New Guinea. When Fred Avey joined “Pappy” Boyington’s flock, he found himself among a pack of wolves in Black Sheep’s clothing.
In 1944, World War II: The British 11th Armoured Division liberates the Belgian city of Antwerp.
In 1944, Finland breaks diplomatic contact with nazi-Germany.
In 1945, US regains possession of Wake Island from Japan.
In 1945, The American flag is raised on Wake Island after surrender ceremonies there.
In 1947, thru Sept. 21, hurricane in Florida and Mid-Gulf Coast: 51 killed.
In 1950, The first helicopter rescue of an American pilot behind enemy lines occurs.
In 1950, Heavy typhoon strikes Japan, kills about 250.
In 1971, near Juneau, Alaska, an Alaska Airlines Boeing 727 jet crashed into Chilkoot Mountains; 111 killed.
In 1980, Iraqi troops seized Iranian territory in a border dispute. The conflict later escalated into all-out war.
In 1982, Twenty-five people were killed when an arson fire engulfed the 55-year-old Dorothy Mae Apartment-Hotel building on Sunset Blvd. in Los Angeles.
In 1987, the National Cancer Institute reports the first known case of a researcher getting AIDS in the lab.
In 1988, officials in Bangladesh reported that floods had inundated three-quarters of their impoverished nation, killing at least 882 people.
In 1989, The Air Force launched its last Titan Three rocket, which reportedly carried a reconnaissance satellite. Since 1964, the Titan Three had sent more than 200 satellites into space.
In 1990, The air evacuation of Western women and children stranded in Iraq and Kuwait resumed, with 25 Americans among the nearly 300 who made it to Jordan.
In 1996, anti-aircraft fire lit up the skies of Baghdad, hours after the United States fired a new round of cruise missiles into southern Iraq and destroyed an Iraqi radar site.
In 1997, three suicide bombings in a West Jerusalem shopping mall killed four Israelis as well as the bombers.
In 1999, more than 60 people were killed when Chechnyan terrorists detonated a car bomb near an apartment building in Dagestan, Russia.
In 2007, Three terrorists suspected to be a part of Al-Qaeda are arrested in Germany after allegedly planning attacks on both the Frankfurt International airport and US military installations.
In 2010, Canterbury earthquake: a 7.1 magnitude earthquake which struck the South Island of New Zealand at 4:35 am causing widespread damage and several power outages.
Royalty and Religious events on September 4th
In 422, A.D., St Boniface I ends his reign as Catholic Pope.
In 476, A.D., the Roman Empire in the West collapsed as Romulus Augustulus, of the Western Roman Empire when Odoacer proclaims himself “King of Italy“, thus ending the Western Roman Empire.
In 626, Li Shimin, posthumously known as Emperor Taizong of Tang, assumes the throne over the Tang Dynasty of China.
In 1567, Elizabeth I, Queen of England, grants a patent for glass-making to two Flemish merchants in England.
In 1645, The first Lutheran church building erected in America was dedicated at Easton (near Bethlehem), Pennsylvania.
In 1787, Louis XVI of France recalls parliament.
In 1813, “The Religious Remembrancer” (later renamed “The Christian Observer”) was first published in Philadelphia. It was the first weekly religious newspaper in the U.S., and in the world.
In 1847, Anglican clergyman Henry Francis Lyte, 54, suffering from asthma and consumption, penned the words to his hymn, “Abide With Me,” before preaching his last sermon in Devonshire, England. (Lyte died 2-1/2 months later.)
In 1948, Queen Wilhelmina abdicated the Dutch throne for health reasons.
In 1965, Albert Schweitzer, theologian, philosopher and organist died in Gabon where he had set up a hospital in 1913. Acclaimed for his interpretations of J.S. Bach’s works, he also won the Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts on behalf of the “Brotherhood of Nations” in 1952.
In 1973, The Assemblies of God opened its first theological graduate school in Springfield, MO, making it the second Pentecostal denomination to establish its own school of theology. (The first such school was opened by Oral Roberts in Tulsa.)
In 1998, Jim Bakker married Lori Beth Graham
Human Achievement and Science events on September 4th
In 1609, (or Sep 11 as some sources state) Henry Hudson, an English explorer working for the Dutch, sailed into what’s now known as New York Harbor and discovered the island of Manhattan. The Hudson River is named for ol’ Henry.
In 1682, Halley gets his only look at the comet that will bear his name.
In 1774, New Caledonia is first sighted by Europeans, during the second voyage of Captain James Cook.
In 1802, a French aeronaut descended from a height of eight-thousand feet equipped with…a parachute. The parachute took some years and no doubt several failed attempts to perfect.
In 1807, Robert Fulton begins operating his steamboat on the Hudson River.
In 1882, the Pearl Street electric power station, Thomas Edison’s steam powered plant, began operating in New York City in the first commercial electric lighting in history.
In 1888, George Eastman registers the trademark Kodak and receives a patent for his camera that uses roll film.
In 1911, Garros sets world altitude record of 4,250 m (13,944 ft).
In 1923, Maiden flight of the first U.S. airship, the USS Shenandoah.
In 1980, Dr. Stephen Synott announces the discovery of Jupiter’s 16th moon, tentatively designated 1980-J3.
In 1997, Hans Eysenck, the controversial psychologist and IQ pioneer, died. He became professor of psychology at London’s Institute of Psychiatry where he specialized in studies into intelligence. He was 81.
In 1998, Google is founded by Larry Page and Sergey Brin, two students at Stanford University.
Arts and Prose events on September 4th
In 1893, English children’s author Beatrix Potter first told the story of Peter Rabbit and his siblings, Flopsy, Mopsy and Cottontail, in the form of a picture letter to Noel Moore, the son of Potter’s former governess. It was published June 9, 1900.
In 1950, Mort Walker’s comic strip “Beetle Bailey” first appeared. At the time, Beetle was a college kid, but the strip didn’t pick up until he enlisted in the Army…for the next five decades!
In 476, Romulus Augustulus, last emperor of the Western Roman Empire, is deposed when Odoacer proclaims himself “King of Italy“, thus ending the Western Roman Empire.
626 – Li Shimin, posthumously known as Emperor Taizong of Tang, assumes the throne over the Tang dynasty of China.
929 – Battle of Lenzen: Slavic forces (the Redarii and the Obotrites) are defeated by a Saxon army near the fortified stronghold of Lenzen in Brandenburg.
1260 – The Sienese Ghibellines, supported by the forces of Manfred, King of Sicily, defeat the Florentine Guelphs at Montaperti.
1282 – Peter III of Aragon becomes the King of Sicily.
1479 – The Treaty of Alcáçovas is signed by the Catholic Monarchs of Castile and Aragon on one side and Afonso V and his son, Prince John of Portugal.
1607 – The Flight of the Earls takes place in Ireland.
1666 – In London, England, the most destructive damage from the Great Fire occurs.
1774 – New Caledonia is first sighted by Europeans, during the second voyage of Captain James Cook.
1781 – Los Angeles is founded as El Pueblo de Nuestra Señora La Reina de los Ángeles (The Village of Our Lady, the Queen of the Angels) by 44 Spanish settlers.
1797 – Coup of 18 Fructidor in France.
1800 – The French garrison in 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.
In 1804, Richard Somers (September 15, 1778 – September 4, 1804) was an officer of the United States Navy, killed during a daring assault on Tripoli.
1812 – War of 1812: The Siege of Fort Harrison begins when the fort is set on fire.
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 – The Pearl Street Station in New York City becomes the first power plant to supply electricity to paying customers.
1886 – American Indian Wars: After almost 30 years of fighting, Apache leader Geronimo, with his remaining warriors, surrenders to General Nelson Miles in Arizona.
1888 – George Eastman registers the trademark Kodak and receives a patent for his camera that uses roll film.
1912 – Albanian rebels succeed in their revolt when the Ottoman Empire agrees to fulfill their demands
1919 – Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, who founded the Republic of Turkey, gathers a congress in Sivas to make decisions as to the future of Anatolia and Thrace.
1923 – Maiden flight of the first U.S. airship, the USS Shenandoah.
1939 – World War II: William J. Murphy commands the first Royal Air Force attack on Germany.
1941 – World War II: A German submarine makes the first attack of the war against a United States warship, the USS Greer.
1944 – World War II: The British 11th Armoured Division liberates the Belgian city of Antwerp.
1944 – World War II: Finland exits from the war with Soviet Union.
1948 – Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands abdicates for health reasons.
1949 – The Peekskill riots erupt after a Paul Robeson concert in Peekskill, New York.
1950 – Darlington Raceway is the site of the inaugural Southern 500, the first 500-mile NASCAR race.
1951 – The first live transcontinental television broadcast takes place in San Francisco, from the Japanese Peace Treaty Conference.
1957 – American Civil Rights Movement: Little Rock Crisis: Orval Faubus, governor of Arkansas, calls out the National Guard to prevent African American students from enrolling in Central High School.
1957 – The Ford Motor Company introduces the Edsel.
1963 – Swissair Flight 306 crashes near Dürrenäsch, Switzerland, killing all 80 people on board.
1964 – Scotland’s Forth Road Bridge near Edinburgh officially opens.
1967 – Vietnam War: Operation Swift begins when U.S. Marines engage the North Vietnamese in battle in the Que Son Valley.
1970 – Salvador Allende is elected President of Chile.
1971 – Alaska Airlines Flight 1866 crashes near Juneau, Alaska, killing all 111 people on board.
1972 – Mark Spitz becomes the first competitor to win seven medals at a single Olympic Games.
1972 – The Price Is Right premieres on CBS. As of 2018, it is the longest running game show on American television.
1975 – The Sinai Interim Agreement relating to the Arab–Israeli conflict is signed.
1977 – The Golden Dragon massacre takes place in San Francisco.
1985 – The discovery of Buckminsterfullerene, the first fullerene molecule of carbon.
1989 – In Leipzig, East Germany, the first of weekly demonstration for the legalisation of opposition groups and democratic reforms takes place.
1996 – War on Drugs: Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) attack a military base in Guaviare, starting three weeks of guerrilla warfare in which at least 130 Colombians are killed.
1998 – Google is founded by Larry Page and Sergey Brin, two students at Stanford University.
2001 – Tokyo DisneySea opens to the public as part of the Tokyo Disney Resort in Urayasu, Chiba, Japan.
2002 – The Oakland Athletics win their 20th consecutive game, an American League record.
2007 – Three terrorists suspected to be a part of Al-Qaeda are arrested in Germany after allegedly planning attacks on both the Frankfurt International airport and US military installations.
2010 – A 7.1 magnitude earthquake strikes the South Island of New Zealand causing widespread damage and several power outages.