February 4 facts for kids

February 4 is a day filled with interesting events, important births, and notable deaths throughout history. From ancient empires to modern technology, many significant things have happened on this date. Let's explore some of them!

Events

Ancient Times and Middle Ages (Before 1600)

• 211 – The Roman Emperor Septimius Severus passed away. His two sons, Caracalla and Geta, were left to rule the empire, even though they often argued.
• 960 – Zhao Kuangyin declared himself Emperor Taizu of Song, starting the powerful Song dynasty in China. This ended the previous Later Zhou period.
• 1169 – A very strong earthquake hit the coast of Sicily. It caused many injuries and deaths, especially in the city of Catania.
• 1454 – The Thirteen Years' War began. This happened when the Prussian Confederation officially challenged the Teutonic Knights.
• 1555 – John Rogers, an English Protestant, died for his beliefs. He was the first English Protestant to be executed under Queen Mary I of England.

From 1601 to 1900

• 1758 – The city of Macapá in Brazil was founded by Sebastião Veiga Cabral.
• 1789 – George Washington was chosen by everyone to be the first President of the United States.
• 1794 – The French government officially ended slavery in all its territories. However, it was brought back in some French colonies in 1802.
• 1797 – The Riobamba earthquake hit Ecuador, causing a lot of damage and up to 40,000 deaths.
• 1801 – John Marshall became the Chief Justice of the United States, a very important legal position.
• 1810 – During the Napoleonic Wars, Britain took control of Guadeloupe.
• 1820 – The Chilean Navy, led by Lord Cochrane, successfully captured Valdivia with a small force.
• 1825 – The Ohio Legislature approved building the Ohio and Erie Canal and the Miami and Erie Canal. These canals helped transport goods and people.
• 1846 – The first Mormon pioneers started their journey from Nauvoo, Illinois, heading west towards Salt Lake Valley.
• 1859 – The ancient Codex Sinaiticus, a very old manuscript of the Bible, was discovered in Egypt.
• 1861 – American Civil War: In Montgomery, Alabama, representatives from six states that had left the U.S. met. They began the process of forming the Confederate States of America.
• 1899 – The Philippine–American War started. This happened when Filipino soldiers entered an "American Zone" in Manila, leading to the Battle of Manila.

Modern History (1901–Present)

• 1932 – Second Sino-Japanese War: The city of Harbin, in Manchuria, fell to Japan.
• 1938 – Adolf Hitler took control of the Armed Forces High Command in Germany.
• 1941 – The United Service Organization (USO) was created. Its goal was to entertain American troops, especially during wartime.
• 1945 – World War II: The Santo Tomas Internment Camp was freed from Japanese control.
• 1945 – World War II: The important Yalta Conference began in the Crimea. Leaders Winston Churchill, Franklin D. Roosevelt, and Joseph Stalin met to discuss the end of the war.
• 1945 – World War II: The British Indian Army and Imperial Japanese Army started battles known as the Battle of Pokoku and Irrawaddy River operations.
• 1948 – Ceylon (now called Sri Lanka) became an independent country within the British Commonwealth.
• 1961 – The Angolan War of Independence began, which was part of the larger Portuguese Colonial War.
• 1967 – Lunar Orbiter program: The Lunar Orbiter 3 spacecraft launched. Its mission was to find good landing spots for future Surveyor and Apollo missions to the Moon.
• 1974 – The Symbionese Liberation Army kidnapped Patty Hearst in Berkeley, California.
• 1975 – The Haicheng earthquake (magnitude 7.3) struck Haicheng, Liaoning, China.
• 1976 – A major earthquake in Guatemala and Honduras killed more than 22,000 people.
• 1977 – A Chicago Transit Authority elevated train crashed, killing 11 people and injuring 180. It was the worst accident in the agency's history.
• 1992 – A coup d'état (an attempt to overthrow the government) was led by Hugo Chávez against Venezuelan President Carlos Andrés Pérez.
• 1997 – The Bojnurd earthquake (magnitude 6.5) hit Iran, killing at least 88 people.
• 1998 – The Afghanistan earthquake (magnitude 5.9) shook the Takhar Province, causing severe damage and killing 2,323 people.
• 2000 – The Charter of Paris was signed, starting World Cancer Day. This day is held every year on February 4 to raise awareness about cancer.
• 2003 – The Federal Republic of Yugoslavia changed its constitution, becoming a looser union between Montenegro and Serbia.
• 2004 – Facebook, a very popular online social media site, was created by Mark Zuckerberg and Eduardo Saverin.
• 2008 – Large public protests took place in Colombia against the FARC group, called "A million voices against the FARC."
• 2020 – Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, all casinos in Macau were closed for 15 days.

Famous Births

Born Before 1600

• 1495 – Jean Parisot de Valette, a Grand Master of the Knights Hospitaller.
• 1505 – Mikołaj Rej, a famous Polish poet and writer.

Born Between 1601 and 1900

• 1688 – Pierre de Marivaux, a French author and playwright.
• 1740 – Carl Michael Bellman, a Swedish poet and composer.
• 1789 – Almeida Garrett, a Portuguese journalist and author.
• 1818 – Emperor Norton, a well-known and unique figure from San Francisco.
• 1868 – Constance Markievicz, an Irish revolutionary and the first woman elected to the UK House of Commons.
• 1871 – Friedrich Ebert, the first President of Germany.
• 1875 – Ludwig Prandtl, a German physicist and engineer.
• 1881 – Fernand Léger, a French painter and sculptor.
• 1883 – Reinhold Rudenberg, a German-American inventor who helped create the electron microscope.
• 1895 – Nigel Bruce, an English actor.
• 1897 – Ludwig Erhard, the second Chancellor of West Germany.
• 1900 – Jacques Prévert, a French poet and screenwriter.

Born After 1901

• 1902 – Charles Lindbergh, a famous American pilot and explorer.
• 1906 – Clyde Tombaugh, an American astronomer who discovered Pluto.
• 1913 – Rosa Parks, an American civil rights activist who played a key role in the fight for equal rights.
• 1915 – Norman Wisdom, a beloved English comedian, actor, and singer.
• 1918 – Ida Lupino, an English-American actress and director.
• 1921 – Betty Friedan, an American author and feminist who championed women's rights.
• 1921 – Lotfi Zadeh, an Iranian-American mathematician and computer scientist who founded fuzzy logic.
• 1923 – Conrad Bain, a Canadian-American actor.
• 1931 – Isabel Perón, the 41st President of Argentina.
• 1936 – George A. Romero, an American director and producer, known for horror films.
• 1940 – John Schuck, an American actor.
• 1943 – Ken Thompson, an American computer scientist who helped develop the B programming language.
• 1947 – Dan Quayle, the 44th Vice President of the United States.
• 1948 – Alice Cooper, a famous American singer-songwriter.
• 1952 – Jenny Shipley, a former Prime Minister of New Zealand.
• 1960 – Jonathan Larson, an American lyricist, composer, and playwright.
• 1962 – Clint Black, an American country singer-songwriter.
• 1970 – Gabrielle Anwar, an English-American actress.
• 1973 – Oscar De La Hoya, a well-known American boxer.
• 1975 – Natalie Imbruglia, an Australian singer-songwriter and actress.
• 1977 – Gavin DeGraw, an American singer-songwriter.
• 1983 – Hannibal Buress, an American comedian and actor.
• 1988 – Carly Patterson, an American gymnast and singer.
• 2003 – Kyla Kenedy, an American actress.

Notable Deaths

Died Before 1600

• 211 – Septimius Severus, Roman emperor.
• 708 – Pope Sisinnius.
• 856 – Rabanus Maurus, a Frankish archbishop and theologian.
• 1498 – Antonio del Pollaiuolo, an Italian artist.
• 1555 – John Rogers, an English clergyman and translator.

Died Between 1601 and 1900

• 1615 – Giambattista della Porta, an Italian playwright and scholar.
• 1713 – Anthony Ashley-Cooper, 3rd Earl of Shaftesbury, an English philosopher.
• 1799 – Étienne-Louis Boullée, a French architect.
• 1843 – Theodoros Kolokotronis, a Greek general.

Died After 1901

• 1912 – Franz Reichelt, a French tailor and inventor who died testing a parachute suit.
• 1928 – Hendrik Lorentz, a Dutch physicist and Nobel Prize winner.
• 1940 – Nikolai Yezhov, a Russian police officer and politician.
• 1974 – Satyendra Nath Bose, an Indian physicist and mathematician.
• 1975 – Louis Jordan, an American singer-songwriter and saxophonist.
• 1983 – Karen Carpenter, a famous American singer.
• 1987 – Liberace, a well-known American pianist and entertainer.
• 1987 – Carl Rogers, an influential American psychologist.
• 1995 – Patricia Highsmith, an American novelist and short story writer.
• 2004 – Carl Albert, a former Speaker of the United States House of Representatives.
• 2005 – Ossie Davis, an American actor, director, and playwright.
• 2006 – Betty Friedan, an American author and activist.
• 2016 – Edgar Mitchell, an American astronaut.
• 2018 – John Mahoney, an English-American actor.
• 2019 – Matti Nykänen, a Finnish Olympic-winning ski jumper.
• 2020 – Daniel arap Moi, a former President of Kenya.
• 2021 – Millie Hughes-Fulford, an American astronaut and molecular biologist.
• 2023 – Vani Jairam, an Indian playback singer.
• 2024 – Barry John, a Welsh rugby player.

Holidays and Observances

• Christian feast day:
  • Andrew Corsini
  • Gilbert of Sempringham
  • John de Brito
  • Goldrofe of Arganil
  • Blessed Rabanus Maurus
  • Rimbert
  • February 4 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
• Day of the Armed Struggle (Angola)
• Earliest day on which Ash Wednesday can fall, while March 10 is the latest; celebrated on the first day of Lent (Western Christianity)
• Independence Day (Sri Lanka)
• Rosa Parks Day (California and Missouri, United States)
• World Cancer Day
• International Day of Human Fraternity