November 4 facts for kids

November 4 is the 308th day of the year (309th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar; 57 days remain until the end of the year.

This page tells you about important things that happened on November 4th throughout history. You'll learn about big events, famous people who were born, and notable people who passed away on this day.

Major Events in History

Early Times (Before 1600)

• 1429 – During a big war in France, the brave Joan of Arc helped free the town of Saint-Pierre-le-Moûtier.
• 1493 – Explorer Christopher Columbus arrived at the Leeward Islands in the Caribbean Sea.
• 1501 – Catherine of Aragon, who would later become the first wife of King Henry VIII of England, met his older brother, Arthur, Prince of Wales. They got married soon after.
• 1576 – In a long war called the Eighty Years' War, Spain captured the city of Antwerp in Flanders. The city was almost completely destroyed during the fight.

Later Years (1601–1900)

• 1677 – Mary II of England, who would later rule England with her husband, married William, Prince of Orange. They became known as William and Mary.
• 1737 – The Teatro di San Carlo, which is the oldest opera house in Europe that is still used today, opened in Naples, Italy.
• 1780 – A major rebellion against Spanish rule began in Peru, led by Túpac Amaru II.
• 1783 – The famous composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's Symphony No. 36 was played for the very first time in Linz, Austria.
• 1791 – In the Northwest Indian War, a group of American Indian tribes won a big battle against the United States army.
• 1839 – The Newport Rising happened in Britain. This was the last large armed rebellion against the government in mainland Britain.
• 1847 – A Scottish doctor named Sir James Young Simpson found out that chloroform could be used as an anaesthetic to make people sleep during operations.
• 1852 – Camillo Benso, Count of Cavour, became the leader of Piedmont-Sardinia. This area later grew to become the country of Italy.
• 1864 – During the American Civil War, Confederate soldiers attacked a Union supply base and destroyed a lot of important supplies.
• 1868 – The city of Camagüey in Cuba started a revolt against Spain. This was part of the Ten Years' War for Cuban independence.
• 1890 – London's first deep underground train line, called the City and South London Railway, opened. It connected King William Street and Stockwell.

Modern Times (1901–present)

• 1918 – In World War I, a peace agreement called the Armistice of Villa Giusti was put into action between Italy and Austria-Hungary.
• 1922 – In Egypt, British archaeologist Howard Carter and his team discovered the entrance to the ancient tomb of Tutankhamun in the Valley of the Kings.
• 1924 – Nellie Tayloe Ross from Wyoming became the first woman ever elected as a governor in the United States.
• 1939 – As World War II began, U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt allowed countries fighting in the war to buy weapons from the U.S. if they paid cash and carried them away themselves.
• 1942 – In World War II, General Field Marshal Erwin Rommel started to pull his forces back after a tough defeat. This retreat lasted for five months.
• 1952 – The United States government created the National Security Agency, or NSA, which deals with national security and intelligence.
• 1956 – Soviet troops entered Hungary to stop the Hungarian revolution. Many people were killed or hurt, and many left the country.
• 1960 – Dr. Jane Goodall saw chimpanzees in Tanzania making tools. This was the first time anyone had seen non-human animals creating tools.
• 1962 – The United States finished its last above-ground nuclear weapons testing series, called Operation Fishbowl. This happened before a treaty was signed to ban most nuclear tests.
• 1966 – The Arno River flooded Florence, Italy, causing huge damage and destroying many art masterpieces and rare books. The city of Venice also flooded on the same day.
• 1970 – In the Vietnam War, the United States handed over control of the air base at Bình Thủy to South Vietnam.
• 1970 – Salvador Allende became the President of Chile. He was the first Marxist leader to be elected president in a Latin American country through open elections.
• 1973 – Because of an oil shortage, the Netherlands had its first car-free Sunday. Highways were used only by cyclists and roller skaters.
• 1979 – During the Iran hostage crisis, a group of Iranian college students took over the U.S. embassy in Tehran and held 90 people hostage.
• 1980 – Ronald Reagan was elected as the 40th President of the United States, defeating Jimmy Carter.
• 1995 – The Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin was assassinated by an extremist Israeli.
• 2008 – Barack Obama became the first person of African-American descent to be elected as President of the United States.
• 2010 – Qantas Flight 32, a very large Airbus A380 plane, had a serious engine problem over Indonesia. The crew managed to land the plane safely in Singapore, saving all 469 people on board.
• 2020 – The Tigray War began in Ethiopia with attacks on military centers.

Famous Births

Born Before 1900

• 1575 – Guido Reni, a famous Italian painter.
• 1631 – Mary, Princess Royal and Princess of Orange, a princess who was the mother of William III of England.
• 1787 – Edmund Kean, a well-known British actor who performed in Shakespeare's plays.
• 1879 – Will Rogers, a popular American actor and writer.
• 1884 – Harry Ferguson, an Irish engineer who invented the modern tractor.
• 1887 – Alfred Lee Loomis, an American physicist and generous giver to good causes.
• 1896 – Carlos P. Garcia, who became the 8th President of the Philippines.
• 1900 – Lucrețiu Pătrășcanu, a Romanian sociologist and activist.

Born After 1900

• 1908 – Joseph Rotblat, a Polish-English physicist who won the Nobel Peace Prize.
• 1909 – Evelyn Bryan Johnson, an American colonel and pilot who flew many hours.
• 1916 – Walter Cronkite, a very famous American journalist and news anchor.
• 1916 – Ruth Handler, an American businesswoman who created the Barbie doll.
• 1918 – Art Carney, a well-known American actor.
• 1925 – Doris Roberts, a popular American actress.
• 1929 – Shakuntala Devi, an Indian mathematician known as the "human computer" for her amazing mental calculation skills.
• 1932 – Thomas Klestil, who became the 10th President of Austria.
• 1933 – Charles K. Kao, a Chinese physicist and engineer who won the Nobel Prize for his work with fiber optics.
• 1937 – Loretta Swit, an American actress, famous for her role in the TV show M*A*S*H.
• 1940 – Marlène Jobert, a French actress and author.
• 1942 – Patricia Bath, an American eye doctor and academic who invented a device for cataract surgery.
• 1946 – Laura Bush, an American educator and librarian who was the 45th First Lady of the United States.
• 1950 – Markie Post, an American actress.
• 1951 – Traian Băsescu, who became the 4th President of Romania.
• 1953 – Peter Lord, an English animator and director who co-founded Aardman Animations, known for Wallace and Gromit.
• 1957 – Tony Abbott, who became the 28th Prime Minister of Australia.
• 1960 – Kathy Griffin, an American comedian and actress.
• 1961 – Ralph Macchio, an American actor, famous for The Karate Kid.
• 1961 – Jeff Probst, an American television host, known for Survivor.
• 1969 – Sean Combs, a famous American rapper, producer, and actor.
• 1969 – Matthew McConaughey, a well-known American actor.
• 1972 – Luís Figo, a famous Portuguese footballer.
• 1973 – Steven Ogg, a Canadian actor.
• 1975 – Heather Tom, an American actress and director.
• 1980 – Emme Rylan, an American actress.
• 1982 – Devin Hester, an American football player.
• 1984 – Dustin Brown, an American ice hockey player.
• 1985 – Marcell Jansen, a German footballer.
• 1986 – Alexz Johnson, a Canadian actress and singer-songwriter.
• 1988 – Dez Bryant, an American football player.
• 1990 – Jean-Luc Bilodeau, a Canadian actor.
• 1996 – Michael Christian Martinez, a Filipino figure skater.
• 2000 – Tyrese Maxey, an American basketball player.
• 2000 – Sun Yingsha, a Chinese table tennis player.

Notable Deaths

Passed Away Before 1900

• 1428 – Sophia of Bavaria, a queen of Bohemia.
• 1485 – Giovanni Mocenigo, who was a leader of Venice.
• 1847 – Felix Mendelssohn, a very famous German pianist, composer, and conductor.
• 1856 – Paul Delaroche, a French painter.
• 1895 – Eugene Field, an American journalist, author, and poet.

Passed Away After 1900

• 1918 – Wilfred Owen, an English lieutenant and poet who wrote about World War I.
• 1921 – Hara Takashi, who was the 10th Prime Minister of Japan.
• 1924 – Gabriel Fauré, a French pianist, composer, and teacher.
• 1955 – Robert E. Sherwood, an American writer and screenwriter.
• 1955 – Cy Young, a legendary American baseball player and manager.
• 1957 – Shoghi Effendi, an important leader of the Baháʼí Faith.
• 1974 – Bert Patenaude, an American soccer player.
• 1980 – Elsie MacGill, a Canadian engineer and author who designed aircraft.
• 1992 – George Klein, a Canadian engineer who invented the motorized wheelchair.
• 1995 – Gilles Deleuze, a French philosopher.
• 1995 – Paul Eddington, an English actor.
• 1995 – Yitzhak Rabin, who was the 5th Prime Minister of Israel and a Nobel Peace Prize winner.
• 1995 – Morrie Schwartz, an American sociologist and author.
• 2008 – Michael Crichton, a famous American author and director, known for books like Jurassic Park.
• 2010 – Sparky Anderson, a well-known American baseball manager.
• 2011 – Andy Rooney, an American author, journalist, and television personality.
• 2014 – S. Donald Stookey, an American physicist and chemist who invented CorningWare.
• 2015 – René Girard, a French-American historian and philosopher.
• 2016 – Catherine Davani, the first female judge in Papua New Guinea.
• 2019 – Gay Byrne, a famous Irish broadcaster.
• 2020 – Ken Hensley, an English rock singer-songwriter and musician.

Holidays and Observances

• Christian feast day:

* Charles Borromeo (Roman Catholic Church) * Emeric of Hungary * Felix of Valois * Joannicius the Great * Our Lady of Kazan (Russian Orthodox Church) * Pierius * Blessed Teresa Manganiello * Vitalis and Agricola * November 4 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)

• Community Service Day (Dominica)
• Flag Day (Panama)
• National Tonga Day (Tonga)
• National Unity and Armed Forces Day or Giorno dell'Unità Nazionale e Festa delle Forze Armate (Italy)
• Unity Day (Russia)
• Yitzhak Rabin Memorial (unofficial, but widely commemorated)

See also

In Spanish: 4 de noviembre para niños