Today In History. What Happened This Day In History
A Timeline Of Events That Occurred On This Day In History
A chronological timetable of historical events that occurred on this day in history. Historical facts of the day in the areas of military, politics, science, music, sports, arts, entertainment and more. Discover what happened today in history.
April 4
| 527 | In Constantinople, Justin, seriously ill, crowns his nephew Justinian as his co-emperor. | |
| 1581 | Francis Drake completes circumnavigation of the world. | |
| 1812 | The territory of Orleans becomes the 18th state and will become known as Louisiana. | |
| 1818 | The United States flag is declared to have 13 red and white stripes and 20 stars. | |
| 1841 | President William Henry Harrison, aged 68, becomes the first president to die in office, just a month after being sworn in. | |
| 1862 | The Battle of Yorktown begins as Union gen. George B. McClellan closes in on Richmond, Va. | |
| 1917 | The U.S. Senate votes 90-6 to enter World War I on Allied side. | |
| 1918 | The Battle of the Somme ends. | |
| 1941 | Field Marshal Erwin Rommel captures the British held town of Benghazi in North Africa. | |
| 1949 | The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) treaty is signed. | |
| 1968 | Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. is assassinated in Memphis, Tennessee. | |
| 1974 | Hank Aaron ties Babe Ruth's home-run record. | |
| 1979 | Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, the president of Pakistan is executed. | |
| 1985 | A coup in Sudan ousts President Nimeiry and replaces him with General Dahab. | |
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Born on April 4 |
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| 1780 | Edward Hicks, Quaker preacher and painter (The Peaceable Kingdom). | |
| 1792 | Thaddeus Stevens, U.S. Republican congressional leader. | |
| 1802 | Dorothea Dix, American social reformer. | |
| 1821 | Linus Yale, inventor of the Yale lock. | |
| 1884 | Isoroku Yamamoto, Japanese naval commander during WWII. | |
| 1896 | Arthur Murray, ballroom dance instructor. | |
| 1896 | Robert Sherwood, playwright. | |
| 1914 | Marguerite Duras, French author (The Lover). | |
| 1915 | Muddy Waters, American blues musician. | |
| 1928 | Maya Angelou, American poet and author. | |
| 1932 | Anthony Perkins, actor (Psycho). | |
| 1938 | Bart Giamatti, baseball commisioner, president of Yale. | |
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