# On this day: February 4

February 4 is the 35th day of the year (35th in leap years), with 330 days left until the end of the year (331 in a leap year).

## February 4 in one line

Headline entries for February 4, from Wikipedia: in 1969, Yasser Arafat was elected chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organization; born 1913: Rosa Parks, American civil rights activist (died 2005); died 1928: Hendrik Lorentz, Dutch physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1853). In 2026 it is a Wednesday, in 2027 a Thursday.

## Events on February 4

- 960 Emperor Taizu came to power, initiating the Song dynasty of China that eventually lasted for more than three centuries. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Song_dynasty)
- 1169 A strong earthquake struck the eastern coast of Sicily, causing at least 15,000 deaths. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1169_Sicily_earthquake)
- 1488 Bartolomeu Dias landed in Mossel Bay, becoming the first European known to have sailed around the Cape of Good Hope, the southern tip of Africa, beginning Portuguese influence and trade in the Indian Ocean. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bartolomeu_Dias)
- 1555 Marian Restoration: Because he opposed Catholicism, John Rogers was burned at the stake as the first English Protestant executed for heresy under the reign of Mary I. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Rogers_(clergyman_and_martyr))
- 1703 In Edo (now Tokyo), all but one of the Forty-seven Ronin commit seppuku (ritual suicide) as recompense for avenging their master's death. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forty-seven_r%C5%8Dnin)
- 1789 George Washington is unanimously elected as the first President of the United States by the U.S. Electoral College. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/President_of_the_United_States)
- 1794 The French legislature abolishes slavery throughout all territories of the French First Republic. It would be reestablished in the French West Indies in 1802. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_First_Republic)
- 1797 The Riobamba earthquake, the most powerful in Ecuador's history, devastated Riobamba and many other cities, causing at least 6,000 casualties. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1797_Riobamba_earthquake)
- 1801 John Marshall, whose court opinions helped lay the basis for U.S. constitutional law and made the Supreme Court a coequal branch of government, took office as chief justice. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Marshall)
- 1820 Chilean War of Independence: Chilean forces captured the city of Valdivia. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capture_of_Valdivia)
- 1859 Constantin von Tischendorf rediscovered the Codex Sinaiticus, a 4th-century great uncial codex of the Bible in Greek, in Saint Catherine's Monastery, Egypt. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Codex_Sinaiticus)
- 1861 American Civil War: In Montgomery, Alabama, delegates from six breakaway U.S. states meet and initiate the process that would form the Confederate States of America on February 8. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Confederate_States_of_America)
- 1899 The Philippine–American War began when an American soldier, under orders to keep insurgents away from his unit's encampment, fired on a Filipino soldier in Manila. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philippine%E2%80%93American_War)
- 1945 World War II: American forces liberated the Santo Tomas Internment Camp in Manila, the largest Japanese-run internment camp for enemy civilians in the Philippines. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Santo_Tomas_Internment_Camp)
- 1945 World War II: The Yalta Conference between the "Big Three" (Churchill, Roosevelt, and Stalin) opens at the Livadia Palace in the Crimea. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yalta_Conference)
- 1967 Lunar Orbiter program: Lunar Orbiter 3 lifts off from Cape Canaveral's Launch Complex 13 on its mission to identify possible landing sites for the Surveyor and Apollo spacecraft. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lunar_Orbiter_3)
- 1969 Yasser Arafat was elected chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organization. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yasser_Arafat)
- 1974 American newspaper heiress and socialite Patty Hearst was kidnapped by the Symbionese Liberation Army, which she later joined. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patty_Hearst)
- 1974 The Troubles: The Provisional Irish Republican Army bombed a motor coach carrying off-duty British Armed Forces personnel and their family members, killing twelve people. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M62_coach_bombing)
- 1998 An earthquake registering 5.9 MW struck northern Afghanistan, triggering landslides that killed over 2,300 people and destroyed around 15,000 homes. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/February_1998_Afghanistan_earthquake)
- 1999 Four plain-clothes New York City police officers shot and killed Amadou Diallo, an unarmed 23-year-old immigrant from Guinea, prompting outrage both in and outside the city. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Killing_of_Amadou_Diallo)
- 1999 The Philippine-flagged freighter New Carissa ran aground near Coos Bay, Oregon, causing one of the worst oil spills in the state's history. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Carissa)
- 2004 Facebook, a mainstream online social networking site, is founded by Mark Zuckerberg and Eduardo Saverin. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Facebook)
- 2008 The London low emission zone, charging certain diesel-powered commercial vehicles to enter Greater London, came into operation. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/London_low_emission_zone)
- 2015 Shortly after takeoff from Taipei Songshan Airport, the crew of TransAsia Airways Flight 235 shut down the wrong engine in response to a flameout, leading to a crash that resulted in 43 deaths. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TransAsia_Airways_Flight_235)
- 2020 The COVID-19 pandemic causes all casinos in Macau to be closed down for 15 days. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/COVID-19_pandemic)

## Born on February 4

- 1495 Jean Parisot de Valette, Grand Master of the Knights Hospitaller (died 1568) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean_Parisot_de_Valette)
- 1688 Pierre de Marivaux, French author and playwright (died 1763) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pierre_de_Marivaux)
- 1778 Augustin Pyramus de Candolle, Swiss botanist, mycologist, and academic (died 1841) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Augustin_Pyramus_de_Candolle)
- 1871 Friedrich Ebert, German lawyer and politician, first President of Germany (died 1925) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Friedrich_Ebert)
- 1881 Kliment Voroshilov, Soviet politician and Marshal of the Soviet Union, People's Commissar for Defence (died 1969) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kliment_Voroshilov)
- 1881 Fernand Léger, French painter and sculptor (died 1955) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fernand_L%C3%A9ger)
- 1897 Ludwig Erhard, German soldier and politician, second Chancellor of West Germany (died 1977) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ludwig_Erhard)
- 1900 Jacques Prévert, French poet and screenwriter (died 1977) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacques_Pr%C3%A9vert)
- 1902 Charles Lindbergh, American pilot and explorer (died 1974) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Lindbergh)
- 1906 Dietrich Bonhoeffer, German pastor and theologian (died 1945) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dietrich_Bonhoeffer)
- 1906 Clyde Tombaugh, American astronomer and academic, discovered Pluto (died 1997) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clyde_Tombaugh)
- 1913 Rosa Parks, American civil rights activist (died 2005) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rosa_Parks)
- 1917 Yahya Khan, Pakistan general and politician, third President of Pakistan (died 1980) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yahya_Khan)
- 1918 Ida Lupino, English-American actress and director (died 1995) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ida_Lupino)
- 1921 Betty Friedan, American author and feminist (died 2006) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Betty_Friedan)
- 1923 Conrad Bain, Canadian-American actor (died 2013) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conrad_Bain)
- 1931 Isabel Perón, Argentinian dancer and politician, 41st President of Argentina [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isabel_Per%C3%B3n)
- 1940 George A. Romero, American director and producer (died 2017) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_A._Romero)
- 1943 Ken Thompson, American computer scientist and programmer, co-developed the B programming language [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ken_Thompson)
- 1947 Dan Quayle, American sergeant, lawyer, and politician, 44th Vice President of the United States [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dan_Quayle)
- 1948 Alice Cooper, American singer-songwriter [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alice_Cooper)
- 1975 Natalie Imbruglia, Australian singer-songwriter and actress [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natalie_Imbruglia)

## Died on February 4

- 211 Septimius Severus, Roman emperor (born 145) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Septimius_Severus)
- 708 Pope Sisinnius (born 650) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope_Sisinnius)
- 1505 Jeanne de Valois, daughter of Louis XI of France (born 1464) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joan_of_France%2C_Duchess_of_Berry)
- 1928 Hendrik Lorentz, Dutch physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1853) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hendrik_Lorentz)
- 1940 Nikolai Yezhov, Russian police officer and politician (born 1895) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nikolai_Yezhov)
- 1974 Satyendra Nath Bose, Indian physicist, mathematician, and academic (born 1894) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Satyendra_Nath_Bose)
- 1983 Karen Carpenter, American singer (born 1950) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karen_Carpenter)
- 1987 Carl Rogers, American psychologist and academic (born 1902) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carl_Rogers)
- 1995 Patricia Highsmith, American novelist and short story writer (born 1921) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patricia_Highsmith)
- 2006 Betty Friedan, American author and activist (born 1921) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Betty_Friedan)
- 2016 Edgar Mitchell, American captain, pilot, and astronaut (born 1930) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edgar_Mitchell)
- 2019 Matti Nykänen, Finnish Olympic-winning ski jumper and singer (born 1963) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matti_Nyk%C3%A4nen)
- 2020 Daniel arap Moi, Former President of Kenya (born 1924) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daniel_arap_Moi)
- 2025 Aga Khan IV, 49th Imam of the Nizari Isma'ili community (born 1936) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aga_Khan_IV)

## Holidays and observances

- Christian feast day: Andrew Corsini [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrew_Corsini)
- Christian feast day: Eduardo Francisco Pironio [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eduardo_Francisco_Pironio)
- Christian feast day: Gilbert of Sempringham [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gilbert_of_Sempringham)
- Christian feast day: John de Brito [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_de_Britto)
- Christian feast day: Goldrofe of Arganil [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goldrofe_of_Arganil)
- Christian feast day: Blessed Rabanus Maurus [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rabanus_Maurus)
- Christian feast day: Rimbert [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rimbert)
- Christian feast day: February 4 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/February_4_(Eastern_Orthodox_liturgics))
- Day of the Armed Struggle (Angola) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_holidays_in_Angola)
- Earliest day on which Ash Wednesday can fall, while March 10 is the latest; celebrated on the first day of Lent (Western Christianity) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ash_Wednesday)
- Independence Day (Sri Lanka) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Independence_Day_(Sri_Lanka))
- Rosa Parks Day (California and Missouri, United States) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rosa_Parks_Day)
- World Cancer Day [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Cancer_Day)
- International Day of Human Fraternity [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Day_of_Human_Fraternity)

## Sources

- [Wikipedia — “February 4”](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/February_4) — events, births, deaths and observances (text under CC BY-SA 4.0) (checked 2026-10-15)
- [Wikipedia — “Selected anniversaries/February 4”](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Selected_anniversaries/February_4) — the anniversaries editors chose for the date and the article each one is about (checked 2026-10-15)
- [Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org/) — in how many language editions each entry's own article exists, used to fill the lists (CC0) (checked 2026-10-15)
- [vacanza/holidays (open-source holiday rules, MIT licence)](https://github.com/vacanza/holidays) — holiday rules used to build the lists (checked 2026-10-15)

The events, births, deaths and observances above are from the English Wikipedia article [“February 4”](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/February_4) and the articles it links to ([authors and history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/February_4?action=history)), retrieved 2026-10-15 through the Wikimedia “On this day” feed. They are licensed under [CC BY-SA 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/); this selection is shared under the same licence. Every anniversary that Wikipedia's editors selected for February 4 stays on the list; the remaining places, up to 26 events, 22 births and 14 deaths, go to the entries whose own article — about the event itself, or else the person or thing it is about — appears in the most language editions (counted from Wikidata); an article about a person or thing, which covers far more than one day, counts half. An entry with no article of its own counts, also at half, by the least covered article it links, and one that links only places counts for nothing. Each list runs by year, and the wording is unchanged apart from removing references to pictures, audio and video.

## February 4 in the calendar

| Year | Weekday | ISO week | Moon (UTC) |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 2026 | Wednesday | 2026-W06 | 🌖 Waning Gibbous |
| 2027 | Thursday | 2027-W05 | 🌘 Waning Crescent |
| 2028 | Friday | 2028-W05 | 🌔 Waxing Gibbous |
| 2029 | Sunday | 2029-W05 | 🌖 Waning Gibbous |
| 2030 | Monday | 2030-W06 | 🌒 Waxing Crescent |

Moon phases are for the day in UTC; at the edges of a phase your local date can differ.

## Public holidays on February 4

None of the 28 countries we track has a public holiday on February 4 in 2026 or 2027.

[Today's holidays in 28 countries →](https://whathappen.today/holidays/)

## Nearby dates

[← February 3](https://whathappen.today/on-this-day/february-3/) · [February 5 →](https://whathappen.today/on-this-day/february-5/)

[All 366 days](https://whathappen.today/on-this-day/)

Last updated: 15 October 2026

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Web page: https://whathappen.today/on-this-day/february-4/