On this day: June 4

Events on June 4

• 1411 King Charles VI of France granted a monopoly to the people of Roquefort-sur-Soulzon for the ripening of Roquefort cheese. Wikipedia
• 1561 The spire of Old St Paul's Cathedral in London was destroyed by fire. Wikipedia
• 1784 Élisabeth Thible became the first woman to fly in an untethered hot air balloon, covering a distance of 4 km (2.5 mi) and reaching an estimated altitude of 1,500 m (4,900 ft). Wikipedia
• 1792 Captain George Vancouver of the Royal Navy claimed the land around Puget Sound in the Pacific Northwest for Great Britain. Wikipedia
• 1859 Italian Independence wars: In the Battle of Magenta, the French army, under Louis-Napoleon, defeat the Austrian army. Wikipedia
• 1913 Emily Davison, an activist for women's suffrage in the United Kingdom, was fatally injured after being trampled by a horse owned by King George V at the Epsom Derby. Wikipedia
• 1916 World War I: Russia opens the Brusilov Offensive with an artillery barrage of Austro-Hungarian lines in Galicia. Wikipedia
• 1920 Hungary loses 71% of its territory and 63% of its population when the Treaty of Trianon is signed in Paris. Wikipedia
• 1940 Second World War: The remaining Allied forces protecting the Dunkirk evacuation surrendered, ending the Battle of Dunkirk; in response, British prime minister Winston Churchill gave a speech in which he declared "We shall fight on the beaches". Wikipedia
• 1942 World War II: The Battle of Midway, a major battle of the Pacific War, began with a massive Japanese offensive on American forces on Midway Atoll. Wikipedia
• 1944 World War II: A United States Navy task group captured German submarine U-505. Wikipedia
• 1946 in Argentina assumes its first presidency Juan Domingo Perón. Wikipedia
• 1967 A chartered British Midland Airways aircraft crashed near Stockport, England, killing 72 of the 84 people on board. Wikipedia
• 1970 Tonga gains independence from the British Empire. Wikipedia
• 1974 Major League Baseball's Cleveland Indians hosted Ten-Cent Beer Night, but had to forfeit the game to the Texas Rangers due to rioting by drunken fans. Wikipedia
• 1975 Governor Jerry Brown signed the California Agricultural Labor Relations Act, one of the first laws in the United States guaranteeing collective bargaining rights to farmworkers. Wikipedia
• 1977 The Humboldt Park riot began in Chicago, resulting in three deaths, three cars in the Humboldt Park lagoon, and increased tension between the Chicago Police Department and the Puerto Rican community. Wikipedia
• 1979 Jerry Rawlings came to power in Ghana as chairman of the Armed Forces Revolutionary Council. Wikipedia
• 1987 American intelligence analyst Jonathan Pollard pleaded guilty to charges of spying for Israel. Wikipedia
• 1989 Following the death of Ruhollah Khomeini, the Assembly of Experts elected Ali Khamenei to be Supreme Leader of Iran. Wikipedia
• 1989 The People's Liberation Army suppressed the Tiananmen Square protests in Beijing, leaving hundreds of people dead and wounded. Wikipedia
• 1989 Solidarity's victory in the 1989 Polish legislative election occurs, the first election since the Communist Polish United Workers' Party abandoned its monopoly of power. It sparks off the Revolutions of 1989 in Eastern Europe. Wikipedia
• 1998 Terry Nichols was sentenced to life in prison for his role in the Oklahoma City bombing. Wikipedia
• 2004 In Granby, Colorado, U.S., Marvin Heemeyer went on a rampage with a modified bulldozer over a zoning dispute, destroying several buildings before dying by suicide. Wikipedia
• 2005 The Civic Forum of the Romanians of Covasna, Harghita and Mureș was founded to represent and promote the interests of ethnic Romanians in areas with large Hungarian populations. Wikipedia
• 2025 A crowd crush outside M. Chinnaswamy Stadium during celebrations of Royal Challengers Bengaluru's Indian Premier League title killed 11 people and injured 56 others. Wikipedia

Born on June 4

• 590 Harsha, Maharajadhiraja of Kannauj (died 647) Wikipedia
• 1694 François Quesnay, French economist and physician (died 1774) Wikipedia
• 1738 George III of the United Kingdom (died 1820) Wikipedia
• 1867 Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim, Finnish general and politician, 6th President of Finland (died 1951) Wikipedia
• 1877 Heinrich Otto Wieland, German chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (died 1957) Wikipedia
• 1907 Rosalind Russell, American actress (died 1976) Wikipedia
• 1915 Modibo Keïta, Malian educator and politician, 1st President of Mali (died 1977) Wikipedia
• 1916 Robert F. Furchgott, American biochemist and pharmacologist, Nobel Prize laureate (died 2009) Wikipedia
• 1929 Karolos Papoulias, Greek lawyer and politician, 5th President of Greece (died 2021) Wikipedia
• 1936 Bruce Dern, American actor Wikipedia
• 1952 Bronisław Komorowski, Polish historian and politician, 5th President of Poland Wikipedia
• 1961 Ferenc Gyurcsány, Hungarian businessman and politician, 6th Prime Minister of Hungary Wikipedia
• 1971 Joseph Kabila, Congolese soldier and politician, President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo Wikipedia
• 1975 Angelina Jolie, American actress, filmmaker, humanitarian, and activist Wikipedia
• 1975 Russell Brand, English comedian and actor Wikipedia
• 1976 Alexei Navalny, Russian lawyer and politician (died 2024) Wikipedia
• 1979 Naohiro Takahara, Japanese footballer Wikipedia
• 1983 Emmanuel Eboué, Ivorian footballer Wikipedia
• 1985 Lukas Podolski, German footballer Wikipedia
• 1985 Bar Refaeli, Israeli model and actress Wikipedia
• 1991 Lorenzo Insigne, Italian footballer Wikipedia
• 2001 Takefusa Kubo, Japanese footballer Wikipedia

Died on June 4

• 1039 Conrad II, Holy Roman Emperor (born 990) Wikipedia
• 1206 Adela of Champagne (born 1140) Wikipedia
• 1798 Giacomo Casanova, Italian adventurer and author (born 1725) Wikipedia
• 1809 Nicolai Abildgaard, Danish neoclassical and history painter, sculptor and architect (born 1743) Wikipedia
• 1830 Antonio José de Sucre, Venezuelan general and politician, 2nd President of Bolivia (born 1795) Wikipedia
• 1872 Johan Rudolph Thorbecke, Dutch historian, jurist and politician, Prime Minister of the Netherlands (born 1798) Wikipedia
• 1875 Eduard Mörike, German pastor and poet (born 1804) Wikipedia
• 1876 Abdulaziz, 32nd Sultan of the Ottoman Empire (born 1830) Wikipedia
• 1931 Hussein bin Ali, Sharif of Mecca, Sharif and Emir of Mecca, King of the Hejaz (born 1853–54) Wikipedia
• 1941 Wilhelm II, German Emperor (born 1859) Wikipedia
• 1942 Reinhard Heydrich, German SS officer and a principle architect of the Holocaust (born 1904) Wikipedia
• 1971 György Lukács, Hungarian historian and philosopher (born 1885) Wikipedia
• 2002 Fernando Belaúnde Terry, Peruvian architect and politician, 42nd President of Peru (born 1912) Wikipedia
• 2004 Nino Manfredi, Italian actor (born 1921) Wikipedia

Holidays and observances

• Christian feast day: Blessed Antoni Zawistowski Wikipedia
• Christian feast day: Filippo Smaldone Wikipedia
• Christian feast day: Francis Caracciolo Wikipedia
• Christian feast day: Optatus Wikipedia
• Christian feast day: Petroc of Cornwall Wikipedia
• Christian feast day: Quirinus of Sescia Wikipedia
• Christian feast day: Saturnina Wikipedia
• Christian feast day: June 4 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics) Wikipedia
• The Flag Day of the Finnish Defence Forces, also known as the birthday of C. G. E. Mannerheim, Marshal of Finland (Finland) Wikipedia
• Emancipation Day or Independence Day, commemorates the abolition of serfdom in Tonga by King George Tupou in 1862, and the independence of Tonga from the British protectorate in 1970. (Tonga) Wikipedia
• International Day of Innocent Children Victims of Aggression (International) Wikipedia
• Trianon Treaty Day (Romania) Wikipedia
• Memorials for the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre (International) Wikipedia

Sources

• Wikipedia — “June 4” — events, births, deaths and observances (text under CC BY-SA 4.0) (checked 2026-10-15)
• Wikipedia — “Selected anniversaries/June 4” — the anniversaries editors chose for the date and the article each one is about (checked 2026-10-15)
• Wikidata — 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) — holiday rules used to build the lists (checked 2026-10-15)

The events, births, deaths and observances above are from the English Wikipedia article “June 4” and the articles it links to (authors and history), retrieved 2026-10-15 through the Wikimedia “On this day” feed. They are licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0; this selection is shared under the same licence. Every anniversary that Wikipedia's editors selected for June 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.