# On this day: September 4

September 4 is the 247th day of the year (248th in leap years), with 118 days left until the end of the year.

## September 4 in one line

Headline entries for September 4, from Wikipedia: in 1666, The most destructive damage from the Great Fire of London occurred; born 1981: Beyoncé, American singer-songwriter; died 1965: Albert Schweitzer, French-Gabonese physician, theologian, and missionary, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1875). In 2026 it is a Friday, in 2027 a Saturday.

## Events on September 4

- 476 Germanic leader Odoacer captured Ravenna and deposed Emperor Romulus Augustus, marking the fall of the Western Roman Empire. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Odoacer)
- 1666 The most destructive damage from the Great Fire of London occurred. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Fire_of_London)
- 1774 New Caledonia is first sighted by Europeans, during the second voyage of Captain James Cook. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Caledonia)
- 1797 Coup of 18 Fructidor in France. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coup_of_18_Fructidor)
- 1800 French Revolutionary Wars: Facing starvation and a death rate of 100 soldiers per day, the French garrison in Malta surrendered to British forces, ending a two-year siege. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siege_of_Malta_(1798%E2%80%931800))
- 1813 Future US President Andrew Jackson was shot and severely injured in a tavern brawl with future US Senator Thomas Hart Benton. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1813_Jackson%E2%80%93Benton_brawl)
- 1839 First Opium War: British vessels opened fire on Chinese war junks enforcing a food sales embargo on the British community on the Kowloon Peninsula. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Kowloon)
- 1843 The state wedding of Teresa Cristina of the Two Sicilies and Emperor Pedro II of Brazil took place at the Cathedral of Rio de Janeiro. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teresa_Cristina_of_the_Two_Sicilies)
- 1870 Emperor Napoleon III of France is deposed and the Third Republic is declared. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Napoleon_III)
- 1886 After more than 25 years of fighting against the United States Army and the armed forces of Mexico, Geronimo of the Chiricahua Apache surrendered at Skeleton Canyon in Arizona. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geronimo)
- 1888 George Eastman registers the trademark Kodak and receives a patent for his camera that uses roll film. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kodak)
- 1912 The Albanian revolt ended when the Ottoman government agreed to meet most of the rebels' demands. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albanian_revolt_of_1912)
- 1920 Peasants in and around Križ began a rebellion to protest economic and conscription policies enacted by the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1920_Croatian_Peasant_Rebellion)
- 1934 Evelyn Waugh's novel A Handful of Dust was first published in full. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Handful_of_Dust)
- 1948 Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands abdicates for health reasons. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wilhelmina_of_the_Netherlands)
- 1951 The first live transcontinental television broadcast takes place in San Francisco, United States, from the Japanese Peace Treaty Conference. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Francisco)
- 1955 A white U.S. soldier raped and murdered a five-year-old local girl in Kadena, Okinawa. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yumiko-chan_incident)
- 1957 Governor Orval Faubus deployed the Arkansas National Guard to prevent nine African-American students from attending Little Rock Central High School. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Little_Rock_Nine)
- 1970 Salvador Allende is elected President of Chile. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salvador_Allende)
- 1972 Mark Spitz becomes the first competitor to win seven medals at a single Olympic Games. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Spitz)
- 1977 The Golden Dragon massacre occurred in Chinatown, San Francisco, United States, leaving five people dead and spurring police to end Chinese gang violence in the city. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_Dragon_massacre)
- 1995 Three U.S. servicemen stationed at Camp Hansen in Okinawa, Japan, raped a 12-year-old girl, after kidnapping, beating, and torturing her. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1995_Okinawa_rape_incident)
- 1998 Google is founded by Larry Page and Sergey Brin, two PhD students at Stanford University. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Google)
- 2007 Three terrorists suspected to be part of al-Qaeda were arrested in Germany after planning attacks on Frankfurt Airport and Ramstein Air Base. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2007_bomb_plot_in_Germany)
- 2010 A magnitude-7.1 earthquake struck the Canterbury Region of New Zealand, causing two deaths and up to NZ$40 billion in damages. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2010_Canterbury_earthquake)
- 2020 Pope Benedict XVI becomes the longest-lived pope, 93 years, four months, 16 days, surpassing Pope Leo XIII, who died in 1903. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope_Benedict_XVI)

## Born on September 4

- 973 Al-Biruni, Persian physician and polymath (died 1048) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al-Biruni)
- 1241 Alexander III, king of Scotland (died 1286) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_III_of_Scotland)
- 1383 Felix V, antipope of Rome (died 1451) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amadeus_VIII_of_Savoy)
- 1768 François-René de Chateaubriand, French historian and politician, Minister of Foreign Affairs for France (died 1848) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fran%C3%A7ois-Ren%C3%A9_de_Chateaubriand)
- 1809 Juliusz Słowacki, Polish poet and playwright (died 1849) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Juliusz_S%C5%82owacki)
- 1824 Anton Bruckner, Austrian organist and composer (died 1896) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anton_Bruckner)
- 1877 Kārlis Ulmanis, Latvian prime minister and president (died 1942) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/K%C4%81rlis_Ulmanis)
- 1891 Fritz Todt, German engineer, politician, and senior Nazi official (died 1942) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fritz_Todt)
- 1896 Antonin Artaud, French actor, director, and playwright (died 1948) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antonin_Artaud)
- 1906 Max Delbrück, German-American biophysicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (died 1981) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Max_Delbr%C3%BCck)
- 1908 Richard Wright, American novelist, short story writer, essayist, and poet (died 1960) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Wright_(author))
- 1913 Kenzō Tange, Japanese architect (died 2005) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kenz%C5%8D_Tange)
- 1913 Stanford Moore, American biochemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (died 1982) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stanford_Moore)
- 1926 Ivan Illich, Austrian priest and philosopher (died 2002) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ivan_Illich)
- 1927 John McCarthy, American computer scientist and academic (died 2011) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_McCarthy_(computer_scientist))
- 1934 Clive Granger, Welsh-American economist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (died 2009) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clive_Granger)
- 1953 Fatih Terim, Turkish footballer and manager [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fatih_Terim)
- 1962 Shinya Yamanaka, Japanese physician and biologist, Nobel Prize laureate [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shinya_Yamanaka)
- 1969 Giorgi Margvelashvili, Georgian academic and politician, 4th President of Georgia [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giorgi_Margvelashvili)
- 1981 Beyoncé, American singer-songwriter [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beyonc%C3%A9)
- 1985 Raúl Albiol, Spanish footballer [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ra%C3%BAl_Albiol)
- 1993 Yannick Carrasco, Belgian footballer [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yannick_Carrasco)

## Died on September 4

- 422 Boniface I, pope of the Catholic Church [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope_Boniface_I)
- 799 Musa al-Kadhim, Arabic imam (born 745) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Musa_al-Kazim)
- 1063 Tughril, Seljuq sultan (born 990) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tughril_I)
- 1907 Edvard Grieg, Norwegian pianist and composer (born 1843) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edvard_Grieg)
- 1914 Charles Péguy, French poet and philosopher (born 1873) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_P%C3%A9guy)
- 1963 Robert Schuman, Luxembourgian-French politician, 130th Prime Minister of France (born 1886) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Schuman)
- 1965 Albert Schweitzer, French-Gabonese physician, theologian, and missionary, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1875) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albert_Schweitzer)
- 1974 Marcel Achard, French playwright and screenwriter (born 1899) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marcel_Achard)
- 1989 Georges Simenon, Belgian-Swiss author (born 1903) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georges_Simenon)
- 1990 Irene Dunne, American actress and singer (born 1898) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irene_Dunne)
- 2006 Steve Irwin, Australian zoologist and television host (born 1962) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_Irwin)
- 2006 Giacinto Facchetti, Italian footballer and manager (born 1942) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giacinto_Facchetti)
- 2014 Joan Rivers, American comedian, television host, and author (born 1933) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joan_Rivers)
- 2025 Giorgio Armani, Italian fashion designer (born 1934) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giorgio_Armani)

## Holidays and observances

- Christian feast day: Candida the Elder [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Candida_the_Elder)
- Christian feast day: Blessed Catherine of Racconigi [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catherine_of_Racconigi)
- Christian feast day: Blessed Dina Bélanger [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dina_B%C3%A9langer)
- Christian feast day: Hermione of Ephesus [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hermione_of_Ephesus)
- Christian feast day: Ida of Herzfeld [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ida_of_Herzfeld)
- Christian feast day: Irmgardis (of Süchteln) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Irmgardis)
- Christian feast day: Moses and Aaron (Catholic, Lutheran Church and Eastern Orthodox Church) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moses)
- Christian feast day: Paul Jones (Episcopal Church) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Jones_(bishop))
- Christian feast day: Rosalia [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Rosalia)
- Christian feast day: Rose of Viterbo [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rose_of_Viterbo)
- Christian feast day: Rufinus, Silvanus, and Vitalicus [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_saints_named_Rufinus)
- Christian feast day: Thamel and companions [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thamel_(martyr))
- Christian feast day: Ultan of Ardbraccan [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ultan_of_Ardbraccan)
- Christian feast day: September 4 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/September_4_(Eastern_Orthodox_liturgics))
- Immigrant's Day (Argentina) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Immigration_to_Argentina)
- Toothfish Day (South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toothfish_Day)

## Sources

- [Wikipedia — “September 4”](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/September_4) — events, births, deaths and observances (text under CC BY-SA 4.0) (checked 2026-10-15)
- [Wikipedia — “Selected anniversaries/September 4”](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Selected_anniversaries/September_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 [“September 4”](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/September_4) and the articles it links to ([authors and history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/September_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 September 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.

## September 4 in the calendar

| Year | Weekday | ISO week | Moon (UTC) |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 2026 | Friday | 2026-W36 | 🌗 Last Quarter |
| 2027 | Saturday | 2027-W35 | 🌒 Waxing Crescent |
| 2028 | Monday | 2028-W36 | 🌖 Waning Gibbous |
| 2029 | Tuesday | 2029-W36 | 🌘 Waning Crescent |
| 2030 | Wednesday | 2030-W36 | 🌓 First Quarter |

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

## Public holidays on September 4

- [🇮🇳 India](https://whathappen.today/holidays/india/): Janmashtami (Vaishnava) (2026)

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

## Nearby dates

[← September 3](https://whathappen.today/on-this-day/september-3/) · [September 5 →](https://whathappen.today/on-this-day/september-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/september-4/