On This Day: 4 April

4 April in Indian history

• 2013A building collapsed on tribal land in Thane in Maharashtra, India, causing 74 deaths.India
• 1905An earthquake hit the Kangra Valley in India, killing at least 20,000 people and destroying 100,000 buildings.India

4 April in world history

• 2023Finland becomes a member of NATO after Turkey accepts its membership request.
• 2011Georgian Airways Flight 834 crashed at N'djili Airport in Kinshasa, killing 32 people and leaving one survivor.
• 2009France announces its return to full participation of its military forces within NATO.
• 1997Space Shuttle program: Space Shuttle Columbia is launched on STS-83. However, the mission is later cut short due to a fuel cell problem.
• 1991Senator John Heinz of Pennsylvania and six others are killed when a helicopter collides with their airplane over an elementary school in Merion, Pennsylvania.
• 1991Forty-one people are taken hostage inside a Good Guys! Electronics store in Sacramento, California. Three of the hostage takers and three hostages are killed.
• 1988Governor Evan Mecham of Arizona is convicted in his impeachment trial and removed from office.
• 1975Bill Gates and Paul Allen founded Microsoft in Albuquerque, New Mexico, to develop and sell BASIC interpreters for the Altair 8800.
• 1975Vietnam War: On a mission to evacuate children from South Vietnam, a U.S. Air Force plane crash-landed at Tan Son Nhut Air Base, killing 78 children and 60 others.
• 1968American civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated in Memphis, Tennessee.
• 1960France agrees to grant independence to the Mali Federation, a union of Senegal and French Sudan.
• 1949Cold War: Twelve nations sign the North Atlantic Treaty creating the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.
• 1933U.S. Navy airship USS Akron is wrecked off the New Jersey coast due to severe weather.
• 1865American Civil War: A day after Union forces capture Richmond, Virginia, U.S. President Abraham Lincoln visits the Confederate capital.
• 1081The Komnenos dynasty came to full power with the coronation of Alexios I Komnenos as Byzantine emperor.
• 503 BCRoman consul Agrippa Menenius Lanatus celebrated a triumph for a military victory over the Sabines.

Born on 4 April

• 1962Kailasho Devi, Indian social worker and politicianIndia
• 1944Bob McDill, American country music songwriter
• 1933Bapu Nadkarni, Indian cricketer (died 2020)India
• 1921Orunamamu, American-Canadian author and educator (died 2014)
• 1892Edith Södergran, Swedish-Finnish poet (died 1923)
• 1889Makhanlal Chaturvedi, Indian journalist, poet, and playwright (died 1968)India

Died on 4 April

• 2025Manoj Kumar, Indian actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (born 1937)India
• 2013Roger Ebert, American journalist, critic, and screenwriter (born 1942)
• 1987Sachchidananda Vatsyayan, Indian journalist and author (born 1911)India
• 1972Stefan Wolpe, German-American composer and academic (born 1902)

Frequently asked questions

What happened on 4 April in history?

2023: Finland becomes a member of NATO after Turkey accepts its membership request. 2013: A building collapsed on tribal land in Thane in Maharashtra, India, causing 74 deaths. 2011: Georgian Airways Flight 834 crashed at N'djili Airport in Kinshasa, killing 32 people and leaving one survivor. 2009: France announces its return to full participation of its military forces within NATO.

What happened on 4 April in Indian history?

2013: A building collapsed on tribal land in Thane in Maharashtra, India, causing 74 deaths. 1905: An earthquake hit the Kangra Valley in India, killing at least 20,000 people and destroying 100,000 buildings.

Which famous people were born on 4 April?

Kailasho Devi, Indian social worker and politician (1962); Bob McDill, American country music songwriter (1944); Bapu Nadkarni, Indian cricketer (died 2020) (1933); Orunamamu, American-Canadian author and educator (died 2014) (1921).

Which day is observed on 4 April?

Children's Day (Hong Kong, Taiwan); Independence Day, celebrates the independence of Senegal from France (1960).; Peace Day (Angola); One of the possible days for Qingming Festival.; NATO Day.