On This Day: 4 May

4 May in Indian history

• 1677Trunajaya rebellion: Dutch East India Company forces under Cornelis Speelman began an attack on Surabaya, on the island of Java.India

4 May in world history

• 2014Three people are killed and 62 injured in a pair of bombings on buses in Nairobi, Kenya.
• 1994Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and PLO leader Yasser Arafat sign a peace accord, granting self-rule in the Gaza Strip and Jericho.
• 1990Latvia declares independence from the Soviet Union.
• 1982Falklands War: HMS Sheffield was struck by an Exocet missile, killing 20 sailors and leading to its sinking six days later—the first Royal Navy ship sunk in action since World War II.
• 1974An all-female Japanese team reached the summit of Manaslu in the Himalayas, becoming the first women to climb a peak higher than 8,000 metres (26,247 ft) above sea level.
• 1970Vietnam War: Kent State shootings: The Ohio National Guard, sent to Kent State University after disturbances in the city of Kent the weekend before, opens fire killing four unarmed students and wounding nine others. The students were protesting the Cambodian C
• 1961American civil rights movement: The "Freedom Riders" begin a bus trip through the South.
• 1945World War II: Neuengamme concentration camp near Hamburg is liberated by the British Army.
• 1942World War II: Aircraft from Imperial Japanese Navy vessels attacked Allied naval forces, beginning the Battle of the Coral Sea, the first naval action in which the participating ships never sighted or fired directly at each other.
• 1932Having been incarcerated at the Cook County Jail since his sentencing on October 24, 1931, mobster Al Capone is transferred to the federal penitentiary in Atlanta after the U.S. Supreme Court denies his appeal for conviction of tax evasion.
• 1926The United Kingdom general strike begins.
• 1919The May Fourth Movement began in China with large-scale student demonstrations in Tiananmen Square, Beijing.
• 1886During a labor rally in Chicago, a bomb explosion and gunfire led to the deaths of eight police officers and four members of the public.
• 1869The four-day Naval Battle of Hakodate begins. The newly formed Imperial Japanese Navy defeats the remnants of the Tokugawa shogunate navy in the Sea of Japan off the city of Hakodate, leading to the surrender of the Ezo Republic on May 17.
• 1823Brazilian War of Independence: A Brazilian squadron led by Lord Cochrane engages a Portuguese squadron under João de Campos off Salvador, Bahia.
• 1776American Revolution: The Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations became the first of the Thirteen Colonies to renounce its allegiance to the British Crown.
• 1626Having been appointed the director-general of New Netherland, Peter Minuit arrived in Manhattan.

Born on 4 May

• 1951Colin Bass, English bass player, songwriter, and producer
• 1938Carlos Monsiváis, Mexican journalist, author, and critic (died 2010)
• 1902Ronnie Aird, English cricketer and administrator (died 1986)
• 1820Julia Gardiner Tyler, American wife of John Tyler, 11th First Lady of the United States (died 1889)
• 1767Tyagaraja, Indian composer (died 1847)India
• 1649Chhatrasal, Indian ruler (died 1731)India

Died on 4 May

• 2008Fred Baur, American chemist and founder of Pringles (born 1918)
• 1995Connie Wisniewski, American baseball player (born 1922)
• 1938Kanō Jigorō, Japanese founder of judo (born 1860)
• 1903Gotse Delchev, Macedonian Bulgarian revolutionary IMRO (born 1872)

Frequently asked questions

What happened on 4 May in history?

2014: Three people are killed and 62 injured in a pair of bombings on buses in Nairobi, Kenya. 1994: Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and PLO leader Yasser Arafat sign a peace accord, granting self-rule in the Gaza Strip and Jericho. 1990: Latvia declares independence from the Soviet Union. 1982: Falklands War: HMS Sheffield was struck by an Exocet missile, killing 20 sailors and leading to its sinking six days later—the first Royal Navy ship sunk in action since World War II.

What happened on 4 May in Indian history?

1677: Trunajaya rebellion: Dutch East India Company forces under Cornelis Speelman began an attack on Surabaya, on the island of Java.

Which famous people were born on 4 May?

Colin Bass, English bass player, songwriter, and producer (1951); Carlos Monsiváis, Mexican journalist, author, and critic (died 2010) (1938); Ronnie Aird, English cricketer and administrator (died 1986) (1902); Julia Gardiner Tyler, American wife of John Tyler, 11th First Lady of the United States (died 1889) (1820).

Which day is observed on 4 May?

Coal Miners Day (India); Anti-Bullying Day (United Nations); Bird Day (United States); Cassinga Day (Namibia); Dave Brubeck Day (United States).