What are the important events that happened on May 4? Here are historical events, facts, and some myths about this day.

May 4: Facts & Myths About This Day

May 4 is the 124^th day of the year 2025 in the Gregorian calendar. There are 241 days remaining until the end of this year. The day of the week is Sunday.

Under the Julian calendar, this day is April 21, 2025 – a Sunday. Both day of the week are the same but did you notice the difference with the Gregorian calendar?

When this day started, 485,088 hours has elapsed since midnight of January 1, 1970 – the Unix epoch.

Strange as it may, if we name this day after a polygon then it will be called ‘hectaicosatetragon’ day.

Taurus is the zodiac sign of a person born on this day. Emerald is the modern birthstone for this month. Sapphire is the mystical birthstone from Tibetan origin that dates back over a thousand years.

According to the lunisolar Chinese calendar, there are 289 days remaining before the start of the next Chinese New Year.

The ancient Maya civilization believes that the end of the world will happen on December 21, 2012. There are now 4,517 days since this fabled cataclysmic event.

May 4 Historical Events

• 1859 –
  The Cornwall Railway opens across the Royal Albert Bridge linking the counties of Devon and Cornwall in England.
• 1886 –
  Haymarket Square Riot: A bomb is thrown at policemen trying to break up a labor rally in Chicago, Illinois, United States, killing eight and wounding 60. The police fire into the crowd.
• 1904 –
  The United States begins construction of the Panama Canal.
• 1910 –
  The Royal Canadian Navy is created.
• 1942 –
  World War II: The Battle of the Coral Sea begins with an attack by aircraft from the United States aircraft carrier USS Yorktown on Japanese naval forces at Tulagi Island in the Solomon Islands. The Japanese forces had invaded Tulagi the day before.
• 1946 –
  In San Francisco Bay, U.S. Marines from the nearby Treasure Island Naval Base stop a two-day riot at Alcatraz federal prison. Five people are killed in the riot.
• 1974 –
  An all-female Japanese team reaches the summit of Manaslu, becoming the first women to climb an 8,000-meter peak.
• 1989 –
  Iran-Contra Affair: Former White House aide Oliver North is convicted of three crimes and acquitted of nine other charges. The convictions, however, are later overturned on appeal.
• 1994 –
  Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and PLO leader Yasser Arafat sign a peace accord regarding Palestinian autonomy granting self-rule in the Gaza Strip and Jericho.
• 2000 –
  Ken Livingstone becomes the first Mayor of London.

Who were born on May 4?

• 1781 –
  Karl Christian Friedrich Krause, German philosopher (d. 1832)
• 1939 –
  Léon Rochefort, Quebec ice hockey player
• 1943 –
  Georgi Asparuhov, Bulgarian footballer
• 1947 –
  Richard Jenkins, American actor
• 1951 –
  Colin Bass, British bassist (Camel)
• 1952 –
  Michael Barrymore, English comedian, actor, quiz master and entertainer
• 1966 –
  Jane McGrath, co-founder of the McGrath Foundation for breast cancer (d. 2008)
• 1969 –
  Ryan Shamrock, American wrestling valet
• 1980 –
  Franziska Weisz, Austrian actress
• 1983 –
  Derek Roy, Canadian ice hockey player

Who died on May 4?

• 1729 –
  Louis-Antoine, Cardinal de Noailles, French cardinal (b. 1651)
• 1734 –
  James Thornhill, English painter
• 1919 –
  Milan Rastislav Štefánik, Slovak politician, French general and astronomer (b. 1880)
• 1970 –
  Allison Krause – Kent State victim (b. 1951)
• 1970 –
  Eugenia Livanos, Greek socialite (b. 1927)
• 1973 –
  Jane Bowles, American writer and playwright (b. 1917)
• 1987 –
  Cathryn Damon, American actress (b. 1930)
• 1990 –
  Emily Remler American Jazz Guitarist (b.1957)
• 2001 –
  Bonnie Lee Bakley, American murder victim (b. 1956)
• 2005 –
  David Hackworth, U.S. Army officer and military journalist (b. 1930)