What Happened on Aug 4

George Washington Becomes A Master Mason

On August 4, 1753, George Washington became a Master Mason, the highest rank in the Fraternity of Freemasonry, in his hometown of Fredericksburg,... Read more

Lincoln is Elected to the Illinois State Legislature

In 1834, he won an election to the state legislature and, after coming across the Commentaries on the Laws of England, began to teach himself law Read more

Sinking of the Cataraqui

The vessel was commanded by C. Finlay and carried a crew of 44. By early August the Cataraqui was approaching Bass Strait and on the night of the... Read more

Stonewall Jackson Marries Elinor Junkin

Jackson married twice. On August 4, 1853, Jackson married Elinor Junkin (1825–54), daughter of George Junkin and Julia Miller Junkin. Elinor died... Read more

Étienne Lenoir dies

Self-taught chemist and inventor Étienne Lenoir built the first practical internal-combustion engine, with valves allowing both the intake of an... Read more

Louis Armstrong is born

Armstrong often stated in public interviews that he was born on July 4, 1900, a date that has been noted in many biographies. Although he died in... Read more

Giuseppe Sarto (Pius X) elected Pope

Pope Saint Pius X (Latin: Pius PP. X) (2 June 1835 – 20 August 1914), born Giuseppe Melchiorre Sarto, was the 258th Pope of the Catholic Church,... Read more

Battle of Liege

THE FALL OF LIEGE Liege was a kind of natural key-hole into Belgium and France. It was a point at which many great railroad lines converged,... Read more

Great, Britain, France and Russia Declare War on Germany, and Germany Declares War on Belgium

Germany, on August 3, while refusing to promise not to trample down Belgium, would agree not to attack France by sea if Britain should remain... Read more

Liberia Declares War on Germany

At the outbreak of World War I, President Howard attempted to maintain the country's neutrality, though he tended to support the Allies, whose... Read more

Tesla Files Lawsuit Against Guglielmo Marconi

Tesla was embroiled in other problems at the time, but when Marconi won the Nobel Prize in 1909, Tesla was furious. He sued the Marconi Company for... Read more

Jay W. Jensen Is Born

Jay W. Jensen was a Miami Beach, Florida drama teacher known as "The Teacher to the Stars". Jensen is credited with inspiring the acting talents of... Read more

Anne Frank and her Family are Arrested by the Gestapo

On the morning of 4 August 1944, the Achterhuis was stormed by the German Security Police (Grüne Polizei) following a tip-off from an informer who... Read more

Warsaw Uprising Reaches Apogee

The uprising was intended to last a few days until Soviet forces arrived; however, this never happened, and the Polish forces had to fight with... Read more

Barack Obama born

Barack Obama was born at Kapi'olani Maternity & Gynecological Hospital in Honolulu, Hawaii, United States, to Stanley Ann Dunham, an American of... Read more

Aretha Franklin Releases "Aretha Arrives"

Aretha Arrives is a 1967 album by soul singer Aretha Franklin. "Baby I Love You" was a #4 single on the Billboard Hot 100. Read more

"Bonnie And Clyde" Is Released

Bonnie and Clyde is a 1967 American crime film about Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow, the bank robbers who operated in the central United States... Read more

Rainbow release Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow

Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow (sometimes stylized Ritchie Blackmore's R-A-I-N-B-O-W) is the first album by English rock guitarist Ritchie Blackmore's... Read more

Carl Lewis Wins 4 Gold Medals at 1984 Summer Olympics

Carl Lewis matches Jesse Owens, winning 4 gold medals at the '84 Summer Olympics. Here are the events he won: August 4 100m Dash Time:... Read more

Crystal Bowersox Is Born

To reach Elliston, where Bowersox was born and raised and her father still lives, it's best to avoid Google Maps. Sometimes you get Graytown, the... Read more

Mullah Mohammed Omar Declares Himself Commander of the Faithful

"The Blind Sheikh", as he was called, was a veteran of the Afghan War, blinded by shrapnel at either the Battle of Arghandab or at the Siege of... Read more

Snoop Dogg Releases Album "Da Game Is to Be Sold, Not to Be Told"

Da Game Is to Be Sold, Not to Be Told is the third album by Snoop Dogg, his first for No Limit Records. It is Snoop's first not to be produced by... Read more

New Orleans Airport renamed Louis Armstrong International Airport

MSY opened after World War II, replacing the older New Orleans Lakefront Airport (which kept the NEW and KNEW airport codes and now serves general... Read more

It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Season 1 Ep. 1 - "The Gang Gets Racist"

The Gang Gets Racist is the pilot episode of the American situation comedy series It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia premiered on August 4th, 2005... Read more

Lollapalooza 2006

Day 1 Recap It's in the mid-80's, not a cloud in the sky, a backdrop of some of the world's most inspiring big-city architecture, and music in... Read more