August 4

Events

Pre-1600

* 598 – Goguryeo-Sui War: In response to a Goguryeo (Korean) incursion into Liaoxi, Emperor Wéndi of Sui orders his youngest son, Yang Liang (assisted by the co-prime minister Gao Jiong), to conquer Goguryeo during the Manchurian rainy season, with a Chinese army and navy. ''Samguk Sagi'', Vol. 20.
*1265 – Second Barons' War: Battle of Evesham: The army of Prince Edward (the future king Edward I of England) defeats the forces of rebellious barons led by Simon de Montfort, 6th Earl of Leicester, killing de Montfort and many of his allies.
*1327 – First War of Scottish Independence: James Douglas leads a raid into Weardale and almost kills Edward III of England.
*1578 – Battle of Al Kasr al Kebir: The Moroccans defeat the Portuguese. King Sebastian of Portugal is killed in the battle, leaving his elderly uncle, Cardinal Henry, as his heir. This initiates a succession crisis in Portugal.

1601–1900

*1693 – Date traditionally ascribed to Dom Perignon's invention of champagne; it is not clear whether he actually invented champagne, however he has been credited as an innovator who developed the techniques used to perfect sparkling wine.
*1701 – Great Peace of Montreal between New France and First Nations is signed.
*1704 – War of the Spanish Succession: Gibraltar is captured by an English and Dutch fleet, commanded by Admiral Sir George Rooke and allied with Archduke Charles.
*1783 – Mount Asama erupts in Japan, killing about 1,400 people (Tenmei eruption). The eruption causes a famine, which results in an additional 20,000 deaths.
*1789 – France: abolition of feudalism by the National Constituent Assembly.
*1790 – A newly passed tariff act creates the ''Revenue Cutter Service'' (the forerunner of the United States Coast Guard).
*1791 – The Treaty of Sistova is signed, ending the Ottoman–Habsburg wars.
*1796 – French Revolutionary Wars: Napoleon leads the French Army of Italy to victory in the Battle of Lonato.
*1821 – ''The Saturday Evening Post'' is published for the first time as a weekly newspaper.
*1854 – The Hinomaru is established as the official flag to be flown from Japanese ships.
*1863 – Matica slovenská, Slovakia's public-law cultural and scientific institution focusing on topics around the Slovak nation, is established in Martin.
*1873 – American Indian Wars: While protecting a railroad survey party in Montana, the United States 7th Cavalry, under Lieutenant Colonel George Armstrong Custer clashes for the first time with the Cheyenne and Lakota people near the Tongue River; only one man on each side is killed.
*1889 – The Great Fire of Spokane, Washington destroys some 32 blocks of the city, prompting a mass rebuilding project.
*1892 – The father and stepmother of Lizzie Borden are found murdered in their Fall River, Massachusetts home. She will be tried and acquitted for the crimes a year later.

1901–present

*1914 – World War I: In response to the German invasion of Belgium, Belgium and the British Empire declare war on Germany. The United States declares its neutrality.
*1915 – World War I: The German 12th Army occupies Warsaw during the Gorlice–Tarnów Offensive and the Great Retreat of 1915.
* 1924 – Diplomatic relations between Mexico and the Soviet Union are established.
*1936 – Prime Minister of Greece Ioannis Metaxas suspends parliament and the Constitution and establishes the 4th of August Regime.
*1944 – The Holocaust: A tip from a Dutch informer leads the Gestapo to a sealed-off area in an Amsterdam warehouse, where they find and arrest Jewish diarist Anne Frank, her family, and four others.
* 1944 – The Finnish Parliament, by derogation, elected Marshal C. G. E. Mannerheim as President of Finland to replace Risto Ryti, who had resigned.
*1946 – An earthquake of magnitude 8.0 hits northern Dominican Republic. One hundred are killed and 20,000 are left homeless.
*1947 – The Supreme Court of Japan is established.
*1964 – Civil rights movement: Civil rights workers Michael Schwerner, Andrew Goodman and James Chaney are found dead in Mississippi after disappearing on June 21.
* 1964 – Second Gulf of Tonkin Incident: U.S. destroyers and mistakenly report coming under attack in the Gulf of Tonkin.
*1965 – The Constitution of the Cook Islands comes into force, giving the Cook Islands self-governing status within New Zealand.
* 1969 – Vietnam War: At the apartment of French intermediary Jean Sainteny in Paris, American representative Henry Kissinger and North Vietnamese representative Xuân Thuỷ begin secret peace negotiations. The negotiations will eventually fail.
*1972 – Ugandan President Idi Amin announces that Uganda is no longer responsible for the care of British subjects of Asian origin, beginning the expulsions of Ugandan Asians.
*1974 – A bomb explodes in the ''Italicus Express'' train at San Benedetto Val di Sambro, Italy, killing 12 people and wounding 22.
*1975 – The Japanese Red Army takes more than 50 hostages at the AIA Building housing several embassies in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The hostages include the U.S. consul and the Swedish Chargé d'affaires. The gunmen win the release of five imprisoned comrades and fly with them to Libya.
*1977 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter signs legislation creating the United States Department of Energy.
*1984 – The Republic of Upper Volta changes its name to Burkina Faso.
*1987 – The Federal Communications Commission rescinds the Fairness Doctrine which had required radio and television stations to present controversial issues "fairly".
*1995 – Operation Storm begins in Croatia.
*2006 – A massacre is carried out by Sri Lankan government forces, killing 17 employees of the French INGO Action Against Hunger (known internationally as Action Contre la Faim, or ACF).
*2007 – NASA's ''Phoenix'' spacecraft is launched.
*2018 – Syrian civil war: The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) expel the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) from the Iraq–Syria border, concluding the second phase of the Deir ez-Zor campaign.
*2019 – Nine people are killed and 26 injured in a shooting in Dayton, Ohio. This comes only 12 hours after another mass shooting in El Paso, Texas, where 23 people were killed.
*2020 – At least 220 people are killed and over 5,000 are wounded when 2,700 tons of ammonium nitrate explodes in Beirut, Lebanon.

Births

Pre-1600

* 1222 – Richard de Clare, 6th Earl of Gloucester, English soldier (d. 1262)
* 1281 – Külüg Khan, Emperor Wuzong of Yuan (d. 1311)
*1290 – Leopold I, Duke of Austria (d. 1326)
* 1463 – Lorenzo di Pierfrancesco de' Medici, Florentine patron of the arts (d. 1503)
* 1469 – Margaret of Saxony, Duchess of Brunswick-Lüneburg (d. 1528)
* 1470 – Bernardo Dovizi, Italian cardinal (d. 1520)
* 1470 – Lucrezia de' Medici, Italian noblewoman (d. 1553)
* 1521 – Pope Urban VII (d. 1590)
* 1522 – Udai Singh II, King of Mewar (d. 1572)

1601–1900

* 1604 – François Hédelin, abbé d'Aubignac, French cleric and author (d. 1676)
* 1623 – Friedrich Casimir, Count of Hanau-Lichtenberg (1641–1680) and Hanau-Münzenberg (1642–1680) (d. 1685)
*1701 – Thomas Blackwell, Scottish historian and scholar (d. 1757)
*1704 – Louis d'Orléans, Duke of Orléans (d. 1752)
*1719 – Johann Gottlob Lehmann, German mineralogist and geologist (d. 1767)
*1721 – Granville Leveson-Gower, 1st Marquess of Stafford, English politician, Lord President of the Council (d. 1803)
* 1755 – Nicolas-Jacques Conté, French soldier, painter, balloonist, and inventor (d. 1805)
* 1792 – Percy Bysshe Shelley, English poet and playwright (d. 1822)
* 1805 – William Rowan Hamilton, Irish physicist, astronomer, and mathematician (d. 1865)
*1821 – Louis Vuitton, French fashion designer, founded Louis Vuitton (d. 1892)
*1821 – James Springer White, American religious leader, co-founded the Seventh-day Adventist Church (d. 1881)
*1834 – John Venn, English mathematician and philosopher (d. 1923)
*1836 – Jens Vilhelm Dahlerup, Danish architect (d. 1907)
*1839 – Walter Pater, English author, critic, and academic (d. 1894)
* 1844 – Henri Berger, German composer and bandleader (d. 1929)
* 1853 – John Henry Twachtman, American painter, etcher, and academic (d. 1902)
* 1859 – Knut Hamsun, Norwegian novelist, poet, and playwright, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1952)
*1861 – Daniel Edward Howard, 16th president of Liberia (d. 1935)
* 1867 – Jake Beckley, American baseball player and coach (d. 1918)
*1868 – Master C. V. V., Indian philosopher, yogi and guru (d. 1922)
* 1870 – Harry Lauder, Scottish actor and singer (d. 1950)
* 1871 – William Holman, English-Australian politician, 19th Premier of New South Wales (d. 1934)
*1876 – Giovanni Giuriati, Italian lawyer and politician (d. 1970)
*1876 – John Scaddan, Australian politician, 10th Premier of Western Australia (d. 1934)
*1884 – Béla Balázs, Hungarian poet and critic (d. 1949)
*1884 – Henri Cornet, French cyclist (d. 1941)
*1887 – Albert M. Greenfield, Ukrainian-American businessman and philanthropist (d. 1967)
* 1888 – Taher Saifuddin, Indian religious leader, 51st Da'i al-Mutlaq (d. 1965)
*1890 – Dolf Luque, Cuban baseball player and manager (d. 1957)
*1893 – Fritz Gause, German historian and curator (d. 1973)
*1898 – Ernesto Maserati, Italian race car driver and engineer (d. 1975)
* 1899 – Ezra Taft Benson, American religious leader, 13th President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (d. 1994)
*1900 – Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother of the United Kingdom (d. 2002)

1901–present

*1901 – Louis Armstrong, American trumpet player and singer (d. 1971)
* 1901 – Clarence Passailaigue, Jamaican cricketer (d. 1972)
* 1902 – Bill Hallahan, American baseball player (d. 1981)
*1904 – Witold Gombrowicz, Polish author and playwright (d. 1969)
* 1904 – Helen Kane, American singer and actress (d. 1966)
* 1904 – Joe Tate, English footballer and manager (d. 1973)
*1905 – Abeid Karume, 1st President of Zanzibar (d. 1972)
* 1906 – Eugen Schuhmacher, German zoologist, director, and producer (d. 1973)
* 1908 – Kurt Eichhorn, German conductor (d. 1994)
*1909 – Glenn Cunningham, American runner and academic (d. 1988)
* 1910 – Anita Page, American actress (d. 2008)
* 1910 – William Schuman, American composer and educator (d. 1992)
* 1910 – Hedda Sterne, Romanian-American painter and photographer (d. 2011)
*1912 – Aleksandr Danilovich Aleksandrov, Russian mathematician, physicist, and mountaineer (d. 1999)
* 1912 – David Raksin, American composer and educator (d. 2004)
* 1912 – Raoul Wallenberg, Swedish architect and diplomat (d. 1947)
*1913 – Wesley Addy, American actor (d. 1996)
* 1913 – Robert Hayden, American poet and educator (d. 1980)
* 1913 – Johann Niemann, German lieutenant (d. 1943)
*1915 – Warren Avis, American businessman, founded Avis Rent a Car System (d. 2007)
* 1917 – John Fitch, American race car driver and engineer (d. 2012)
*1918 – Brian Crozier, Australian-English historian and journalist (d. 2012)
*1919 – Michel Déon, French novelist, playwright, and critic (d. 2016)
*1920 – Helen Thomas, American journalist and author (d. 2013)
*1921 – Herb Ellis, American guitarist (d. 2010)
* 1921 – Maurice Richard, Canadian ice hockey player and coach (d. 2000)
*1922 – Mayme Agnew Clayton, American librarian (d.2006)
* 1922 – Luis Aponte Martínez, Puerto Rican cardinal (d. 2012)
*1926 – George Irving Bell, American football player and coach (d. 2014)
*1928 – Christian Goethals, Belgian race car driver (d. 2003)
* 1928 – Gerard Damiano, American director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2008)
*1928 – Nadežka Mosusova, Serbian composer
*1929 – Kishore Kumar, Indian singer-songwriter and actor (d. 1987)
* 1929 – Vellore G. Ramabhadran, Mridangam artiste from Tamil Nadu, India (d. 2012)
*1930 – Ali al-Sistani, Iranian-Iraqi cleric and scholar
*1931 – Naren Tamhane, Indian cricketer (d. 2002)
*1932 – Frances E. Allen, American computer scientist and academic (d. 2020)
* 1932 – Liang Congjie, Chinese environmentalist, founded Friends of Nature (d. 2010)
*1934 – Dallas Green, American baseball player and manager (d. 2017)
*1935 – Carol Arthur, American actress and producer (d. 2020)
* 1935 – Hans-Walter Eigenbrodt, German footballer and coach (d. 1997)
* 1935 – Michael J. Noonan, Irish farmer and politician, 25th Minister of Defence for Ireland (d. 2013)
*1936 – Giorgos Zographos, Greek singer and actor (d. 2005)
*1937 – David Bedford, English keyboard player, composer, and conductor (d. 2011)
*1938 – Ellen Schrecker, American historian and academic
*1939 – Jack Cunningham, Baron Cunningham of Felling, English politician, Minister for the Cabinet Office
* 1939 – Frankie Ford, American R&B/rock and roll singer (d. 2015)
* 1940 – Coriún Aharonián, Uruguayan composer and musicologist (d. 2017)
* 1940 – Robin Harper, Scottish academic and politician
* 1940 – Larry Knechtel, American bass player and pianist (d. 2009)
* 1940 – Frances Stewart, English economist and academic
* 1940 – Timi Yuro, American singer-songwriter (d. 2004)
*1941 – Martin Jarvis, English actor
* 1941 – Andy Smillie, English footballer
* 1941 – Ted Strickland, American psychologist and politician, 68th Governor of Ohio
*1942 – Don S. Davis, American actor (d. 2008)
* 1942 – Cleon Jones, American baseball player
* 1942 – David Lange, New Zealand lawyer and politician, 32nd Prime Minister of New Zealand (d. 2005)
*1943 – Vicente Álvarez Areces, Spanish politician, 6th President of the Principality of Asturias (d. 2019)
* 1943 – Barbara Saß-Viehweger, German politician, lawyer and civil law notary
* 1943 – Bjørn Wirkola, Norwegian ski jumper and footballer
*1944 – Richard Belzer, American actor
* 1944 – Doudou Ndoye, Senegalese lawyer and politician
*1945 – Paul McCarthy, American painter and sculptor
* 1945 – Alan Mulally, American engineer and businessman
*1946 – Aleksei Turovski, Estonian zoologist and ethologist
*1947 – Klaus Schulze, German keyboard player and songwriter (d. 2022)
* 1948 – Johnny Grubb, American baseball player and coach
*1949 – John Riggins, American football player, sportscaster, and actor
* 1950 – Caldwell Jones, American basketball player and coach (d. 2014)
* 1950 – N. Rangaswamy, Indian lawyer and politician, 9th Chief Minister of Puducherry
*1951 – Peter Goodfellow, English geneticist and academic
* 1952 – James Arbuthnot, English lawyer and politician, Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills
* 1952 – Moya Brennan, Irish singer-songwriter and harp player
* 1952 – Gábor Demszky, Hungarian sociologist, lawyer, and politician
*1953 – Hiroyuki Usui, Japanese footballer and manager
*1954 – Anatoliy Kinakh, Ukrainian engineer and politician, 11th Prime Minister of Ukraine
* 1954 – Steve Phillips, English footballer
* 1954 – François Valéry, Algerian-French singer-songwriter
*1955 – Alberto Gonzales, American soldier, lawyer, and politician, 80th United States Attorney General
* 1955 – Billy Bob Thornton, American actor, director, and screenwriter
*1957 – Rupert Farley, British actor and voice actor
* 1957 – Brooks D. Simpson, American historian and author
* 1957 – Valdis Valters, Latvian basketball player and coach
* 1957 – John Wark, Scottish footballer and sportscaster
* 1958 – Allison Hedge Coke, American-Canadian poet and academic
* 1958 – Mary Decker, American runner
* 1958 – Silvan Shalom, Tunisian-Israeli sergeant and politician, 30th Deputy Prime Minister of Israel
*1959 – Robbin Crosby, American guitarist and songwriter (d. 2002)
* 1959 – John Gormley, Irish politician, Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government
*1960 – Chuck C. Lopez, American jockey
* 1960 – José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, Spanish academic and politician, 5th Prime Minister of Spain
* 1960 – Bernard Rose, English director, screenwriter, and cinematographer
* 1960 – Tim Winton, Australian author and playwright
*1961 – Barack Obama, American lawyer and politician, 44th President of the United States, Nobel Prize laureate
* 1962 – Roger Clemens, American baseball player and actor
* 1962 – Paul Reynolds, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
*1963 – Keith Maurice Ellison, 30th Attorney General of Minnesota
*1964 – Andrew Bartlett, Australian social worker and politician
*1965 – Vishal Bhardwaj, Indian film director, screenwriter, producer, music composer and playback singer
* 1965 – Adam Afriyie, English businessman and politician
* 1965 – Dennis Lehane, American author, screenwriter, and producer
* 1965 – Fredrik Reinfeldt, Swedish soldier and politician, 42nd Prime Minister of Sweden
* 1965 – Michael Skibbe, German footballer and manager
*1967 – Michael Marsh, American sprinter
* 1968 – Daniel Dae Kim, South Korean-American actor
* 1968 – Lee Mack, English comedian, actor, producer, and screenwriter
* 1969 – Mark Bickley, Australian footballer and coach
* 1969 – Max Cavalera, Brazilian singer-songwriter and guitarist
* 1969 – Troy O'Leary, American baseball player
*1970 – John August, American director and screenwriter
* 1970 – Bret Baier, American journalist
* 1970 – Steve House, American mountaineer
* 1970 – Steven Jack, South African cricketer
* 1970 – Kate Silverton, English journalist
*1971 – Bethan Benwell, English linguist, author, and academic
* 1971 – Jeff Gordon, American race car driver and actor
*1972 – Stefan Brogren, Canadian actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
*1973 – Eva Amaral, Spanish singer-songwriter and guitarist
* 1973 – Xavier Marchand

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