Discover what happened on May 4 in history, along with notable events that shaped civil rights, culture, and modern music.
What Happened on May 4 in History?
Important events on this day include the Kent State shootings, the first Grammy Awards ceremony, and the launch of the Freedom Riders civil rights movement.
MAY 4 – TODAY IN HISTORY:
1626 – Dutch explorer Peter Minuit landed on Manhattan Island. Native Americans later sold the island (20,000 acres) for $24 in cloth and buttons.
1715 – A French manufacturer debuted the first folding umbrella.
1776 – Rhode Island declared its freedom from England two months before the Declaration of Independence was adopted.
1871 – The first professional baseball league, the National Association, began their first season in Fort Wayne, IN.
1886 – Chichester Bell and Charles S. Tainter patented the gramophone. It was the first practical phonograph.
1904 – The U.S. formally took control of the property for construction of the Panama Canal.
1905 – Belmont Park opened in suburban Long Island. It opened as the largest race track in the world.
1919 – A Major League Baseball game was played on a Sunday for the first time.
1927 – The Academy of Motion Picture Arts And Sciences, the organization that presents the Oscars, was founded.
1932 – In Atlanta, GA, gangster Al Capone began serving an 11-year prison sentence for tax evasion at a federal penitentiary.
1935 – The first highway travel information center opened on U.S. 12 in New Buffalo, MI.
1942 – The United States began food rationing.
1959 – The first Grammy Awards were held.
1961 – Thirteen civil rights activists, dubbed “Freedom Riders,” began a bus trip through the South.
1964 – The television soap opera “Another World” premiered on NBC. It would be on the air for 35 years. The last broadcast was June 25, 1999.
1966 – TV’s “The Patty Duke Show” aired its 104th and final first-run episode.
1970 – The Ohio National Guardsmen opened fire on students during an anti-Vietnam war protest at Kent State University. Four students were killed and 11 others were wounded.
1973 – Elvis Presley opened a 13 night run at the Sahara Tahoe and drew a harsh review from “Variety”, which called him “30 pounds overweight, puffy, white-faced and blinking against the light. The voice sounds weak, delivery is flabby… and [he shows] no enthusiasm.”
1979 – Margaret Thatcher became Britain’s first woman Prime Minister.
1987 – Live models were used for the first time in Playtex bra ads.
1987 – The First Bank of the United States was listed as a National Historic Landmark.
1989 – Colonel Oliver North was convicted of three crimes and acquitted of nine other charges for his role in the Iran-Contra affair. The convictions were later overturned on appeal.
1998 – A federal judge in Sacramento, CA, gave “Unabomber” Theodore Kaczynski four life sentences plus 30 years after Kaczynski accepts a plea agreement sparing him from the death penalty.
2000 – Lance Bass, of ‘N Sync, celebrated his 21st birthday by winning $125,000 for charity on “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire”.
2001 – Bonny Lee Bakley, wife of Robert Blake, was shot to death inside the actor’s car, parked outside a Studio City, CA restaurant where the couple had just dined. Blake said he left his wife in the car and returned to the restaurant to retrieve a gun he had left there.
2003 – Idaho Gem was born. He was the first member of the horse family to be cloned.
2005 – After 10 weeks of testimony from more than 80 witnesses, prosecutors in the Michael Jackson child molestation trial rest their case.
2007 – Paris Hilton was sentenced to 45 days in jail for violating her probation. She was ordered to report to a women’s jail in Lynwood, CA by June 5th.
2007 – Greensburg, KS was almost completely destroyed by a 1.7 mile wide EF5 tornado. It was the first-ever tornado to be rated as such with the new Enhanced Fujita scale.
2010 – Pablo Picasso’s “Nude, Green Leaves and Bust” sold for $106.5 million.
2012 – In Las Vegas, NV, Google received the first self-driving vehicle testing license.
CELEBRITY BIRTHDAYS ON MAY 4:
Maurice R. Greenberg – 101 years old (1925) – Businessman and philanthropist
Ron Carter – 89 years old (1937) – Bassist and educator
Robin Cook – 86 years old (1940) – Physician and author
George Will – 85 years old (1941) – Journalist and author
Gary Bauer – 80 years old (1946) – Political activist
Colleen Hanabusa – 75 years old (1951) – Lawyer and politician
Jackie Jackson – 75 years old (1951) – Singer-songwriter and dancer
Pia Zadora – 73 years old (1953) – Actress and singer
Ken Oberkfell – 70 years old (1956) – Baseball player and coach
Randy Travis – 67 years old (1959) – Singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actor
Ana Gasteyer – 59 years old (1967) – Actress and singer
Dawn Staley – 56 years old (1970) – Basketball player
Mike Dirnt – 54 years old (1972) – Bass player and songwriter
Chris Tomlin – 54 years old (1972) – Singer-songwriter
Kimora Lee Simmons – 51 years old (1975) – Model
Erin Andrews – 48 years old (1978) – Sportscaster and journalist
James Harrison – 48 years old (1978) – Football player
Lance Bass – 47 years old (1979) – Singer, dancer, and producer
Dallon Weekes – 45 years old (1981) – Singer-songwriter and musician
Brad Maddox – 42 years old (1984) – Wrestler and referee
George Hill – 40 years old (1986) – Basketball player
James van Riemsdyk – 37 years old (1989) – Ice hockey player
Victor Oladipo – 34 years old (1992) – Basketball player
Shameik Moore – 31 years old (1995) – Actor and musician
Noah Beck – 25 years old (2001) – Media personality and actor
DAYS OF THE YEAR FOR MAY 4:
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For additional information check out websites like: www.on-this-day.com, www.born-today.com, www.famousbirthdays.com, www.daysoftheyear.com, and www.nationaldaycalendar.com.
