4 August
Notable Births
Lil Skies
b. 1998
American rapper and singer-songwriter(born 1998)
Bruna Marquezine
b. 1995
Brazilian actress and director (born 1995)
Bobby Shmurda
b. 1994
American rapper, songwriter, and criminal (born 1994)
Daniele Garozzo
b. 1992
Italian fencer (born 1992)
Domingo Germán
b. 1992
Dominican baseball player (born 1992)
Cole Sprouse
b. 1992
American actor (born 1992)
Dylan Sprouse
b. 1992
American actor (born 1992)
Jessica Mauboy
b. 1989
Australian singer (born 1989)
Wang Hao (chess player)
b. 1989
Chinese chess grandmaster (born 1989)
Kelley O'Hara
b. 1988
American soccer player (born 1988)
Marreese Speights
b. 1987
American basketball player (born 1987)
Nick Augusto
b. 1986
American drummer
Leon Camier
b. 1986
British motorcycle racer (born 1986)
Cicinho (footballer, born 1986)
b. 1986
Brazilian footballer
Iosia Soliola
b. 1986
NZ & Samoa international rugby league footballer
David Williams (rugby league, born 1986)
b. 1986
Australia international rugby league footballer
Crystal Bowersox
b. 1985
American singer-songwriter and actress (born 1985)
Robbie Findley
b. 1985
American soccer player (born 1985)
Mark Milligan
b. 1985
Australian association football player (born 1985)
Ha Seung-jin
b. 1985
South Korean basketball player (born 1985)
Notable Deaths
Charles Cyphers
d. 2024
American actor (1939–2024)
Tsung-Dao Lee
d. 2024
Chinese-American physicist (1926–2024)
Duane Thomas
d. 2024
American football player (1947–2024)
Dalia Fadila
d. 2023
Israeli educator (1971/1972–2023)
Nuon Chea
d. 2019
Cambodian politician and war criminal (1926–2019)
Elsie Hillman
d. 2015
American politician & philanthropist (1925-2015)
Les Munro
d. 2015
New Zealand air force squadron leader
Billy Sherrill
d. 2015
American record producer and arranger (1936–2015)
James Brady
d. 2014
White House Press Secretary under Ronald Reagan (1940–2014)
Keith H. Basso
d. 2013
American cultural and linguistic anthropologist (1940-2013)
Art Donovan
d. 2013
American football player (1924–2013)
Olavi J. Mattila
d. 2013
Finnish politician (1918–2013)
Renato Ruggiero
d. 2013
Italian politician (1930–2013)
Sandy Woodward
d. 2013
Royal Navy Admiral (1932–2013)
Johnnie Bassett
d. 2012
American songwriter and musician (1935–2012)
Brian Crozier
d. 2012
British journalist and intelligence expert
Naoki Matsuda
d. 2011
Japanese footballer
Craig Jones (motorcyclist)
d. 2008
British motorcycle racer
Marilyn Monroe
d. 1962
American actress and model (1926–1962)
Hans Christian Andersen
d. 1875
Danish writer (1805–1875)
On This Day in History
All 48 ›
2020
Beirut Port explosion: At least 220 people are killed and over 5,000 are wounded when 2,700 tons of ammonium nitrate explodes in Beirut, Lebanon.
2020 Beirut explosion
2019
Nine people are killed and 26 injured in a shooting in Dayton, Ohio. This comes only 13 hours after another mass shooting in El Paso, Texas, where 23 people were killed.
2019 Dayton shooting
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.
Syrian civil war
2018
Crisis in Venezuela: Seven people are injured when two drones detonate explosives on Avenida Bolívar, Caracas while president Nicolás Maduro is giving a speech to the Venezuelan National Guard.
Crisis in Venezuela
2007
NASA's Phoenix Mars lander is launched.
NASA
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).
2006 Trincomalee massacre of NGO workers
1995
Operation Storm, the last major battle of the Croatian War of Independence begins.
Operation Storm
1987
The Federal Communications Commission rescinds the Fairness Doctrine which had required radio and television stations to give equal time to opposing views.
Federal Communications Commission
1984
The Republic of Upper Volta changes its name to Burkina Faso.
Republic of Upper Volta
1983
Jean-Baptiste Ouédraogo, president of the military government of Upper Volta, is ousted from power in a coup d'état led by Captain Thomas Sankara.
Jean-Baptiste Ouédraogo
1977
U.S. President Jimmy Carter signs legislation creating the United States Department of Energy.
President of the United States
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.
Japanese Red Army
1974
A bomb explodes in the Italicus Express train at San Benedetto Val di Sambro, Italy, killing 12 people and wounding 22.
Italicus Express bombing
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.
President of Uganda
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.
Vietnam War
1965
The Constitution of the Cook Islands comes into force, giving the Cook Islands self-governing status within New Zealand.
Politics of the Cook Islands
1964
Civil rights movement: Civil rights workers Michael Schwerner, Andrew Goodman and James Chaney are found dead in Mississippi after disappearing on June 21.
Civil rights movement
1964
Second Gulf of Tonkin Incident: U.S. destroyers USS Maddox and USS Turner Joy mistakenly report coming under attack in the Gulf of Tonkin.
Gulf of Tonkin incident
1947
The Supreme Court of Japan is established.
Supreme Court of Japan
1946
An earthquake of magnitude 8.0 hits northern Dominican Republic. One hundred are killed and 20,000 are left homeless.
1946 Dominican Republic earthquake