November 4
day of the year
November 4 is the 308th day of the year (309th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 57 days remaining until the end of the year.
Events change
Up to 1900 change
- 1493 - Christopher Columbus lands on Guadeloupe.
- 1501 - Catherine of Aragon meets Arthur Tudor, the brother of Henry VIII of England.
- 1576 - Eighty Years' War: Spain captures Antwerp, Flanders.
- 1677 – Future queen Mary II of England marries future king William III of England.
- 1783 - Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's Symphony No. 36 is performed for the first time in Linz, Austria.
- 1786 - Jean-François de Galaup, comte de Lapérouse lands on an island in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands, which he names after Jacques Necker.
- 1798 - Beginning of the Russo-Ottoman Siege of Corfu.
- 1828 - Andrew Jackson is elected President of the United States.
- 1847 - Scottish doctor James Young Simpson discovers the anaesthetic properties of chloroform.
- 1852 - Count Camillo Benso di Cavour becomes Prime Minister of Piedmont-Sardinia, which later expands to become Italy.
- 1856 - James Buchanan is elected President of the United States.
- 1861 - The University of Washington is founded.
- 1864 - American Civil War: Battle of Johnson - Confederate troops bombard a Union supply base and destroy millions of dollars of material.
- 1875 - Paddle steamer Pacific collides with Orpheus sailing boat off Cape Flattery, Washington, killing 273 people.
- 1884 - Grover Cleveland is elected to his first term as President of the United States.
- 1890 - London's deep-level railway opens between King William Street and Stockwell.
1901 – 2000 change
- 1918 – World War I: Austria-Hungary surrenders to Italy.
- 1921 – Prime Minister of Japan Hara Takashi is murdered.
- 1921 - Italy's unknown soldier is buried in the Fatherland Altar in Rome.
- 1922 – A team of archaeologists led by Howard Carter finds the tomb of Tutankhamun in Egypt.
- 1924 - Calvin Coolidge is elected to continue as President of the United States, after he had served out Warren G. Harding's term.
- 1924 - Nellie Tayloe Ross of Wyoming becomes the first woman elected governor in a US State.
- 1942 - World War II: Second Battle of El Alamein - Disobeying a direct order from Adolf Hitler, General Field Marshal Erwin Rommel leads his forces to a five-month retreat.
- 1950 - European Convention on Human Rights is adopted.
- 1952 - The United States Government creates the National Security Agency.
- 1952 – Dwight D. Eisenhower is elected President of the United States.
- 1955 – The rebuilt Vienna State Opera is re-opened.
- 1956 – Soviet troops crush the Hungarian Revolution. Thousands are killed.
- 1960 - In Tanzania, Jane Goodall observes chimpanzees making tools, the first-ever such observation in non-humans.
- 1966 - The Arno River in Florence, Italy floods at record levels, making thousands homeless and destroying millions of masterpieces of art and rare books.
- 1970 - Genie, aged 13, is found in Los Angeles, having been locked in her bedroom for most of her life until that point.
- 1977 - The UN ends its weapons embargo on Apartheid-era South Africa.
- 1979 - The Iran hostage crisis begins - A group of Iranians, mostly students, invades United States Embassy in Tehran, Iran, and takes 90 people hostage, including 53 Americans.
- 1980 – Ronald Reagan is elected President of the United States, defeating Jimmy Carter.
- 1984 - French Pay-TV channel Canal+ starts transmission.
- 1991 - Imelda Marcos, former First Lady of the Philippines, is given a Presidential pardon by Corazon Aquino.
- 1993 - A China Airlines Boeing 747 overruns Runway 13 at Hong Kong's Kai Tak International Airport while landing during a typhoon, injuring 22 people.
- 1993 - Jean Chrétien becomes Prime Minister of Canada.
- 1994 - The first conference focusing exclusively on the subject of the commercial potential of the World Wide Web is held in San Francisco, California.
- 1995 – Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin is murdered, being shot dead by Yigal Amir.
- 1999 - Ilir Meta becomes Prime Minister of Albania.
From 2001 change
- 2001 - Northern Ireland: The Police Service of Northern Ireland is created, replacing the Royal Ulster Constabulary.
- 2005 – Nintendo's Game Boy Micro is released in Europe.
- 2006 - A widespread power failure affects parts of Western Europe.
- 2008 – Barack Obama wins the vote to become President of the United States, over Senator John McCain. Obama becomes the US' first African American President.
- 2010 - Aero Caribbean Flight 883 crashes in central Cuba, killing all 68 people on board.
- 2014 - US Mid-term elections are held, with the Republican Party reclaiming the majority it lost in the Senate in 2006.
- 2015 - Justin Trudeau becomes Prime Minister of Canada.
- 2015 - A cargo plane crashes near Juba International Airport in South Sudan, killing 37 people.
- 2015 - A building collapses in Lahore, Pakistan, killing 45 people.
- 2016 - The Paris climate change agreement enters into force.
- 2018 - New Caledonia holds an independence referendum, where a smaller-than expected majority (56%) votes to remain an overseas territory of France.
- 2019 - Sir Lindsay Hoyle is chosen to succeed John Bercow as Speaker of the House of Commons of the United Kingdom.
Births change
Up to 1900 change
- 1448 - King Alphonso II of Naples (d. 1495)
- 1470 – Edward V, King of England (d. 1483?)
- 1575 – Guido Reni, Italian painter (d. 1642)
- 1592 - Gerard van Honthorst, Dutch painter (d. 1656)
- 1618 - Aurangzeb, Mughal Emperor (d. 1707)
- 1631 – Mary, Princess Royal and Princess of Orange, daughter of Charles I of England, and mother of William III (d. 1660)
- 1640 - Carlo Mannelli, Italian violinist and composer (d. 1697)
- 1661 - Karl III Philip, Elector Palatine (d. 1742)
- 1732 - Thomas Johnson, Governor of Maryland (d. 1819)
- 1765 - Pierre-Simon Girard, French mathematician (d. 1836)
- 1766 - John Adams, English mutineer (d. 1829)
- 1772 - François-Frédéric Lemot, French sculptor (d. 1827)
- 1782 - John Branch, Governor of North Carolina and last territorial Governor of Florida (d. 1863)
- 1783 - Gaspard Gourgaud, French historian (d. 1852)
- 1787 - Edmund Kean, English actor (d. 1833)
- 1836 - Charles B. Andrews, Governor of Connecticut (d. 1902)
- 1840 - William Giblin, Australian politician, 13th Premier of Tasmania (d. 1887)
- 1845 - Vasudeo Balwant Phadke, Indian revolutionary (d. 1883)
- 1853 - Anna Baverova, Czech physician (d. 1924)
- 1861 - Dimitrios Ioannou, Greek general (d. 1926)
- 1868 - La Belle Otero, Spanish actress, singer and dancer (d. 1965)
- 1872 - Barbu Stirbey, Romanian politician (d. 1946)
- 1873 - G. E. Moore, English philosopher (d. 1958)
- 1874 - Aleksandr Vasilevich Kolchak, Russian military commander (d. 1920)
- 1874 - Charles Despiau, French sculptor (d. 1946)
- 1879 – Will Rogers, American humorist (d. 1935)
- 1883 - Nikolaos Plastiras, Greek general (d. 1953)
- 1884 - Harry Ferguson, British aviator and inventor (d. 1960)
- 1884 - George Underwood, American athlete (d. 1943)
- 1887 - Alfred Lee Loomis, American physicist, philanthropist and scientific research patron (d. 1975)
- 1890 - Klabund, German writer (d. 1928)
- 1896 – Carlos P. Garcia, President of the Philippines (d. 1971)
- 1897 - C. B. van Niel, Dutch microbiologist (d. 1985)
- 1899 - Nicolas Frantz, Luxembourg cyclist (d. 1985)
- 1900 - Lucretiu Patrascanu, Romanian Communist activist and sociologist (d. 1954)
1901 – 1950 change
- 1901 - Bangja, Crown Princess Euimin of Korea (d. 1989)
- 1902 - Reg Dean, British supercentenarian (d. 2013)
- 1904 - Tadeusz Zylinski, Polish technician and textilist (d. 1967)
- 1906 - Sterling North, American writer (d. 1974)
- 1907 - Draga Matkovic, German concert pianist
- 1908 – Joseph Rotblat, Polish physicist (d. 2005)
- 1908 - Stanley Cortez, American cinematographer (d. 1997)
- 1909 – Bert Patenaude, American footballer (d. 1974)
- 1909 - Skeeter Webb, American baseball player (d. 1986)
- 1911 – Dixie Lee, American actress, dancer and singer (d. 1952)
- 1912 - Vadim Salmanov, Russian composer (d. 1978)
- 1913 - Gig Young, American actor (d. 1978)
- 1916 – Walter Cronkite, American news reporter (d. 2009)
- 1916 – Ruth Handler, American businesswoman, inventor of the Barbie doll (d. 2002)
- 1918 – Art Carney, American actor (d. 2003)
- 1919 - Oscar Holderer, German rocket scientist (d. 2015)
- 1920 - Val Heim, American baseball player (d. 2019)
- 1923 - Freddy Heineken, Dutch businessman (d. 2002)
- 1923 - Gunnar Huseby, Icelandic athlete (d. 1995)
- 1923 - Howie Meeker, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1925 - Ritwik Ghatab, Bangladeshi-Indian filmmaker and scriptwriter (d. 1976)
- 1925 - Doris Roberts, American actress (d. 2016)
- 1928 - Larry Bunker, American jazz musician (d. 2005)
- 1929 - Shakuntala Devi, Indian child prodigy and mental calculator (d. 2013)
- 1929 - Leopold Gratz, Austrian politician (d. 2006)
- 1929 - Athanasios of Albania, Greek-Albanian archbishop
- 1930 - Dick Groat, American baseball and basketball player
- 1930 - Dick MacPherson, American football coach (d. 2017)
- 1931 - Bernard Francis Law, American cardinal and former Archbishop of Boston, Massachusetts (d. 2017)
- 1932 – Thomas Klestil, President of Austria (d. 2004)
- 1933 - Charles K. Kao, Chinese physicist (d. 2018)
- 1933 - C. Odumegwu Ojukwu, Nigerian military leader and politician (d. 2011)
- 1935 - Elgar Howarth, English conductor, composer and trumpeter
- 1936 - Didier Ratsiraka, former President of Madagascar (d. 2021)
- 1936 - C. K. Williams, American poet (d. 2015)
- 1937 - Loretta Swit, American actress
- 1938 - Jorge Manicera, Uruguayan footballer (d. 2012)
- 1939 - Michael Meacher, British politician (d. 2015)
- 1940 - Marlène Jobert, French actress
- 1943 - Marilyn Ware, American diplomat and businesswoman (d. 2017)
- 1944 - Scherrie Payne, American singer
- 1944 - Linda Gary, American voice actress (d. 1995)
- 1946 – Laura Bush, former First Lady of the United States
- 1948 – Amadou Toumani Touré, President of Mali
- 1948 - Alexis Hunter, New Zealand photographer and painter (d. 2014)
1951 – 1975 change
- 1951 – Traian Basescu, President of Romania
- 1952 - Pope Tawadros II of Alexandria, Coptic Church leader
- 1953 - Tina Theune, German footballer
- 1953 - Carlos Gutierrez, American politician
- 1953 - Derek Johnstone, Scottish footballer
- 1953 - Jacques Villeneuve, Canadian racing driver
- 1953 - Peter Lord, English animator, film producer and director
- 1954 - Aleksandr Aksinin, Russian athlete
- 1954 - Chris Difford, rock music singer
- 1955 – Matti Vanhanen, former Prime Minister of Finland
- 1956 - James Honeyman-Scott, English musician (d. 1982)
- 1956 - Igor Talkov, Russian singer-songwriter (d. 1991)
- 1957 – Tony Abbott, 28th Prime Minister of Australia
- 1958 - Lee Jasper, English activist and politician
- 1960 - Kathy Griffin, American comedienne
- 1961 – Ralph Macchio, American actor
- 1961 – Nigel Worthington, Northern Irish footballer
- 1962 - Arvo Volmer, Estonian conductor
- 1963 – Lena Zavaroni, Scottish singer (d. 1999)
- 1963 – Horacio Elizondo, Argentine football referee
- 1963 - Rosario Flores, Spanish singer and actress
- 1963 - Michel Therrien, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1964 - Yuko Mizutani, Japanese voice actress and singer (d. 2016)
- 1965 - Malandra Burrows, English actress and singer
- 1965 - Wayne Static, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2014)
- 1969 – Sean Combs (P-Diddy), American rapper and producer
- 1969 – Matthew McConaughey, American actor
- 1969 - Samantha Smith, American actress
- 1970 - Malena Ernman, Swedish singer
- 1970 - Tony Sly, American singer, songwriter and guitarist (d. 2012)
- 1971 - Perry Moore, American writer and movie producer (d. 2011)
- 1972 – Luís Figo, Portuguese footballer
- 1972 - Myles Pollard, Australian actor
- 1974 - Louise Redknapp, English television personality
- 1975 - Heather Tom, American actress
From 1976 change
- 1976 - Daniel Bahr, German politician
- 1976 – Mario Melchiot, Dutch footballer
- 1976 - Alexander Popp, German tennis player
- 1979 - Trishelle Cannatella, American model and actress
- 1980 - Jerry Collins, New Zealand rugby player (d. 2015)
- 1981 - Guy Martin, English motorcycle racer
- 1982 - Kamila Skolimowska, Polish hammer thrower (d. 2009)
- 1983 - Anton Buslov, Russian astrophysicist and blogger (d. 2014)
- 1984 - Dustin Brown, American ice hockey player
- 1985 – Marcell Jansen, German footballer
- 1986 - Alexz Johnson, Canadian singer-songwriter, producer and actress
- 1986 - Szymon Pawlowski, Polish footballer
- 1986 - Adrian Zaugg, South African racing driver
- 1987 - T.O.P, South Korean singer-songwriter and actor
- 1989 - Enner Valencia, Ecuadorean footballer
- 1991 - Lesley Kerkhove, Dutch tennis player
- 1998 - Darcy Rose Byrnes, American actress and singer
Deaths change
Up to 1950 change
- 1411 - Khalil Sultan, Timurid ruler (b. 1384)
- 1652 - Jean-Claude de la Faille, Flemish mathematician (b. 1597)
- 1669 - Johannes Cocceius, Dutch theologian (b. 1603)
- 1698 - Rasmus Bartholin, Danish physician and mathematician (b. 1625)
- 1801 - William Shippen, American physician and Continental Congressman (b. 1712)
- 1847 - Thieu Tri, Emperor of Vietnam (b. 1807)
- 1847 – Felix Mendelssohn, German composer (b. 1809)
- 1893 - Pierre Tirard, Prime Minister of France (b. 1827)
- 1906 - John H. Ketcham, American general and politician (b. 1832)
- 1918 – Wilfred Owen, English poet (b. 1893)
- 1921 – Hara Takashi, Prime Minister of Japan (b. 1865)
- 1924 - Gabriel Fauré, French composer (b. 1845)
- 1931 - Luigi Galleani, Italian activist (b. 1861)
- 1932 - Belle Bennett, American actress (b. 1891)
- 1950 - Grover Cleveland Alexander, American baseball player and coach (b. 1887)
1951 – 2000 change
- 1951 - Ernesto Ambrosini, Italian athlete (b. 1894)
- 1955 – Cy Young, American baseball player (b. 1867)
- 1968 - Michel Kikoine, Belarusian painter (b. 1892)
- 1969 - Carlos Marighella, Brazilian revolutionary (b. 1911)
- 1969 - Frank G. Clement, Governor of Tennessee (b. 1920)
- 1969 - Ernest W. Gibson, Governor of Vermont (b. 1901)
- 1974 – Bert Patenaude, American footballer (b. 1909)
- 1982 - Jacques Tati, French actor and director (b. 1907)
- 1986 - Kurt Hirsch, German mathematician (b. 1906)
- 1988 - Kleanthis Vikelidis, Greek footballer (b. 1916)
- 1990 - David Stirling, British founder of the SAS (b. 1915)
- 1992 - George Klein, Canadian inventor (b. 1904)
- 1994 – Sam Francis, American painter (b. 1923)
- 1995 – Gilles Deleuze, French philosopher (b. 1925)
- 1995 – Yitzhak Rabin, 5th Prime Minister of Israel (b. 1922)
- 1997 - Richard Hooker, American writer (b. 1924)
- 1998 - Marion Donovan, American architect and inventor (b. 1917)
From 2001 change
- 2008 – Michael Crichton, American writer (b. 1942)
- 2009 - Hubertus Brandenburg, German-born Swedish Roman Catholic bishop (b. 1923)
- 2010 – Eugenie Blanchard, French-Caribbean supercentenarian (b. 1896)
- 2010 - Sparky Anderson, American baseball manager (b. 1934)
- 2011 - Alfonso Cano, Colombian FARC leader (b. 1948)
- 2011 - Andy Rooney, American journalist (b. 1919)
- 2011 - Norman Foster Ramsey, Jr., American physicist (b. 1915)
- 2012 - Ted Curson, American trumpeter (b. 1935)
- 2013 - Hans von Borsody, Austrian-German actor (b. 1929)
- 2014 - Jeremy Dale, American comic book artist (b. 1979)
- 2014 - Enrique Olivera, Argentine politician (b. 1940)
- 2014 - Richard Schaal, American actor (b. 1928)
- 2014 - Eddie Stuart, South African footballer (b. 1931)
- 2015 - René Girard, French-American historian, literary critic and philosopher of social science (b. 1923)
- 2015 - Melissa Mathison, American screenwriter (b. 1950)
- 2015 - Piotr Domaradzki, Polish-American journalist (b. 1946)
- 2015 - Ole Knapp, Norwegian politician (b. 1931)
- 2016 - Jean-Jacques Perrey, French electronic music producer (b. 1929)
- 2016 - Mansour Pourheidari, Iranian footballer (b. 1946)
- 2017 - Michael Augustine, Indian Roman Catholic prelate (b. 1933)
- 2017 - Anna Diggs Taylor, American judge (b. 1932)
- 2017 - Dudley Simpson, Australian composer and conductor (b. 1922)
- 2017 - Tamara Natalie Madden, Jamaican-American artist (b. 1975)
- 2018 - Karl-Heinz Adler, German artist (b. 1927)
- 2018 - Manohar Prahlad Awati, Indian vice-admiral (b. 1927)
- 2018 - Donna Axum, American model (b. 1942)
- 2018 - Marco Dezzi Bardeschi, Italian architect (b. 1934)
- 2018 - Tetsugen Bernard Glassman, American Zen Buddhist monk (b. 1939)
- 2018 - Jeremy Heywood, British economist and civil servant (b. 1961)
- 2018 - Harris Hines, American judge (b. 1943)
- 2018 - Vince Manuwai, American football player (b. 1980)
- 2018 - Grant R. Osborne, American theologian (b. 1942)
- 2018 - Wolfgang Zuckermann, German-American harpsichord maker and activist (b. 1922)
- 2019 - Gay Byrne, Irish broadcaster (b. 1934)
- 2019 - Jacques Dupont, French racing cyclist (b. 1928)
- 2019 - Sadeque Hossain Khoka, Bangladeshi politician (b. 1952)
- 2019 - Virginia Leith, American actress (b. 1925)