November 04

Tuesday 04, 2003:

The largest-ever solar flare is recorded.

Sunday 04, 2001:

2001 - The Police Service of Northern Ireland is established.

Saturday 04, 1995:

After attending a peace rally in Tel Aviv's Kings Square, Israeli prime minister Yitzhak Rabin is mortally wounded by an extreme right-wing Israeli assassin. He dies of his wounds later that night in a Tel Aviv Hospital.

Thursday 04, 1993:

A China Airlines Boeing 747 overran Runway 13 at Hong Kong's Kai Tak International Airport while landing during a typhoon. The wind was gusting to gale force at the time. It touched down more than 2/3 down the runway and was unable to stop before the runway ran out and the plane crashed into the sea. 22 people were injured.

Tuesday 04, 1980:

U.S. presidential election, 1980: Republican challenger Ronald Reagan defeats incumbent Democrat Jimmy Carter by a wide margin.

Sunday 04, 1979:

Iran hostage crisis begins: Iranian radicals, mostly students, invade the United States embassy in Tehran and take 90 hostages (63 of whom are American).

Wednesday 04, 1970:

The United States turns control of the air base in the Mekong Delta over to South Vietnam.

Friday 04, 1966:

Two-thirds of Florence, Italy is submerged as the Arno and Po rivers flood; 113 people die, 30,000 are rendered homeless, and countless Renaissance artworks and books are destroyed.

Friday 04, 1960:

Filming wraps on The Misfits, starring Marilyn Monroe and Clark Gable -- the last film for both.

Monday 04, 1957:

The Soviet Union launches Sputnik 2 with a dog named Laika on board, becoming the first country to launch a living creature into orbit. The capsule was not designed to be retrievable and she dies a few hours later from stress and overheating.

Sunday 04, 1956:

Soviet troops invade Hungary to crush the Hungarian revolution that started on October 23. Thousands are killed, more are wounded, and nearly a quarter million leave the country.

Tuesday 04, 1952:

U.S. presidential election, 1952: Republican Dwight D. Eisenhower defeats Democrat Adlai Stevenson.

Thursday 04, 1948:

T.S. Eliot wins the Nobel Prize in Literature.

Wednesday 04, 1942:

Disobeying a direct order by Adolf Hitler, General Field Marshal Erwin Rommel leads his forces on a five-month retreat.

Saturday 04, 1939:

World War II: U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt orders the United States Customs Service to implement the Neutrality Act of 1939, allowing cash-and-carry purchases of weapons by belligerents.

Sunday 04, 1928:

Arnold Rothstein, New York City's most notorious gambler, is shot dead over a poker game.

Tuesday 04, 1924:

Nellie Tayloe Ross of Wyoming elected as the first woman governor in the United States.

Saturday 04, 1922:

In Egypt, British archaeologist Howard Carter and his men find the entrance to King Tutankhamen's tomb in the Valley of the Kings.

Friday 04, 1921:

The Sturmabteilung or SA is formally formed by Adolf Hitler

Monday 04, 1918:

The German Revolution begins when 40,000 sailors take over the port in Kiel.

Saturday 04, 1899:

Sigmund Freud's The Interpretation of Dreams is published.

Tuesday 04, 1890:

City & South London Railway: London's first deep-level tube railway opens between King William Street and Stockwell.

Monday 04, 1889:

Menelek of Shoa obtains the allegiance of a large majority of the Ethiopian nobility, paving the way for him to be crowned emperor.

Tuesday 04, 1884:

U.S. presidential election, 1884: Democrat Grover Cleveland defeats Republican James G. Blaine in a very close contest to win the first of his two non-consecutive terms.

Thursday 04, 1869:

The first issue of the scientific journal Nature is published.

Friday 04, 1864:

Confederate troops bombard a Union supply base and destroy millions of dollars in material.

Monday 04, 1861:

The University of Washington opens in Seattle, Washington as the Territorial University

Thursday 04, 1852:

Count Camillo Benso di Cavour became the prime minister of Piedmont-Sardinia, which soon expanded to become Italy.

Thursday 04, 1677:

The future Mary II of England marries William, Prince of Orange. They would later be known as William and Mary.

Sunday 04, 1612:

Moscow China Town taken by Russian troops under command of Dmitry Pozharsky

Thursday 04, 1576:

Eighty Years' War: In Belgium, Spain captures Antwerp (after three days the city was nearly destroyed).

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