History of 4 June
1960 – The Taiwan island of Quemoy was hit by 500 artillery shells fired from the coast of Communist China.
1974 – The Cleveland Indians had “Ten Cent Beer Night”. Due to the drunken and unruly fans, the Indians forfeited to the Texas Rangers.
1974 – Sally Murphy became the first woman to qualify as an aviator with the U.S. Army.
1984 – For the first time in 32 years, Arnold Palmer failed to make the cut for the U.S. Open golf tournament.
1985 – The U.S. Supreme Court upheld a lower court ruling striking down an Alabama law that provided for a daily minute of silence in public schools.
1986 – Jonathan Jay Pollard, a former Navy intelligence analyst, pled guilty in Washington to spying for Israel. He was sentenced to life in prison.
1986 – The California Supreme Court approved a law that limited the liability of manufacturers and other wealthy defendants. It was known as the “deep pockets law.”
1989 – In Beijing, Chinese army troops stormed Tiananmen Square to crush the pro-democracy movement. It is believed that hundreds, possibly thousands, of demonstrators were killed.
1992 – The U.S. Postal Service announced that people preferred the “younger Elvis” stamp design in a nationwide vote.
1998 – George and Ira Gershwin received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
2003 – The U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill that would ban “partial birth” abortions with a 282-139 vote.
2003 – Amazon.com announced that it had received more than 1 million orders for the book “Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.” The released date was planned for June 21.
2008 – The United Kingdom and Canada became the first countries to be able to buy and rent films at the iTunes Store.
2010 – Falcon 9 Flight 1 is the maiden flight of the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, which launches from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station Space Launch Complex 40.
Celebrating Birthday Today
- 1981 – Jennifer Carroll, Canadian swimmer
- 1981 – Giourkas Seitaridis, Greek footballer
- 1981 – Natalia Vodopyanova, Russian basketball player
- 1982 – Abel Kirui, Kenyan runner
- 1982 – Ronnie Prude, American-Canadian football player
- 1983 – Romaric, Ivorian footballer
- 1983 – Emmanuel Eboué, Ivorian footballer
- 1983 – Olha Saladuha, Ukrainian triple jumper
- 1984 – Enrico Rossi Chauvenet, Italian footballer
- 1984 – Rainie Yang, Taiwanese actress
- 1984 – Ian White, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1985 – Leon Botha, South African painter and DJ (d. 2011)
- 1985 – Anna-Lena Grönefeld, a German tennis player
- 1985 – Evan Lysacek, American figure skater
- 1985 – Lukas Podolski, German footballer
- 1985 – Oddvar Reiakvam, Norwegian politician
- 1987 – Luisa Zissman, English businesswoman
- 1987 – Mollie King, English singer-songwriter and model
- 1988 – Matt Bartkowski, American ice hockey defenseman
- 1988 – Kimberley Busteed, Australian model
- 1989 – Federico Erba, Italian footballer
- 1989 – Paweł Fajdek, Polish hammer thrower
- 1990 – Zac Farro, American singer, and drummer
- 1990 – Evan Spiegel, American Internet entrepreneur
- 1990 – Greg Monroe, American professional basketball player
- 1991 – Lorenzo Insigne, Italian footballer
- 1991 – Matt McIlwrick, New Zealand rugby league player
- 1991 – Tom Scholes-Fogg, British police officer, author and charity founder
- 1993 – Jonathan Huberdeau, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1995 – Shiori Tamai, Japanese singer
- 1999 – Kim So-Hyun, South Korean actress
- 2004 – Mackenzie Ziegler, American dancer, singer, actress, and model