History of 4 May
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.
1916 – Germany agreed to limit its submarine warfare after demand from U.S. President Wilson. 1942 – The Battle of the Coral Sea commenced as American and Japanese carriers launched their attacks at each other.
1942 – The United States began food rationing.
1954 – The first intercollegiate court tennis match was played in the U.S. It was between Yale and Princeton.
1961 – Thirteen civil rights activists, dubbed “Freedom Riders,” began a bus trip through the South.
1964 – “Another World” premiered on NBC-TV.
1970 – The Ohio National Guardsmen opened fire on students during an anti-Vietnam war protest at Kent State University. Four students were killed and nine others were wounded.
1979 – Margaret Thatcher became Britain’s first woman prime minister.
1981 – The Federal Reserve Board raised its discount rate to 14%.
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.
1994 – Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and PLO leader Yasser Arafat signed a historic accord on Palestinian autonomy that granted self-rule in the Gaza Strip and Jericho.
2000 – The citizens of London elected their mayor for the first time.
2003 – Idaho Gem was born. He was the first member of the horse family to be cloned.
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.
2014 – Three people are killed and 62 injured in a pair of bombings on buses in Nairobi, Kenya.
Celebrating Birthday Today
- 1981 – Eric Djemba-Djemba, Cameroon footballer
- 1981 – Dallon Weekes, American singer-songwriter and musician
- 1982 – Kleopas Giannou, Greek footballer
- 1982 – Markus Rogan, Austrian swimmer
- 1982 – Giorgos Tsiaras, Greek basketball player
- 1983 – Dan Christian, Australian cricketer
- 1983 – Derek Roy, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1983 – Robert Zwinkels, Dutch footballer
- 1984 – Manjural Islam Rana, Bangladeshi cricketer
- 1984 – Brad Maddox, American wrestler, and referee
- 1984 – Sarah Meier, Swiss figure skater
- 1984 – Montell Owens, American football player
- 1984 – Kevin Slowey, American baseball player
- 1985 – Ravi Bopara, English cricketer
- 1985 – Anthony Fedorov, Ukrainian-born American singer, and actor
- 1985 – Fernandinho, Brazilian footballer
- 1985 – Jamie Adenuga, English MC and rapper
- 1986 – Devan Dubnyk, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1986 – George Hill, American basketball player
- 1987 – Cesc Fàbregas, Spanish footballer
- 1987 – Jorge Lorenzo, Spanish motorcycle racer
- 1988 – Radja Nainggolan, Belgian footballer
- 1989 – Dániel Gyurta, Hungarian swimmer
- 1989 – Henna Lindholm, Finnish figure skater
- 1989 – Rory McIlroy, Northern Irish golfer
- 1989 – Aris Tatarounis, Greek basketball player
- 1989 – James van Riemsdyk, American ice hockey player
- 1990 – Irina Falconi, an American tennis player
- 1990 – Ryan Morgan, Australian rugby league player
- 1990 – Duvashen Padayachee, Australian race car driver
- 1990 – Andrea Torres, Filipino actress, and model
- 1991 – Brianne Jenner, Canadian women’s ice hockey player
- 1992 – Victor Oladipo, American basketball player
- 1993 – Jānis Berziņs, Latvian basketball player
- 1994 – Abi Masatora, Japanese sumo wrestler
- 1994 – Joseph Tapine, New Zealand rugby league player
- 1996 – Pelayo Roza, Spanish sprint canoeist