May 4
1626 - Dutch explorer Peter Minuit landed in present-day Manhattan, which he later bought for $24 worth of cloth and brass buttons.
1776 - Rhode Island declared its freedom from England, two months before the Declaration of Independence was adopted.
1886 - At Haymarket Square in Chicago, a labor demonstration for an 8-hour work day turned into a deadly riot when a bomb exploded.
1904 - The United States took over construction of the Panama Canal from the French.
1927 - The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences was founded.
1932 - Mobster Al Capone, convicted of income-tax evasion, entered the federal penitentiary in Atlanta. (Capone was later transferred to Alcatraz Island.)
1942 - The Battle of the Coral Sea, the first naval clash fought entirely with carrier aircraft, began in the Pacific during World War II. (The outcome was considered a tactical victory for Japan, but ultimately a strategic one for the Allies.)
1945 - During World War II, German forces in the Netherlands, Denmark and northwest Germany agreed to surrender.
1959 - The first Grammy Awards ceremony was held.
1961 - Civil rights activists, called "freedom riders," left Washington, D.C. for New Orleans to challenge racial segregation on interstate buses and in bus terminals.
1970 - Four Kent State University students were shot and killed by Ohio National Guard members during an anti-Vietnam War demonstration.
1994 - Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and PLO leader Yasser Arafat signed an accord on Palestinian autonomy that granted self-rule in the Gaza Strip and Jericho.
1998 - The Unabomber, Ted Kaczynski, was sentenced to four life terms plus 30 years for his series of bombings that killed three and injured 23.
2000 - Londoners elected their mayor for the first time.
2001 - Bonny Lee Bakley, wife of actor Robert Blake, was shot to death as she sat in a car near a restaurant in Los Angeles. (Blake, accused of Bakley’s murder, was acquitted in a criminal trial but found liable by a civil jury and ordered to pay damages.)
2006 - A federal judge sentenced Zacarias Moussaoui to life in prison for his role in the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
2007 - Paris Hilton was sentenced to jail for violating probation in an alcohol-related reckless driving case. (The hotel heiress served 23 days behind bars.)
2011 - President Barack Obama said he had decided not to release death photos of Osama bin Laden because their graphic nature could incite violence and create national security risks. Officials told The Associated Press that the Navy SEALs who’d stormed bin Laden’s compound in Pakistan shot and killed him after they saw him appear to lunge for a weapon.
2017 - President Donald Trump met with Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull aboard the USS Intrepid, a decommissioned aircraft carrier in New York, to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the World War II Battle of the Coral Sea, which reinforced the ties between the U.S. and Australia.
2017 - Buckingham Palace announced that Queen Elizabeth II’s 95-year-old husband, Prince Philip, was retiring from royal duties.
2020 - New York state reported more than 1,700 previously undisclosed coronavirus deaths at nursing homes and adult care facilities.
Birthdays
22 - Amara Miller (actress)
28 - RaeLynn (singer)
28 - Alexander Gould (actor)
30 - Gracie Gillam (actress)
30 - Victor Oladipo (basketball player)
37 - Jidenna (singer)
41 - Ruth Negga (actress)
43 - Lance Bass (singer)
44 - Erin Andrews (sportscaster)
47 - Kimora Lee Simmons (model/reality star)
50 - Chris Tomlin (singer)
52 - Will Arnett (actor)
55 - Ana Gasteyer (actress/comedian)
61 - Mary McDonough (actress)
63 - Randy Travis (singer)
70 - Pia Zadora (actress/singer)
71 - Jackie Jackson (singer)
73 - Stella Parton (singer)
75 - Richard Jenkins (actor)
92 - Katherine Jackson (matriarch of the Jackson family)
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Today in Sports History - May 4
1954 - The Philadelphia Phillies and St. Louis Cardinals set a national league record when they used 42 players in one game. The Phillies won 14-10.
1963 - Pitcher Bob Shaw set a record with 5 balks in a game.
1965 - Willie Mays breaks Mel Ott's National League career home run record with his 512th.
1968 - The Pittsburgh Pipers defeat the New Orleans Buccaneers in seven games to win the inaugural ABA basketball championship.
1969 - The Montreal Canadiens sweep the St. Louis Blues to win the Stanley Cup.
1980 - Mike Squires (Chicago White Sox) played the position of catcher in the final inning against the Brewers. It was the first time a left handed catcher had played since 1958.
1993 - Dale Hunter (Washington Capitals) was suspended 21 games for his blindside check of Pierre Turgeon (New York Islanders) in a game played on April 8.
1994 - Charles Barkley (Phoenix Suns) scored 56 points, 38 of which came in the first half, against the Golden State Warriors.
2004 - Alex Rodriguez (New York Yankees) hit his 350th career home run and drove in his 1,000th run. He was the youngest player to reach 350 homeruns at 28 years, 282 days.
2018 - Albert Pujols of the Los Angeles Angels records his 3,000th career hit.
2019 - Maximum Security is the first horse to cross the finish line at the Kentucky Derby, but then becomes the first horse in Derby history to be disqualified, on grounds of interference; longshot Country House is then declared the race winner.
2020 - Former Miami Dolphins coach Don Shula died at 90; he’d won more games than any other NFL coach.
1626 - Dutch explorer Peter Minuit landed in present-day Manhattan, which he later bought for $24 worth of cloth and brass buttons.
1776 - Rhode Island declared its freedom from England, two months before the Declaration of Independence was adopted.
1886 - At Haymarket Square in Chicago, a labor demonstration for an 8-hour work day turned into a deadly riot when a bomb exploded.
1904 - The United States took over construction of the Panama Canal from the French.
1927 - The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences was founded.
1932 - Mobster Al Capone, convicted of income-tax evasion, entered the federal penitentiary in Atlanta. (Capone was later transferred to Alcatraz Island.)
1942 - The Battle of the Coral Sea, the first naval clash fought entirely with carrier aircraft, began in the Pacific during World War II. (The outcome was considered a tactical victory for Japan, but ultimately a strategic one for the Allies.)
1945 - During World War II, German forces in the Netherlands, Denmark and northwest Germany agreed to surrender.
1959 - The first Grammy Awards ceremony was held.
1961 - Civil rights activists, called "freedom riders," left Washington, D.C. for New Orleans to challenge racial segregation on interstate buses and in bus terminals.
1970 - Four Kent State University students were shot and killed by Ohio National Guard members during an anti-Vietnam War demonstration.
1994 - Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and PLO leader Yasser Arafat signed an accord on Palestinian autonomy that granted self-rule in the Gaza Strip and Jericho.
1998 - The Unabomber, Ted Kaczynski, was sentenced to four life terms plus 30 years for his series of bombings that killed three and injured 23.
2000 - Londoners elected their mayor for the first time.
2001 - Bonny Lee Bakley, wife of actor Robert Blake, was shot to death as she sat in a car near a restaurant in Los Angeles. (Blake, accused of Bakley’s murder, was acquitted in a criminal trial but found liable by a civil jury and ordered to pay damages.)
2006 - A federal judge sentenced Zacarias Moussaoui to life in prison for his role in the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
2007 - Paris Hilton was sentenced to jail for violating probation in an alcohol-related reckless driving case. (The hotel heiress served 23 days behind bars.)
2011 - President Barack Obama said he had decided not to release death photos of Osama bin Laden because their graphic nature could incite violence and create national security risks. Officials told The Associated Press that the Navy SEALs who’d stormed bin Laden’s compound in Pakistan shot and killed him after they saw him appear to lunge for a weapon.
2017 - President Donald Trump met with Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull aboard the USS Intrepid, a decommissioned aircraft carrier in New York, to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the World War II Battle of the Coral Sea, which reinforced the ties between the U.S. and Australia.
2017 - Buckingham Palace announced that Queen Elizabeth II’s 95-year-old husband, Prince Philip, was retiring from royal duties.
2020 - New York state reported more than 1,700 previously undisclosed coronavirus deaths at nursing homes and adult care facilities.
Birthdays
22 - Amara Miller (actress)
28 - RaeLynn (singer)
28 - Alexander Gould (actor)
30 - Gracie Gillam (actress)
30 - Victor Oladipo (basketball player)
37 - Jidenna (singer)
41 - Ruth Negga (actress)
43 - Lance Bass (singer)
44 - Erin Andrews (sportscaster)
47 - Kimora Lee Simmons (model/reality star)
50 - Chris Tomlin (singer)
52 - Will Arnett (actor)
55 - Ana Gasteyer (actress/comedian)
61 - Mary McDonough (actress)
63 - Randy Travis (singer)
70 - Pia Zadora (actress/singer)
71 - Jackie Jackson (singer)
73 - Stella Parton (singer)
75 - Richard Jenkins (actor)
92 - Katherine Jackson (matriarch of the Jackson family)
=========================================
Today in Sports History - May 4
1954 - The Philadelphia Phillies and St. Louis Cardinals set a national league record when they used 42 players in one game. The Phillies won 14-10.
1963 - Pitcher Bob Shaw set a record with 5 balks in a game.
1965 - Willie Mays breaks Mel Ott's National League career home run record with his 512th.
1968 - The Pittsburgh Pipers defeat the New Orleans Buccaneers in seven games to win the inaugural ABA basketball championship.
1969 - The Montreal Canadiens sweep the St. Louis Blues to win the Stanley Cup.
1980 - Mike Squires (Chicago White Sox) played the position of catcher in the final inning against the Brewers. It was the first time a left handed catcher had played since 1958.
1993 - Dale Hunter (Washington Capitals) was suspended 21 games for his blindside check of Pierre Turgeon (New York Islanders) in a game played on April 8.
1994 - Charles Barkley (Phoenix Suns) scored 56 points, 38 of which came in the first half, against the Golden State Warriors.
2004 - Alex Rodriguez (New York Yankees) hit his 350th career home run and drove in his 1,000th run. He was the youngest player to reach 350 homeruns at 28 years, 282 days.
2018 - Albert Pujols of the Los Angeles Angels records his 3,000th career hit.
2019 - Maximum Security is the first horse to cross the finish line at the Kentucky Derby, but then becomes the first horse in Derby history to be disqualified, on grounds of interference; longshot Country House is then declared the race winner.
2020 - Former Miami Dolphins coach Don Shula died at 90; he’d won more games than any other NFL coach.
