On This Day - May 4th

On This Day - May 4th 1493 – Pope Alexander VI divides the New World between Spain and Portugal along the Line of Demarcation.

On This Day - May 4th 1675 – King Charles II of England orders the construction of the Royal Greenwich Observatory.

On This Day - May 4th 1814 – Emperor Napoleon I of France arrives at Portoferraio on the island of Elba to begin his exile.

On This Day - May 4th 1904 – The United States begins construction of the Panama Canal.

On This Day - May 4th 1961 – The "Freedom Riders" begin a bus trip through the South.

On This Day - May 4th 1970 – The Ohio National Guard open fire at Kent State University killing four students and wounding nine others.

On This Day - May 4th 1979 – Margaret Thatcher becomes the first female Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.

On This Day - May 4th 2000 – Ken Livingstone becomes the first Mayor of London.


Today's Birthdays

Born On This Day - May 4th 1654 – Kangxi Emperor of China (d. 1722)

Born On This Day - May 4th 1781 – Karl Christian Friedrich Krause, German philosopher (d. 1832)

Born On This Day - May 4th 1852 – Alice Pleasance Liddell, English schoolgirl model for Alice in Wonderland (d. 1934)

Born On This Day - May 4th 1929 – Audrey Hepburn, Anglo-Dutch actress (d. 1993)

Born On This Day - May 4th 1936 – Today is the birthday of El Cordobés, Spanish matador.

Born On This Day - May 4th 1989 – Rory McIlroy, Irish golfer.