04 August History
- 1265 - King Henry III puts down a revolt of English barons lead by Simon de Montfort.
- 1578 - A crusade against the Moors of Morocco is routed at the Battle of Alcazar-el-Kebir. King Sebastian of Portugal and 8,000 of his soldiers are killed.
- 1717 - A friendship treaty is signed between France and Russia.
- 1789 - The Constituent Assembly in France abolishes the privileges of nobility.
- 1790 - The Revenue Cutter service, the parent service of the U.S. Navy and Coast Guard, is organized.
- 1864 - Federal troops fail to capture Fort Gaines on Dauphin Island, one of the Confederate forts defending Mobile Bay.
- 1875 - The first Convention of Colored Newspapermen is held in Cincinnati, Ohio.
- 1879 - A law is passed in Germany making Alsace Lorraine a territory of the empire.
- 1914 - Germany invades Belgium causing Great Britain to declare war on Germany.
- 1942 - The British government charges that Mohandas Gandhi and his All-Indian Congress Party favor "appeasement" with Japan.
- 1944 - RAF pilot T. D. Dean becomes the first pilot to destroy a V-1 buzz bomb when he tips the pilotless craft's wing, sending it off course.
- 1952 - Helicopters from the U.S. Air Force Air Rescue Service land in Germany, completing the first transatlantic flight by helicopter in 51 hours and 55 minutes of flight time.
- 1964 - The U.S.S. Maddox and Turner Joy exchange fire with North Vietnamese patrol boats.
04 August Birthdays
- 1792 - Percy Bysshe Shelly, English poet and author.
- 1805 - William Rowan Hamilton, Irish scientist.
- 1901 - Louis Armstrong, legendary jazz trumpeter.
- 1912 - Raoul Wallenberg, Swedish diplomat credited with saving nearly 100,000 Budapest Jews during World War II.
- 1958 - Mary Decker Slaney, American athlete, winner of seven track and field records.
- 1961 - Barack Obama, 44th president of the United States of America.