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Entrance to King Tut’s tomb discovered

Born on This Day

Walter Cronkite

1916 - 2009

Pioneering TV newsman dubbed "the most trusted man in America" for his coverage of the JFK assassination and the Vietnam War.

Robert Mapplethorpe

1946 - 1989

American photographer who sparked controversy for his technically precise but unapologetically homoerotic male nudes.

Laura Bush

1946 -

First lady and wife of 43rd U.S. president George W. Bush who advocated for literacy programs.

Walter CronkiteGetty Images

Robert MapplethorpeRose Hartman/Archive Photos/Getty Images

Laura BushGetty Images

1879

NOV4

James Ritty of Dayton, Ohio, receives a patent for a mechanical cash register he calls an "incorruptible cashier." He and his engineer brother John invented it to keep bartenders at James' saloon from pilfering profits.

Timeline

Also on This Day in History

Discover more of the major events, famous births, notable deaths and everything else history-making that happened on November 4th

George Washington learns of effort to discredit him

In a letter that General George Washington receives on November 4, 1777, he is informed that a conspiracy is afoot to discredit him with Congress and have him replaced by General Horatio Gates. Thomas Conway, who would be made inspector general of the United States less than two months later on December 14, led the […]

Native Americans deliver crushing defeat at the Battle of the Wabash

On November 4, 1791, a multitribal confederation, formed to resist colonial expansion into their historical homelands, routs a large contingent of U.S. troops along the Wabash River in western Ohio. This one-sided clash, known as the Battle of the Wabash or St. Clair’s Defeat, would be the biggest victory ever won by Native Americans over […]

Abraham Lincoln marries Mary Todd

On November 4, 1842, struggling lawyer Abraham Lincoln marries Mary Anne Todd, a Kentucky native, at her sister’s home in Springfield, Illinois. Mary Todd, whose nickname was Molly, was the child of wealthy parents and received her education in prestigious all-girls schools where she excelled in cultural studies and the arts. Her father socialized with […]

Poet Wilfred Owen killed in action

On November 4, 1918, just one week before the armistice was declared, ending World War I, the British poet Wilfred Owen is killed in action during a British assault on the German-held Sambre Canal on the Western Front. Born in 1893, Owen was teaching English to children near Bordeaux, France, when war broke out in […]

The first female governors are elected in the United States

On November 4, 1924, Miriam “Ma” Ferguson of Texas and Nellie Tayloe Ross of Wyoming made history as the first women elected governor in the United States.

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California legalizes professional boxing after 10-year ban

On November 4, 1924, California voters pass a measure to legalize professional boxing, a sport outlawed in the state because of safety concerns since 1914. “Manly Art Returns,” reads a headline in one newspaper. From 1914 to 1924, professional boxing had become a national phenomenon, spearheaded by champions such as heavyweight Jack Dempsey and lightweight […]

One of New York’s most notorious gamblers is shot to death

Arnold Rothstein, New York’s most notorious gambler, is shot during a poker game at the Park Central Hotel in Manhattan on November 4, 1928. He died in the hospital two days later. From an early age, Rothstein had a talent for playing numbers. As a teenager, he built a small fortune gambling in craps and […]

T.S. Eliot wins Nobel Prize in Literature

On November 4, 1948, T.S. Eliot wins the Nobel Prize in Literature, for his profound effect on the direction of modern poetry. Eliot was born in St. Louis, Missouri, to a long-established family. His grandfather had founded Washington University in St. Louis, his father was a businessman, and his mother was involved in local charities. […]

Soviets put a brutal end to Hungarian revolution

A spontaneous national uprising that began 12 days before in Hungary is viciously crushed by Soviet tanks and troops on November 4, 1956. Thousands were killed and wounded and nearly a quarter-million Hungarians fled the country. The problems in Hungary began in October 1956, when thousands of protesters took to the streets demanding a more […]

Jane Goodall observes a chimpanzee making and using tools

In a groundbreaking discovery, primatologist Jane Goodall witnesses a chimpanzee in the act of making and using tools on November 4, 1960—an ability previously believed to be exclusive to humans. At the time of the observation, Goodall, a 26-year-old English primatologist, was conducting research at Gombe Stream National Park in Northern Tanzania, where she closely […]

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General Minh takes over leadership of South Vietnam

In the aftermath of the November 1 coup that resulted in the murder of President Ngo Dinh Diem, Gen. Duong Van Minh, leading the Revolutionary Military Committee of the dissident generals who had conducted the coup, takes over leadership of South Vietnam. U.S. Ambassador Henry Cabot Lodge cabled President Kennedy, “We could neither manage nor […]

Iran hostage crisis begins after U.S. embassy in Tehran is stormed

Student followers of the Ayatollah Khomeini send shock waves across America when they storm the U.S. embassy in Tehran on November 4, 1979. The radical Islamic fundamentalists took 90 hostages. The students were enraged that the deposed Shah had been allowed to enter the United States for medical treatment and they threatened to murder hostages if […]

“Dances with Wolves” premieres in Los Angeles

On November 4, 1990, Dances with Wolves, a film about an American Civil War-era soldier and a group of Sioux Native Americans that stars Kevin Costner and also marks his directorial debut, premieres in Los Angeles. The film, which opened across the United States on November 21, 1990, was a surprise box-office success and earned […]

Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin assassinated

Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin is fatally shot after attending a peace rally held in Tel Aviv’s Kings Square in Israel. Rabin later died in surgery at Ichilov Hospital in Tel Aviv. The 73-year-old prime minister was walking to his car when he was shot in the arm and the back by Yigal Amir, a […]

Barack Obama elected as America’s first Black president

On November 4, 2008, Senator Barack Obama of Illinois defeats Senator John McCain of Arizona to become the 44th U.S. president, and the first African American elected to the White House. The 47-year-old Democrat garnered 365 electoral votes and nearly 53 percent of the popular vote, while his 72-year-old Republican challenger captured 173 electoral votes […]

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Proposition 8 is passed in California, banning same-sex marriage

With over 13 million votes cast, California voters approve Proposition 8 on November 4, 2008, amending the state’s constitution to ban same-sex marriage. Only months earlier, in May 2008, the California Supreme Court had deemed the state’s ban on same-sex marriage unconstitutional, making California the second state in the country to legalize gay marriage. Thus, […]

Paris Agreement comes into effect

On November 4, 2016, the Paris Agreement comes into effect. A sweeping international pledge to dramatically reduce carbon emissions, the agreement remains a potential turning point in the history of human relations with the Earth’s climate. The agreement’s goal was to keep the global average temperatures from rising by more than 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial […]

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