Osun Defender History Corner: April 4 In Focus
Today, on the history corner, we take a trip in the realm of flashback and recall some events that marked this day.
April 4, 1581
Francis Drake completes the circumnavigation of the Earth.
April 4, 1818
Congress adopts the flag of the United States with 13 red and white stripes and one star for each state (20 stars at this time).
April 4, 1841
William Henry Harrison, the 9th President of the United States, dies from pneumonia, becoming the first president to die in office.
April 4, 1887
Argonia, Kansas elects Susanna M. Salter as the first female mayor in the United States.
April 4, 1949
NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) is created by 12 Western nations.
April 4, 1968
Civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. is assassinated in Memphis, Tennessee, sparking riots across the United States.
April 4, 1973
The World Trade Center officially opens in New York City.
April 4, 1975
Microsoft is founded by Bill Gates and Paul Allen in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
April 4, 1983
The Space Shuttle Challenger makes its maiden voyage into space.
April 4, 1984
President Ronald Reagan calls for an international ban on chemical weapons.
April 4, 1994
Marc Andreessen and Jim Clark found Netscape Communications Corporation under the name Mosaic Communications Corporation.
April 4, 1996
Comet Hyakutake is closest to Earth.
April 4, 2002
Israeli forces besiege the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem, leading to a standoff with Palestinian militants inside.
April 4, 2009
North Korea launches the Kwangmyลngsลng-2 rocket, which is widely believed to be a disguised long-range missile test.
April 4, 2013
Kevin Ware, a basketball player for the Louisville Cardinals, suffers a gruesome leg injury during an NCAA tournament game.
April 4, 2017
The United States launches a missile strike on a Syrian airbase in response to a chemical weapons attack that killed dozens of civilians.
April 4, 2018
The Dow Jones Industrial Average falls by 572 points amidst fears of a trade war between the United States and China.
April 4, 2019
NATO celebrates its 70th anniversary with a summit in Washington, D.C.
April 4, 2020
The International Olympic Committee announces the postponement of the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
April 4, 2021
NASA’s Perseverance rover successfully converts carbon dioxide from the Martian atmosphere into oxygen for the first time.
Please note that these are just a few historical events that happened on April 4. History is full of numerous other significant events on this day, ranging from politics and warfare to cultural and scientific milestones.
