On this day: 4 February

Selected events and births on 4 February, from Wikipedia’s “On this day”.

Events

• 960 – Emperor Taizu came to power, initiating the Song dynasty of China that eventually lasted for more than three centuries. Read more: Emperor Taizu of Song Song dynasty
• 1801 – John Marshall, whose court opinions helped lay the basis for U.S. constitutional law and made the Supreme Court a coequal branch of government, took office as chief justice. Read more: John Marshall Constitutional law of the United States Supreme Court of the United States
• 1859 – Constantin von Tischendorf rediscovered the Codex Sinaiticus, a 4th-century great uncial codex of the Bible in Greek, in Saint Catherine's Monastery, Egypt. Read more: Constantin von Tischendorf Codex Sinaiticus Great uncial codices
• 1969 – Yasser Arafat was elected chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organization. Read more: Yasser Arafat Palestine Liberation Organization
• 1999 – The Philippine-flagged freighter New Carissa ran aground near Coos Bay, Oregon, causing one of the worst oil spills in the state's history. Read more: New Carissa Coos Bay, Oregon Oil spill
• 2008 – The London low emission zone (sign pictured), charging certain diesel-powered commercial vehicles to enter Greater London, came into operation. Read more: London low emission zone Greater London

Born on this day

• 1931 – Isabel Perón, Argentinian dancer and politician, 41st President of Argentina Read more: Isabel Perón President of Argentina
• 1939 – Stan Lundine, American lawyer and politician, Lieutenant Governor of New York Read more: Stan Lundine Lieutenant Governor of New York
• 1941 – Russell Cooper, Australian politician, 33rd Premier of Queensland Read more: Russell Cooper Premier of Queensland
• 1943 – Alberto João Jardim, Portuguese journalist and politician, second President of the Regional Government of Madeira Read more: Alberto João Jardim President of the Regional Government of Madeira
• 1943 – Ken Thompson, American computer scientist and programmer, co-developed the B programming language Read more: Ken Thompson B (programming language)
• 1947 – Dennis C. Blair, American admiral and politician, third Director of National Intelligence Read more: Dennis C. Blair Director of National Intelligence
• 1947 – Dan Quayle, American sergeant, lawyer, and politician, 44th Vice President of the United States Read more: Dan Quayle Vice President of the United States
• 1952 – Jenny Shipley, New Zealand politician, Prime Minister of New Zealand Read more: Jenny Shipley Prime Minister of New Zealand
• 1955 – Mikuláš Dzurinda, Slovak politician, Prime Minister of Slovakia Read more: Mikuláš Dzurinda Prime Minister of Slovakia
• 1999 – MJ Lenderman, American singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Read more: MJ Lenderman
• 2003 – Kyla Kenedy, American actress Read more: Kyla Kenedy
• 2003 – Rasmus Højlund, Danish footballer Read more: Rasmus Højlund

Text from Wikipedia: Selected anniversaries / February 4 and the linked articles, via the Wikimedia “On this day” feed, under CC BY-SA 4.0. We leave out entries about wars, violence and disasters to keep this page family-friendly.