On this day: 4 July

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

Events

• 414 – Byzantine emperor Theodosius II proclaimed his elder sister Aelia Pulcheria as Augusta. Read more: Theodosius II Pulcheria List of Augustae
• 1054 – Chinese astronomers recorded the sudden appearance of a "guest star", later identified as the supernova that created the Crab Nebula. Read more: Chinese astronomy Guest star (astronomy) SN 1054
• 1776 – In Philadelphia, the Continental Congress adopted the Declaration of Independence (signing pictured), announcing that the thirteen American colonies were no longer a part of the British Empire. Read more: Second Continental Congress United States Declaration of Independence Thirteen Colonies
• 1837 – The Grand Junction Railway, the world's first long-distance railway with steam traction, opened between Birmingham and Newton Junction. Read more: Grand Junction Railway Traction engine Birmingham
• 1862 – In a boat on the River Thames from Oxford to Godstow, author Lewis Carroll told Alice Liddell and her sisters a story that later formed the basis for his book Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. Read more: River Thames Oxford Godstow
• 1951 – William Shockley announced the invention of the junction transistor, for which he, John Bardeen, and Walter Houser Brattain later won the Nobel Prize in Physics. Read more: William Shockley Bipolar junction transistor John Bardeen
• 1954 – In what is known as "The Miracle of Bern", West Germany defeated Hungary 3–2 to win the FIFA World Cup. Read more: 1954 FIFA World Cup final Germany national football team Hungary national football team
• 1988 – Kylie Minogue's first album, Kylie, was released, and went on to top the charts in the UK and New Zealand. Read more: Kylie Minogue Kylie (album)
• 1998 – The monster movie Pulgasari, the most-widely-seen North Korean film ever made, premiered in Tokyo, Japan. Read more: Monster movie Pulgasari
• 2024 – Keir Starmer led the Labour Party to a landslide victory in the United Kingdom general election, ending fourteen years of Conservative rule. Read more: Keir Starmer Labour Party (UK) 2024 United Kingdom general election

Born on this day

• 1943 – Fred Wesley, American jazz and funk trombonist Read more: Fred Wesley Jazz Funk
• 1951 – Kathleen Kennedy Townsend, American lawyer and politician, 6th Lieutenant Governor of Maryland Read more: Kathleen Kennedy Townsend Lieutenant Governor of Maryland
• 1952 – Álvaro Uribe, Colombian lawyer and politician, 39th President of Colombia Read more: Álvaro Uribe President of Colombia
• 1953 – Francis Maude, English lawyer and politician, Minister for the Cabinet Office Read more: Francis Maude Minister for the Cabinet Office
• 1957 – Rein Lang, Estonian politician and diplomat, 25th Estonian Minister of Foreign Affairs Read more: Rein Lang Minister of Foreign Affairs (Estonia)
• 1963 – Michael Sweet, American singer and guitarist, lead singer of the Christian band Stryper Read more: Michael Sweet Stryper
• 1992 – Ángel Romero, Paraguayan footballer Read more: Ángel Romero (footballer)
• 1992 – Óscar Romero, Paraguayan footballer Read more: Óscar Romero (footballer)
• 1993 – Tom Barkhuizen, English footballer Read more: Tom Barkhuizen
• 1995 – Post Malone, American rapper, singer, songwriter and record producer Read more: Post Malone
• 1999 – Moa Kikuchi, Japanese musician Read more: Moa Kikuchi
• 2003 – Polina Bogusevich, Russian singer Read more: Polina Bogusevich

Text from Wikipedia: Selected anniversaries / July 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.