Discover what happened on November 4 with HISTORY's summaries of major events, anniversaries, famous births and notable deaths.

November 4

Discover what happened on November 4 with HISTORY&#8217;s summaries of major events, anniversaries, famous births and notable deaths.

What Happened on November 4 | HISTORY

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1922

circa 1925: American boxer Jack Dempsey (1895 - 1983) poses outdoors in a fighting stance. He wears boxing trunks and gloves.

1791

Cold War tensions spiked after the Soviets shot down an American spy plane and captured its pilot. John F. Kennedy beat Richard Nixon in a tight presidential race, and in Greensboro, N.C., four Black college students refused to leave a “whites-only” lunch counter. The median U.S. home price hovered at $11,900, while median income was $5,600. And on the pop culture front, Chubby Checker’s “Twist” became a worldwide dance craze, and Alfred Hitchcock’s "Psycho" made showers a whole lot scarier.

1960

Barack Obama became the first Black American elected president in 2008, a year that also brought the release of “Iron Man,” the first film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. As the Great Recession deepened, investment manager Bernard Madoff was arrested for perpetrating the largest Ponzi scheme in history and the mysterious Satoshi Nakamoto wrote a white paper introducing Bitcoin cryptocurrency to the world. Meanwhile, a fuzzy blanket with sleeves called the “Snuggie” sold some 4 million units over the holidays while inspiring a slew of parody commercials.   

2008

Native Americans won U.S. citizenship in 1924, but others in the world would soon find that more difficult, due to the strict quotas of the 1924 Immigration Act. (Ironically, the Statue of Liberty, once a beacon to immigrants, became a national monument.) Walt Disney released the first cartoon from his own studio, Macy’s staged its first Thanksgiving Day parade and the first crossword puzzle book was published. In fads, Alvin “Shipwreck” Kelly set the first record for flagpole sitting: 13 hours.

1924

2016

1995

1979

1956

1963

1842

A new world order began to emerge in 1948. The U.S. announced the Marshall Plan to help rebuild Europe, while a group of European nations formed an alliance that would evolve into NATO. The Berlin Blockade escalated tensions between the emerging superpowers. Israel became a Jewish state, and Indian leader Mahatma Gandhi was assassinated less than a year after his country won independence from Great Britain. President Truman desegregated America’s military, while 42-year-old Negro League star Satchel Paige became Major League Baseball’s oldest rookie.

1948

1990

1928

1777

World War I ended in 1918, when Germany signed an armistice agreement with the victorious Allies. The war had cost the lives of more than 9 million combatants plus millions of civilians. Meanwhile, an even more deadly threat emerged: the influenza pandemic, which would take another 50 million lives worldwide. Bolshevik revolutionaries executed the Romanov family, ending 300 years of Russian imperial rule. On the U.S. homefront, Congress enacted daylight savings time, only to repeal it the following year.

1918

History Staff

America’s Founding Fathers decided that one elected civilian—the U.S. president—would lead the executive branch of the federal government, a governmental structure that has remained in place for more than 200 years.

U.S. Presidents

World War I pitted Germany, Austria-Hungary and the Ottoman Empire against Great Britain, the United States, France, Russia, Italy and Japan. New military technology resulted in unprecedented carnage. By the time the war was over and the Allied Powers claimed victory, more than 16 million people—soldiers and civilians alike—were dead.

World War I

The 21st century saw the dawn of the war on terrorism, as the 9/11 attacks and the Boston Marathon bombing dramatically changed society. Economic issues moved to the forefront during the Great Recession. The COVID-19 pandemic upended lives and economies around the world. Awareness of social inequality grew as the killings of Black Americans, including Trayvon Martin and George Floyd, spurred widespread protests.

21st Century

The gay rights movement is the advocacy for equal rights for the LGBTQ+ community, including lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer people. Key moments in LGBTQ+ history include the trial of Oscar Wilde, the Stonewall Riots, the assassination of Harvey Milk and marriage equality.

Gay Rights

The Vietnam War pitted communist North Vietnam and the Viet Cong against South Vietnam and the United States. The war ended when U.S. forces withdrew in 1973 and Vietnam unified under Communist control two years later.

Vietnam War

The years following the American Revolution were challenging for the new nation, which struggled with the Articles of Confederation, Shay's Rebellion, Federalism, the Alien and Sedition Acts and more.

Early U.S.

Crime has been a dark and powerful undercurrent in human society throughout history. Uncover the facts behind some of the most daring robberies, brazen scams and brutal murders ever committed.

Crime

Sports and recreation are an integral part of human history, from the ancient Olympics to the Kentucky Derby, Jackie Robinson, Negro League Baseball, the Super Bowl and more.

Sports

The Revolutionary War waged by the American colonies against Britain influenced political ideas and revolutions around the globe, as a small fledgling nation won its freedom from the greatest military force of its time.

American Revolution

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History.com Editors

Art history tells the complex story of human civilization through art, literature and design. It ranges from prehistoric art of the Neolithic period through Renaissance masterpieces, Impressionism, Modernism, the Bauhaus and contemporary art.

Art, Literature and Film History

Inventions from the telephone to the Model T and the computer have defined human history, and inventors like Leonardo da Vinci, Nikola Tesla, Thomas Edison, Eli Whitney and Alexander Graham Bell have transformed our society.

Inventions & Science

The Middle East is a large and diverse region composed of several countries and cultures in north Africa and western Asia. Its complex history includes the Persian Gulf War, the Iran Hostage Crisis, the Yom Kippur War, Zionism and more.

Middle Eastern History

Explore the wars, battles, leaders, civilizations, regimes, prominent figures and major events from the continent that encompasses 2 percent of the Earth’s surface. From Stonehenge to the Great Awakening to the French Revolution to the rise and fall of Communism in Russia, see how Europe’s often tumultuous history unfolded.

European History

Africa is a large and diverse continent that extends from South Africa northward to the Mediterranean Sea. The continent makes up one-fifth of the total land surface of Earth. Widely recognized as the birthplace of humankind, Africa saw the rise of great kingdoms, faced the trans-Atlantic slave trade, colonization and Apartheid.

This Day In History: November 4

Entrance to King Tut’s tomb discovered

Also on This Day in History November | 4

Native Americans deliver crushing defeat at the Battle of the Wabash

Jane Goodall observes a chimpanzee making and using tools

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

California legalizes professional boxing after 10‑year ban

Paris Agreement comes into effect

Barack Obama elected as America’s first Black president

This Day in History Video: What Happened on November 4

Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin assassinated

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

Soviets put a brutal end to Hungarian revolution

General Minh takes over leadership of South Vietnam

Abraham Lincoln marries Mary Todd

T.S. Eliot wins Nobel Prize in Literature

“Dances with Wolves” premieres in Los Angeles

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

George Washington learns of effort to discredit him

Poet Wilfred Owen killed in action

Also on This Day in History November | 4

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