What Happened on August 4

Historical Events

1916 – Denmark and the United States sign a treaty whereby the Danish West Indies, including the Virgin Islands, are to be ceded to the US in 1917 for $25 million
1916 – The Turks attack the British line at Romani in the northern Sinai (WWI)
1962 – Nelson Mandela captured by South African police
1984 – Prince’s “Purple Rain” album goes #1 and stays #1 for 24 weeks
1996 – Jim Bunning, Earl Weaver, Bill Foster and Ned Hanlon inducted into Baseball Hall of Fame, Cooperstown, NY
2001 – Australian cricket spinner Shane Warne skittles England (162) with 6/33 to guide tourists to a 7 wicket 3rd Test victory at Trent Bridge; Aussies regain Ashes with record 7th straight Test win v England

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Famous Birthdays

1825 – Arthur Haygarth, English cricket batsman (Middlesex and Surrey, cricket historian), born in Hastings, Sussex, England (d. 1903)
1927 – Jess Thomas, American tenor known for his singing in Richard Wagner operas, born in Hot Springs, South Dakota (d. 1993)
1930 – Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, Iranian shia cleric, born in Mashhad, Iran
1958 – Kym Karath, American actress (The Sound of Music – “Gretl”), born in Los Angeles, California
1962 – Joey Huffman, American rock keyboard and organ player (Soul Asylum), born in Pikeville, Kentucky
1983 – Greta Gerwig, American actress and film director (Lady Bird, Little Women, Barbie), born in Sacramento, California

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Famous Deaths

1873 – Viktor Hartmann, Russian architect and painter, dies at 39
1875 – Hans Christian Andersen, Danish author of 150 fairy tales (The Ugly Duckling, The Snow Queen), dies at 70
1905 – Kinjikitile “Bokero” Ngwale, Tanzanian prophet and rebel leader, hanged for treason by German East African military
2004 – Sir Kenneth Couzens, British Deputy Chairman of British Coal Board and significant figure during Miners Strike, dies at 79
2019 – Nuon Chea, Cambodian Khmer Rouge leader ‘Brother Number Two’, dies at 93
2022 – Johnny Famechon, Australian boxer (WBC featherweight champion 1969-70), dies at 77

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