Summary of the Day ✨ 4 May (04/05)
Serbia reels from its second mass shooting in two days as nine people are killed and thirteen injured in Mladenovac and Smederevo, while simultaneously, Greensburg, Kansas is nearly obliterated by a record-breaking 1.7-mile wide EF5 tornado, the first rated under the new Enhanced Fujita scale. Elsewhere, a devastating plane crash in Nigeria claims 103 lives, three people are killed in bus bombings in Nairobi, and Jamie Chadwick makes history by winning the inaugural all-female W Series motorsport race at Hockenheimring.
Historical Events 📜
- 2023: Nine people are killed and thirteen injured in a spree shooting in Mladenovac and Smederevo, Serbia. It is the second mass shooting in the country in two days.
- 2019: The inaugural all-female motorsport series, W Series, takes place at Hockenheimring. The race was won by Jamie Chadwick, who would go on to become the inaugural season’s champion.
- 2014: Three people are killed and 62 injured in a pair of bombings on buses in Nairobi, Kenya.
- 2007: Greensburg, Kansas is almost completely destroyed by the 2007 Greensburg tornado, a 1.7-mile wide EF5 tornado. It was the first-ever tornado to be rated as such with the new Enhanced Fujita scale.
- 2002: One hundred three people are killed and 51 are injured in a plane crash near Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport in Kano, Nigeria.
- 2000: Ken Livingstone becomes the first Mayor of London (an office separate from that of the Lord Mayor of London).
- 1998: A federal judge in Sacramento, California, gives “Unabomber” Theodore Kaczynski four life sentences plus 30 years after Kaczynski accepts a plea agreement sparing him from the death penalty.
- 1994: Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and PLO leader Yasser Arafat sign a peace accord, granting self-rule in the Gaza Strip and Jericho.
- 1990: Latvia declares independence from the Soviet Union.
- 1989: Iran–Contra affair: Former White House aide Oliver North is convicted of three crimes and acquitted of nine other charges; the convictions are later overturned on appeal.
- 1989: Space Shuttle Atlantis launches on mission STS-30 to deploy the Venus-bound Magellan space probe.
- 1988: The PEPCON disaster rocks Henderson, Nevada, as tons of Space Shuttle fuel detonate during a fire.
- 1982: Twenty sailors are killed when the British Type 42 destroyer HMS Sheffield is hit by an Argentinian Exocet missile during the Falklands War.
- 1979: Margaret Thatcher becomes the first female Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.
- 1978: The South African Defence Force attacks a SWAPO base at Cassinga in southern Angola, killing about 600 people.
Famous Births 👶
- 2001: Joan García, Spanish footballer
- 1998: Alexander O’Connor, English musician
- 1995: Shameik Moore, American actor and musician
- 1994: Abi Masatora, Japanese sumo wrestler
- 1994: Joseph Tapine, New Zealand rugby league player
- 1992: Victor Oladipo, American basketball player
- 1991: Brianne Jenner, Canadian women’s ice hockey player
- 1989: Rory McIlroy, Northern Irish golfer
- 1989: James van Riemsdyk, American ice hockey player
- 1988: Radja Nainggolan, Belgian footballer
- 1987: Cesc Fàbregas, Spanish footballer and manager
- 1987: Jorge Lorenzo, Spanish motorcycle racer
- 1986: Devan Dubnyk, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1986: George Hill, American basketball player
- 1985: Ravi Bopara, English cricketer
Notable Deaths 🕊️
- 2024: Ron Kavana, Irish singer, songwriter, guitarist and band leader (born 1950)
- 2024: Frank Stella, American painter (born 1936)
- 2021: Nick Kamen, English model, songwriter (born 1962)
- 2020: Don Shula, American football player and coach (born 1930)
- 2020: Greg Zanis, American carpenter and activist (born 1950)
- 2019: Alia Abdulnoor, Emirati imprisoned woman (born 1977)
- 2016: Jean-Baptiste Bagaza, Burundian politician (born 1946)
- 2015: William Bast, American screenwriter and author (born 1931)
- 2015: Ellen Albertini Dow, American actress (born 1913)
- 2015: Marv Hubbard, American football player (born 1946)
- 2014: Dick Ayers, American author and illustrator (born 1924)
- 2014: Elena Baltacha, Ukrainian-Scottish tennis player (born 1983)
- 2014: Edgar Cortright, American scientist and engineer (born 1923)
- 2014: Helga Königsdorf, German physicist and author (born 1938)
- 2014: Ross Lonsberry, Canadian-American ice hockey player (born 1947)
Holidays & Observances 🎉
- Anti-Bullying Day (United Nations)
- Bird Day (United States)
- Cassinga Day (Namibia)
- Christian feast day:
Blessed Ceferino Giménez Malla - Christian feast day:
Blessed Michał Giedroyć - Christian feast day:
English Saints and Martyrs of the Reformation Era (Church of England) - Christian feast day:
F. C. D. Wyneken (Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod) - Christian feast day:
Florian - Christian feast day:
José María Rubio - Christian feast day:
Judas Cyriacus - Christian feast day:
Monica of Hippo (1960 Roman Catholic Calendar) - Christian feast day:
Sacerdos of Limoges - Christian feast day:
Venerius of Milan - Christian feast day:
May 4 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics) - Coal Miners Day (India)