February 4: Holidays, Historical Events, Famous Birthdays & Zodiac Sign
On February 4, 1789, George Washington was unanimously elected the first U.S. President by the Electoral College — one of several democracy-shaping moments this date claims.
About February 4
February 4 carries a quiet but persistent thread of political beginnings and national self-definition. In 960, Zhao Kuangyin declared himself Emperor Taizu, launching the Song dynasty and centuries of Chinese cultural flourishing. Exactly 829 years later, George Washington received every Electoral College vote to become the first President of the United States — a unanimous show of confidence no president has matched since. In 1948, Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) gained independence within the British Commonwealth, and in 1961, the Angolan War of Independence opened a new chapter in Africa's decolonization.
The date also holds moments of moral reckoning. In 1794, revolutionary France abolished slavery across all its territories — a radical reversal that Napoleon would undo in 1802. In 1703, forty-six of the forty-seven rōnin committed ritual suicide in Edo after avenging their master, concluding one of Japan's most retold tales of loyalty. And in 2000, the Charter of Paris was signed at the World Summit Against Cancer for the New Millennium, giving February 4 its annual identity as World Cancer Day.
From the first English Protestant martyr burned under Queen Mary I in 1555 to the launch of Lunar Orbiter 3 in 1967, this day has never lacked for drama — or for the people bold enough to shape it.
Holidays & Observances on February 4
- Day of the Armed Struggle (Angola)
- Earliest day on which Ash Wednesday can fall, while March 10 is the latest; celebrated on the first day of Lent (Western Christianity)
- Independence Day (Sri Lanka)
- Rosa Parks Day (California and Missouri, United States)
- World Cancer Day
- International Day of Human Fraternity
Fun & National Days on February 4
- National Homemade Soup Day — Simmer a pot of something warm and comforting — your kitchen has been waiting for this.
- National Thank a Mailman Day — Leave a note or a smile for the person who delivers your mail rain or shine.
- I Heart Horror Day — Queue up your favorite fright flick and celebrate the genre that keeps you up at night.
- National Stuffed Mushroom Day — Fill some caps with cheese, herbs, or sausage and bake your way to bite-sized bliss.
- Liberace Day
- National Create a Vacuum Day
- National Girls and Women in Sports Day
- National Hemp Day
- National Quacker Day
- National Signing Day
On This Day in History
- 211 — Roman Emperor Septimius Severus died at Eboracum (modern York), leaving the empire to his two feuding sons, Caracalla and Geta.
- 960 — Zhao Kuangyin proclaimed himself Emperor Taizu, ending the Later Zhou and inaugurating the Song dynasty in China.
- 1703 — Forty-six of the forty-seven rōnin committed seppuku in Edo after avenging their murdered master, cementing a legend of loyalty.
- 1789 — The U.S. Electoral College unanimously chose George Washington as the first President of the United States.
- 1794 — The French legislature abolished slavery throughout the French First Republic, though it was reinstated in the West Indies by 1802.
- 1859 — The Codex Sinaiticus, one of the oldest and most complete early Christian Bibles, was discovered in Egypt.
- 1941 — The United Service Organization (USO) was created to provide entertainment and support to American military personnel.
- 1945 — The Yalta Conference opened at the Livadia Palace in Crimea, bringing together Churchill, Roosevelt, and Stalin.
- 1948 — Ceylon — renamed Sri Lanka in 1972 — became independent within the British Commonwealth.
- 1961 — The Angolan War of Independence began, kicking off the broader Portuguese Colonial War in Africa.
- 1967 — Lunar Orbiter 3 launched from Cape Canaveral to scout potential landing sites for the upcoming Surveyor and Apollo missions.
- 2004 — Mark Zuckerberg and Eduardo Saverin founded Facebook, launching what would become one of history's most influential social networks.
Famous Birthdays on February 4
- 1902 — Charles Lindbergh, American aviator who completed the first solo nonstop transatlantic flight in 1927 aboard the Spirit of St. Louis.
- 1906 — Clyde Tombaugh, American astronomer who discovered Pluto in 1930, expanding the known boundaries of our solar system.
- 1913 — Rosa Parks, American civil rights icon whose 1955 refusal to give up a bus seat sparked the Montgomery bus boycott.
- 1921 — Betty Friedan, American author and feminist whose 1963 book The Feminine Mystique helped ignite the second-wave feminist movement.
- 1940 — George A. Romero, American filmmaker whose 1968 classic Night of the Living Dead essentially invented the modern zombie genre.
- 1948 — Alice Cooper, American rock singer-songwriter whose theatrical shock-rock performances made him a defining icon of 1970s heavy metal.
- 1973 — Oscar De La Hoya, American boxer who won Olympic gold in 1992 and claimed world titles across six weight divisions.
- 1975 — Natalie Imbruglia, Australian singer-songwriter and actress whose 1997 hit "Torn" became a global anthem of the late '90s.