1555
Politics
Execution of John Rogers, first Protestant martyr of Marian persecutions
John Rogers, first Protestant executed under Mary’s laws, was burned for heresy.
View detailsThis Day
04February
20 indexed achievements across recorded history.
1691
Literature
Death of Lady Mary Campbell, Countess of Breadalbane and Holland
Death of Lady Mary Campbell, Countess of Breadalbane and Holland, within Scotland’s aristocratic Campbell family network.
View details1723
Science
Marriage to James Franklin
Ann Smith married printer James Franklin, elder brother of Benjamin Franklin, at the New North Church in Boston on February 4, 1723.
View details1735
Science
Becomes first woman to run a press in New England
On James Franklin's death (his 38th birthday), Ann took over the print shop as 'Widow Franklin,' becoming the first woman to operate a press and print a newspaper in New England.
View details1857
Science
First recorded use of the pseudonym 'George Eliot'
Marian Evans signed herself as 'George Eliot' for the first time in a letter to publisher John Blackwood on 4 February 1857.
View details1868
Science
Birth of Constance Georgine Gore-Booth
Constance Markievicz was born at Lissadell House, County Sligo, Ireland, into the Anglo-Irish landed gentry family of Gore-Booth.
View details1913
Activism
Rosa Parks born in Tuskegee, Alabama
The civil rights icon is born Rosa Louise McCauley.
View details1918
1921
1931
Science
Birth of María Estela Martínez Cartas (Isabel Perón)
Isabel Perón was born María Estela Martínez Cartas in La Rioja, Argentina, on 4 February 1931.
View details1941
Science
Bobbinless sewing machine patented — first of its kind
Granted US 2,230,896 for a double chain-stitch seam eliminating bobbins, widely credited as the first bobbinless sewing machine design.
View details1958
Science
First African-American woman to win a GRAMMY
At the inaugural GRAMMY Awards on Feb 4, 1958, Fitzgerald won two awards, becoming the first Black woman to win a GRAMMY.
View details1981
Politics
Appointed first female U.S. Permanent Representative to the United Nations
President Reagan appointed Jeane Kirkpatrick as U.S. Ambassador to the UN, making her the first woman to hold this position and a cabinet-level post.
View details2004
Literature
Death of Hilda Hilst
Hilda Hilst died on February 4, 2004, in Campinas, São Paulo, Brazil.
View details2006
Activism
Death of Betty Friedan
Betty Friedan passed away on February 4, 2006, in Washington, D.C.
View details2006
Activism
First woman and first African American to lie in honor in Georgia State Capitol rotunda
Coretta Scott King becomes the first woman and first African American to lie in honor in the Georgia State Capitol rotunda.
View details2011
Arts
Death of Olga Lopes-Seale in Barbados
Olga Lopes-Seale, celebrated Caribbean broadcaster known as 'Aunty Olga,' died on February 4, 2011, in Barbados at age 92.
View details2013
Science
Richard III DNA Identification
Public announcement of the identification of King Richard III's remains by Turi King.
View details2015
Science
Resignation as CEO of Petrobras amid corruption scandal
Graça Foster resigned as CEO of Petrobras on February 4, 2015, amid the fallout from the Operation Car Wash corruption scandal.
View details2020
Politics
Pelosi tears up Trump’s 2020 State of the Union speech
During President Trump’s 2020 State of the Union, Speaker Pelosi tears up her copy of his speech in a televised act of protest.
View details