116 things happened on 4 February, from AD 211 to 2020. UK stories come first, then the rest of the world.
1945 · 81 years ago
The Yalta Conference began in Crimea, which was then part of the Soviet Union. Winston Churchill met US President Franklin D. Roosevelt and Soviet leader Joseph Stalin, known as the 'Big Three'. Near the end of the Second World War, they discussed how Germany…
UK history first: stories from England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
UK story
The Yalta Conference began in Crimea, which was then part of the Soviet Union. Winston Churchill met US President Franklin D. Roosevelt and Soviet leader Joseph Stalin, known as the 'Big Three'. Near the end of the Second World War, they discussed how Germany and Europe would be organised after it. The meeting lasted until 11 February and was held in grand palaces near Yalta.
UK story
The British colony of Ceylon became an independent country. It stayed in the Commonwealth, a group of countries mostly once ruled by Britain, and shared Britain's monarch. In 1972 Ceylon became a republic and changed its name to Sri Lanka. People in Sri Lanka celebrate this date as their Independence Day.
UK story
London's Low Emission Zone came into operation to cut harmful exhaust fumes from diesel vehicles. Commercial vehicles that broke its pollution standards now had to pay a charge to enter Greater London. The rules grew stricter in stages until 2012. In 2019 an Ultra Low Emission Zone, which covers all vehicles, followed.
UK story
Napoleonic Wars: Britain seizes Guadeloupe.
UK story
World War II: The British Indian Army and Imperial Japanese Army begin a series of battles known as the Battle of Pokoku and Irrawaddy River operations.
A Chinese general named Zhao Kuangyin took the throne and became Emperor Taizu. He was the first emperor of the Song dynasty, a family of rulers who governed China from 960 to 1279. Taizu went on to conquer rival kingdoms, ending a long period when China was split into many states. The Song dynasty lasted for more than three centuries.
George Washington was elected the first President of the United States. Every member of the Electoral College, the group that chooses the president, voted for him. Washington had led the Continental Army to victory against the British in the American Revolutionary War. He served as president from 1789 to 1797 and is often called the 'Father of His Country'.
During the French Revolution, the French parliament abolished slavery in all the lands ruled by the French Republic. Slavery is when people are owned as property and forced to work. This was an important step, but it did not last everywhere. In 1802, slavery was brought back in the French West Indies, the French islands in the Caribbean.
NASA launched Lunar Orbiter 3 from Cape Canaveral. Its main job was to photograph the Moon's surface to find safe landing places for later Surveyor and Apollo spacecraft. It was one of five uncrewed Lunar Orbiter missions sent to circle the Moon. Together they took the first photographs from orbit around the Moon, and pictures of the Earth too.
Facebook was founded by Mark Zuckerberg and fellow students at Harvard College in the United States, including Eduardo Saverin. Its name came from the 'face book' directories often given to American university students. It grew into a huge social networking service, where people connect and share things with others online. It is now owned by the technology company Meta Platforms.
Thirteen Years' War: The Secret Council of the Prussian Confederation sends a formal act of disobedience to the Grand Master of the Teutonic Knights, sparking the Thirteen Years' War.
Bartolomeu Dias landed in Mossel Bay, becoming the first European known to have sailed around the Cape of Good Hope, the southern tip of Africa, beginning Portuguese influence and trade in the Indian Ocean.
The city of Macapá in Brazil is founded by Sebastião Veiga Cabral.
John Marshall, whose court opinions helped lay the basis for U.S. constitutional law and made the Supreme Court a coequal branch of government, took office as chief justice.
Chilean War of Independence: Chilean forces captured the city of Valdivia.
The Ohio Legislature authorizes the construction of the Ohio and Erie Canal and the Miami and Erie Canal.
The first Mormon pioneers make their exodus from Nauvoo, Illinois, westward towards Salt Lake Valley.
Constantin von Tischendorf rediscovered the Codex Sinaiticus, a 4th-century great uncial codex of the Bible in Greek, in Saint Catherine's Monastery, Egypt.
American Civil War: In Montgomery, Alabama, delegates from six breakaway U.S. states meet and initiate the process that would form the Confederate States of America on February 8.
Second Sino-Japanese War: Harbin, Manchuria, falls to Japan.
The United Service Organization (USO) is created to entertain American troops.
World War II: American forces liberated the Santo Tomas Internment Camp in Manila, the largest Japanese-run internment camp for enemy civilians in the Philippines.
The Angolan War of Independence and the greater Portuguese Colonial War begin.
Yasser Arafat (pictured) was elected chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organization.
Haicheng earthquake (magnitude 7.3 on the Richter scale) occurs in Haicheng, Liaoning, China.
A coup d'état is led by Hugo Chávez against Venezuelan President Carlos Andrés Pérez.
The Philippine-flagged freighter New Carissa ran aground near Coos Bay, Oregon, causing one of the worst oil spills in the state's history.
The World Summit Against Cancer for the New Millennium, Charter of Paris is signed by the President of France, Jacques Chirac and the Director General of UNESCO, Koichiro Matsuura, initiating World Cancer Day which is held on February 4 every year.
The Federal Republic of Yugoslavia adopts a new constitution, becoming a loose confederacy between Montenegro and Serbia.
Civic mobilizations in Colombia against FARC, under the name A million voices against the FARC.
Every answer is somewhere on this page. Have a go, then check!
In which year did this happen: “London's Low Emission Zone starts to tackle air pollution”?
C: 2008. 2008 — that’s 18 years ago. Find it on the page
In which year did this happen: “Churchill, Roosevelt and Stalin meet at the Yalta Conference”?
B: 1945. 1945 — that’s 81 years ago. Find it on the page
Which of these happened first?
C: Churchill, Roosevelt and Stalin meet at the Yalta Conference. 1948: Ceylon, now Sri Lanka, becomes independent from Britain · 2008: London's Low Emission Zone starts to tackle air pollution · 1945: Churchill, Roosevelt and Stalin meet at the Yalta Conference Find it on the page
“Ceylon, now Sri Lanka, becomes independent from Britain” happened in 1948. How many years ago was that?
B: 78 years. 2026 − 1948 = 78. Find it on the page
Famous people whose birthday is 4 February.
Rosa Parks was an American civil rights activist. In 1955 she refused to give up her seat on a bus in Montgomery, Alabama. She was defying unfair laws that kept Black and white people apart. Her protest sparked the Montgomery bus boycott, and she is sometimes called the 'mother of the civil rights movement'.
UK story
Constance Markievicz was an Irish politician who campaigned for Irish independence and for women's right to vote. In 1918 she became the first woman ever elected as an MP to the House of Commons. Following her party Sinn Féin's policy, she chose not to take her seat. She later became a government minister in Ireland, only the second woman in Europe to serve in a cabinet.
Well-known people who died on 4 February.
Festivals, holidays and saints’ days celebrated on 4 February somewhere in the world.
Content note: these entries mention things like war, violence, deaths, disasters or crime. They are part of history, but they can be upsetting. Grown-ups and teachers: you may want to read them first. They come straight from Wikipedia and have not been rewritten for children.
Stories with a heading have been written for young readers by A Day in the Past, using the linked articles as sources. Other entries show text from Wikipedia’s “February 4” page and its “On this day” feed, written by Wikipedia contributors and shared under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 licence. Each “Read more” link goes to the article an entry is based on. Photos are credited under each picture. Spotted a mistake? Please tell us.