A Day in the Past

On this day: 4 May

132 things happened on 4 May, from 1256 to 2021. UK stories come first, then the rest of the world.

Printable worksheet Take the quiz

In the UK 7

UK history first: stories from England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Around the world 31

1256 770 years ago

The Augustinian monastic order is constituted at the Lecceto Monastery when Pope Alexander IV issues a papal bull Licet ecclesiae catholicae.

Find out more: Augustinians (Wikipedia)
1869 157 years ago

The four-day Naval Battle of Hakodate begins. The newly formed Imperial Japanese Navy defeats the remnants of the Tokugawa shogunate navy in the Sea of Japan off the city of Hakodate, leading to the surrender of the Ezo Republic on May 17.

War & peace Find out more: Naval Battle of Hakodate (Wikipedia)
1974 52 years ago

An all-female Japanese team reached the summit of Manaslu in the Himalayas, becoming the first women to climb a peak higher than 8,000 metres (26,247 ft) above sea level.

Explorers Find out more: Manaslu (Wikipedia)

Quick quiz

Every answer is somewhere on this page. Have a go, then check!

  1. In which year did this happen: “Margaret Thatcher became the first female prime minister of the United Kingdom”?

    1. 1979
    2. 1859
    3. 1827
    Show the answer

    A: 1979. 1979 — that’s 47 years ago. Find it on the page

  2. In which year did this happen: “American Revolution: The Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations”?

    1. 1776
    2. 1825
    3. 1827
    Show the answer

    A: 1776. 1776 — that’s 250 years ago. Find it on the page

  3. Which of these happened first?

    1. Ken Livingstone took office as the first mayor of London
    2. American Revolution: The Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations
    3. Margaret Thatcher became the first female prime minister of the United Kingdom
    Show the answer

    B: American Revolution: The Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations. 2000: Ken Livingstone took office as the first mayor of London · 1776: American Revolution: The Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations · 1979: Margaret Thatcher became the first female prime minister of the United Kingdom Find it on the page

  4. “Ken Livingstone took office as the first mayor of London” happened in 2000. How many years ago was that?

    1. 26 years
    2. 36 years
    3. 16 years
    Show the answer

    A: 26 years. 2026 − 2000 = 26. Find it on the page

Born on this day 32

Famous people whose birthday is 4 May.

Remembering 19

Well-known people who died on 4 May.

Special days 19

Festivals, holidays and saints’ days celebrated on 4 May somewhere in the world.

For older readers 24 Show stories about war, disasters, crime and other difficult history

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.

Where these facts come from

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 “May 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.