A Day in the Past

On this day: 4 August

123 things happened on 4 August, from AD 598 to 2024. UK stories come first, then the rest of the world.

Printable worksheet Take the quiz

In the UK 5

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

Around the world 29

1693 333 years ago

Date traditionally ascribed to Dom Perignon's invention of champagne; it is not clear whether he actually invented champagne, however he has been credited as an innovator who developed the techniques used to perfect sparkling wine.

Inventions Find out more: Dom Pérignon (monk) (Wikipedia)
1790 236 years ago

A newly passed tariff act creates the Revenue Cutter Service (the forerunner of the United States Coast Guard).

Find out more: Tariff (Wikipedia)
1964 62 years ago

Vietnam War: The National Security Agency falsely claimed that a U.S. Navy destroyer (pictured) was attacked a second time by North Vietnamese vessels in the Gulf of Tonkin, leading Congress to authorize the use of military force.

War & peace Find out more: Vietnam War (Wikipedia)
1969 57 years ago

Vietnam War: At the apartment of French intermediary Jean Sainteny in Paris, American representative Henry Kissinger and North Vietnamese representative Xuân Thuỷ begin secret peace negotiations. The negotiations will eventually fail.

War & peace Find out more: Vietnam War (Wikipedia)
1984 42 years ago

The Ariane 3 rocket is launched for the first time, carrying the Eutelsat I F-2 and Télécom 1A satellites into geosynchronous transfer orbit.

Space Find out more: Ariane 3 (Wikipedia)

Quick quiz

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

  1. In which year did this happen: “World War I: Adhering to the terms of the Treaty of London, the United Kingdom”?

    1. 1981
    2. 1914
    3. 1814
    Show the answer

    B: 1914. 1914 — that’s 112 years ago. Find it on the page

  2. In which year did this happen: “Second Barons' War: Royal troops led by Prince Edward defeated baronial forces”?

    1. 1839
    2. 1265
    3. 1792
    Show the answer

    B: 1265. 1265 — that’s 761 years ago. Find it on the page

  3. Which of these happened first?

    1. Second Barons' War: Royal troops led by Prince Edward defeated baronial forces
    2. World War I: Adhering to the terms of the Treaty of London, the United Kingdom
    3. War of 1812: The ultimately unsuccessful Siege of Fort Erie begins as British
    Show the answer

    A: Second Barons' War: Royal troops led by Prince Edward defeated baronial forces. 1265: Second Barons' War: Royal troops led by Prince Edward defeated baronial forces · 1914: World War I: Adhering to the terms of the Treaty of London, the United Kingdom · 1814: War of 1812: The ultimately unsuccessful Siege of Fort Erie begins as British Find it on the page

  4. “Percy Bysshe Shelley” happened in 1792. How many years ago was that?

    1. 224 years
    2. 234 years
    3. 244 years
    Show the answer

    B: 234 years. 2026 − 1792 = 234. Find it on the page

Born on this day 33

Famous people whose birthday is 4 August.

Remembering 16

Well-known people who died on 4 August.

Special days 13

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

For older readers 27 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 “August 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.