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Explore the historical events that shaped our world on April 4th. From major milestones to cultural achievements, see what happened on this day in history. Dates for earlier events may be approximate.
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The Peloponnesian War between Athens and Sparta officially begins on April 4, 431 BCE., starting with a surprise night attack on the city of Plataea by Thebes, an ally of Sparta.
The conflict was a 27-year struggle for dominance in ancient Greece, fueled by the conflicting powers and interests of Athens's naval empire and Sparta's formidable land army. The war ultimately devastated both cities and the Greek world.
The Peloponnesian War begins between Athens and Sparta, c. April 4, 431 BCE, marking the start of a decades-long conflict in Ancient Greece. The conflict was triggered by the Theban surprise attack on Plataea, an ally of Athens, in April of that year.
Pope Formosus dies, on April 4, 896. He was Pope and ruler of the Papal States from October 6, 891 until his death. His pontificate was marked by interventions in power struggles and left a controversial legacy leading to a period of scandals and chaos in the papacy. Months after his death his remains were exhumed and put on trial it what is known as the Cadaver Synod. He was convicted and all his ordinations declared invalid. More
Alexios I Komnenos becomes Byzantine Emperor on April 4, 1081, after leading a successful revolt forcing the elderly Nikephoros III Botaneiates to abdicate and marking the start of a dynasty that lasted until 1185. Alexios appealed to the West for aid to combat the Seljuk Turks in Anatolia, which helped trigger the First Crusade.
The University of Basel is founded in Switzerland on April 4, 1460. It is the oldest university in Switzerland and a prestigious public research institution, authorized by a papal bull from Pope Pius II. Renowned for its history and academic excellence. It is now a highly research-oriented, internationally accessible institution that emphasizes life sciences and medicine.
Explorer Henry Hudson sets sail from Amsterdam on April 4, 1609, on his voyage to North America, with a crew of 18-20, composed of Dutch and English sailors. After encountering severe ice and storms near Norway/Russia, he abandoned the search for a northeast passage and decided to search for a rumored "northwest passage" across North America.
His voyage significantly impacted North American history, enabling the Dutch to claim territory between the Delaware River and Cape Cod (New Netherland) and initiating a lucrative fur trade in the region.
Hudson's reached the Grand Banks of Newfoundland on July 2 and Nova Scotia on July 18 and went on to sail down the Atlantic coast, exploring Delaware Bay on August 28 before moving north to enter what is now New York Harbor on September 2-3.On September 12, he began sailing up the river that now bears his name, exploring it as far as present-day Albany before realizing it was not the route to the Pacific. He returned to Europe, eventually docking in Dartmouth, England, in November 1609, where his crew was detained.
William Henry Harrison, 9th President of the United States, died of pneumonia at the White House on April 4, 1841, after only 32 days in office, the shortest tenure in U.S. presidential history.
Civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. is shot and mortally wounded on April 4, 1968, as he stood on the second-floor balcony outside his room at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tenn. He was pronounced dead at 7:05 p.m. at St. Joseph Hospital. More
Dr. Denton Cooley implants the first complete, temporary artificial heart in a human on April 4, 1969, at the Texas Heart Institute (THI), keeping the patient, Haskell Karp, alive for 64 hours, until a suitable heart donor was found.
Karp died thirty-two hours after receiving a new human heart, from renal failure and pneumonia. The operation proved the viability of the artificial heart as a temporary measure. That first artificial heart is now in the Smithsonian.
The World Trade Center "Twin Towers" in New York City are officially dedicated on April 4, 1973, becoming the world’s tallest building at the time and a dominant feature of the city’s skyline. They were destroyed in a terrorist attack in 2001.
Childhood friends Bill Gates and Paul Allen found Microsoft on April 4, 1975, in Albuquerque, New Mexico. It was created to develop a BASIC interpreter for the Altair 8800, one of the first commercially successful personal computers. The company relocated to Bellevue, WA on January 1, 1979.
In 1980, Microsoft entered into a partnership with IBM to provide the operating system for the upcoming IBM PC. However Microsoft did not have one, and they purchased a non exclusive license for $25,000 to $50,000 from Seattle Computer Products (SCP) where programmer, Tim Paterson had developed an operating system called QDOS (Quick & Dirty Operating System), later renamed 86-DOS. The Operating system acquisition was strategic move that established MS-DOS as an industry standard. Microsoft and SPC later reached and agreement for $1M which gave Microsoft a full license for the operating system.
IBM officially introduced its Personal Computer (Model 5150), on August 12, 1981. Microsoft went public on March 13, 1986, at $21 per share. Its subsequent growth made Bill Gates the world's youngest billionaire by 1987.
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