On This Day in History: September 4

The last Western Roman Emperor, Romulus Augustulus is deposed on September 4, 476, by the Germanic chieftain Odoacer (Adovacar), a barbarian member of the Germanic tribe Siri and former commander in the Roman army. Expand +

Otto III, the Holy Roman Emperor, issues a document known as the "Privilege of Otto III," granting certain rights and privileges to the bishopric of Merseburg, Germany.

The Treaty of Alcáçovas is signed by the Catholic Monarchs of Castile and Aragon and Afonso V and his son, Prince John of Portugal. It ended the War of Castilian Succession between Portugal and Castile and formally divided the Atlantic Ocean into Portuguese and Castilian spheres of influence, a foundational step in European colonialism

King Charles VIII of France  begins his invasion of Italy by crossing the Alps in early September 1494. The French king's army then marched through Italy, entering Florence in November and Rome on the last day of the year, as part of a campaign that formally initiated the Italian Wars More

Los Angeles is founded. A group of settlers consisting of 14 families numbering 44 individuals journeyed more than one-thousand miles across the desert from present-day northern Mexico and established a farming community in the area.  Expand +

Geronimo, also known as Goyathlay, hands his rifle to a U.S. General bringing the Apache armed resistance to an end after his tribe had been relocated to a reservation in Arizona 14 years earlier. His military resistance with his tiny band of Chiricahuas made him feared by white settlers.  Expand +

U.S. Patent No. 388,850 is granted to George Eastman for the Kodak camera. He also registered the trademark "Kodak". The patent marked a significant moment in photography by introducing a small, handheld, and easy-to-use box camera loaded with roll film.  Expand +

About 4500 U.S. troops land at Arkhangelsk, Russia (Archangel) as part of an Allied intervention in the Russian Civil War. Starting at 4500 military personnel the U.S. troops, peaked to about 13000. By the time they left in late 1919, 150 U.S. soldiers had been killed in action and about 100 more died from illness or accidents. More

Ford introduces its newest model called the Edsel which went on to become perhaps its most notable financial and marketing failure. The Edsel was discontinued after three model years, with the brand becoming a symbol of corporate failure . It is now a prized collector's item. More

Larry Page and Sergey Brin officially incorporated Google while pursuing their PhDs at Stanford University. What began as a research project quickly grew into the world’s most popular search engine, ushering in a new internet age that transformed how people connect, communicate, and find information — changing not only daily life for billions, but also the strategies and structures of corporations worldwide. More.

The Canterbury earthquake strikes the South Island of New Zealand with a magnitude of 7.1 Some damaging aftershocks followed, the strongest of which was a magnitude 6.3 shock known as the Christchurch earthquake that occurred nearly six months later on 22 February 2011 and was much more destructive due to its  proximity to Christchurch, and resulted in the deaths of 185 people.

Mother Teresa, the founder of the Order of the Missionaries of Charity and winner of the 1979 Nobel Prize for Peace, is canonized by Pope Francis I. Mother Teresa died on 5 September 1997. More