Tiananmen Square Massacre

The following is your daily snapshot of what happened on this day in history, June 4th. On this day in history, June 4, 1989, tanks roll in to suppress the Tiananmen Square protests. The subsequent massacre is covered live on television. For weeks before the event, Chinese students had been protesting peacefully in Tiananmen Square for democratic change.

BORN JUNE 4TH:
June 4, 1394 – Philippa of England, queen of Denmark, Norway and Sweden (d. 1430)
June 4, 1489 – Antoine, Duke of Lorraine (d. 1544)
June 4, 1604 – Claudia de’ Medici, Grand Duchess of Tuscany (d. 1648)
June 4, 1665 – Zacharie Robutel de La Noue, Canadian soldier (d. 1733)
June 4, 1694 – François Quesnay, French economist (d. 1774)
June 4, 1704 – Benjamin Huntsman, English inventor and manufacturer (d. 1776)
June 4, 1738 – King George III of Great Britain (d. 1820)
June 4, 1744 – Patrick Ferguson, Scots army officer and rifle designer (d. 1780)
June 4, 1754 – Franz Xaver, Baron Von Zach, Austrian editor and astronomer (d. 1832)
June 4, 1787 – Constant Prévost, French geologist (d. 1856)
June 4, 1801 – James Pennethorne, English architect (d. 1871)
June 4, 1821 – Apollon Maykov, Russian poet (d. 1897)
June 4, 1829 – Jinmaku Kyūgorō, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 12th Yokozuna (d. 1903)
June 4, 1866 – Miina Sillanpää, Finnish politician (d. 1952)
June 4, 1867 – C.G.E. Mannerheim, Marshal, Supreme Commander and later President of Finland (d. 1951)
June 4, 1877 – Heinrich Wieland, German biochemist, Nobel laureate (d. 1957)
June 4, 1879 – Mabel Lucie Attwell, English children’s author and illustrator (d. 1964)
June 4, 1880 – Clara Blandick, American actress (d. 1962)
June 4, 1881 – Natalia Goncharova, Russian painter (d. 1962)
June 4, 1887 – Tom Longboat, marathon runner (d. 1949)
June 4, 1894 – Madame Bolduc, French Canadian singer (d. 1941)
June 4, 1899 – Hassan Fathy, Egyptian architect (d. 1989)
June 4, 1901 – Ir. Soekarno, the first president of the Republic of Indonesia (d. 1967)
June 4, 1904 – Bhagat Puran Singh, Punjabi social activist (d. 1992)
June 4, 1907 – Jacques Roumain, Haitian writer (d. 1944)
June 4, 1907 – Rosalind Russell, American actress (d. 1976)
June 4, 1907 – Patience Strong, English poet and journalist (d. 1990)
June 4, 1910 – Christopher Sydney Cockerell, British engineer and inventor (d. 1999)
June 4, 1912 – Robert Jacobsen, Danish artist (d. 1993)
June 4, 1916 – Robert F. Furchgott, American chemist, Nobel laureate (d. 2009)
June 4, 1916 – Fernand Leduc, Canadian painter (The Automatistes)
June 4, 1917 – Robert Merrill, American baritone (d. 2004)
June 4, 1921 – Emilio Komar, Slovenian-born Argentine philosopher (d. 2006)
June 4, 1921 – Bobby Wanzer, American professional basketball player and coach
June 4, 1923 – Elizabeth Jolley, Australian writer (d. 2007)
June 4, 1924 – Tofilau Eti Alesana, Prime Minister of Samoa (d. 1999)
June 4, 1924 – Dennis Weaver, American actor (d. 2006)
June 4, 1926 – Robert Earl Hughes, American man who became the heaviest known human (d. 1958)
June 4, 1927 – Henning Carlsen, Danish film director
June 4, 1927 – Geoffrey Palmer, English actor
June 4, 1928 – Ruth Westheimer, German-born American sex therapist and author
June 4, 1929 – Karolos Papoulias, Greek politician
June 4, 1930 – Morgana King, American actress
June 4, 1930 – Viktor Tikhonov, Russian hockey player and coach
June 4, 1932 – John Drew Barrymore, American actor (d. 2004)
June 4, 1932 – Oliver Nelson, American jazz composer and arranger (d. 1975)
June 4, 1932 – Maurice Shadbolt, New Zealand writer
June 4, 1934 – Seamus Elliott, Irish cyclist (d. 1971)
June 4, 1935 – Colette Boky, Quebec operatic soprano
June 4, 1936 – Nutan Behl, Indian actress (d. 1991)
June 4, 1936 – Bruce Dern, American actor
June 4, 1937 – Freddy Fender, American musician (d. 2006)
June 4, 1937 – Robert Fulghum, American author
June 4, 1937 – Gorilla Monsoon, American professional wrestler (d. 1999)
June 4, 1937 – Mortimer Zuckerman, American publisher
June 4, 1938 – Art Mahaffey, American baseball player
June 4, 1940 – Ludwig Schwarz, Austrian bishop
June 4, 1941 – Kenneth G. Ross, Australian playwright and screenwriter
June 4, 1942 – Louis Reichardt, American mountaineer
June 4, 1943 – Joyce Meyer, American religious leader
June 4, 1944 – Michelle Phillips, American singer (The Mamas & the Papas) and actress
June 4, 1945 – Anthony Braxton, American composer and instrumentalist
June 4, 1945 – Gordon Waller, Scottish musician (Peter and Gordon) (d. 2009)
June 4, 1947 – Viktor Klima, Chancellor of Austria
June 4, 1948 – Bob Champion, English jockey
June 4, 1948 – Jurgen Sparwasser, German footballer
June 4, 1949 – Gabriel Arcand, French Canadian actor
June 4, 1949 – Lou Macari, Scottish footballer
June 4, 1950 – Dagmar Krause, German singer (Slapp Happy, Henry Cow, Art Bears)
June 4, 1950 – George Noory, American radio personality
June 4, 1950 – Kevin Woodford, English celebrity chef

June 4, 1951 – Wendy Pini, American comic book writer and artist
June 4, 1952 – Bronisław Komorowski, Marshal of the Polish Sejm and acting President of Poland
June 4, 1952 – Parker Stevenson, American actor and director
June 4, 1953 – Linda Lingle, 6th Governor of Hawaii
June 4, 1953 – Jimmy McCulloch, Scottish musician (d. 1979)
June 4, 1953 – Susumu Ojima, Japanese entrepreneur (Huser)
June 4, 1953 – Paul Samson, British guitarist (Samson) (d. 2002)
June 4, 1955 – Val McDermid, Scottish writer
June 4, 1955 – Paul Stewart, English writer
June 4, 1955 – Mary Testa, American stage actress
June 4, 1956 – Martin Adams, English darts player
June 4, 1956 – Keith David, American actor
June 4, 1956 – John Hockenberry, American journalist
June 4, 1956 – Terry Kennedy, American baseball player
June 4, 1956 – Gerry Ryan, Irish radio talkshow host (d. 2010)
June 4, 1957 – Yoon Suk-ho, South Korean director
June 4, 1957 – John Treacy, Irish athlete
June 4, 1958 – Eddie Velez, American Actor
June 4, 1959 – Juan Camacho, Bolivian long-distance runner
June 4, 1960 – Bradley Walsh, British actor
June 4, 1960 – Miloš Đelmaš, Serbian footballer
June 4, 1961 – El DeBarge, American singer (DeBarge)
June 4, 1961 – Ferenc Gyurcsány, 6th Prime Minister of Hungary
June 4, 1962 – Zenon Jaskuła, Polish cyclist
June 4, 1962 – Krzysztof Holowczyc, Polish rally driver
June 4, 1962 – John P. Kee, American gospel singer
June 4, 1963 – Xavier McDaniel, American basketball player
June 4, 1964 – Koji Yamamura Japanese Animator
June 4, 1964 – Sean Pertwee, English actor
June 4, 1965 – Mick Doohan, Australian motorcycle racer
June 4, 1965 – Andrea Jaeger, American tennis player
June 4, 1966 – Cecilia Bartoli, Italian mezzo-soprano
June 4, 1966 – Vladimir Voevodsky, Russian mathematician
June 4, 1967 – Robert Shane Kimbrough, American astronaut
June 4, 1968 – Al B. Sure, American R&B singer
June 4, 1968 – Scott Wolf, American actor
June 4, 1969 – Horatio Sanz, Chilean-born comedian
June 4, 1970 – Richie Hawtin, Canadian musician
June 4, 1970 – David Pybus, British musician
June 4, 1970 – Izabella Scorupco, Polish actress
June 4, 1971 – James Callis, British actor
June 4, 1971 – Joseph Kabila, Congolese politician
June 4, 1971 – Mike Lee, American politician, junior senator from Utah
June 4, 1971 – Shōji Meguro, Japanese composer
June 4, 1971 – Noah Wyle, American actor
June 4, 1972 – Nikka Costa, American singer
June 4, 1972 – Derian Hatcher, American ice hockey player
June 4, 1972 – Joe Hill, American writer
June 4, 1972 – Rob Huebel, American comedian
June 4, 1973 – Mikey Whipwreck, American professional wrestler
June 4, 1974 – Darin Erstad, American baseball player
June 4, 1974 – Andrew Gwynne, British politician
June 4, 1974 – Stefan Lessard, American musician
June 4, 1974 – Buddy Wakefield, American poet
June 4, 1975 – Russell Brand, British comedian, actor and television personality
June 4, 1975 – Henry Burris, American football player
June 4, 1975 – Angelina Jolie, American actress
June 4, 1976 – Kasey Chambers, Australian alternative country singer-songwriter
June 4, 1976 – Nenad Zimonjić, Serbian tennis player
June 4, 1977 – Dionisis Chiotis, Greek footballer
June 4, 1977 – Quinten Hann, Australian snooker player
June 4, 1977 – Berglind Icey, Icelandic actor
June 4, 1977 – Alex Manninger, Austrian footballer
June 4, 1977 – Roman Miroshnichenko, Ukrainian guitarist
June 4, 1979 – Naohiro Takahara, Japanese footballer
June 4, 1979 – Daniel Vickerman, Australian rugby union player
June 4, 1980 – François Beauchemin, Canadian ice hockey player
June 4, 1981 – T. J. Miller, American actor and comedian
June 4, 1981 – Giourkas Seitaridis, Greek footballer
June 4, 1982 – Jamie Dornan, Irish model and actor
June 4, 1982 – Jin, American rapper
June 4, 1982 – Ronnie Prude, American football player
June 4, 1983 – Emmanuel Eboué, Ivorian footballer
June 4, 1983 – Koffi Ndri Romaric, Ivorian footballer
June 4, 1984 – Kento Handa, Japanese actor
June 4, 1984 – Jenaveve Jolie, American pornographic actress
June 4, 1984 – Enrico Rossi Chauvenet, Italian footballer
June 4, 1984 – Ian White, Canadian hockey player
June 4, 1984 – Rainie Yang, Taiwanese singer and actress
June 4, 1984 – Ana Carolina Reston, Brazilian fashion model (d. 2006)
June 4, 1985 – Evan Lysacek, American 2010 Olympic champion figure skater
June 4, 1985 – Lukas Podolski, German footballer
June 4, 1985 – Alicja Janosz, Polish singer
June 4, 1985 – Bar Refaeli, Israeli model
June 4, 1985 – Oddvar Reiakvam, Norwegian politician
June 4, 1986 – Shane Kippel, Canadian actor
June 4, 1986 – Micky, South Korean singer (TVXQ)
June 4, 1986 – Tori Praver, American model
June 4, 1987 – Mollie King, British singer (The Saturdays)
June 4, 1989 – Federico Erba, Italian footballer
June 4, 1989 – Eldar Gasimov, Azerbaijani singer
June 4, 1991 – Kathryn Prescott, British actress
June 4, 1991 – Megan Prescott, British actress
June 4, 1992 – Dino Jelusić, Croatian singer

DIED JUNE 4TH:
June 4, 1039 – Conrad II, Holy Roman Emperor
June 4, 1135 – Emperor Huizong of China (b. 1082)
June 4, 1206 – Adèle of Champagne, wife of Louis VII of France
June 4, 1257 – Duke Przemysl I of Poland
June 4, 1394 – Mary de Bohun, wife of Henry IV of England (b. c 1369)
June 4, 1463 – Flavio Biondo, Italian humanist (b. 1392)
June 4, 1585 – Muretus, French humanist (b. 1526)
June 4, 1663 – William Juxon, Archbishop of Canterbury (b. 1582)
June 4, 1798 – Giacomo Casanova, Italian womanizer and writer (b. 1725)
June 4, 1801 – Frederick Muhlenberg, American statesman (b. 1750)
June 4, 1830 – Antonio José de Sucre, Great Marshall of Ayacucho (b. 1795)
June 4, 1872 – Johan Rudolf Thorbecke, Dutch politician (b. 1798)
June 4, 1875 – Eduard Mörike, German poet (b. 1804)
June 4, 1922 – William Halse Rivers Rivers, English doctor (b. 1864)
June 4, 1926 – Fred Spofforth, Australian cricketer (b. 1853)
June 4, 1928 – Zhang Zuolin, Chinese warlord (b. 1873)
June 4, 1929 – Harry Frazee, Boston Red Sox owner from 1916-1923 (b. 1881)
June 4, 1939 – Tommy Ladnier, American musician (b. 1900)
June 4, 1941 – Wilhelm II of Germany, German emperor (b. 1859)
June 4, 1942 – Reinhard Heydrich, German SS senior officer and Nazi official (b. 1904)
June 4, 1951 – Serge Koussevitsky, Russian conductor (b. 1874)
June 4, 1956 – Katherine MacDonald, American actress (b. 1881)
June 4, 1962 – Clem McCarthy, American sportscaster (b. 1882)
June 4, 1964 – Samuil Marshak, Russian poet (b. 1887)
June 4, 1968 – Dorothy Gish, American actress (b. 1898)
June 4, 1970 – Sonny Tufts, American actor (b. 1911)
June 4, 1971 – Georg Lukács, Hungarian philosopher (b. 1885)
June 4, 1973 – Maurice René Fréchet, French mathematician (b. 1878)
June 4, 1973 – Murry Wilson, father of Brian Wilson, Dennis Wilson and Carl Wilson (b. 1917)
June 4, 1989 – Dik Browne, American cartoonist (b. 1917)
June 4, 1992 – Carl Stotz, American Little League founder (b. 1910)
June 4, 1994 – Derek Leckenby, British guitarist (Herman’s Hermits) (b. 1943)
June 4, 1994 – Massimo Troisi, Italian actor (b. 1953)
June 4, 1997 – Ronnie Lane, British bass player (b. 1946)
June 4, 2001 – Dipendra of Nepal (b. 1971)
June 4, 2001 – John Hartford, American musician (b. 1937)
June 4, 2002 – Fernando Belaúnde Terry, Peruvian politician (b. 1912)
June 4, 2004 – Steve Lacy, American saxophonist (b. 1934)
June 4, 2004 – Nino Manfredi, Italian actor (b. 1921)
June 4, 2004 – Marvin Heemeyer, American muffler owner (b. 1952)
June 4, 2007 – Clete Boyer, American baseball player (b. 1937)
June 4, 2007 – Jim Clark, American sheriff and segregationist (b. 1922)
June 4, 2007 – Bill France Jr., NASCAR pioneer (b. 1933)
June 4, 2007 – Sotiris Moustakas, Greek actor (b. 1940)
June 4, 2007 – Freddie Scott, American singer and songwriter (b. 1933)
June 4, 2007 – Craig L. Thomas, United States Senator (b. 1933)
June 4, 2008 – Nikos Sergianopoulos, Greek actor (b. 1952)
June 4, 2010 – John Wooden, American basketball player and coach (b. 1910)

JUNE 4TH MEMORABLE EVENTS:
June 4, 781 BC – The first historic solar eclipse is recorded in China.
June 4, 1039 – Henry III becomes Holy Roman Emperor.
June 4, 1584 – Sir Walter Raleigh establishes the first English colony on Roanoke Island, old Virginia (now North Carolina).
June 4, 1615 – Siege of Osaka: Forces under the shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu take Osaka Castle in Japan.
June 4, 1760 – Great Upheaval: New England planters arrive to claim land in Nova Scotia, Canada taken from the Acadians.
June 4, 1783 – The Montgolfier brothers publicly demonstrate their montgolfière (hot air balloon).
June 4, 1792 – Captain George Vancouver claims Puget Sound for the Kingdom of Great Britain.
June 4, 1794 – British troops capture Port-au-Prince in Haiti.
June 4, 1802 – Grieving over the death of his wife, Marie Clotilde of France, King Charles Emmanuel IV of Sardinia abdicates his throne in favor of his brother, Victor Emmanuel.
June 4, 1812 – Following Louisiana’s admittance as a U.S. state, the Louisiana Territory is renamed the Missouri Territory.
June 4, 1825 – French American Revolutionary War General Lafayette speaks at what would become Lafayette Square, Buffalo, during his visit to the United States.
June 4, 1859 – Italian Independence wars: In the Battle of Magenta, the French army, under Louis-Napoleon, defeat the Austrian army.
June 4, 1862 – American Civil War: Confederate troops evacuate Fort Pillow on the Mississippi River, leaving the way clear for Union troops to take Memphis, Tennessee.
June 4, 1876 – An express train called the Transcontinental Express arrives in San Francisco, California, via the First Transcontinental Railroad only 83 hours and 39 minutes after leaving New York City.
June 4, 1878 – Cyprus Convention: The Ottoman Empire cedes Cyprus to the United Kingdom but retains nominal title.
June 4, 1896 – Henry Ford completes the Ford Quadricycle, his first gasoline-powered automobile, and gives it a successful test run.
June 4, 1912 – Massachusetts becomes the first state of the United States to set a minimum wage.
June 4, 1913 – Emily Davison, a suffragette, runs out in front of King George V’s horse, Anmer, at the Epsom Derby. She is trampled, never regains consciousness and dies a few days later.
June 4, 1917 – The first Pulitzer Prizes are awarded: Laura E. Richards, Maude H. Elliott, and Florence Hall receive the first Pulitzer for biography (for Julia Ward Howe). Jean Jules Jusserand receives the first Pulitzer for history for his work With Americans of Past and Present Days. Herbert B. Swope receives the first Pulitzer for journalism for his work for the New York World.
June 4, 1919 – Women’s rights: The U.S. Congress approves the 19th Amendment to the United States Constitution, which guarantees suffrage to women, and sends it to the U.S. states for ratification.
June 4, 1920 – Hungary loses 71% of its territory and 63% of its population when the Treaty of Trianon is signed in Paris.
June 4, 1928 – President of the Republic of China Zhang Zuolin is assassinated by Japanese agents.
June 4, 1939 – Holocaust: The MS St. Louis, a ship carrying 963 Jewish refugees, is denied permission to land in Florida, United States, after already being turned away from Cuba. Forced to return to Europe, more than 200 of its passengers later die in Nazi concentration camps.
June 4, 1940 – World War II: The Dunkirk evacuation ends – British forces complete evacuation of 300,000 troops from Dunkirk in France.
June 4, 1942 – World War II: The Battle of Midway begins. Japanese Admiral Chuichi Nagumo orders a strike on Midway Island by much of the Imperial Japanese navy.
June 4, 1943 – A military coup in Argentina ousts Ramón Castillo.
June 4, 1944 – World War II: A hunter-killer group of the United States Navy captures the German submarine U-505 – the first time a U.S. Navy vessel had captured an enemy vessel at sea since the 19th century.
June 4, 1944 – World War II: Rome falls to the Allies, the first Axis capital to fall.
June 4, 1957 – Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. delivered his famous Power of Nonviolence speech at the University of California, Berkeley.
June 4, 1965 – Duane Earl Pope robbed the Farmers’ State Bank of Big Springs, Nebraska, killing three people execution style and severely wounding a fourth. The crime landed Pope on the FBI Ten Most Wanted list.
June 4, 1967 – Stockport Air Disaster: British Midland flight G-ALHG crashes in Hopes Carr, Stockport, killing 72 passengers and crew.
June 4, 1970 – Tonga gains independence from the United Kingdom.
June 4, 1973 – A patent for the ATM is granted to Donald Wetzel, Tom Barnes and George Chastain.
June 4, 1974 – During Ten Cent Beer Night, inebriated Cleveland Indians fans start a riot, causing the game to be forfeited to the Texas Rangers.
June 4, 1979 – Flight Lieutenant Jerry Rawlings takes power in Ghana after a military coup in which General Fred Akuffo is overthrown.
June 4, 1986 – Jonathan Pollard pleads guilty to espionage for selling top secret United States military intelligence to Israel.
June 4, 1989 – Ali Khamenei is elected the new Supreme Leader of Islamic republic of Iran by the Assembly of Experts after the death of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini.
June 4, 1989 – The Tiananmen Square protests are violently ended in Beijing by the People’s Liberation Army.
June 4, 1989 – Solidarity’s victory in the first (somewhat) free parliamentary elections in post-war Poland sparks off a succession of peaceful anti-communist revolutions in Eastern Europe, leads to the creation of the so-called Contract Sejm and begins the Autumn of Nations.
June 4, 1989 – Ufa train disaster: A natural gas explosion near Ufa, Russia, kills 575 as two trains passing each other throw sparks near a leaky pipeline.
June 4, 1996 – The first flight of Ariane 5 explodes after roughly 20 seconds. It was a Cluster mission.
June 4, 1998 – Terry Nichols is sentenced to life in prison for his role in the Oklahoma City bombing.
June 4, 2001 – Gyanendra, the last King of Nepal, ascends to the throne after the massacre in the Royal Palace.

MEMORABLE QUOTES:
“In China, a million people is still only a small number.” (Den Xiaoping, after the Tiananmen Square Massacre)