Wikipedia:Selected anniversaries/August 4
This is a list of selected August 4 anniversaries that appear in the "On this day" section of the Main Page. To suggest a new item, in most cases, you can be bold and edit this page. Please read the selected anniversaries guidelines before making your edit. However, if your addition might be controversial or on a day that is or will soon be on the Main Page, please post your suggestion on the talk page instead.
Please note that the events listed on the Main Page are chosen based more on relative article quality and to maintain a mix of topics, not based solely on how important or significant their subjects are. Only four to five events are posted at a time and thus not everything that is "most important and significant" can be listed. In addition, an event is generally not posted this year if it is also the subject of the scheduled featured article, featured list or picture of the day.
To report an error when this appears on the Main Page, see Main Page errors. Please remember that this list defers to the supporting articles, so it is best to achieve consensus and make any necessary changes there first.
August 4: Civic Holiday in most areas of Canada (2008); Emancipation Day in various Caribbean countries (2008)
- 1578 – King Sebastian I (pictured) disappeared at the Battle of Alcácer Quibir near Ksar-el-Kebir, Morocco, leading to a dynastic crisis in Portugal.
- 1790 – A newly passed tariff act in the United States established the Revenue Cutter Service, an armed maritime law enforcement service that was the forerunner of the U.S. Coast Guard.
- 1892 – The father and stepmother of Lizzie Borden were found murdered in Fall River, Massachusetts, USA, an incident that became a cause célèbre and entered into pop culture and folklore.
- 1964 – The second of two U.S. Navy destroyers was reportedly attacked by North Vietnamese forces in the Gulf of Tonkin, sparking the U.S. Congress to pass a resolution giving President Lyndon Johnson authorization for the use of military force in Southeast Asia.
- 1984 – Exactly a year after he came to power through a military coup, the Republic of Upper Volta under President Thomas Sankara changed its name to Burkina Faso.