4 April in history
7 events that happened on 4 April, from 1081 to 1975.
✦ Anniversary of the day
1081 CE 945 years ago
Alexios I Komnenos is crowned Byzantine emperor
Days after his troops took Constantinople from Nikephoros III, Alexios Komnenos was crowned emperor. His dynasty steadied Byzantium for a century, and his appeal to the Pope helped prompt the First Crusade.
1818 CE 208 years ago
US Congress fixes the flag at thirteen stripes
The Flag Act of 1818 set the American flag at thirteen stripes for the original colonies, with a star for every state added on the following 4 July. The rule still governs the flag today.
1841 CE 185 years ago
William Henry Harrison dies a month into his presidency
President William Henry Harrison died 31 days after taking office, the shortest presidency in US history. His death raised the first test of presidential succession, settled when John Tyler took full office.
1865 CE 161 years ago
Lincoln walks through the fallen Confederate capital
Abraham Lincoln toured Richmond, Virginia, two days after its evacuation, greeted by crowds of newly freed Black residents. He sat briefly at Jefferson Davis's desk in the Confederate White House.
1968 CE 58 years ago
Martin Luther King Jr. is assassinated in Memphis
Martin Luther King Jr. was shot dead on the balcony of the Lorraine Motel, where he had come to support striking sanitation workers. Riots broke out in more than a hundred American cities.
1975 CE 51 years ago
Bill Gates and Paul Allen found Microsoft
Gates and Allen formed a partnership in Albuquerque, New Mexico, to sell a BASIC interpreter for the Altair 8800. Their company went on to dominate personal computer software.
