What happened on February 4 News and Events on This Day in History

U.S. 1938 U.S.A. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs 4th February, 1938 : The animated film Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs was released and had major success in the box-office, making more money than any other motion picture up till that point . Find More What happened in 1938

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1959 U.S.A. Barbie Doll 4th February, 1959 : Today was the first day of the invention of the Barbie Doll. This doll was created by Ruth Handler, who was one of the founders of the Mattel Company. Barbie was named after Ruth’s daughter. Later on, when the Ken doll was made, it was named after Ruth’s son.

U.S. 1920 U.S.A. Prohibition 4th February, 1920 : Someone had stolen 21 barrels of whiskey which was held at a Pennsylvania brewery. The person who had taken this liquor was sentenced a fine of $7,000. This particular crime had taken place during the Prohibition Era, during a time when the sale of alcohol was not allowed.
By the way, liquor licenses were still being granted during this time. However, beverages could not contain more than one-half percent of alcohol in them.

U.S. 1922 U.S.A. Lincoln / Ford 4th February, 1922 : Lincoln purchased the Ford Company for $8 million dollars on this day. During the time of this transition, Henry Ford had assumed position of president of Lincoln.

U.S. 1931 U.S.A. Banks Go Bust 4th February, 1931 : As banks continue to close across the US when depositors ask for their deposits back, the problems continue to escalate as most small banks had large amounts invested in the stock market and with the crash of wall street in late 1929 many banks do not have sufficient funds left to meet current members deposits. Many are going into receivership with little help for investors. The government is looking at schemes to bail the banks out and help consumer confidence

U.S. 1932 U.S.A. Winter Olympics 4th February, 1932 : The first Winter Olympics was held in the United States. These games took place in Lake Placid, New York.

U.S. 1937 U.S.A. Floods 4th February, 1937 : Restrictions were lifted from flood quarantine areas on this day. People could return to these areas that were originally prohibited from entering without any further threat of disease or sickness.
A main concern regarding the possible spread of disease epidemic applied to those unregistered refugees who had not yet been immunized. They had been confined to one specific area for as long as was decided was necessary.

U.S. 1943 U.S.A. Olds 4th February, 1943 : Ransom Eli Olds, the creator of one of the first internal combustion engine designs, received his last patent on this day. Olds was noted for creating the first automobile production line, through a company that has made cars such as the Olds Runabout.

Sri Lanka 1948 Ceylon Independence 4th February, 1948 : Ceylon now Sri Lanka gains independence from British rule and becomes an independent dominion within the British Commonwealth.

UK 1950 UK British Atomic Scientist 4th February, 1950 : On this day a British Atomic scientist was arrested and charge of gathering information that would be useful to enemy forces. He was the holder of some of the most classified (top secret) information regarding the A-bomb. He was found out by American FBI agents, and these agents reported the info to the Scotland Yard.

U.S. 1957 U.S.A. Smith-Corona 4th February, 1957 : This was the first day of the sale of Smith-Corona portable typewriters. This company had been producing typewriters since 1886, when it created the first upper and lower-case typing model.

U.S. 1964 U.S.A. Poll Tax 4th February, 1964 : As of this date, it was no longer legal to charge a poll tax for voting. This action was repealed upon the passing of the 24th Amendment.

Kenya 1968 Kenya 4th February, 1968 : The continued persecution of Asians in Kenya is forcing many thousands to leave the country and many are choosing Britain for their future . Kenya has introduced new tough immigration laws which only allow work permits to Kenyan Citizens.

Palestine 1969 Palestine PLO Formed 4th February, 1969 : The Palestine Liberation Organization was founded on this day. It was an organization that was established to represent the Palestinian people while Yasir Arafat was in office.

UK 1974 UK Bombing 4th February, 1974 : A bomb believed to have been set by the IRA kills 11 including soldiers and children when the coach they were travelling in is blown up by a bomb.

U.S. 1974 U.S.A. Patricia Hearst 4th February, 1974 : Newspaper heiress Patricia Hearst is kidnapped in Berkeley, California by the Symbionese Liberation Army

Honduras 1976 Guatemala Earthquake 5th February, 1976: In Guatemala and Honduras a 7.5 magnitude earthquake centered about 160 km northeast of Guatemala City kills more than 22,000. The quake caused major landslides which blocked transport routes leaving food and water supplies were severely reduced. Some of the areas were without electricity and communication for up to 1 week and the main shock was followed by thousands of aftershocks, some of the larger ones causing additional loss of life and damage.

UK 1988 UK Seamen Strike 4th February, 1988 : Ferry ports in the UK are causing major congestion on roads on the south coast as British Seamen continue their strike without union backing. The strike is because of the increase of cheaper low-cost Third World crews, while making British Seamen redundant .

U.S. 1997 U.S.A. O.J. Simpson 4th February, 1997 : A civil jury panel in Santa Monica, California had determined that O.J. Simpson was guilty of the deaths of both his ex-wife Nicole Brown-Simpson and her friend Ronald Goldman. He had originally been acquitted in the year 1995.

Afghanistan 1998 Afghanistan Earthquake 4th February, 1998 : An earthquake in northern Afghanistan has left up to 4000 dead, and tens of thousands more injured or 4th homeless. The earthquake epicenter was close to the city of Rostaq in the remote province of Takhar, close to the border with Tajikistan.

Yugoslavia 2003 Yugoslavia Country Dissolved 4th February, 2003 : Lawmakers formally dissolve Yugoslavia and replace it with a loose union of Serbia and Montenegro.

U.S. 2004 U.S.A. Gay Marriage 4th February, 2004 : The Massachusetts high court declare that gays are entitled to get married.

U.S. 2004 U.S.A. Facebook 4th February, 2004 : Facebook, a mainstream online social network is founded by Mark Zuckerberg.

Syria 2006 Syria Danish and Norwegian Embassies Destroyed 4th February, 2006 : Following the publishing of caricatures of the prophet Muhammad Muslim protesters torched and destroyed the Danish and Norwegian embassies in Damascus. And in Gaza, Palestinians marched through the streets, storming European buildings and burning German and Danish flags.

United States 2007 United States U.S. generals warn against a military strike on Iran 4th February, 2007 : Three former military officers have warned against a military strike on Iran, and said that such action would have 'disastrous consequences' for the security in the Middle-east, and for coalition forces in Iraq. They agree that the crisis over Iran's nuclear program should be resolved through diplomacy, and urge Washington to start direct talks with that country. These warnings were published in Britain's Sunday Times newspaper, and signed by: Lieutenant-General Robert Gard, a former military assistant to the U.S. Defense Secretary, General Joseph Hoar, a former Commander-in-Chief, U.S. Central Command and Vice Admiral Jack Shanahan, a former Director of the Center for Defense Information.

China 2008 China Snow Storm 5th February, 2008 : China has been hit by the worst snow storms in 50 years and some of the worst affected are the poorest in China. The Chinese rural population of farmers do not have the high tech farm machinery needed to weather these type of conditions and are living very close to poverty so when a natural disaster occurs like this which ruins the crops many are forced into near starvation.
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United States 2008 United States The Navy must follow environmental laws 5th February, 2008 : A Federal judge has ruled that the Navy must follow environmental laws by placing limits on its mid-frequency sonars. District Judge Florence-Marie Cooper has written that the Navy is not exempt from a compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act, and a court injunction has created a 12-nautical-mile no-sonar zone along the coastline of southern California. President Bush had decided to exempt the Navy from this law.

United States 2008 United States A new president of the Mormon church 5th February, 2008 : Thomas S. Monson has been named as the 16th president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and has said that the church will not be veering from the course that was set by his predecessor, Gordon B. Hinckley. He has taken over at a time when the church has been undergoing a rapid growth around the globe, and been getting a lot of attention from Mitt Romney’s campaign for the White House.

Ethiopia 2009 Ethiopia Gaddafi speaks out on democracy in Africa 5th February, 2009 : The new African Union (A.U.) chairman, Libya's Muammar Gaddafi, has said that multi-party democracy in Africa always leads to bloodshed. He was speaking at the A.U. summit in Ethiopia, where he went on to explain that Africa was essentially tribal environment, and that political parties themselves became tribalised, which led to further bloodshed. He concluded that the best model for Africa was his own country, where opposition parties are not allowed.

United States 2010 United States Bank of America might be sued from the Merrill Lynch takeover 5th February, 2010 : Legal action has started against the Bank of America and its former executives, and accuses them of duping investors and taxpayers during their takeover of Merrill Lynch. The defendants are accused of having withheld details of Merrill Lynch's huge losses. New York state officials have filed an action against the bank, its former chief-executive Kenneth Lewis and former chief-financial officer Joseph Price. Bank of America has said that the charges are 'regrettable.' The charges are for duping shareholders and the federal government in order to complete the merger.

United States 2010 United States Google Books 5th February, 2010 : The Department of Justice has said that it is not satisfied with a deal that allows the search engine Google to build a vast digital library. It says that the plan fails to address its antitrust and copyright concerns. It has been following the online retailer Amazon's complaints that Google's plan to scan and distribute books online could lead to a monopoly. The Department of Justice is advising the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York that issues in the settlement agreement from The Authors Guild Inc. et al. v. Google Inc., class certification, copyright and antitrust still remain.

United States 2010 United States Barack Obama’s aunt is in court for an appeal on her asylum case 5th February, 2010 : Barack Obama's Kenyan aunt has appeared at a court in Boston on a second attempt to gain political asylum in the United States. The immigration hearing for 57-year-old Zeituni Onyango has ended without an immediate decision on her asylum. The half-sister of Mr. Obama's father, Onyango had moved to the U.S. in 2000. Her first asylum application was rejected in 2004, and she was ordered to be deported, but continued living in public housing in Boston. Her immigration status became an issue during Mr. Obama's election campaign. He said at the time that he was not aware of his aunt being in the U.S. illegally.

Philippines   2011 Philippines The Philippines Bans Logging 4th February, 2011 :  President Benigno Aquino of the Philippines announced a nationwide ban on logging after the country suffers from flooding and mudslides. In January over seventy people died from floods and President Aquino believed that too much logging might have contributed to the causes of the flooding.