Mladenovac and Smederevo shootings
Nine people are killed and thirteen injured in a spree shooting in Mladenovac and Smederevo, Serbia. It is the second mass shooting in the country in two days.
What happened on May 4
32 events · 20 births · 20 deaths · 8 observances. From 1493 to 2024.
Standout on May 4
2023
Mladenovac and Smederevo shootings
Nine people are killed and thirteen injured in a spree shooting in Mladenovac and Smederevo, Serbia. It is the second mass shooting in the country in two days.
About May 4
May 4 is the 124th day of the year. These facts are computed from the calendar, not copied from anywhere.
- Day of the year
- Day 124 of 365 (125 in leap years)241 days left in the year (241 in leap years)
- Falls on
- Monday in 2026, Tuesday in 2027, Thursday in 2028, Friday in 2029, Saturday in 2030
- Week
- ISO week 19 of 2026 · Q2
- Zodiac sign
- ♉ Taurus (April 20 – May 20)
- Season
- Spring in the north · Autumn in the south
- May birthstone
- Emeraldrebirth, love and wisdom
- May birth flower
- Lily of the valley / Hawthornsweetness, humility and hope
- Next occurrence
- In 189 days
- Roman numerals
- IV.Vday.month — see the Roman numeral date tool
Anniversaries in 2026
- 400thDirectors of New Netherland1626
- 250thAmerican Revolution1776
- 40thDevan Dubnyk1986
- 40thGeorge Hill (basketball)1986
- 25thJoan Garcia2001
- 25thNoah Beck2001
- 10thJean-Baptiste Bagaza2016
- 5thNick Kamen2021
May 4 through the years
- 10 years ago2016
- Jean-Baptiste Bagaza
- 25 years ago2001
- Noah Beck · Joan Garcia
- 50 years ago1976
- Nothing recorded
- 100 years ago1926
- Nothing recorded
- 200 years ago1826
- Nothing recorded
Born on May 4 — ages this year
- 2001Noah Beckturns 25
- 2001Joan Garciaturns 25
- 1998Rex Orange Countyturns 28
- 1995Shameik Mooreturns 31
- 1994Abi Masatoraturns 32
- 1994Joseph Tapineturns 32
Historical events 32
A dated happening — a battle, treaty, launch, discovery, disaster or decision — recorded on this calendar day.
2019 W Series
The inaugural race of the W Series took place at Hockenheimring, Germany, and was won by Jamie Chadwick (pictured), who later became the season's champion.
W Series (championship)
The inaugural all-female motorsport series, W Series, takes place at Hockenheimring. The race was won by Jamie Chadwick, who would go on to become the inaugural series champion.
Parliament of Malta
The Parliament of Malta moved from the Grandmaster's Palace to the purpose-built Parliament House (pictured).
2011–2014 terrorist attacks in Kenya
Three people are killed and 62 injured in a pair of bombings on buses in Nairobi, Kenya.
Greensburg, Kansas
Greensburg, Kansas is almost completely destroyed by the 2007 Greensburg tornado, a 1.7-mile wide EF5 tornado. It was the first-ever tornado to be rated with the new Enhanced Fujita scale.
EAS Airlines Flight 4226
One hundred three people are killed and 51 are injured in a plane crash near Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport in Kano, Nigeria.
Ken Livingstone
Ken Livingstone took office as the first mayor of London.
Sacramento, California
A federal judge in Sacramento, California, gives "Unabomber" Theodore Kaczynski four life sentences plus 30 years after Kaczynski accepts a plea agreement sparing him from the death penalty.
Prime minister
Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and PLO leader Yasser Arafat sign a peace accord, granting self-rule in the Gaza Strip and Jericho.
Latvia
Latvia declares independence from the Soviet Union.
Iran–Contra affair
Iran–Contra affair: Former White House aide Oliver North is convicted of three crimes and acquitted of nine other charges; the convictions are later overturned on appeal.
Space Shuttle Atlantis
Space Shuttle Atlantis launches on mission STS-30 to deploy the Venus-bound Magellan space probe.
PEPCON disaster
The PEPCON disaster rocks Henderson, Nevada, as tons of Space Shuttle fuel detonate during a fire.
Type 42 destroyer
Twenty sailors are killed when the British Type 42 destroyer HMS Sheffield is hit by an Argentinian Exocet missile during the Falklands War.
Falklands War
Falklands War: HMS Sheffield was struck by an Exocet missile, killing 20 sailors and leading to its sinking six days later—the first Royal Navy ship sunk in action since World War II.
Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Thatcher became the first female prime minister of the United Kingdom.
South African Defence Force
The South African Defence Force attacks a SWAPO base at Cassinga in southern Angola, killing about 600 people.
Manaslu
An all-female Japanese team reached the summit of Manaslu in the Himalayas, becoming the first women to climb a peak higher than 8,000 metres (26,247 ft) above sea level.
Willis Tower
The 108-story Sears Tower in Chicago is topped out at 1,451 feet (442 m) as the world's tallest building.
Don't Make a Wave Committee
The Don't Make A Wave Committee, a fledgling environmental organization founded in Canada in 1971, officially changes its name to Greenpeace Foundation.
Vietnam War
Vietnam War: Kent State shootings: The Ohio National Guard, sent to Kent State University after disturbances in the city of Kent the weekend before, opens fire killing four unarmed students and wounding nine others. The students were protesting the Cambodian Campaign of the United States and South Vietnam.
Civil rights movement
American civil rights movement: The "Freedom Riders" begin a bus trip through the South.
Malcolm Ross (balloonist)
Malcolm Ross and Victor Prather attain a new altitude record for manned balloon flight ascending in the Strato-Lab V open gondola to 113,740 feet (34.67 km).
World War II
World War II: Aircraft from Imperial Japanese Navy vessels attacked Allied naval forces, beginning the Battle of the Coral Sea, the first naval action in which the participating ships never sighted or fired directly at each other.
May Fourth Movement
The May Fourth Movement began in China with large-scale student demonstrations in Tiananmen Square, Beijing.
Labour movement
During a labor rally in Chicago, a bomb explosion and gunfire led to the deaths of eight police officers and four members of the public.
Boydell Shakespeare Gallery
The Boydell Shakespeare Gallery, part of a cultural project initiated by engraver John Boydell, opened in London.
American Revolution
American Revolution: The Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations became the first of the Thirteen Colonies to renounce its allegiance to the British Crown.
Trunajaya rebellion
Trunajaya rebellion: Dutch East India Company forces under Cornelis Speelman began an attack on Surabaya, on the island of Java.
Directors of New Netherland
Having been appointed the director-general of New Netherland, Peter Minuit arrived in Manhattan.
Pope Alexander VI
Pope Alexander VI (pictured) issued the papal bull Inter caetera, establishing a line of demarcation dividing the New World between Spain and Portugal.
Births 20
A notable person born on this day. Each links to a person page with their dates and story.
Deaths 20
A notable person who died on this day.
Jean-Paul Ngoupandé
Jean-Paul Ngoupandé, Central African politician, Prime Minister of the Central African Republic (born 1948)
Christian de Duve
Christian de Duve, English-Belgian cytologist and biochemist, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1917)
Javier Diez Canseco
Javier Diez Canseco, Peruvian sociologist and politician (born 1948)
Otis Bowen
Otis Bowen, American physician and politician, 44th Governor of Indiana (born 1918)
Holidays & observances 8
A holiday, feast day, awareness day or national day observed every year on this date.
Bird Day
Bird Day (United States)
Cassinga Day
Cassinga Day (Namibia)
Ceferino Giménez Malla
Christian feast day: Blessed Ceferino Giménez Malla
Saint Florian
Christian feast day: Florian
Reformation
Christian feast day: English Saints and Martyrs of the Reformation Era (Church of England)
Michał Giedroyć
Christian feast day: Blessed Michał Giedroyć
F. C. D. Wyneken
Christian feast day: F. C. D. Wyneken (Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod)
Pink Shirt Day
Anti-Bullying Day (United Nations)
Spread across the centuries
- 15th century1
- 17th century2
- 18th century2
- 19th century1
- 20th century37
- 21st century29
Earliest: Pope Alexander VI (1493). Most recent: Frank Stella (2024).
What the categories mean, and how the standout is chosen
- Historical events
- A dated happening — a battle, treaty, launch, discovery, disaster or decision — recorded on this calendar day.
- Births
- A notable person born on this day. Each links to a person page with their dates and story.
- Deaths
- A notable person who died on this day.
- Milestones
- A first, a founding or a turning point our editors flagged as a landmark moment.
- Holidays & observances
- A holiday, feast day, awareness day or national day observed every year on this date.
- Standout / notable
- Editor-written entries come first, then entries covered by the most Wikipedia language editions. For the standout tile we prefer an entry that has a picture.
Nearby and related
Questions about May 4
What day of the year is May 4?
May 4 is the 124th day of the year, with 241 days left after it.
What star sign is May 4?
May 4 falls under Taurus (April 20 – May 20), a earth sign ruled by Venus. The birthstone for the month is Emerald.
How many things happened on May 4?
We record 80 entries for May 4: 32 events · 20 births · 20 deaths · 8 observances. From 1493 to 2024.
Who was born on May 4?
Noah Beck (2001) is among the notable births on May 4. The births section lists the rest.
How often is the May 4 page updated?
The day is filled the first time anyone opens it and then re-checked for new entries about every 90 days. Computed facts such as the weekday and the anniversaries update every year.
Get a daily entry like May 4
One short email a day from this calendar. Kept for this site only.
Text adapted from Wikipedia under CC BY-SA 4.0 and from Wikidata (CC0). Images come from Wikimedia Commons; credit and licence are shown with each image. Editorial entries are © What's On This Date. Sources & licensing · How this site works.