February 4

Today in History
• 211 - Roman Emperor Septimius Severus dies in Eboracum
• 1508 - Maximilian I assumes imperial title without being crowned
• 1620 - Prince Bethlen Gabor signs peace with emperor Ferdinand II
• 1782 - British garrison surrenders to French and Spanish fleet
• 1789 - 1st electoral college chooses Washington as President
• 1794 - French National Convention proclaims abolition of slavery
• 1797 - Earthquake in Quito, Ecuador kills 41,000
• 1847 - 1st US telegraph company established in Maryland

Holidays - Traditional and Obscure
• Angola Liberation Day
• Farmer's Day
• National Day Sri Lanka
• National Israel Day
• National Quacker Day
• National Thank a Mail Carrier Day
• USO Day
• World Cancer Day

Birthdays
• 1575 - Pierre de Berulle, French cardinal
• 1746 - Tadeusz Kosciuszko, Polish-Lithuanian Military Leader
• 1768 - Maurits C van Hall, Dutch ruler of Heicop and Boeicop
• 1802 - Mark Hopkins, American educator/philosopher (Williams College)
• 1819 - Joshua Norton, SF, Norton I, emperor of USA
• 1831 - Oliver Ames, 35th Governor of Massachusetts
• 1841 - Clement Ader, inventor, 1st to fly a heavier-than-air craft
• 1875 - Ludwig Prandtl, Germany, physicist, father of aerodynamics