May 4

Today in History
• 1471 - Battle of Tewkesbury - King Edward IV vs Ex-queen Margaretha
• 1474 - Christopher Columbus lands in Jamaica
• 1540 - Venice and Turkey sign Treaty of Constantinople
• 1715 - French manufacturer debuts 1st folding umbrella (Paris)
• 1776 - Rhode Island declares independence from England
• 1780 - American Academy of Arts and Science founded
• 1746 - U.S. state Michigan ends death penalty
• 1780 - American Academy of Arts and Science founded in Boston


Holidays - Traditional and Obscure
• Firefighters' Memorial Day
• International Firefighters Day
• National Day of Prayer
• National Renewal Day
• Pesach Sheni
• Rhode Island Independence Day
• Star Wars Day
• The 1940 Centennial

Birthdays
• 1006 - Abd-Allah Ansari, Persian mystic/poet, Monadjat
• 1008 - Henry I, King of the Franks (1031-60)
• 1635 - Willem van Outhoorn, Dutch governor-general, Dutch East Indies
• 1654 - Kangxi Emperor of China, 4th Emperor of the Qing Dynasty
• 1752 - John Brooks, 11th Governor of Massachusetts (1816-23)
• 1764 - Joseph Carpue, English surgeon who pioneered early plastic surgery in England
• 1796 - Horace Mann, U.S., educator/author/editor, pioneered public schools
• 1820 - Julia Gardiner Tyler, 2nd wife of President John Tyler, 1841-45