April 4 in Pop Culture History

April 4 History, Trivia, and Fun Facts

April 4 History Highlights

  • 1814 – Napoleon abdicated and named his son Napoleon II as Emperor of the French.
  • 1841 – William Henry Harrison died of pneumonia, becoming the first President of the United States to die in office (presiding 31 days total).
  • 1887 – Argonia, Kansas elected Susanna M. Salter as the first female mayor in the United States.
  • 1932 – Vitamin C was isolated by C.G. King.
  • 1949 – Twelve nations signed the North Atlantic Treaty creating the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.
  • If you were born on April 4th,
    You were likely conceived the week of… July 12th (prior year)

The Beatles Topped The Charts

The Beatles became the first artists to hold all top 5 spots on the Billboard Hot 100 on the same week, on April 4, 1964.
#1. Can’t Buy Me Love
#2. Twist and Shout
#3. She Loves You
#4. I Want to Hold Your Hand
#5. Please Please Me.
More Beatles on the Charts that week: #31 – I Saw Her Standing There, #41 – From Me To You, #46 – Do You Want To Know a Secret, #58 – All My Loving, #65 – You Can’t Do That, #68 – Roll Over Beethoven, #79 – Thank You Girl
FUN FACT: They called Paul the Cute One, but in 1964, the best-selling Beatles merchandise were the “I Love Ringo” lapel pins…
The CND Peace Symbol
The CND (Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament) peace symbol was displayed in public for the first time in London. It was designed by Gerald Holtom in 1958. It has become a nearly universal peace symbol used in many different versions worldwide.

April 4 is…

Chocolate Milk Powder Day
Cordon Bleu Day
Hug a Newsperson Day
International Day for Mine Awareness
Ramen Noodle Day
School Librarian Day
Tell a Lie Day

April 4 Birthday Quotes

“Man is not made better by being degraded.”
– Dorothea Dix

“Once I decide to do something, I can’t have people telling me I can’t. If there’s a roadblock, you jump over it, walk around it, crawl under it.”
– Kitty Kelley

“You’ve got to seize the opportunity if it is presented to you.”
– Clive Davis

“There’s no way in the world I can feel the same blues the way I used to. When I play in Chicago, I’m playing up-to-date, not the blues I was born with. People should hear the pure blues – the blues we used to have when we had no money.”
– Muddy Waters

“As children, we believe that anything is possible, the trick is to never forget it.’
– David Blaine

“If you make decisions based upon people’s reactions or judgments then you make really boring choices.”
– Heath Ledger

April 4 Birthdays

1802 – Dorothea Dix, American social activist (died in 1887)
1821 – Linus Yale, Jr., American engineer and businessman (died in 1868)
1913 – Frances Langford, American actress and singer (died in 2005)
1915 – Muddy Waters, American Blues guitarist (died in 1983)
1927 – Joe Orlando, Italian-American comic book author and illustrator (died in 1998)
1928 – Estelle Harris, American comedic actress
1928 – Maya Angelou, American poet (died in 2014)
1932 – Clive Davis, American record producer, founded Arista Records
1932 – Anthony Perkins, American actor (died in 1992)
1942 – Kitty Kelley, American journalist and biographer
1944 – Craig T. Nelson, American actor
1956 – David E. Kelley, American screenwriter and producer
1959 – Phil Morris, American actor
1960 – Hugo Weaving, Nigerian-Australian actor
1963 – Graham Norton, Irish actor and talk show host
1964 – David Cross, American actor and screenwriter
1965 – Robert Downey Jr., American actor
1972 – Jill Scott, American singer-songwriter
1973 – David Blaine, American magician
1979 – Heath Ledger, Australian actor (died in 2008)
1987 – Sarah Gadon, Canadian actress

April 4 History

1561 – Warring UFOs were reported flying over Nuremberg, German

1850 – Los Angeles, California, was incorporated as a city.

1871 – Mary Florence Potts of Ottumwa, Iowa Patented (#113,448) the “Mrs. Potts’ sad iron” – a set of three irons with a detachable handle, so two irons could be heating up while you were using the other.

1877 -A pianist performed in Philadelphia, and an audience heard the performance in New York, via the telephone.

1932 – Professor C. Glen King, of the University of Pittsburgh discovered vitamin C.

1933 – Akron, a dirigible, crashed in New Jersey, killing 73 people.

1964 – #1 Hit April 4, 1964 – May 8, 1964: The BeatlesCan’t Buy Me Love

1964 – The Beatles occupied all of the top five positions on the Billboard singles chart in the United States, with Can’t Buy Me Love, Twist and Shout, She Loves You, I Want to Hold Your Hand, and Please Please Me.

1968 – James Earl Ray assassinated Martin Luther King, Jr in Memphis Tennessee.

1969 – CBS abruptly canceled The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour, and replaced it with Hee Haw.

1973 – The World Trade Center in New York was officially dedicated.

1975 – Microsoft was founded as a partnership between Bill Gates and Paul Allen in Albuquerque, New Mexico

April 4, 1982 Birthday (fictional) Mariah Hill, Marvel Cinematic Universe

1983 – Space Shuttle Challenger’s maiden voyage into space (STS-6).

1987 – #1 Hit April 4, 1987 – April 17, 1987: StarshipNothing’s Gonna Stop Us Now

1998 – #1 Hit April 4, 1998 – April 24, 1998: K-Ci & JoJoAll My Life

2003A Man Apart, What a Girl Wants, and Phone Booth were released in theaters.

2013 – Broadway Show – Kinky Boots (Musical) April 4, 2013

2013 – Famed movie critic Roger Ebert died.

2014 – Captain America: The Winter Soldier and Island of Lemurs: Madagascar debuted in theaters.

April 4, 2020 – April 17, 2020: Blinding LightsThe Weeknd

Today’s Random Trivia and Shower Thoughts

The YKK on your zipper stands for Yoshida Kogyo Kabushikigaisha.

Renee Descartes, the 17th-century philosopher, and mathematician is the person responsible for “x” being the universal variable in algebra.

“Perhaps we will find something extraordinary. Perhaps something extraordinary will find us.” – G’Kar, Babylon 5

US President #15 James Buchanan (1857-1861) First president to have his inauguration photographically recorded.

The Sun counts for 99.86% of the mass in our Solar System.

We are taught ‘the pen is stronger than the sword’ but also that ‘sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me.’ Which one is it?

Bazinga! #TVCatchphrase

Walking a mile in another person’s shoes only takes like 20, 30 minutes, tops. Is that really enough time to get to understand someone?

“In every generation, there is a Chosen One. She alone will stand against the vampires, the demons, and the forces of darkness. She is the Slayer.” – Rupert Giles

The Capital of Niger is Niamey

The biggest film of 1958: South Pacific earned ~ $36,800,000

More Pop Culture History Resources