June 4

"June Fourth" redirects here. For the student protest which is often referred as the June Fourth Incident, see 1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre.

June 4 in recent years

2024 (Tuesday)

2023 (Sunday)

2022 (Saturday)

2021 (Friday)

2020 (Thursday)

2019 (Tuesday)

2018 (Monday)

2017 (Sunday)

2016 (Saturday)

2015 (Thursday)

June 4 is the 155th day of the year (156th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar; 210 days remain until the end of the year.

Events

Pre-1600

• 1411 – King Charles VI grants a monopoly for the ripening of Roquefort cheese to the people of Roquefort-sur-Soulzon as they had been doing for centuries.
• 1561 – The steeple of St Paul's, the medieval cathedral of London, is destroyed in a fire caused by lightning and is never rebuilt.

1601–1900

• 1615 – Siege of Osaka: Forces under Tokugawa Ieyasu take Osaka Castle in Japan.
• 1745 – Battle of Hohenfriedberg: Frederick the Great's Prussian army decisively defeated an Austrian army under Prince Charles Alexander of Lorraine during the War of the Austrian Succession.
• 1760 – Great Upheaval: New England planters arrive to claim land in Nova Scotia, Canada, taken from the Acadians.
• 1783 – The Montgolfier brothers publicly demonstrate their montgolfière (hot air balloon).
• 1784 – Élisabeth Thible becomes the first woman to fly in an untethered hot air balloon. Her flight covers four kilometres (2.5 mi) in 45 minutes, and reached 1,500 metres (4,900 ft) altitude (estimated).
• 1792 – Captain George Vancouver claims Puget Sound for the Kingdom of Great Britain.
• 1802 – King Charles Emmanuel IV of Sardinia abdicates his throne in favor of his brother, Victor Emmanuel.
• 1812 – Following Louisiana's admittance as a U.S. state, the Louisiana Territory is renamed the Missouri Territory.
• 1825 – General Lafayette, a French officer in the American Revolutionary War, speaks at what would become Lafayette Square in Buffalo, New York, during his visit to the United States.
• 1855 – Major Henry C. Wayne departs New York aboard the USS Supply to procure camels to establish the U.S. Camel Corps.
• 1859 – Italian Independence wars: In the Battle of Magenta, the French army, under Louis-Napoleon, defeat the Austrian army.
• 1862 – American Civil War: Confederate troops evacuate Fort Pillow on the Mississippi River, leaving the way clear for Union troops to take Memphis, Tennessee.
• 1876 – An express train called the Transcontinental Express arrives in San Francisco via the first transcontinental railroad only 83 hours and 39 minutes after leaving New York City.
• 1878 – Cyprus Convention: The Ottoman Empire cedes Cyprus to the United Kingdom but retains nominal title.
• 1896 – Henry Ford completes the Ford Quadricycle, his first gasoline-powered automobile, and gives it a successful test run.

1901–present

• 1912 – Massachusetts becomes the first state of the United States to set a minimum wage.
• 1913 – Emily Davison, a suffragette, runs out in front of King George V's horse at The Derby. She is trampled, never regains consciousness, and dies four days later.
• 1916 – World War I: Russia opens the Brusilov Offensive with an artillery barrage of Austro-Hungarian lines in Galicia.
• 1917 – The first Pulitzer Prizes are awarded: Laura E. Richards, Maude H. Elliott, and Florence Hall receive the first Pulitzer for biography (for Julia Ward Howe). Jean Jules Jusserand receives the first Pulitzer for history for his work With Americans of Past and Present Days. Herbert B. Swope receives the first Pulitzer for journalism for his work for the New York World.
• 1919 – Women's rights: The U.S. Congress approves the Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, which guarantees suffrage to women, and sends it to the U.S. states for ratification.
• 1919 – Leon Trotsky bans the Planned Fourth Regional Congress of Peasants, Workers and Insurgents.
• 1920 – Hungary loses 71% of its territory and 63% of its population when the Treaty of Trianon is signed in Paris.
• 1928 – The President of the Republic of China, Zhang Zuolin, is assassinated by Japanese agents.
• 1932 – Marmaduke Grove and other Chilean military officers lead a coup d'état establishing the short-lived Socialist Republic of Chile.
• 1939 – The Holocaust: The MS St. Louis, a ship carrying 963 German Jewish refugees, is denied permission to land in Florida, in the United States, after already being turned away from Cuba. Forced to return to Europe, more than 200 of its passengers later die in Nazi concentration camps.
• 1940 – World War II: The Dunkirk evacuation ends: the British Armed Forces completes evacuation of 338,000 troops from Dunkirk in France. To rally the morale of the country, Winston Churchill delivers, only to the House of Commons, his famous "We shall fight on the beaches" speech.
• 1942 – World War II: The Battle of Midway begins. The Japanese Admiral Chūichi Nagumo orders a strike on Midway Island by much of the Imperial Japanese Navy.
• 1942 – World War II: Gustaf Mannerheim, the Commander-in-Chief of the Finnish Army, is granted the title of Marshal of Finland by the government on his 75th birthday. On the same day, Adolf Hitler arrives in Finland for a surprise visit to meet Mannerheim.
• 1943 – A military coup in Argentina ousts Ramón Castillo.
• 1944 – World War II: A hunter-killer group of the United States Navy captures the German Kriegsmarine submarine U-505: The first time a U.S. Navy vessel had captured an enemy vessel at sea since the 19th century.
• 1944 – World War II: The United States Fifth Army captures Rome, although much of the German Fourteenth Army is able to withdraw to the north.
• 1961 – Cold War: In the Vienna summit, the Soviet premier Nikita Khrushchev sparks the Berlin Crisis by threatening to sign a separate peace treaty with East Germany and ending American, British and French access to East Berlin.
• 1967 – Seventy-two people are killed when a Canadair C-4 Argonaut crashes at Stockport in England.
• 1970 – Tonga gains independence from the British Empire.
• 1975 – The Governor of California Jerry Brown signs the California Agricultural Labor Relations Act into law, the first law in the United States giving farmworkers collective bargaining rights.
• 1977 – JVC introduces its VHS videotape at the Consumer Electronics Show in Chicago. It will eventually prevail against Sony's rival Betamax system in a format war to become the predominant home video medium.
• 1979 – Flight Lieutenant Jerry Rawlings takes power in Ghana after a military coup in which General Fred Akuffo is overthrown.
• 1983 – Gordon Kahl, who killed two US Marshals in Medina, North Dakota on February 13, is killed in a shootout in Smithville, Arkansas, along with a local sheriff, after a four-month manhunt.
• 1986 – Jonathan Pollard pleads guilty to espionage for selling top secret United States military intelligence to Israel.
• 1988 – Three cars on a train carrying hexogen to Kazakhstan explode in Arzamas, Gorky Oblast, USSR, killing 91 and injuring about 1,500.
• 1989 – In the 1989 Iranian Supreme Leader election, Ali Khamenei is elected as the new Supreme Leader of Iran after the death and funeral of Ruhollah Khomeini.
• 1989 – The Tiananmen Square protests and massacre are suppressed in Beijing by the People's Liberation Army, with between 241 and 10,000 dead (an unofficial estimate).
• 1989 – Solidarity's victory in the 1989 Polish legislative election occurs, the first election since the Communist Polish United Workers' Party abandoned its monopoly of power. It sparks off the Revolutions of 1989 in Eastern Europe.
• 1989 – Ufa train disaster: A natural gas explosion near Ufa, Russia, kills 575 as two trains passing each other throw sparks near a leaky pipeline.
• 1996 – The first flight of Ariane 5 explodes after roughly 37 seconds. It was a Cluster mission.
• 1998 – Terry Nichols is sentenced to life in prison for his role in the Oklahoma City bombing.
• 2005 – The Civic Forum of the Romanians of Covasna, Harghita and Mureș is founded.
• 2010 – Falcon 9 Flight 1 is the maiden flight of the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, which launches from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station Space Launch Complex 40.
• 2023 – Protests begin in Poland against the Duda government.
• 2023 – Four people are killed when a Cessna Citation V crashes into Mine Bank Mountain in Augusta County, Virginia.

Births

Pre-1600

• 590 – Harsha, Maharajadhiraja of Kannauj (d. 647)
• 1394 – Philippa of England, Queen of Denmark, Norway and Sweden (d. 1430)
• 1489 – Antoine, Duke of Lorraine (d. 1544)
• 1563 – George Heriot, Scottish goldsmith (d. 1624)

1601–1900

• 1604 – Claudia de' Medici, Italian daughter of Christina of Lorraine (d. 1648)
• 1665 – Zacharie Robutel de La Noue, Canadian captain (d. 1733)
• 1694 – François Quesnay, French economist and physician (d. 1774)
• 1704 – Benjamin Huntsman, English inventor and businessman (d. 1776)
• 1738 – George III of the United Kingdom (d. 1820)
• 1744 – Patrick Ferguson, Scottish soldier, designed the Ferguson rifle (d. 1780)
• 1754 – Miguel de Azcuénaga, Argentinian soldier (d. 1833)
• 1754 – Franz Xaver von Zach, Slovak astronomer and academic (d. 1832)
• 1787 – Constant Prévost, French geologist and academic (d. 1856)
• 1801 – James Pennethorne, English architect, designed Victoria Park (d. 1871)
• 1821 – Apollon Maykov, Russian poet and playwright (d. 1897)
• 1829 – Jinmaku Kyūgorō, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 12th Yokozuna (d. 1903)
• 1854 – Solko van den Bergh, Dutch target shooter (d. 1916)
• 1860 – Alexis Lapointe, Canadian runner (d. 1924)
• 1861 – William Propsting, Australian politician, 20th Premier of Tasmania (d. 1937)
• 1866 – Miina Sillanpää, Finnish journalist and politician (d. 1952)
• 1867 – Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim, Finnish general and politician, 6th President of Finland (d. 1951)
• 1873 – Nictzin Dyalhis, American author (d. 1942)
• 1877 – Heinrich Otto Wieland, German chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1957)
• 1879 – Mabel Lucie Attwell, English author and illustrator (d. 1964)
• 1880 – Clara Blandick, American actress (d. 1962)
• 1885 – Arturo Rawson, Argentinian general and politician, 26th President of Argentina (d. 1952)
• 1889 – Beno Gutenberg, German-American seismologist (d. 1960)

1901–present

• 1903 – Yevgeny Mravinsky, Russian conductor (d. 1988)
• 1904 – Bhagat Puran Singh, Indian publisher, environmentalist, and philanthropist (d. 1992)
• 1907 – Jacques Roumain, Haitian journalist and politician (d. 1944)
• 1907 – Rosalind Russell, American actress (d. 1976)
• 1907 – Patience Strong, English poet and journalist (d. 1990)
• 1910 – Christopher Cockerell, English engineer, invented the hovercraft (d. 1999)
• 1912 – Robert Jacobsen, Danish sculptor and painter (d. 1993)
• 1915 – Walter Hadlee, New Zealand cricketer (d. 2006)
• 1915 – Modibo Keïta, Malian educator and politician, 1st President of Mali (d. 1977)
• 1915 – Nils Kihlberg, Swedish actor, singer, and director (d. 1965)
• 1916 – Robert F. Furchgott, American biochemist and pharmacologist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2009)
• 1916 – Fernand Leduc, Canadian painter (d. 2014)
• 1917 – Robert Merrill, American actor and singer (d. 2004)
• 1921 – Milan Komar, Slovenian-Argentinian philosopher and academic (d. 2006)
• 1921 – Bobby Wanzer, American basketball player and coach (d. 2016)
• 1923 – Elizabeth Jolley, English-Australian author and academic (d. 2007)
• 1923 – Masutatsu Ōyama, Japanese karateka (d. 1994)
• 1924 – Tofilau Eti Alesana, Samoan politician, 5th Prime Minister of Samoa (d. 1999)
• 1924 – Dennis Weaver, American actor and director (d. 2006)
• 1925 – Antonio Puchades, Spanish footballer (d. 2013)
• 1926 – Robert Earl Hughes, American who was the heaviest human being recorded in the history of the world during his lifetime (d. 1958)
• 1926 – Ain Kaalep, Estonian poet, playwright, and critic (d. 2020)
• 1926 – Judith Malina, German-American actress and director, co-founded The Living Theatre (d. 2015)
• 1927 – Henning Carlsen, Danish director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2014)
• 1927 – Geoffrey Palmer, English actor (d. 2020)
• 1928 – Ruth Westheimer, German-American sex therapist, talk show host, professor, author, and Holocaust survivor (d. 2024)
• 1929 – Karolos Papoulias, Greek lawyer and politician, 5th President of Greece (d. 2021)
• 1930 – George Chesworth, English air marshal and politician, Lord Lieutenant of Moray (d. 2017)
• 1930 – Morgana King, American singer and actress (d. 2018)
• 1930 – Viktor Tikhonov, Russian ice hockey player and coach (d. 2014)
• 1931 – Gustav Nossal, Austrian-Australian biologist and academic
• 1932 – John Drew Barrymore, American actor (d. 2004)
• 1932 – Oliver Nelson, American saxophonist and composer (d. 1975)
• 1932 – Maurice Shadbolt, New Zealand author and playwright (d. 2004)
• 1934 – Monica Dacon, Vincentian educator and politician, 6th Governor-General of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
• 1934 – Daphne Sheldrick, Kenyan-British conservationist and author (d. 2018)
• 1935 – Colette Boky, Canadian soprano and actress
• 1935 – Berhanu Dinka, Ethiopian economist and diplomat (d. 2013)
• 1936 – Vince Camuto, American fashion designer and businessman, co-founded Nine West (d. 2015)
• 1936 – Bruce Dern, American actor
• 1937 – Freddy Fender, American singer and guitarist (d. 2006)
• 1937 – Gorilla Monsoon, American wrestler (d. 1999)
• 1937 – Mortimer Zuckerman, Canadian-American businessman and publisher, founded Boston Properties
• 1938 – John Harvard, Canadian journalist and politician, 23rd Lieutenant Governor of Manitoba (d. 2016)
• 1938 – Art Mahaffey, American baseball player
• 1939 – Jeremy Browne, 11th Marquess of Sligo, Anglo-Irish peer (d. 2014)
• 1939 – Denis de Belleval, Canadian civil servant and politician
• 1939 – Henri Pachard, American director and producer (d. 2008)
• 1939 – George Reid, Scottish journalist and politician, 2nd Presiding Officer of the Scottish Parliament
• 1940 – Ludwig Schwarz, Slovak-Austrian bishop
• 1941 – Kenneth G. Ross, Australian playwright and screenwriter
• 1942 – Louis Reichardt, American mountaineer
• 1942 – Bill Rowe, Canadian lawyer and politician
• 1943 – John Burgess, Australian radio and television host
• 1943 – Sandra Haynie, American golfer
• 1943 – Tom Jaine, English author
• 1944 – Roger Ball, Scottish saxophonist and songwriter
• 1944 – Michelle Phillips, American singer-songwriter and actress
• 1945 – Anthony Braxton, American saxophonist, clarinet player, and composer
• 1945 – Daniel Topolski, English rower and coach (d. 2015)
• 1945 – Gordon Waller, Scottish singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2009)
• 1947 – Viktor Klima, Austrian businessman and politician, 25th Chancellor of Austria
• 1948 – Bob Champion, English jockey
• 1948 – Sandra Post, Canadian golfer and sportscaster
• 1948 – Jürgen Sparwasser, German footballer and manager
• 1949 – Gabriel Arcand, Canadian actor
• 1949 – Mark B. Cohen, American lawyer and politician
• 1950 – Raymond Dumais, Canadian bishop (d. 2012)
• 1951 – Leigh Kennedy, American author
• 1951 – Bronisław Malinowski, Polish runner (d. 1981)
• 1951 – Melanie Phillips, English journalist and author
• 1951 – Wendy Pini, American author and illustrator
• 1951 – David Yip, English actor and playwright
• 1951 – Lyle Stewart, Canadian politician, Saskatchewan MLA (1999–2023) (d. 2024)
• 1952 – Bronisław Komorowski, Polish historian and politician, 5th President of Poland
• 1952 – Dambudzo Marechera, Zimbabwean author and poet (d. 1987)
• 1953 – Linda Lingle, American journalist and politician, 6th Governor of Hawaii
• 1953 – Jimmy McCulloch, Scottish musician and songwriter (d. 1979)
• 1953 – Susumu Ojima, Japanese businessman, founded Huser
• 1953 – Paul Samson, English guitarist and producer (d. 2002)
• 1954 – Raphael Ravenscroft, English saxophonist and composer (d. 2014)
• 1954 – Kazuhiro Yamaji, Japanese actor and voice actor
• 1955 – Val McDermid, Scottish author
• 1955 – Mary Testa, American singer and actress
• 1956 – Keith David, American actor
• 1956 – John Hockenberry, American journalist and author
• 1956 – Terry Kennedy, American baseball player and manager
• 1956 – Joyce Sidman, American author and poet
• 1957 – Neil McNab, Scottish footballer
• 1959 – Juan Camacho, Bolivian runner
• 1959 – Georgios Voulgarakis, Greek politician, 21st Greek Minister for Culture
• 1959 – Anil Ambani, Indian businessman and Chairman of Reliance Infrastructure
• 1960 – Miloš Đelmaš, Serbian footballer and manager
• 1960 – Kristine Kathryn Rusch, American author
• 1960 – Paul Taylor, American guitarist and keyboard player
• 1960 – Bradley Walsh, English television presenter, comedian, singer and former footballer
• 1961 – El DeBarge, American singer-songwriter and producer
• 1961 – Ferenc Gyurcsány, Hungarian businessman and politician, 6th Prime Minister of Hungary
• 1962 – Krzysztof Hołowczyc, Polish race car driver
• 1962 – Zenon Jaskuła, Polish cyclist
• 1962 – John P. Kee, American singer-songwriter and pastor
• 1962 – Junius Ho, Hong Kong solicitor and politician
• 1963 – Sean Fitzpatrick, New Zealand rugby union player
• 1963 – Jim Lachey, American football player and sportscaster
• 1963 – Xavier McDaniel, American basketball player and coach
• 1964 – Sean Pertwee, English actor
• 1964 – Kōji Yamamura, Japanese animator, producer, and screenwriter
• 1965 – Mick Doohan, Australian motorcycle racer
• 1965 – Andrea Jaeger, American tennis player and preacher
• 1966 – Cecilia Bartoli, Italian soprano and actress
• 1966 – Svetlana Jitomirskaya, American mathematician
• 1966 – Vladimir Voevodsky, Russian mathematician and academic (d. 2017)
• 1966 – Bill Wiggin, English politician, Shadow Secretary of State for Wales
• 1967 – Michael Greyeyes, Canadian actor, dancer, choreographer, director, and educator
• 1967 – Robert S. Kimbrough, American colonel and astronaut
• 1968 – Niurka Montalvo, Cuban-Spanish long jumper
• 1968 – Al B. Sure!, American R&B singer-songwriter, keyboard player, and producer
• 1968 – Scott Wolf, American actor
• 1969 – Horatio Sanz, Chilean-American actor and comedian
• 1970 – Deborah Compagnoni, Italian skier
• 1970 – Richie Hawtin, English-Canadian DJ and producer
• 1970 – Dave Pybus, English bass player and songwriter
• 1970 – Izabella Scorupco, Polish-Swedish actress and model
• 1971 – Joseph Kabila, Congolese soldier and politician, President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo
• 1971 – Mike Lee, American lawyer and politician
• 1971 – Shoji Meguro, Japanese director and composer
• 1971 – Noah Wyle, American actor and producer
• 1972 – Derian Hatcher, American ice hockey defenseman
• 1972 – Rob Huebel, American comedian, actor, producer, and screenwriter
• 1973 – Mikey Whipwreck, American wrestler and trainer
• 1974 – Jacob Sahaya Kumar Aruni, Indian chef (d. 2012)
• 1974 – Darin Erstad, American baseball player and coach
• 1974 – Andrew Gwynne, English lawyer and politician
• 1974 – Janette Husárová, Slovak tennis player
• 1974 – Buddy Wakefield, American poet and author
• 1975 – Russell Brand, English comedian and actor
• 1975 – Henry Burris, American football player
• 1975 – Angelina Jolie, American actress, filmmaker, humanitarian, and activist
• 1975 – Dinanath Ramnarine, Trinidadian cricketer
• 1976 – Kasey Chambers, Australian singer-songwriter and guitarist
• 1976 – Alexei Navalny, Russian lawyer and politician (d. 2024)
• 1976 – Nenad Zimonjić, Serbian tennis player
• 1977 – Dionisis Chiotis, Greek footballer
• 1977 – Alex Manninger, Austrian footballer
• 1977 – Roman Miroshnichenko, Ukrainian guitarist and composer
• 1977 – Roland G. Fryer Jr., American economist and professor
• 1979 – Naohiro Takahara, Japanese footballer
• 1979 – Daniel Vickerman, South African-Australian rugby player (d. 2017)
• 1980 – François Beauchemin, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1981 – Jennifer Carroll, Canadian swimmer
• 1981 – T.J. Miller, American actor and comedian
• 1981 – Giourkas Seitaridis, Greek footballer
• 1981 – Gary Taylor-Fletcher, English footballer
• 1981 – Natalia Vodopyanova, Russian basketball player
• 1982 – Matt Gilks, Scottish footballer
• 1982 – Abel Kirui, Kenyan runner
• 1982 – Ronnie Prude, American-Canadian football player
• 1983 – Romaric, Ivorian footballer
• 1983 – Emmanuel Eboué, Ivorian footballer
• 1983 – Olha Saladuha, Ukrainian triple jumper
• 1984 – Henri Bedimo, Cameroonian footballer
• 1984 – Kento Handa, Japanese actor and singer
• 1984 – Stuart Kettlewell, Scottish football manager and former player
• 1984 – Enrico Rossi Chauvenet, Italian footballer
• 1984 – Ian White, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1984 – Rainie Yang, Taiwanese actress
• 1985 – Leon Botha, South African painter and DJ (d. 2011)
• 1985 – Anna-Lena Grönefeld, German tennis player
• 1985 – Evan Lysacek, American figure skater
• 1985 – Lukas Podolski, German footballer
• 1985 – Bar Refaeli, Israeli model and actress
• 1985 – Oddvar Reiakvam, Norwegian politician
• 1987 – Mollie King, English singer
• 1988 – Matt Bartkowski, American ice hockey defenseman
• 1988 – Kimberley Busteed, Australian model
• 1988 – Tjaronn Chery, Dutch-born Surinamese footballer
• 1989 – Federico Erba, Italian footballer
• 1989 – Paweł Fajdek, Polish hammer thrower
• 1990 – Evan Spiegel, American Internet entrepreneur
• 1991 – Lorenzo Insigne, Italian footballer
• 1991 – Matt McIlwrick, New Zealand rugby league player
• 1991 – Ben Stokes, New Zealand-English cricketer
• 1991 – Rajiv van La Parra, Dutch footballer
• 1992 – Jordan Hugill, English footballer
• 1993 – Jonathan Huberdeau, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1993 – Juan Iturbe, Paraguayan footballer
• 1993 – Aaron Nola, American baseball player
• 1993 – Annika Taylor, British-American cross-country skier
• 1996 – Oli McBurnie, Scottish footballer
• 1998 – Central Cee, British rapper and songwriter
• 1999 – Kim So-hyun, South Korean actress
• 1999 – Drew Pavlou, Australian activist
• 2001 – Takefusa Kubo, Japanese footballer
• 2004 – Mackenzie Ziegler, American child actress, dancer, and recording artist
• 2021 – Princess Lilibet of Sussex

Deaths

Pre-1600

• 756 – Shōmu, Japanese emperor (b. 701)
• 863 – Charles, archbishop of Mainz
• 895 – Li Xi, chancellor of the Tang Dynasty
• 946 – Guaimar II (Gybbosus), Lombard prince
• 956 – Muhammad III of Shirvan, Muslim ruler
• 1039 – Conrad II, Holy Roman Emperor (b. 990)
• 1102 – Władysław I Herman, Polish nobleman (b. c. 1044)
• 1134 – Magnus I of Sweden (b. 1106)
• 1135 – Emperor Huizong of Song (b. 1082)
• 1206 – Adela of Champagne (b. 1140)
• 1246 – Isabella of Angoulême (b. 1188)
• 1257 – Przemysł I of Greater Poland (b. 1221)
• 1394 – Mary de Bohun, wife of Henry IV of England (b.c. 1368)
• 1453 – Andronikos Palaiologos Kantakouzenos, Byzantine commander
• 1463 – Flavio Biondo, Italian historian and author (b. 1392)
• 1472 – Nezahualcoyotl, Aztec poet (b. 1402)
• 1585 – Muretus, French philosopher and author (b. 1526)

1601–1900

• 1608 – Francis Caracciolo, Italian Catholic priest (b. 1563)
• 1622 – Péter Révay, Hungarian soldier and historian (b. 1568)
• 1647 – Canonicus, Grand Chief Sachem of the Narragansett (b. 1565)
• 1663 – William Juxon, English archbishop and academic (b. 1582)
• 1798 – Giacomo Casanova, Italian adventurer and author (b. 1725)
• 1801 – Frederick Muhlenberg, American minister and politician, 1st Speaker of the United States House of Representatives (b. 1750)
• 1809 – Nicolai Abildgaard, Danish neoclassical and history painter, sculptor and architect (b. 1743)
• 1830 – Antonio José de Sucre, Venezuelan general and politician, 2nd President of Bolivia (b. 1795)
• 1872 – Johan Rudolph Thorbecke, Dutch historian, jurist, and politician, Prime Minister of the Netherlands (b. 1798)
• 1875 – Eduard Mörike, German pastor and poet (b. 1804)
• 1876 – Abdülaziz of the Ottoman Empire, 32nd Sultan of the Ottoman Empire (b. 1830)

1901–present

• 1906 – George Griffith, British writer (b. 1857)
• 1922 – W. H. R. Rivers, English anthropologist, neurologist, ethnologist, and psychiatrist (b. 1864)
• 1925 – Margaret Murray Washington, American Academic (b. 1865)
• 1926 – Fred Spofforth, Australian-English cricketer and coach (b. 1853)
• 1928 – Zhang Zuolin, Chinese warlord (b. 1873)
• 1929 – Harry Frazee, American director, producer, and agent (b. 1881)
• 1931 – Hussein bin Ali, Sharif of Mecca, Sharif and Emir of Mecca, King of the Hejaz (b. 1853–54)
• 1933 – Ahmet Haşim, Turkish poet and author (b. 1884)
• 1936 – Mathilde Verne, English pianist and educator (b. 1869)
• 1939 – Tommy Ladnier, American trumpet player (b. 1900)
• 1941 – Wilhelm II, German Emperor (b. 1859)
• 1942 – Reinhard Heydrich, German SS officer and politician (b. 1904)
• 1951 – Serge Koussevitzky, Russian-American bassist, composer, and conductor (b. 1874)
• 1956 – Katherine MacDonald, American actress and producer (b. 1881)
• 1962 – Clem McCarthy, American sportscaster (b. 1882)
• 1967 – Linda Eenpalu, Estonian lawyer and politician (b. 1890)
• 1968 – Dorothy Gish, American actress (b. 1898)
• 1970 – Sonny Tufts, American actor (b. 1911)
• 1971 – György Lukács, Hungarian historian and philosopher (b. 1885)
• 1973 – Maurice René Fréchet, French mathematician and academic (b. 1878)
• 1973 – Murry Wilson, American songwriter, producer, and manager (b. 1917)
• 1981 – Leslie Averill, New Zealand doctor and soldier (b. 1897)
• 1989 – Dik Browne, American cartoonist (b. 1917)
• 1990 – Stiv Bators, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1949)
• 1992 – Carl Stotz, American businessman, founded Little League Baseball (b. 1910)
• 1993 – Bernard Evslin, American writer (b. 1922)
• 1994 – Derek Leckenby, English musician (b. 1943)
• 1997 – Ronnie Lane, English singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (b. 1946)
• 1998 – Josephine Hutchinson, American actress (b. 1903)
• 2002 – Fernando Belaúnde Terry, Peruvian architect and politician, 42nd President of Peru (b. 1912)
• 2004 – Steve Lacy, American saxophonist and composer (b. 1934)
• 2004 – Nino Manfredi, Italian actor (b. 1921)
• 2007 – Clete Boyer, American baseball player and manager (b. 1937)
• 2007 – Bill France Jr., American businessman (b. 1933)
• 2007 – Craig L. Thomas, American captain and politician (b. 1933)
• 2010 – John Wooden, American basketball player and coach (b. 1910)
• 2011 – Juan Francisco Luis, Virgin Islander sergeant and politician, 23rd Governor of the United States Virgin Islands (b. 1940)
• 2011 – Andreas P. Nielsen, Danish author and composer (b. 1953)
• 2012 – Peter Beaven, New Zealand architect, designed the Lyttelton Road Tunnel Administration Building (b. 1925)
• 2012 – Pedro Borbón, Dominican-American baseball player (b. 1946)
• 2012 – Rodolfo Quezada Toruño, Guatemalan cardinal (b. 1932)
• 2012 – Herb Reed, American violinist (b. 1929)
• 2013 – Walt Arfons, American race car driver (b. 1916)
• 2013 – Joey Covington, American drummer (b. 1945)
• 2013 – Hermann Gunnarsson, Icelandic footballer, handball player, and sportscaster (b. 1946)
• 2013 – Will Wynn, American football player (b. 1949)
• 2014 – George Ho, American-Hong Kong businessman (b. 1919)
• 2014 – Nathan Shamuyarira, Zimbabwean journalist and politician, Zimbabwean Minister of Foreign Affairs (b. 1928)
• 2014 – Sydney Templeman, Baron Templeman, English lawyer and judge (b. 1920)
• 2014 – Don Zimmer, American baseball player, coach, and manager (b. 1931)
• 2015 – Marguerite Patten, English economist and author (b. 1915)
• 2015 – Leonid Plyushch, Ukrainian mathematician and academic (b. 1938)
• 2015 – Jabe Thomas, American race car driver (b. 1930)
• 2015 – Anne Warburton, British academic and diplomat, British Ambassador to Denmark (b. 1927)
• 2016 – Carmen Pereira, Bissau-Guinean politician (b. 1937)
• 2017 – Juan Goytisolo, Spanish essayist, poet and novelist (b. 1931)
• 2021 – Clarence Williams III, American actor (b. 1939)
• 2022 – George Lamming, Barbadian novelist (b. 1927)
• 2023 – Sulochana Latkar, Indian actress (b. 1928)
• 2024 – John Blackman, Australian radio and television presenter (b. 1947)
• 2024 – Parnelli Jones, American racing driver (b. 1933)

Holidays and observances

• Christian feast day:
  • Filippo Smaldone
  • Francis Caracciolo
  • Optatus
  • Petroc of Cornwall
  • Quirinus of Sescia
  • Saturnina
  • June 4 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
• Birthday of C. G. E. Mannerheim, Marshal of Finland and the flag flying day of the Finnish Defence Forces (Finland)
• Emancipation Day or Independence Day, commemorates the abolition of serfdom in Tonga by King George Tupou in 1862, and the independence of Tonga from the British protectorate in 1970. (Tonga)
• International Day of Innocent Children Victims of Aggression (International)
• National Unity Day (Hungary)
• Trianon Treaty Day (Romania)
• Tiananmen Square Protests of 1989 Memorial Day (International)
• Day of state symbols in the Republic of Kazakhstan.

External links

• "On This Day". BBC.
• The New York Times: On This Day
• "Historical Events on June 4". OnThisDay.com.