Mark Zuckerberg launched Facebook from his Harvard dorm room
MajorWhat started as a website exclusive to Harvard students would become the world's largest social network with over 2 billion users. The site was initia...
February 4 in History
Significant events that happened on this day.
Historical Events
2004
2003
Yugoslavia officially ceased to exist after 83 years
The country's parliament voted to dissolve and reform as the loose federation of Serbia and Montenegro. This marked the final chapter in the breakup t...
1974
Patty Hearst was kidnapped by the Symbionese Liberation Army from her Berkeley apartment
The newspaper heiress was abducted at gunpoint, but within months joined her captors in robbing banks. Her case sparked massive debate about Stockholm...
1969
Yasser Arafat was appointed leader of the Palestine Liberation Organization
The 39-year-old would become one of the most controversial political figures of the 20th century. He would lead the PLO for 35 years, winning the Nobe...
1948
Ceylon became an independent nation within the British Commonwealth
The island nation gained independence peacefully after 133 years of British rule. It would later change its name to Sri Lanka in 1972 to emphasize its...
1945
The Yalta Conference began with Roosevelt, Churchill, and Stalin meeting to plan post-WWII Europe
MajorThe 'Big Three' Allied leaders met in the Crimean resort town to discuss Germany's fate and the post-war order. Their decisions would shape the Cold W...
1938
The Disney animated film 'Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs' premiered in wide release
After a limited premiere in December 1937, the first full-length animated feature film opened nationwide. Industry skeptics had called it 'Disney's Fo...
1936
Radium was first produced synthetically by scientists
This breakthrough came decades after Marie Curie's discovery of the radioactive element. Unfortunately, by this time, many radium dial painters and re...
1912
Byron Nelson was born, the golfer who would win 11 consecutive PGA tournaments
Nelson's 1945 winning streak remains unmatched in professional golf history and likely never will be broken. He won 18 tournaments that year, earning...
1906
Dietrich Eckart was born, the man who would later mentor Adolf Hitler
Eckart was a German journalist and playwright who introduced Hitler to influential Munich circles and helped shape his early ideology. Hitler dedicate...
1861
The Confederate States of America was formed by seven Southern states in Montgomery, Alabama
MajorRepresentatives from South Carolina, Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, and Texas established a breakaway government. Four more states...
1789
George Washington was unanimously elected as the first President of the United States
MajorWashington received all 69 electoral votes, the only president in American history to be elected unanimously. He initially didn't want the job and had...
1783
Britain officially declared the end of hostilities in the American Revolutionary War
MajorWhile the Treaty of Paris wouldn't be signed until September, Britain's proclamation on this date effectively ended eight years of warfare. The United...
