March 4:

Events

• 1629 - Massachusetts Bay Colony, which had the role of colonizing the Americas, is granted a Royal charter.
• 1634 - Samuel Cole opens the first tavern in Boston.
• 1681 - Charles II of England grants a land charter to William Penn for the area that will later become Pennsylvania.
• 1776 - The American War of Independence: The Americans capture " Dorchester Heights" dominating the port of Boston
• 1778 - The Continental Congress voted to ratify both the Treaty of Amity and Commerce and the Treaty of Alliance with France. The two treaties were the first entered into by the United States government.
• 1789 - In New York City, the first U.S. Congress meets and declares the new Constitution of the United States is in effect.
• 1791 - Vermont is admitted as the 14th U.S. state.
• 1794 - The 11th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution was passed by the U.S. Congress.
• 1797 - In the first ever peaceful transfer of power between elected leaders in modern times, John Adams is sworn in as President of the United States, succeeding George Washington.
• 1814 - Americans defeat the British at the Battle of Longwoods between London and Thamesville near present-day Wardsville, Ontario.
• 1837 - Chicago becomes incorporated as a city.
• 1861 - First national flag of the Confederate States of America (the 'Stars and Bars') adopted.
• 1865 - Third (and last) national flag of the Confederate States of America adopted.
• 1902 - In Chicago, the American Automobile Association is established.
• 1911 - Victor Berger (Wisconsin) becomes the first socialist congressman in U.S..
• 1917 - Jeannette Rankin of Montana becomes the first female member of the United States House of Representatives.
• 1925 - Calvin Coolidge becomes the first President of the United States to have his inauguration broadcast on radio.
• 1929 - Charles Curtis becomes the first native-American Vice President.
• 1933 - Frances Perkins becomes United States Secretary of Labor, first female member of the United States Cabinet.
• 1944 - First U.S. daylight bombing of Berlin and Anti-Germany strikes in northern Italy.
• 1954 - Peter Bent Brigham Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts, announces the first successful kidney transplant.
• 1957 - The S&P 500 stock market index is introduced, replacing the S&P 90.
• 1959 - U.S. Pioneer 4 misses Moon and becomes the second (U.S. first) artificial planet.
• 1960 - French freighter 'La Coubre' explodes in Havana, Cuba killing 100. Fidel Castro blames the U.S.
• 1962 - United States Atomic Energy Commission announces that the first atomic power plant at McMurdo Station in Antarctica is in operation.
• 1977 - The first Cray-1 supercomputer is shipped to the Los Alamos National Laboratory, New Mexico.
• 1982 - NASA launches "Intelsat V".
• 1985 - The Food and Drug Administration approves a blood test for AIDS, used since then for screening all blood donations in the United States.
• 1994 - Space Shuttle STS-62 ( Columbia 16) launches into orbit.
• 1997 - US President Bill Clinton bans federally funded human cloning research.
• 1998 - Gay rights: Oncale v. Sundowner Offshore Services: The Supreme Court of the United States rules that federal laws banning on-the-job sexual harassment also apply when both parties are the same sex.
• 2002 - Multinational Force in Afghanistan: Seven American Special Operations Forces soldiers are killed as they attempt to infiltrate the Shahi Kot Valley on a low-flying helicopter reconnaissance mission.
• 2005 - The car of released Italian hostage Giuliana Sgrena is fired on by US soldiers in Iraq, causing the death of an Italian Secret Service Agent and injuring two passengers.
• 2006 - Final contact attempt with Pioneer 10 by the Deep Space Network. No response was received.

Births

• 1746 - Kazimierz Pułaski, American Revolutionary War general (d. 1779)
• 1781 - Rebecca Gratz, American educator and philanthropist (d. 1869)
• 1792 - Samuel Slocum, American inventor (d. 1861)
• 1817 - Edwards Pierrepont, American statesman, jurist and lawyer; 34th United States Attorney General (d. 1892)
• 1826 - John Buford, American Civil War Union cavalry officer (d. 1863)
• 1826 - Theodore Judah, American railroad engineer (d. 1863)
• 1863 - John Henry Wigmore, American jurist and expert in the law of evidence (d. 1943)
• 1864 - David W. Taylor, U.S. Navy architect (d. 1940)
• 1873 - Guy Wetmore Carryl, American humorist and poet (d. 1904)
• 1873 - John H. Trumbull, 54th Governor of the U.S. state of Connecticut (d. 1961)
• 1877 - Garrett Morgan, American inventor (d. 1963)
• 1878 - Egbert Van Alstyne, American songwriter and pianist (d. 1951)
• 1880 - Channing Pollock, American playwright and critic (d. 1946)
• 1881 - Maude Fealy, American actor (d. 1971)
• 1881 - Thomas Sigismund Stribling, American writer (d. 1965)
• 1881 - Richard C. Tolman, American mathematical physicist (d. 1948)
• 1884 - Red Murray, American professional baseball player (d. 1958)
• 1887 - Violet MacMillan, American Broadway theatre actress (d. 1953)
• 1888 - Jeff Pfeffer, American professional baseball pitcher (d. 1972)
• 1888 - Knute Rockne, American football player and coach (d. 1931)
• 1889 - Oren E. Long, 10th Territorial Governor of Hawai'i (d. 1965)
• 1889 - Pearl White, American actress (d. 1938)
• 1891 - Dazzy Vance, American Major League Baseball pitcher (d. 1961)
• 1891 - Lois Wilson, founder of Al-Anon (d. 1988)
• 1895 - Milt Gross, American comic book illustrator (d. 1953)
• 1895 - Shemp Howard, American comedian ( Three Stooges) (d. 1955)
• 1897 - Lefty O'Doul, American baseball player (d. 1969)
• 1900 - Herbert Biberman, American screenwriter (d. 1971)
• 1901 - Charles Goren, American bridge player and writer (d. 1991)
• 1903 - William C. Boyd, American immunochemist (d. 1983)
• 1903 - John Scarne, American magician (d. 1985)
• 1904 - Chief Tahachee, American-born Old Settler Cherokee Indian stage and film actor (d. 1978)
• 1906 - Meindert DeJong American author (d. 1991)
• 1906 - Charles Rudolph Walgreen Jr., American businessman (d. 2007)
• 1907 - Eleanor "Sis" Daley, wife of Chicago mayor Richard J. Daley (d. 2003)
• 1908 - T. R. M. Howard, American civil rights leader (d. 1976)
• 1909 - Harry Helmsley, American real estate entrepreneur (d. 1997)
• 1912 - Carl Marzani, American documentarian (d. 1994)
• 1913 - John Garfield, American actor (d. 1952)
• 1913 - Willie Johnson (guitarist), American guitarist (d. 1995)
• 1914 - Ward Kimball, American cartoonist (d. 2002)
• 1914 - Robert R. Wilson, American physicist, sculptor and architect (d. 2000)
• 1916 - William Alland, American actor, producer, writer and director (d. 1997)
• 1917 - Clyde McCullough, American baseball player (d. 1982)
• 1918 - Margaret Osborne duPont, American tennis player
• 1919 - Buck Baker, American racecar driver (d. 2002)
• 1922 - Richard E. Cunha, American cinematographer and film director (d. 2005)
• 1922 - Martha O'Driscoll, American film actress (d. 1998)
• 1924 - Kenneth O'Donnell, aide to US President John F. Kennedy (d. 1977)
• 1926 - Richard DeVos, American billionaire, co-founder of Amway
• 1926 - Fran Warren, American singer
• 1927 - Philip Batt, 29th Governor of the U.S. state of Idaho
• 1927 - Thayer David, American actor (d. 1978)
• 1927 - Robert Orben, American magician
• 1927 - Dick Savitt, American tennis player
• 1927 - Cy Touff, American jazz musician (d. 2003)
• 1928 - Samuel Adler, American composer
• 1931 - Wally Bruner, American journalist and television host (d. 1997)
• 1931 - Bob Johnson, American ice hockey coach (d. 1991)
• 1931 - William Henry Keeler, American Roman Catholic Archbishop and Cardinal
• 1931 - Alice Rivlin, American economist
• 1932 - Ed "Big Daddy" Roth, American car designer (d. 2001)
• 1932 - Frank Wells, American entertainment businessman (d. 1994)
• 1934 - John Duffey, American bluegrass musician (d. 1996)
• 1934 - Anne Haney, American actress (d. 2001)
• 1934 - Barbara McNair, American singer and actress (d. 2007)
• 1937 - Leslie Gelb, American foreign policy advisor
• 1938 - Angus MacLise, American percussionist (d. 1979)
• 1938 - Don Perkins, American football player
• 1938 - Paula Prentiss, American actress
• 1939 - Jack Fisher, American baseball player
• 1941 - John Aprea, American actor
• 1941 - Bobby Shew, American jazz musician
• 1942 - Gloria Gaither, American gospel songwriter
• 1942 - Charles C. Krulak, 31st Commandant of the U.S. Marine Corps
• 1942 - David Matthews, American keyboardist, pianist, and arranger
• 1944 - Bobby Womack, American singer
• 1945 - Gary Williams, American basketball coach
• 1947 - David Franzoni, American screenwriter
• 1947 - Gwen Welles, American actress (d. 1993)
• 1948 - James Ellroy, American writer
• 1948 - Tom Grieve, American baseball player
• 1948 - Leron Lee, American baseball player
• 1948 - Jean O'Leary, American gay and lesbian rights activist and politician (d. 2005)
• 1950 - Rick Perry, Governor of Texas
• 1951 - Theresa Hak Kyung Cha, American novelist (d. 1982)
• 1951 - Sam Perlozzo, American Major League Baseball manager (Baltimore Orioles)
• 1951 - Mike Quarry, American light heavyweight boxer (d. 2006)
• 1952 - Ronn Moss, American actor
• 1953 - Kay Lenz, American actress
• 1953 - Chris Smith, American politician
• 1954 - Mark Chorvinsky, American author and editor (d. 2005)
• 1954 - Peter Jacobsen, American professional golfer
• 1954 - Adrian Zmed, American actor
• 1956 - Kermit Driscoll, American jazz bassist
• 1957 - Jim Dwyer, American journalist and Pulitzer Prize winner
• 1957 - Rick Mast, American NASCAR driver
• 1958 - Patricia Heaton, American actress
• 1960 - Mykelti Williamson, American actor
• 1961 - Ray Mancini, American boxer
• 1961 - Steven Weber, American actor
• 1962 - Greg Kragen, American footballer
• 1963 - Jason Newsted, American bassist ( Metallica)
• 1963 - Daniel Roebuck, American actor
• 1964 - Tom Lampkin, American baseball player
• 1965 - Stacy Edwards, American actress
• 1966 - Daniela Amavia, Greek-American actress and international model
• 1966 - Kevin Johnson, American basketball player
• 1966 - Dav Pilkey, American author
• 1966 - Grand Puba, American rapper
• 1967 - Evan Dando, American musician ( The Lemonheads)
• 1969 - Chastity Bono, American actress and gay rights activist
• 1970 - Andrea Bendewald, American actress
• 1971 - Shavar Ross, American actor-turned film director, writer, film producer and editor
• 1971 - Nick Stabile, American actor
• 1972 - Ivy Queen, American composer and singer
• 1972 - Robert Smith, American footballer
• 1973 - Phillip Daniels, American footballer
• 1973 - Len Wiseman, American director
• 1976 - Sean Covel, American film producer
• 1976 - Scott Sturgeon (Stza Crack), American musician ( Choking Victim and Leftöver Crack)
• 1976 - Vic Wunderle, American archer
• 1977 - Jason Marsalis, American musician
• 1980 - Jack Hannahan, American baseball player
• 1980 - Arash Markazi, American sportswriter
• 1982 - Landon Donovan, American soccer player
• 1984 - Zak Whitbread, American-born English soccer player
• 1985 - Chinedum Ndukwe, American football player
• 1986 - Margo Harshman, American actress
• 1990 - Andrea Bowen, American actress
• 1993 - Jenna Boyd, American actress
• 1993 - Abigail Mavity, American actress

Deaths

• 1795 - John Collins, American politician (b. 1717)
• 1807 - Abraham Baldwin, American politician (b. 1754)
• 1858 - Matthew Perry, U.S. naval officer (b. 1794)
• 1864 - Thomas Starr King, influential Californian Unitarian minister during the American Civil War (b. 1824)
• 1868 - Jesse Chisholm, American pioneer of the Chisholm Trail (b. 1805)
• 1883 - Alexander Hamilton Stephens, former Vice President of the Confederate States of America (b. 1812)
• 1888 - Amos Bronson Alcott, American philosopher (b. 1799)
• 1906 - John McAllister Schofield, former U.S. Secretary of War and Commanding General of the U.S. Army (b. 1831)
• 1922 - Bert Williams, American entertainer (b. 1874)
• 1925 - John Montgomery Ward, American baseball player (b. 1860)
• 1927 - Ira Remsen American chemist (b. 1846)
• 1938 - George Foster Peabody, American politician (b. 1852)
• 1938 - Jack Taylor, American baseball player (b. 1874)
• 1940 - Hamlin Garland, American novelist (b. 1860)
• 1944 - Louis Buchalter, Jewish American mobster (b. 1897) (executed)
• 1944 - Louis Capone, New York organized crime figure (b. 1896) (executed)
• 1944 - Emanuel Weiss, American hitman (b. 1906) (executed)
• 1944 - Fannie Barrier Williams, American educator and political activist (b. 1855)
• 1945 - Lucille La Verne, American actress (d. 1972)
• 1945 - Mark Sandrich, American film director, writer and producer (b. 1900)
• 1959 - Maxie Long, American athlete (b. 1878)
• 1960 - Herbert O'Conor, 51st Governor of the US State of Maryland (b. 1896)
• 1960 - Leonard Warren, American baritone (b. 1911)
• 1962 - George Mogridge, Major League Baseball pitcher (b. 1889)
• 1963 - William Carlos Williams, American poet (b. 1883)
• 1974 - Adolph Gottlieb, American painter (b. 1903)
• 1978 - Wesley Bolin, former Governor of the U.S. State of Arizona (b. 1909)
• 1979 - Willi Unsoeld, American mountain climber (b. 1926)
• 1981 - Yip Harburg, American lyricist (b. 1896)
• 1984 - Jewel Carmen, American actress (b. 1897)
• 1986 - Howard Greenfield, American songwriter (b. 1936)
• 1989 - Tiny Grimes, American jazz and R&B guitarist (b. 1916)
• 1990 - Hank Gathers, American basketball player (b. 1967)
• 1992 - Art Babbitt, American animator (b. 1907)
• 1993 - Art Hodes, American jazz pianist (b. 1904)
• 1995 - Eden Ahbez, American composer (b. 1908)
• 1996 - Minnie Pearl, American comedian (b. 1912)
• 1997 - Robert H. Dicke, American physicist (b. 1916)
• 1997 - Carey Loftin, American actor/stuntman (b. 1914)
• 1999 - Del Close, American actor (b. 1934)
• 2001 - Glenn Hughes, American singer ( The Village People) (b. 1950)
• 2001 - Fred Lasswell, American cartoonist (b. 1916)
• 2001 - Harold Stassen, American politician (b. 1907)
• 2004 - George Pake, American physicist (b. 1924)
• 2004 - Stephen Sprouse, American fashion designer (b. 1953)
• 2005 - Robert Consoli, American actor and musician (b. 1964)
• 2006 - John Reynolds Gardiner, American engineer (b. 1944)
• 2006 - Dave Rose, American artist (b. 1910)
• 2007 - Natalie Bodanya (Natalie Bodanskaya), American soprano (b. 1908)
• 2007 - Thomas Eagleton, American politician (b. 1929)
• 2007 - Bob Hattoy, American activist (b. 1950)

Holidays and observances

• Pennsylvania - Charter Day ( 1681).
• United States - Inauguration Day ( 1789 - 1933)
• Vermont - Admission Day ( 1791).