Wikipedia:Selected anniversaries/June 4
This is a list of selected June 4 anniversaries that appear in the "On this day" section of the Main Page. To suggest a new item, in most cases, you can be bold and edit this page. Please read the selected anniversaries guidelines before making your edit. However, if your addition might be controversial or on a day that is or will soon be on the Main Page, please post your suggestion on the talk page instead.
Please note that the events listed on the Main Page are chosen based more on relative article quality and to maintain a mix of topics, not based solely on how important or significant their subjects are. Only four to five events are posted at a time and thus not everything that is "most important and significant" can be listed. In addition, an event is generally not posted this year if it is also the subject of the scheduled featured article or picture of the day.
To report an error when this appears on the Main Page, see Main Page errors. Please remember that this list defers to the supporting articles, so it is best to achieve consensus and make any necessary changes there first.
June 4: Independence Day in Tonga (1970)
- 1039 – Henry III became Holy Roman Emperor following the death of his father, Conrad II.
- 1792 – Royal Navy Captain George Vancouver claimed Puget Sound in the Pacific Northwest for Great Britain.
- 1913 – Emily Davison, an activist for Women's suffrage in the United Kingdom, was fatally injured when she was struck by King George V's horse at the Epsom Derby.
- 1939 – The German ocean liner St. Louis, carrying 963 Jewish refugees seeking asylum from Nazi persecution, was denied permission to land in the United States, after already having been turned away from Cuba.
- 1942 – The Battle of Midway (pictured), a major battle in the Pacific Theatre of World War II, began with a massive Imperial Japanese strike on Midway Atoll.
- 1996 – The maiden flight of the Ariane 5 expendable launch system failed, with the rocket self-destructing 37 seconds after launch because of a malfunction in the control software, one of the most expensive computer bugs in history.