February 4 - This day in History

February 4: General Interest
1974: Patty Hearst kidnapped

On February 4, 1974, Patty Hearst, the 19-year-old daughter of newspaper publisher Randolph Hearst, is kidnapped from her apartment in Berkeley, California, by two black men and a white woman, all three of whom are armed. Her fiance, Stephen Weed, was beaten and tied up along with... read more


American Revolution
1789 : Washington unanimously elected by Electoral College to first and second terms
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/washington-unanimously-elected-by-electoral-college-to-first-and-second-terms


Automotive
1922 : Ford buys Lincoln
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/ford-buys-lincoln


Civil War
1861 : Provisional Confederate Congress convenes
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/provisional-confederate-congress-convenes


Cold War
1945 : Yalta Conference foreshadows the Cold War
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/yalta-conference-foreshadows-the-cold-war


Crime
1974 : The Symbionese Liberation Army abducts Patty Hearst
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/the-symbionese-liberation-army-abducts-patty-hearst


Disaster
1976 : Earthquake rocks Guatemala City
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/earthquake-rocks-guatemala-city


General Interest
1789 : First U.S. president elected
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/first-us-president-elected

1861 : States meet to form Confederacy
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/states-meet-to-form-confederacy

1969 : PLO is founded
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/plo-is-founded


Hollywood
1938 : Disney releases Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/disney-releases-snow-white-and-the-seven-dwarfs


Literary
1826 : The Last of the Mohicans is published
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/the-last-of-the-mohicans-is-published


Music
1983 : Karen Carpenter dies of anorexia
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/karen-carpenter-dies-of-anorexia


Old West
1961 : The Misfits released by United Artists
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/ithe-misfitsi-released-by-united-artists


Presidential
1789 : George Washington is elected president
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/george-washington-is-elected-president


Sports
1959 : Football great Lawrence Taylor born
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/football-great-lawrence-taylor-born


Vietnam War
1962 : First U.S. helicopter is shot down in Vietnam
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/first-us-helicopter-is-shot-down-in-vietnam

1965 : Rumors fly about U.S.-Soviet pressure on allies in Vietnam
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/rumors-fly-about-us-soviet-pressure-on-allies-in-vietnam

1972 : Last Thai contingent departs South Vietnam
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/last-thai-contingent-departs-south-vietnam

World War I
1915 : Germany declares war zone around British Isles
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/germany-declares-war-zone-around-british-isles


World War II
1945 : The Yalta Conference commences
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/the-yalta-conference-commences