- 1493 Pope Alexander VI divides ownership of the New World between Spain and Portugal along the Demarcation Line in his bull Inter Caetera.
- 1821 Russian mathematician Pafnuty Chebyshev born; theory of prime numbers; invented general orthogonal polynomials; Chebyshev's inequality in probability theory; the Chebyshev linkage converts rotary to linear motion.
- 1929 Dutch-American actress Audrey Hepburn born; survived hostage murders during the WWII German occupation of the Netherlands; Roman Holiday (1952), Sabrina (1954), Breakfast at Tiffany's (1960), Charade (1963), My Fair Lady (1964), How to Steal a Million (1966), Wait Until Dark (1967).
- 1942 The Battle of the Coral Sea begins, the first aircraft carrier battle; the Japanese abandon their invasion of New Guinea and push toward Australia; carrier USS Lexington lost.
Sunday, May 4, 2008
Today in History: May 4
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