4 February 2025 (MIA)

1783 – Britain declared a formal cessation of hostilities with its former colonies, the United States of America.

1789 – Electors unanimously chose George Washington to be the first president of the United States.

1801 – John Marshall was sworn in as chief justice of the United States.

1861 – Delegates from six Southern states met in Montgomery, Ala., to form the Confederate States of America.

1872 – One of the first Macedonian revolutionists Goce Delcev was born in Kukus, Aegean Macedonia. As a member of TMORO, he was named an apostle of the revolution. Died in a fight against the Ottoman Army in the village of Banica, Aegean Macedonia, on May 4, 1903.

1932 – New York Gov. Franklin D. Roosevelt opened the Winter Olympic Games at Lake Placid.

1941 – The United Service Organizations (USO) came into existence.

1945 – President Roosevelt, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill and Soviet leader Josef Stalin began a wartime conference at Yalta.

1974 – Newspaper heiress Patricia Hearst was kidnapped in Berkeley, Calif., by the Symbionese Liberation Army.

1976 – More than 22,000 people died when a severe earthquake struck Guatemala and Honduras.

1982 – President Reagan announced a plan to eliminate all medium-range nuclear missiles in Europe.

1994 – Eric Derycke, Secretary of State for Development Co-operation stated in the Belgium Senate that the Belgium government passed decision for establishment of diplomatic relations with the Republic of Macedonia.

1999 – Amadou Diallo, an unarmed West African immigrant, was shot and killed in front of his Bronx home by four plainclothes New York City police officers. The officers had been conducting a nighttime search for a rape suspect.

2000 – Austrian President Thomas Klestil swore in a coalition government that included Joerg Haider’s far-right Freedom Party. European Union sanctions were a result of the action.

2003 – Yugoslavia was formally dissolved by lawmakers. The country was replaced with a loose union of its remaining two republics, Serbia and Montenegro.

2004 – The social networking website Facebook.com was launched.