Twelve nations signed the North Atlantic Treaty in Washington, D.C., creating NATO, the first peacetime military alliance the United States joined outside the Western Hemisphere. Article 5 established collective defense: an attack on one member would be considered an attack on all.
Facing mass defection by his marshals and a coalition army closing on Paris, Napoleon Bonaparte abdicated the French throne at the Palace of Fontainebleau. The abdication ended the War of the Sixth Coalition and sent Napoleon to exile on Elba, setting the stage for his return and the Hundred Days campaign a year later.
William Henry Harrison, hero of the Battle of Tippecanoe and the War of 1812, died of pneumonia one month after his inauguration, the shortest presidency in American history and the first presidential death in office.
Under cover of a moonless thunderstorm, the ironclad gunboat USS Carondelet slipped past Confederate batteries on Island Number 10 on the Mississippi River. Despite her smokestacks catching fire, she completed the run unscathed, enabling Union forces to capture the island.
Two days after the Confederate evacuation, President Lincoln walked through the still-smoldering streets of Richmond guarded only by sailors. Formerly enslaved people thronged around him as he sat in Jefferson Davis's chair in the Confederate White House.
South African and British Commonwealth troops of General Alan Cunningham's East Africa Force entered Addis Ababa, ending Italian rule over Ethiopia after a six-month campaign that crossed deserts and mountains from Kenya and the Sudan. Emperor Haile Selassie returned to his capital a month later.
Three days into the Battle of Okinawa, Japan unleashed organized kamikaze attacks against the U.S. Fifth Fleet. The sustained aerial suicide campaign would sink 36 American ships and damage nearly 400 more before the battle ended.
Soldiers of Patton's Third Army liberated Ohrdruf, a subcamp of Buchenwald, the first Nazi concentration camp discovered by American forces. The horrors led Eisenhower to order comprehensive documentation so the atrocities could never be denied.
Twelve nations signed the North Atlantic Treaty in Washington, D.C., creating the most successful military alliance in history.
The assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. triggered riots in over 100 cities. More than 58,000 National Guard troops were mobilized across 36 cities, and 13,000 federal troops patrolled Washington, D.C., the largest domestic military deployment since the Civil War.
A U.S. Air Force C-5A Galaxy crashed near Saigon during the first flight of Operation Babylift, killing 138 of the 314 aboard including 78 children. Despite the tragedy, the operation continued and ultimately airlifted over 3,300 orphans to safety.
STS-6 placed the Space Shuttle Challenger on her maiden flight and deployed the first Tracking and Data Relay Satellite, the backbone of U.S. military and NASA space communications for the next three decades. The mission also saw the first spacewalks from a shuttle, conducted in the new Extravehicular Mobility Unit suit.
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Superintendent of Army Nurses
Social reformer who became the Union Army's Superintendent of Army Nurses during the Civil War, organizing and overseeing the nursing corps that treated soldiers from both sides. Known as "Dragon Dix" for her strict professional standards.
Admiral, U.S. Navy
Four-star admiral who served as Director of the National Security Agency and Deputy Director of the CIA. He was the first naval intelligence specialist to achieve four-star rank during a distinguished 31-year career.
Major General, U.S. Army; 9th President
Military hero of the Battle of Tippecanoe and the War of 1812 who became the 9th President. He died of pneumonia one month after his inauguration, becoming the first president to die in office.
11 military events occurred on April 4, spanning multiple centuries. Key events include: NATO: The North Atlantic Treaty Signed (1949), President Lincoln Walks Through Fallen Richmond (1865), First Major Kamikaze Attacks off Okinawa (1945), U.S. Army Liberates Ohrdruf Concentration Camp (1945), MLK Assassination Triggers Largest Domestic Military Deployment Since Reconstruction (1968).
The most significant military event on April 4 is NATO: The North Atlantic Treaty Signed (1949). Twelve nations signed the North Atlantic Treaty in Washington, D.C., creating NATO, the first peacetime military alliance the United States joined outside the Western Hemisphere. Article 5 established collective defense: an attack on one member would be considered an attack on all.
Notable military figures born on April 4 include Dorothea Dix (1802–1887), Bobby Ray Inman (1931–present).
Events on April 4 span the Cold War, the Civil War, World War II, the Vietnam War, the Colonial & Revolutionary era, covering 11 events across 2 centuries of military history.
Events on April 4 involve 3 branches of the U.S. and allied armed forces, reflecting the global scope of military operations throughout history.
Explore military history from the day you were born.
June 6
The Allied invasion of Normandy, the largest amphibious assault in history.
December 7
Japan attacks the U.S. Pacific Fleet, bringing America into World War II.
September 11
The deadliest terrorist attack in history transforms U.S. national security.
August 6
The first atomic bomb is dropped on a city, ushering in the nuclear age.
May 8
Nazi Germany surrenders unconditionally, ending World War II in Europe.
November 11
Armistice Day marks the end of World War I and honors all who served.
June 4
The turning point of the Pacific War as the U.S. Navy destroys four Japanese carriers.
July 4
The Declaration of Independence is adopted, sparking the American Revolution.
The FIM-92 Stinger helped win the Cold War by turning Afghan mujahideen into a credible anti-aircraft threat. By 2023, the United States almost ran out of them, because Raytheon stopped making them for 13 years, and the first 10 months of Ukraine support burned through the remaining stockpile.
These weapons were built to fight a war that everyone prayed would never happen. The Minuteman III has been on alert since 1970. The Typhoon-class carried enough nuclear warheads to destroy a continent. The Davy Crockett could be fired by three soldiers. Most of them have been waiting for 40 years. Here are 10 Cold War weapons built exclusively for World War III.
The MiG-31 was designed to catch the SR-71 Blackbird. It is still the fastest fighter in any air force. The Foxhound's Zaslon phased-array radar, the first ever installed in a fighter, can track 10 targets and engage 4 simultaneously at ranges exceeding 200 miles. Here is why Russia still flies a 1980s interceptor, and why the MiG-31BM carrying a Kinzhal hypersonic missile has changed what the aircraft means to modern warfare.
Nineteen armies on four continents chose the Leopard 2. No other Western tank comes close to this export record, and the reasons go far beyond German engineering.
