Calendar date · July

What happened on July 4

On July 4, -362: Battle of Mantinea: The Thebans, led by Epaminondas, defeated the Spartans.

Events

89

across history

Notable births

50

Notable deaths

50

Zodiac

Cancer

Featured moment · -362

Battle of Mantinea: The Thebans, led by Epaminondas, defeated the Spartans.

The Battle of Mantinea was fought on 4 July 362 BC between the Thebans, led by Epaminondas and supported by the Arcadians, Argives, Messenians, Thessalians, Euboeans and the Boeotian league against the Spartans, Eleans, Athenians, and Mantineans. The battle was to determine which of the two alliances would dominate Greece. However, the death of Epaminondas and his intended successors would cost Thebes the military leadership and initiative to maintain Theban supremacy in the region.

People

Born on July 4

Polina Bogusevich 2003– Russian singer (born 2003)
Moa Kikuchi 1999– Japanese singer and dancer (born 1999)
Post Malone 1995– American singer and rapper (born 1995)
Tom Barkhuizen 1993– English footballer (born 1993)
Ángel Romero 1992– Paraguayan footballer (born 1992)
Óscar Romero 1992– Paraguayan footballer (born 1992)
Jake Gardiner 1990– American ice hockey player (born 1990)
Richard Mpong 1990– Ghanaian footballer
Naoki Yamada 1990– Japanese footballer
Show 9 more — notable births on July 4
Ihar Yasinski 1990– Belarusian professional footballer (born 1990)
Benjamin Büchel 1989– Liechtensteiner footballer
Angelique Boyer 1988– Mexican actress (born 1988)
Wude Ayalew 1987– Ethiopian long-distance runner
Guram Kashia 1987– Georgian footballer (born 1987)
Ömer Aşık 1986– Turkish basketball player (born 1986)
Nguyen Ngoc Duy 1986– Vietnamese footballer
Rafael Arévalo 1986– Salvadoran tennis player (born 1986)
Willem Janssen 1986– Dutch footballer

People

Died on July 4

Lyndon Byers Canadian ice hockey player (1964–2025)
Richard Greenberg American playwright and television writer (1958–2025)
Bobby Jenks American baseball player (1981–2025)
Peter Russell-Clarke Australian chef, author and illustrator (1935–2025)
Mark Snow American composer for film and television (1946–2025)
Cláudio Hummes Brazilian Catholic prelate (1934–2022)
Kazuki Takahashi Japanese manga artist (1961–2022)
Harmoko Indonesian politician and journalist (1939–2021)
Matīss Kivlenieks Latvian ice hockey player (1996–2021)
Show 9 more — notable deaths on July 4
Henri Dirickx Belgian footballer
Robby Müller Dutch cinematographer (1940–2018)
John Blackwell American drummer (1973–2017)
Daniil Granin Soviet and Russian author
Gene Conley American baseball player (1930–2017) Abbas Kiarostami Iranian filmmaker (1941–2016)
Nedelcho Beronov Bulgarian journalist and politician
William Conrad Gibbons American academic (1926–2015)
Giorgio Faletti Italian writer (1950–2014)

Timeline

Every July 4 on record

  1. -362 Battle of Mantinea: The Thebans, led by Epaminondas, defeated the Spartans.

    Battle during the Boeotian War

    The Battle of Mantinea was fought on 4 July 362 BC between the Thebans, led by Epaminondas and supported by the Arcadians, Argives, Messenians, Thessalians, Euboeans and the Boeotian league against the Spartans, Eleans, Athenians, and Mantineans. The battle was to determine which of the two alliances would dominate Greece. However, the death of Epaminondas and his intended successors would cost Thebes the military leadership and initiative to maintain Theban supremacy in the region.

  2. 414 Emperor Theodosius II, age 13, yields power to his older sister Aelia Pulcheria, who reigned as regent and proclaimed herself empress (Augusta) of the Eastern Roman Empire.

    Eastern Roman emperor from 402 to 450

    Theodosius II, called "the Calligrapher", was Roman emperor from 402 to 450. He was proclaimed Augustus as an infant and ruled as the Eastern Empire's sole emperor after the death of his father Arcadius in 408. His reign was marked by the promulgation of the Theodosian law code and the construction of the Theodosian walls of Constantinople.

  3. 836 Pactum Sicardi, a peace treaty between the Principality of Benevento and the Duchy of Naples, is signed.

    836 treaty between Naples and Benevento

    The Pactum Sicardi was a treaty signed on 4 July 836 between the Greek Duchy of Naples, including its satellite city-states of Sorrento and Amalfi, represented by Bishop John IV and Duke Andrew II, and the Lombard Prince of Benevento, Sicard. The treaty was an armistice ending a war between the Greek states and Benevento, during which the Byzantine Empire had not intervened on behalf of its subjects. It was supposed to last five years between the Lombard prince and the Neapolitans.

  4. 993 Ulrich of Augsburg is canonized as a saint.

    Bishop of Augsburg from 923 to 973

    Ulrich of Augsburg, sometimes spelled Uodalric or Odalrici, was Prince-Bishop of Augsburg in the Holy Roman Empire. He was the first saint to be canonised not by a local authority but by a pope.

  5. 1054 A supernova, called SN 1054, is seen by Chinese Song dynasty, Arab, and possibly Amerindian observers near the star Zeta Tauri. For several months it remains bright enough to be seen during the day. Its remnants form the Crab Nebula.

    Supernova in the constellation Taurus; visible from 1054 to 1056

    SN 1054, the Crab Supernova, is a supernova that was first observed on c. S. c.

  6. 1120 Jordan II of Capua is anointed as prince after his infant nephew's death.
  7. 1187 The Crusades: Battle of Hattin: Saladin defeats Guy of Lusignan, King of Jerusalem.
  8. 1253 Battle of West-Capelle: John I of Avesnes defeats Guy of Dampierre.
  9. 1333 Genkō War: Forces loyal to Emperor Go-Daigo seize Tōshō-ji during the Siege of Kamakura. Hōjō Takatoki and other members of the Hōjō clan commit suicide, ending the rule of the Kamakura shogunate.
  10. 1359 Francesco II Ordelaffi of Forlì surrenders to the Papal commander Gil de Albornoz.
  11. 1456 Ottoman–Hungarian wars: The Siege of Nándorfehérvár (Belgrade) begins.
  12. 1534 Christian III is elected King of Denmark and Norway in the town of Rye.
  13. 1584 Philip Amadas and Arthur Barlowe arrive at Roanoke Island.
  14. 1610 The Battle of Klushino is fought between forces of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth and Russia during the Polish–Russian War, after which Polish troops entered Moscow.
  15. 1634 The city of Trois-Rivières is founded in New France (now Quebec, Canada).
Show 15 earlier entries from July 4
  1. 1744 The Treaty of Lancaster, in which the Iroquois cede lands between the Allegheny Mountains and the Ohio River to the British colonies, was signed in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.
  2. 1774 Orangetown Resolutions are adopted in the Province of New York, one of many protests against the British Parliament's Coercive Acts.
  3. 1776 American Revolution: The United States Declaration of Independence is adopted by the Second Continental Congress.
  4. 1778 American Revolutionary War: US forces under George Clark capture Kaskaskia during the Illinois campaign.
  5. 1802 The United States Military Academy opens at West Point, New York.
  6. 1803 The Louisiana Purchase is announced to the US people.
  7. 1817 In Rome, New York, construction on the Erie Canal begins.
  8. 1818 US Flag Act of 1818 goes into effect creating a 13 stripe flag with a star for each state. New stars would be added on July 4 after a new state had been admitted.
  9. 1827 Slavery is abolished in the State of New York.
  10. 1831 Samuel Francis Smith writes "My Country, 'Tis of Thee" for the Boston, Massachusetts July 4 festivities.
  11. 1832 John Neal delivers the first public lecture in the US to advocate the rights of women.
  12. 1832 Durham University established by Act of Parliament; the first recognized university to be founded in England since Cambridge over 600 years earlier.
  13. 1837 Grand Junction Railway, the world's first long-distance railway, opens between Birmingham and Liverpool.
  14. 1838 The Iowa Territory is organized.
  15. 1845 Henry David Thoreau moves into a small cabin on Walden Pond in Concord, Massachusetts. Thoreau's account of his two years there, Walden, will become a touchstone of the environmental movement.

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