NOVEMBER 4 | Birthdays and Events
Notable Birthdays for November 4
Benjamin Robbins Curtis (1809-1874) - First and only Whig jurist for the Supreme Court.
Henry J. Lutcher (1836-1912) - Luther Moore Lumber Company.
Will Rogers (1879-1935) - Western actor.
Alfred Lee Loomis (1887-1975) - Physicist who invented the LORAN Long Range Navigation System.
Alton Adams (1889-1987) - The first Black band leader for the U.S. Navy.
Stanley Cortez (1908-1997) - Cinematographer (cameraman) for over 70 films.
Bert Patenaude (1909-1974) - Soccer player who is credited for being the first player to use the Hat Trick.
Dixie Lee (1911-1952) - Singer and actress who was also the first wife of Bing Crosby.
John Basilone (1916-1945) - Medal of Honor recipient.
Walter Cronkite (1916-2009) - Journalist,and evening news reporter.
Ruth Handler (1916-2002) - Inventor of the Barbie doll.
Martin Balsam (1919-1996) - Screen and stage actor.
Mary Sherman Morgan (1921-2004) - Scientist and inventor of the liquid fuel Hydyne that boosted the first satellite in the U.S.
Doris Roberts (1925-2016) - Actress known as Marie Barone in the sitcom Everybody Loves Raymond.
Larry Bunker (1928-2005) - Timpani player for the LA Philharmonic.
Frank J. Prial (1930-2012) - Journalist and writer of Wine Talk in The NY Times.
Loretta Swit (1937-2025) - Actress best known for her role as Major Margaret "Hot Lips" Houlihan in the t.v. series M*A*S*H.
Patricia Bath (1942-2019) - Ophthalmologist and first female member of the Jules Stein Eye Institute.
Laura Bush (1946-Still Living) - Educator and 41th First Lady of the U.S.
Robert Mapplethorpe (1946-1989) - American photographer who is well known for his celebrity photographs.
Charles Frazier (1950-Still Living) - Novelist who wrote Cold Mountain.
Van Stephenson (1953-2001) - Guitarist and tenor vocalist for the country music band BlackHawk.
Kathy Griffin (1960-Still Living) - Comedian and actress.
Ralph Macchio (1961-Still Living) - Actor known as Danny in the Karate Kid and Cobra Kai.
Jeff Probst (1961-Still Living) - Host of Survivor.
Matthew Tobin Anderson (1968-Still Living) - Children and teen book authors.
Tim DeBoom (1970-Still Living) - Worldwide triathlete.
Orlando Pace (1975-Still Living) - Former offensive tackle for the Chicago Bears (NFL).
Memorable Birthdays for November 4
1791 - The Western Confederacy of American Indians win the Battle of the Wabash of the U.S.
1841 -The first wagon caravan arrives in California after traveling 1,730 miles from the eastern part of the country.
1845 - Election Day is moved to the first Tuesday in after the first Monday in November.
1846 - Benjamin Palmer patents the Artificial Leg.
1854 - A lighthouse is built on Alcatraz Island.
1856 - James Buchanan becomes the 15th President of the U.S.
1861 - The University of Washington is founded in Seattle.
1862 - Richard Jordan Gatling patents the hand cranked machine gun.
1873 - Dentist John Beers patents the Gold Crown.
1879 - Black inventor Thomas Elkins patents the Refrigerating Apparatus.
1879 - James Ritty patents the first Cash Register as a solution to stop his bartenders from stealing from him.
1904 - Harvard builds the first official football stadium.
1914 - Vogue holds the first model/fashion show in NY.
1928 - Gangster Arnold Rothstein is shot for not paying debts.
1939 - President Roosevelt orders the U.S Customs Service to implement the Neutrality Act of 1939.
1939 - The Packard automobile is unveiled as the first car to have air conditioning.
1952 - The National Security Agency (NSA) is established.
1962 - The U.S. stops all above-ground nuclear weapons testing.
1980 - Ronald Reagan becomes the 40th President of the U.S.
1981 - Dr. George Nichopoulos is acquitted of overprescribing prescription drugs to Elvis Presley.
1987 - Six year old Lisa Steinberg is beaten into a coma by her adoptive father Joel Steinberg.
1994 - The first conference on the commercial potential of the World Wide Web is held in San Francisco.
2008 - Barack Obama becomes the first person biracial person to become the President of the U.S.