# November 4
**November 4** is the 308th day of the year in the [Gregorian calendar](https://www.edgepedia.org/gregorian-calendar), with 57 days remaining in common years[1](https://eventguide.com/today/days/2026/11/04.htm). It falls near the middle of a stretch of dates on which several modern political turning points occurred: the storming of the American embassy in Tehran (1979), the assassination of Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin (1995), and the election of [Barack Obama](https://www.edgepedia.org/barack-obama) as the first African American president of the United States (2008)[2](https://www.timeanddate.com/on-this-day/november/4) • [3](https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/november-4).
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Position in the year | 308th day, 57 days remaining[1](https://eventguide.com/today/days/2026/11/04.htm) |
| 1979 | Students seized the U.S. embassy in Tehran, beginning the Iran hostage crisis, which lasted 444 days[2](https://www.timeanddate.com/on-this-day/november/4) |
| 1995 | Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin was shot and killed in Tel Aviv by Yigal Amir after a peace rally[2](https://www.timeanddate.com/on-this-day/november/4) |
| 2008 | Barack Obama was elected the 44th U.S. president, the first African American elected to the office, with 365 electoral votes to John McCain's 173[3](https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/november-4) |
| 1922 | Howard Carter's team uncovered the first step leading to Tutankhamun's tomb in the Valley of the Kings[4](https://historyguesser.app/on-this-day/november-4) |
| 2016 | The Paris Agreement on climate change came into effect[3](https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/november-4) |
| Fixed observances | National Candy Day (United States), Unity Day (Russia), Flag Day (Panama)[5](https://www.holidays-and-observances.com/november-4.html) • [6](https://thisday.info/events/november/4) |
## Political turning points
**The Iran hostage crisis.** On November 4, 1979, a group of students loyal to Ayatollah Khomeini seized the United States embassy in Tehran[2](https://www.timeanddate.com/on-this-day/november/4) • [3](https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/november-4). The sources disagree on the number of Americans taken on the first day: timeanddate counts 52 hostages at the start of what became a 444-day crisis[2](https://www.timeanddate.com/on-this-day/november/4), the U.S. Navy's history account records 66 Americans taken, including three active-duty Navy personnel, with 13 released on November 19–20[7](https://www.history.navy.mil/today-in-history/november-4.html), and HISTORY describes 90 hostages seized by "radical Islamic fundamentalists"[3](https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/november-4). The account of the motive is consistent: the students were angered that the deposed Shah had been allowed into the United States for medical treatment[3](https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/november-4). The crisis led to a breakdown in American and Iranian diplomatic relations[2](https://www.timeanddate.com/on-this-day/november/4).
**The Rabin assassination.** On November 4, 1995, [Yitzhak Rabin](https://www.edgepedia.org/yitzhak-rabin), Israel's prime minister, was shot in the arm and back as he walked to his car after a peace rally in [Tel Aviv](https://www.edgepedia.org/tel-aviv)'s Kings Square and died during surgery at Ichilov Hospital[2](https://www.timeanddate.com/on-this-day/november/4) • [3](https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/november-4). The killer, [Yigal Amir](https://www.edgepedia.org/yigal-amir), opposed the role Rabin had played in the Oslo Peace Accords, the agreements between Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization that set up a process of Palestinian self-determination and created the Palestinian Authority[2](https://www.timeanddate.com/on-this-day/november/4). Rabin, a Nobel Prize laureate, had served as Israel's fifth prime minister[2](https://www.timeanddate.com/on-this-day/november/4), and the date is commemorated unofficially in Israel as the Yitzhak Rabin Memorial[6](https://thisday.info/events/november/4).
**The 2008 U.S. election.** In the presidential election held on November 4, 2008, Illinois Senator Barack Obama won a victory over Arizona Senator John McCain, making him the 44th person to hold the U.S. presidency and the first African American chosen for the White House[3](https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/november-4). [The 47](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-47)-year-old Democrat won 365 electoral votes and nearly 53 percent of the popular vote; his 72-year-old Republican challenger captured 173 electoral votes[3](https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/november-4). Obama was elected to the office twice[2](https://www.timeanddate.com/on-this-day/november/4).
November 4 has been a recurring election day in the United States. [Ronald Reagan](https://www.edgepedia.org/ronald-reagan) defeated incumbent [Jimmy Carter](https://www.edgepedia.org/jimmy-carter) in the 1980 presidential election[8](https://chunks.app/on-this-day/november-4), and [Grover Cleveland](https://www.edgepedia.org/grover-cleveland) was elected president in 1884[9](https://worldhistoryproject.org/what-happened-on/11/4/). In 1924, Nellie Tayloe Ross of Wyoming became the first woman elected governor of a U.S. state[6](https://thisday.info/events/november/4); she took office as the first and, to date, only female governor of Wyoming in 1925 and later became the first female director of the United States Mint[2](https://www.timeanddate.com/on-this-day/november/4).
## War, science, and discovery
Several military events cluster on this date. In 1791, a multitribal confederation resisting colonial expansion routed a large contingent of U.S. troops along the Wabash River in western Ohio; the clash, known as the Battle of the Wabash or [St. Clair's Defeat](https://www.edgepedia.org/st-clairs-defeat), was the biggest victory ever won by Native Americans over U.S. forces[3](https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/november-4). In 1956, Soviet tanks and troops crushed the Hungarian uprising that had begun twelve days earlier; thousands were killed or wounded and nearly a quarter-million [Hungarians](https://www.edgepedia.org/hungarians) fled the country[3](https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/november-4). In 1942, after his forces were heavily defeated at [El Alamein](https://www.edgepedia.org/el-alamein) in Egypt, Erwin Rommel defied a direct order from Hitler and began retreating, a withdrawal that marked the turning of the North Africa campaign against Germany[8](https://chunks.app/on-this-day/november-4). In 1918, one week before the armistice that ended World War I, the British poet Wilfred Owen was killed during a British assault on the German-held Sambre Canal on the Western Front[3](https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/november-4).
Two scientific and cultural events of November 4 stand out for their later consequences. On November 4, 1960, the primatologist [Jane Goodall](https://www.edgepedia.org/jane-goodall), then 26, observed a chimpanzee at Gombe Stream National Park in Northern Tanzania making and using tools, an ability previously believed to be exclusive to humans[3](https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/november-4). On November 4, 1922, [Howard Carter](https://www.edgepedia.org/howard-carter)'s team uncovered the first step leading to the tomb of [Tutankhamun](https://www.edgepedia.org/tutankhamun) in the Valley of the Kings[4](https://historyguesser.app/on-this-day/november-4) • [3](https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/november-4).
Invention and law also appear in the record. In 1879, James Ritty of Dayton, Ohio, received a patent for a mechanical cash register he called an "incorruptible cashier", invented with his engineer brother John to stop bartenders at his saloon from pilfering profits[3](https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/november-4). In 1939, President Roosevelt signed the Neutrality Act into law, repealing the arms embargo and immediately declaring the waters around the British Isles a combat zone[7](https://www.history.navy.mil/today-in-history/november-4.html). In 2016, the Paris Agreement, an international pledge to reduce carbon emissions with the goal of keeping global average temperatures from rising more than 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, came into effect[3](https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/november-4).
## Holidays and observances
More than ten named holidays and observances fall on November 4[10](https://cdn.nationaltoday.com/november-4/). Among fixed-date observances, National Candy Day is marked in the United States[5](https://www.holidays-and-observances.com/november-4.html), Russia observes Unity Day (its Day of Unity)[10](https://cdn.nationaltoday.com/november-4/), and Panama celebrates Flag Day[10](https://cdn.nationaltoday.com/november-4/). In leap-order observances, Stress Awareness Day (also International Stress Awareness Day) falls on the first Wednesday in November[5](https://www.holidays-and-observances.com/november-4.html). King Tut Day, tied to the 1922 tomb discovery, is also listed for the date[5](https://www.holidays-and-observances.com/november-4.html). Dominica holds Community Service Day and Italy observes National Unity and Armed Forces Day on this date[6](https://thisday.info/events/november/4).
Among month-long observances that include November 4 are National Novel Writing Month, Native American Heritage Month, National Diabetes Month, and National Gratitude Month[11](https://www.holidaycalendar.io/day/november-4-holidays).
## Births and deaths
Notable people born on November 4 include the Austrian pathologist Hans Chiari (1851–1916), who described Budd–Chiari syndrome in 1899 and the Arnold–Chiari malformation in 1896[12](https://litfl.com/otd/11-04/); the American journalist Walter Cronkite (1916–2009), dubbed "the most trusted man in America" for his coverage of the JFK assassination and the Vietnam War[3](https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/november-4); the Chinese physicist and Nobel Prize laureate Charles K. Kao (born 1933)[2](https://www.timeanddate.com/on-this-day/november/4); the American photographer Robert Mapplethorpe (1946–1989)[3](https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/november-4); the former First Lady Laura Bush (born 1946)[3](https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/november-4); and the actor Matthew McConaughey (born 1969)[13](https://efemeridesdecine.com/en/on-this-day/november-4/).
Notable deaths include the German composer Felix Mendelssohn, pianist and conductor, who died on November 4, 1847[2](https://www.timeanddate.com/on-this-day/november/4); the French composer Gabriel Fauré, who died in 1924[2](https://www.timeanddate.com/on-this-day/november/4); the French film director Jacques Tati, who died in 1982[13](https://efemeridesdecine.com/en/on-this-day/november-4/); Rabin in 1995[2](https://www.timeanddate.com/on-this-day/november/4); the American author and filmmaker Michael Crichton in 2008[2](https://www.timeanddate.com/on-this-day/november/4) • [13](https://efemeridesdecine.com/en/on-this-day/november-4/); and the French historian, critic, and philosopher René Girard in 2015[2](https://www.timeanddate.com/on-this-day/november/4).
## References
1. [November 4, 2026 – EventGuide](https://eventguide.com/today/days/2026/11/04.htm)
2. [On This Day in History – November 4, timeanddate](https://www.timeanddate.com/on-this-day/november/4)
3. [This Day in History – November 4, HISTORY](https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/november-4)
4. [What happened on November 4 in history, HistoryGuesser](https://historyguesser.app/on-this-day/november-4)
5. [November 4 Holidays and Observances, Holidays and Observances](https://www.holidays-and-observances.com/november-4.html)
6. [November 4 in History, thisday.info](https://thisday.info/events/november/4)
7. [Today in Naval History – November 4, U.S. Navy](https://www.history.navy.mil/today-in-history/november-4.html)
8. [November 4 in history, Chunks](https://chunks.app/on-this-day/november-4)
9. [What Happened on November 4, World History Project](https://worldhistoryproject.org/what-happened-on/11/4/)
10. [November 4 Holidays & Observances, National Today](https://cdn.nationaltoday.com/november-4/)
11. [November 4 Holidays 2026, Holiday Calendar](https://www.holidaycalendar.io/day/november-4-holidays)
12. [November 4 – On This Day in Medical History, LITFL](https://litfl.com/otd/11-04/)
13. [Cinema history on November 4, Efemérides de Cine](https://efemeridesdecine.com/en/on-this-day/november-4/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Society and history › History and archaeology › General historical chronologies › Month and day chronicle pages › October to December*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license