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4 February| 4 February 1111 | Italy, Papal States, Holy Roman Empire [political events] | In a meeting in Sutri, Italy, Pope Paschal II tries to settle the ‘Investiture Contest’ (conflict between the papacy and the Empire over lay investiture of senior churchmen) by offering to surrender all church lands in Germany to Emperor Henry V of Germany if he will renounce the practice of lay investiture (investiture by lay rulers). Henry accepts Paschal's offer, knowing that it is unworkable, and opposition by the German bishops, who will lose their wealth and status, ensures that it is never enforced. | | 4 February 1586 | United Netherlands, Holy Roman Empire, England [political events] | The English courtier and favourite of Queen Elizabeth I of England, Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester, accepts the title of governor and captain general of the Netherlands, but Queen Elizabeth insists that he resign it. His efforts to centralize authority in the United Netherlands are opposed by the (relatively) more secure Dutch provinces of Holland and Zeeland. | | 4 February 1874 | UK, Africa [wars] | The British general Garnet Wolseley burns the Ashanti capital of Kumasi in west Africa (modern Ghana), ending the war between the Ashanti and Britain. | | 4 February 1902 | [births and deaths] | Charles Lindbergh, US aviator, the first person to fly solo nonstop across the Atlantic, born in Detroit, Michigan (–1974). | | 4 February 1915 | United Kingdom, Germany [World War I (1914–18)] | Germany declares the establishment of a submarine blockade around Britain from 18 February, and declares that any foreign vessel found in the area will be considered a legitimate target. | | 4 February 1928 | United Kingdom [technology] | The first demonstration of colour television is given at the Dominion Hotel, London, England, on a 9 ft by 12 ft screen, by John Logie Baird. | | 4 February 1938 | Germany [administration] | The German war minister and Wehrmacht (army) commander, Field Marshal Werner von Blomberg, resigns following a personal domestic scandal. The Führer formally declares himself commander with Wilhelm Keitel as chief of staff. Joachim von Ribbentrop is appointed foreign minister. | | 4–11 February 1945 | USSR, USA, UK, Germany [diplomacy] | At the Yalta Conference in the Crimea, USSR, the US president, Franklin D Roosevelt, the British prime minister, Winston Churchill, and the Soviet leader, Joseph Stalin, plan for the division of post-war Germany into four occupied zones, with four zones in Berlin, the capital. | | 4 February 1962 | UK [television] | The Sunday Times is the first newspaper in Britain to introduce a separate colour supplement, the Sunday Times Colour Section (which becomes the Sunday Times Magazine), an initiative followed by other newspapers. | | 4 February 1971 | UK [motor vehicles] | The prestigious Rolls Royce company, the manufacturer of luxury cars, goes bankrupt. To save face and to prevent job losses, the British government intervenes. | | 4 February 1998 | Afghanistan [natural disasters] | Nearly 4,000 people are killed and 30,000 lose their homes when an earthquake measuring 6.1 on the Richter scale hits the mountainous province of Takhar in northern Afghanistan. | | 4 February 2003 | Yugoslavia Serbia and Montenegro [law and government] | The Federal Republic of Yugoslavia ceases to exist as the two remaining republics in the old Yugoslav federation officially become a new constitutional entity called Serbia and Montenegro. Both republics will have their own presidents and governments, but share a common central administration for defence and foreign affairs. |
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