Today in History for 4th August 2025

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Historical Events

1558 - The first printing of the Zohar in Spain popularizes the Jewish study of Kabbalah
1777 - Retired British cavalry officer Philip Astley establishes his riding school with performances in London, a precursor to the circus
1897 - Henry A. Rucker is appointed Collector of Internal Revenue for Georgia
1941 - Winston Churchill departs on the Prince of Wales to the US
2015 - Muppets Miss Piggy and Kermit the Frog announce the end of their relationship on Twitter

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Famous Birthdays

1900 - Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon, British consort of King George VI and Queen Mother after his death, born in Hitchin, Hertfordshire, England (d. 2002)
1900 - Nabi Tajima, 2nd oldest Japanese supercentenarian and the last living person certified to have been born in the 19th century, born in Kikaijima, Japan
1901 - Louis Armstrong, American jazz trumpeter and singer ("Hello, Dolly!"; "What A Wonderful World"), born in New Orleans, Louisiana (d. 1971)
1904 - Helen Kane [Schroeder], American actress (Heads Up, Pointed Heels), born in The Bronx, New York (d. 1966)
1910 - William Schuman, American composer (Pulitzer Prize, 1943), and administrator (Juilliard, 1945-61; Lincoln Center, 1961-68), born in New York City (d. 1992)

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Famous Deaths

1938 - Pearl White, American actress/stunt woman (Perils of Pauline), dies at 49
1981 - Melvyn Douglas [Melvyn Edouard Hesselberg], American actor (Hud, Being There, Ghost Story), dies at 80
1984 - Edmond Ryan, actor (Human Monster), dies at 79 of a heart attack
2003 - Frederick Chapman Robbins, American pediatrician and virologist and Nobel Prize laureate 1954, dies at 86
2019 - Bob Wilber, American jazz clarinetist, saxophonist, and band leader (The World's Greatest Jazz Band), dies at 91

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