This Day in History: May 4

1471: Battle of Tewkesbury restores political stability to England

The Battle of Tewkesbury was fought on May 4th, 1471, in Gloucestershire, England. It was the final battle of the Wars of the Roses between the House of Lancaster and the House of York. The Prince of Wales, Edward of Westminster, was killed, and King Edward IV regained his throne, bringing political stability to England until his death in 1483.

1675: Royal Observatory in Greenwich commissioned by King Charles II

The Royal Observatory was established in Greenwich, England, by King Charles II to improve navigation at sea. It was built on the prime meridian, and the mean solar time at this location is used as the basis for Greenwich Mean Time (GMT), the international standard for time.

1904: United States begins construction on the Panama Canal

Construction of the Panama Canal began in 1904, after the United States took over the project from French engineers. The canal, which connects the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, was completed in 1914 and remains one of the greatest engineering feats in history.

1953: Ernest Hemingway wins Pulitzer Prize for The Old Man and the Sea

Ernest Hemingway was awarded the Pulitzer Prize in 1953 for his novella, The Old Man and the Sea. The story follows an aging fisherman's struggle to catch a large marlin in the waters off Cuba and is considered one of Hemingway's finest works. The Old Man and the Sea also earned Hemingway the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1954.

1959: First Grammy Awards presented

The Grammy Awards were first presented in 1959, recognizing excellence in the music industry. The inaugural ceremony included awards for Record of the Year, Album of the Year, and Song of the Year, among others. The winners included Ella Fitzgerald, Frank Sinatra, and Henry Mancini.

1979: Margaret Thatcher becomes first female Prime Minister of the United Kingdom

Margaret Thatcher made history in 1979 when she became the first woman to be elected Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. She held the position for 11 years, during which she implemented controversial policies such as privatizing state-owned industries and reducing the power of labor unions.

1994: Yitzhak Rabin and Yasser Arafat sign peace accord

In 1994, Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat signed a peace accord that established Palestinian self-rule in Gaza and Jericho. Along with Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres, Rabin and Arafat were awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for their efforts. However, the peace process was later derailed by ongoing conflict and Rabin's assassination by a Jewish extremist in 1995.

1814: Decree of the 4th of May signed by King Ferdinand VII of Spain

The Decree of the 4th of May was signed by King Ferdinand VII of Spain in 1814, and it revoked the liberal constitution of 1812, returning Spain to absolutism. The decree led to widespread unrest and ultimately contributed to the outbreak of the Spanish War of Independence in 1820.