Login | May 04, 2026
Today in History: May 4, four killed during anti-war protest at Kent State University
The Associated Press
Published: May 4, 2026
Today is Monday, May 4, the 124th day of 2026. There are 241 days left in the year.
Today in history:
On May 4, 1970, Ohio National Guardsmen opened fire on student demonstrators during an anti-war protest at Kent State University, killing four students and wounding nine others.
Also on this date:
In 1886, at Haymarket Square in Chicago, a labor demonstration for an 8-hour workday turned into a deadly riot when a bomb exploded, killing seven police officers and at least four civilians.
In 1904, the United States took over construction of the Panama Canal from France.
In 1942, the Battle of the Coral Sea, the first naval clash fought entirely with carrier aircraft, began in the Pacific during World War II. (The outcome was considered a tactical victory for Japan, but ultimately a strategic victory for the Allies.)
In 1961, the first group of “Freedom Riders” left Washington, D.C., to challenge racial segregation on interstate buses and in bus terminals.
In 1998, Unabomber Theodore Kaczynski was given four life sentences plus 30 years by a federal judge in Sacramento, California, under a plea agreement that spared him the death penalty.
In 2006, a federal judge sentenced Zacarias Moussaoui to life in prison for his role in the 9/11 attacks, telling the convicted terrorist, “you will die with a whimper.”
In 2011, President Barack Obama said he had decided not to release death photos of Osama bin Laden because their graphic nature could incite violence and create national security risks. Officials told The Associated Press that the Navy SEALs who stormed bin Laden’s compound in Pakistan shot and killed him after they saw him appear to reach for a weapon.
In 2023, former Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio and three other members of the far-right extremist group were convicted of orchestrating a plot to attack the U.S. Capitol seeking to keep Donald Trump in power after the Republican lost the 2020 presidential election. (Tarrio was later sentenced to 22 years in prison but was pardoned by Trump when he began his second elected term in January 2025.)
Today’s Birthdays: Jazz musician Ron Carter is 89. Pulitzer Prize-winning political commentator George Will is 85. Actor Richard Jenkins is 79. Country singer Randy Travis is 67. Comedian Ana Gasteyer is 59. Actor Will Arnett is 56. Basketball Hall of Famer Dawn Staley is 56. Rock musician Mike Dirnt (Green Day) is 54. Designer and TV personality Kimora Lee Simmons is 51. Sportscaster/TV host Erin Andrews is 48. Singer Lance Bass (NSYNC) is 47. Actor Ruth Negga is 45. Golfer Rory McIlroy is 37. Singer-songwriter Rex Orange County is 28. Actor Navia Robinson is 21. Soccer player Kenan Yildiz is 21.