Tuesday 4th of February 0708

87th Pope Sisinnius dies of gout at the age of 58 in Rome, Lazio, Italy.

Sisinnius remained pope for just twenty days. According to the Catholic Encyclopedia, "although he was so afflicted with gout that he was unable even to feed himself, he is nevertheless said to have been a man of strong character, and to have been able to take thought for the good of the city".

Wednesday 4th of February 1880

69-year-old James Donnelly, his 60-year-old wife Johannah, and their children 26-year-old Thomas and 32-year-old John and their niece Bridget are killed with clubs, spades, axes and gunfire by 25 members of the ‘Whiteboys’ Northern Division in Lucan, Ontario, Canada.

After the Whiteboys had committed their bloody work they burned the house to the ground. A small boy named Conner took refuge under the bed and escaped unhurt.

Friday 4th of February 1881

Artist Fernand Joseph Henri Léger is born in Argentan, Basse-Normandie, France.

Sunday 4th of February 1894

Musician and musical instrument designer Adolphe Antoine-Joseph Sax known for inventing the saxophone dies of unknown causes at the age of 80 in Paris, Île-de-France, France.

Sunday 4th of February 1900

Poet Jacques Prévert is born in 19 Rue de Chartres, Neuilly-sur-Seine, Île-de-France, France.

Tuesday 4th of February 1902

Aviation pioneer Charles Augustus Lindbergh aka The Lone Eagle is born in Detroit, Michigan, United States.

Monday 4th of February 1907

Victim of Fritz Haarmann aka Der Hannover Werwolf Wilhelm Erdner is born in Gehrden, Niedersachsen, Germany.

Tuesday 4th of February 1908

Model and actress Gwili Andre aka Gurlie is born as Gurli Andresen in Copenhagen, Hovedstaden, Denmark.

Saturday 4th of February 1911

24-year-old Mass poisoner John Hutchinson serves poisoned coffee at a party in his father's house in Dalkeith, Scotland, United Kingdom.

From the 18 guests two died the same evening and twelve others were violently ill. The dead were 50-year-old Charles Hutchison and Alexander Clapperton.

Sunday 4th of February 1912

Tailor, inventor and parachuting pioneer Franz Reichelt aka The Birdman aka The Flying Tailor crashes to death while jumping from the first platform with an experimental parachute at the age of 33 in Tour Eiffel, Champ de Mars, Paris, VIIe, Île-de-France, France.

Le Petit Parisien reported that Reichelt's right leg and arm were crushed, his skull and spine broken, and that he was bleeding from his mouth, nose and ears. Le Figaro noted that his eyes were wide open, dilated with terror. He was already dead by the time the onlookers rushed to his body, but he was taken to the Necker hospital where he was officially pronounced dead and then on to a police station in the rue Amelie before being returned to his home in rue Gaillon.

Wednesday 4th of February 1914

Deputy to Rupert Murdoch Muriel McKay is born in Adelaide, South Australia, Australia.

Thursday 4th of February 1915

SS-Sturmbannführer Walter Reder aka The Butcher of Marzabotto is born in Freiwaldau, Sudetenland, Austria-Hungary.

Friday 4th of February 1921

Murderer Jack Alfred Field is executed by hanging by Albert Pierrepoint at the age of 19 in Wandsworth Prison, London, Wandsworth, Greater London, United Kingdom.

Friday 4th of February 1921

Murderer William Thomas Gray is executed by hanging by Albert Pierrepoint at the age of 29 in Wandsworth Prison, London, Wandsworth, Greater London, United Kingdom.

Sunday 4th of February 1923

Beat Generation prominent Joan Vollmer is born in Loudonville, New York, United States.

Sunday 4th of February 1940

Film director George Andrew Romero aka The Grandfather of the Zombie known for Night of the Living Dead is born in New York, Bronx, New York, United States.

Wednesday 4th of February 1948

Musician Alice Cooper aka The Godfather of Shock Rock is born as Vincent Damon Furnier in Detroit, Allen Park, Michigan, United States.

Wednesday 4th of February 1948

Possible victim of the Zodiac Killer Cheri Jo Josephine Bates is born in Omaha, Nebraska, United States.

Friday 4th of February 1966

133 die in All Nippon Airways Boeing 727-81 Flight 60 crash in Tokyo Bay, Kantō, Japan.

Monday 4th of February 1974

20-year-old Newspaper heiress, kidnap victim and member of the Symbionese Liberation Army Patty Patricia Campbell Hearst is kidnapped by the Symbionese Liberation Army in 2603 Benvenue Avenue, Berkeley, California, United States.

When an attempt to swap Hearst for jailed SLA members failed, the SLA demanded that the captive's family distribute $70 worth of food to every needy Californian – an operation that would cost an estimated $400 million. On 3 April 1974 Hearst announced on an audiotape that she had joined the SLA and assumed the name 'Tania'.

Friday 4th of February 1983

Musician Karen Carpenter known from The Carpenters dies of heartbeat irregularities brought on by chemical imbalances associated with anorexia nervosa at the age of 33 in Downey, California, United States.

Saturday 4th of February 1984

20-year-old Anneliese Schreiner is attacked and raped by serial killer Thomas Rath aka Der Moormörder in Bremen, Freie Hansestadt Bremen, Germany.

Schreiner survived.

Tuesday 4th of February 1986

57-year-old John Jordan is presumably strangled by serial killer Kenneth Erskine aka The Stockwell Strangler in Josephine Avenue, London, Brixton, Greater London, United Kingdom.

Wednesday 4th of February 1987

Pianist and entertainer Liberace aka The Glitter Man aka The King of Bling dies of AIDS at the age of 68 in Palm Springs, California, United States.

Saturday 4th of February 1989

Noise music band Club Moral play their 79th concert in Les Établissements Phonographiques de l'Est, 115 Rue Du Chemin Vert, Paris, XIe, Île-de-France, France.

Saturday 4th of February 1995

Writer Patricia Mary Highsmith dies of aplastic anemia and cancer at the age of 74 in Locarno, Ticino, Switzerland.

Tuesday 4th of February 1997

55-year-old Serial killer Myra Hindley aka The Moors Murderers (with Ian Brady) is given notice that she will never leave prison during her life in London, Greater London, United Kingdom.

Thursday 4th of February 1999

Triple murderer Sean Richard Sellers aka The Schoolboy Night Stalker aka The Night Roomer is executed by lethal injection at the age of 30 in Oklahoma State Penitentiary, McAlester, Oklahoma, United States.

Sellers' last meal request was for Chinese food: eggrolls, sweet-and-sour shrimp, and batter-fried shrimp. Seller's last words included "All the people that are hating me right now and are here waiting to see me die, when you wake up in the morning, you're not going to feel any different. You're going to hate me just as much tomorrow as tonight."

Sunday 4th of February 2001

Composer Iannis Xenakis dies of a serious illness at the age of 79 in Paris, Île-de-France, France.

Tuesday 4th of February 2003

Murderer John William Elliott aka Jackie is executed by lethal injection at the age of 43 in Huntsville Prison, 815 12th Street, Huntsville, Texas, United States.

Elliott's last meal request was for one cup of hot tea from tea bags and six chocolate chip cookies.

Wednesday 4th of February 2004

Devotees of all kind gathering for the Thaipoosam Festive Days at the festival grounds in Batu Caves, Kuala Lumpur, Selangor, Malaysia.

Wednesday 4th of February 2009

Musician Lux Interior known from The Cramps dies of aortic dissection at the age of 63 in Glendale Memorial Hospital, 1420 S Central Avenue, Glendale, California, United States.

Monday 4th of February 2013

A dish of stuffed squid in Borgerhout, Antwerpen, Belgium.