June 4 Birthday
On June 4, 1989, the Chinese People's Liberation Army moved into Tiananmen Square in Beijing to clear pro-democracy protesters who had occupied the square for seven weeks. Students had gathered in April to mourn the death of Hu Yaobang, a reformist official. The protests grew to include over a million people. The government declared martial law on May 20. On the night of June 3-4, tanks and armored vehicles entered the city. Soldiers fired live ammunition into crowds. The exact death toll is unknown — estimates range from several hundred to several thousand. The image of an unidentified man standing before a column of tanks became the iconic photograph of the protest. He was pulled away by bystanders and has never been identified. The Chinese government has never released an official count. The Battle of Midway began on June 4, 1942, when American dive bombers attacked the Japanese carrier fleet. Three Japanese carriers — Akagi, Kaga, and Soryu — were sunk in five minutes. A fourth, Hiryu, was sunk later that day. The battle turned the Pacific War. Japan had six fleet carriers at the start of the war; after Midway, it had two. The victory was the result of American codebreakers who had partially decrypted Japanese messages and deduced the target. Admiral Nimitz positioned three American carriers northeast of Midway and waited. The Japanese never knew they were there. Angelina Jolie, born this day in 1975, is the daughter of Jon Voight. She won an Oscar for Girl, Interrupted (1999) at twenty-four. She directed Unbroken and First They Killed My Father. She had a double mastectomy after testing positive for a BRCA gene mutation, which her mother had also carried — her mother died of ovarian cancer at fifty-six. People born on June 4 fall under the zodiac sign of Gemini. The birthstone is Pearl and the birth flower is Rose. Historical events on June 4 include 1942: Battle of Midway begins — turning point in Pacific War, 1989: Chinese army crushes Tiananmen Square protests (hundreds killed), 1944: Allies liberate Rome from German occupation. Famous people born on June 4 include Angelina Jolie (1975), Ruth Westheimer (1928), Keith David (1956).