February 4 in History

Ohio's legislature authorized the construction of the Ohio and Erie Canal and the Miami and Erie Canal, connecting Lake Erie to the Ohio River. These waterways slashed shipping costs by over ninety percent, transforming Ohio from a frontier backwater into a commercial powerhouse and triggering a population boom across the Midwest.

French President Jacques Chirac and UNESCO Director General Koichiro Matsuura signed the Charter of Paris at the World Summit Against Cancer, establishing February 4 as World Cancer Day. The initiative created a permanent global platform for cancer awareness and research coordination, uniting governments and health organizations in a shared commitment to reduce cancer mortality.

German extortionist Klaus-Peter Sabotta received a life sentence for sabotaging railway lines and attempted murder in a scheme to extort Deutsche Bahn. His attacks derailed trains and endangered thousands of passengers, prompting a major overhaul of Germany's rail security infrastructure and surveillance protocols.

Septimius Severus died in York, England, in 211 AD. His last words to his sons Caracalla and Geta: "Be harmonious, enrich the soldiers, and scorn all other men." They ignored the first part. Within a year, Caracalla had Geta murdered in their mother's arms. Then he killed everyone who'd ever supported his brother—estimates run to 20,000 people. The soldiers got their money though. Dad would've been proud of that part.

Yazid ibn Abi Sufyan commanded 3,000 cavalry against a Christian Arab garrison near Gaza. The defenders were Ghassanids — Arabs who'd fought for Byzantium for generations, same language and tactics as the men attacking them. The battle lasted hours. When it ended, the road to Damascus was open. Within three years, the entire Levant would be under Muslim control. The Byzantine Empire lost half its territory because a local garrison couldn't hold a single town in Palestine.

Zhao Kuangyin's troops staged a mutiny and draped a yellow robe over him while he slept. That was the story anyway. He'd been a general for the six-year-old emperor. His soldiers "insisted" he take the throne. He accepted reluctantly. Then he immediately paid off every potential rival and retired the old generals with gold and estates. The Song dynasty lasted 319 years. It started with the most polite coup in Chinese history.

Zhao Kuangyin's troops got him drunk, dressed him in yellow robes while he slept, and declared him emperor when he woke up. He hadn't planned a coup. His officers forced it. He agreed on one condition: no killing. The transition was bloodless. He bought out rival generals with land and titles instead of executing them. The Song Dynasty he founded lasted 319 years — longer than the distance between us and the American Revolution. It started with a hangover.

The Prussian Confederation — cities and nobles who'd had enough of the Teutonic Knights' taxes and trade restrictions — declared they were done. They sent a formal letter of disobedience to the Grand Master in February 1454. Not a rebellion. Disobedience. They'd already offered their allegiance to Poland's king three days earlier. The Teutonic Knights had ruled Prussia for 150 years, claiming divine authority. The Confederation's letter said no. Thirteen years of war followed. Poland won. The Knights lost half their territory and became Poland's vassals. A religious military order brought down by merchants who refused to pay.

John Rogers burned at Smithfield on February 4, 1555. First Protestant executed under Mary I. He'd translated the Bible into English under a pseudonym — "Thomas Matthew" — because that work was illegal. When Mary took the throne and restored Catholicism, he refused to recant. They offered him a pardon if he'd just say the words. He wouldn't. His wife and eleven children watched from the crowd. Witnesses said he washed his hands in the flames "as if the fire were cold water." Within three years, Mary's government burned 283 more. The executions were so unpopular they helped ensure England would never return to Rome.

Washington didn't want the job. He'd already turned down offers to become king. He wanted to retire to Mount Vernon, fix his fields, breed mules. But every single elector voted for him—69 votes, the only unanimous presidential election in American history. He took eight days to travel from Virginia to New York for the inauguration because crowds kept stopping him in every town. He wrote in his diary that he felt like a man going to his execution. He set the two-term precedent that lasted 144 years, not because it was law, but because he walked away. The republic survived because its most powerful man chose to be less powerful.