February 4, 1789 - Americans elect George Washington as their first president.

February 4, 1847 - The first telegraph company, The Magnetic Telegraph Company, is established in Maryland. They would go on to link New York with Washington, D.C., charging a nickel a word for messages.

February 4, 1861 - The Confederate States of America is formed by six Southern states. Jefferson Davis is chosen to head the government.

February 4, 1889 - Released from jail on charges of horse theft, Harry Longbaugh teams up with Butch Cassidy, takes on the nickname of "The Sundance Kid" and graduates to bank and train robberies.

February 4, 1890 - Thomas Edison receives a patent for a quadruplex telegraph. He was also issued a patent on this date for an "Improvement to Circuits for Chemical Telegraphs" (1873) and a reversible galvanic battery (1902).

February 4, 1902 - Charles Lindbergh, aviator, is born.

February 4, 1906 - Fingerprint identification is used for the first time by New York City policemen.

 

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February 4, 1913 - Louis Henry Perlman receives a patent for the first demountable tire-carrying rim.

February 4, 1913 - Rosa Lee Parks, Selma native who refused to give up her bus seat to a white man and move to the back, is born.

February 4, 1915 - Dr. Joseph Goldberger begins his study of the disease pellagra. He used prison populations as his test subjects. He proved that pellagra is caused by poor diet, thus beginning the modern age of nutritional research.

February 4, 1941 - Roy Plunkett receives a patent for Teflon.

February 4, 1945 - The Yalta Conference takes place in the Soviet Union, with President Roosevelt (U.S.), Winston Churchill (Great Britain) and Josef Stalin (Soviet Union) discussing the make-up of post-war Germany.

February 4, 1974 - American heiress Patty Hearst is kidnapped from her home by the Symbionese Liberation Army.