Births on February 4

Étienne Desmarteau, Canadian shot putter and discus thrower (d. 1905)

Étienne Desmarteau (4 February 1873 – 29 October 1905) was a Canadian athlete, winner of the weight throwing event at the 1904 Summer Olympics.

18 Feb

Vasil Levski
Bulgarian revolutionary leader Vasil Levski is executed by hanging in Sofia by the Ottoman authorities.
22 Mar

Slavery in the Spanish New World colonies
The Spanish National Assembly abolishes slavery in Puerto Rico.
1 Jul

Canadian Confederation
Prince Edward Island joins into Canadian Confederation.
4 Aug

7th Cavalry Regiment
American Indian Wars: While protecting a railroad survey party in Montana, the United States 7th Cavalry, under Lieutenant Colonel George Armstrong Custer clashes for the first time with the Cheyenne and Lakota people near the Tongue River; only one man on each side is killed.
20 Oct

Princeton University
Yale, Princeton, Columbia, and Rutgers universities draft the first code of American football rules.