May 4th

• 1949

  A plane crash kills 31 people, including the entire Torino Serie A soccer team, near Turin, Italy.

• 1904

  Construction of the Panama Canal, connecting the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, begins.

• 1878

  Thomas Edison demonstrates his Phonograph for the first time at the Grand Opera House.

• 2008

  Seth MacFarlane signs a $100 million deal with Fox for Family Guy and American Dad.

• 1904

  Charles Rolls and Henry Royce meet in Manchester, leading to the formation of the car manufacturer Rolls-Royce.

• 1970

  Four student anti-war protesters are killed by the National Guard at Kent State University.

• 1932

  Al Capone is imprisoned in Atlanta Penitentiary for income tax evasion.

• 1776

  Rhode Island declares its independence from Great Britain.

• 1904

  Cy Young pitches the first perfect game in American baseball history.

• 2012

  SpaceX's Dragon spacecraft becomes the first commercial spacecraft to dock with the International Space Station.

• 1893

  Cowboy Bill Pickett invents the technique of bulldogging in cattle handling.

• 1626

  Peter Minuit, a Dutch explorer, purchases Manhattan Island from Native Americans for 60 Dutch guilders.