1. On April 4, 1865, Union troops under the command of General George C. Crook defeated Confederate forces at the Battle of Cumberland Church in Greene County, West Virginia. This battle was one of the last engagements of the Civil War fought west of the Appalachian Mountains.

2. On April 4, 1892, the first coal mine labor strike in West Virginia history began when miners in Fayette County walked off the job to protest their low wages and poor working conditions. The strike affected over 10,000 miners and would last for several months.

3. On April 4, 1930, the West Virginia State Capitol building in Charleston was officially dedicated. The building, designed by architect Cass Gilbert, took 11 years to complete and cost over $10 million to build.

4. On April 4, 1945, West Virginia native PFC Jack Lucas was awarded the Medal of Honor for his heroic actions during the Battle of Iwo Jima in World War II. Lucas, who was only 17 at the time, threw himself on top of two live grenades to save the lives of his fellow Marines.

5. On April 4, 1960, the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Minnetonka ran aground off the coast of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, while transporting nuclear weapons from Norfolk, Virginia, to Charleston, South Carolina. The incident, which did not lead to a nuclear disaster, highlighted the dangers of transporting nuclear weapons by sea.