text: Reuters historical calendar - September 4 . LONDON 1996-08-28 Following are some of the major events to have occurred on September 4 in history . 1241 - Alexander III , King of Scotland , born . King from 1249-1286 , he consolidated royal power , leaving Scotland united and independent . 1260 - The Ghibellines retook the city of Florence from the Florentine Guelfs at the battle of Monte Aperto . 1768 - Francois-Rene ( Vicomte de ) Chateaubriand born . He was a politician , one of the first French romantic writers and ambassador to the British court . He wrote " Rene " , a seminal work in the French romantic movement and a famous autobiography " Memoires d'Outre Tombe " . 1781 - Los Angeles was founded by Spanish settlers and named " El Pueblo de Nuestra Senora La Reina de Los Angeles " ( The Town of Our Lady the Queen of the Angels ) . 1824 - Anton Bruckner born . Austrian composer and organist , he wrote nine symphonies on a huge scale and three grand masses in the romantic tradition . 1870 - In France , the Second Empire was ended and Napoleon III was deposed after his surrender two days earlier in the Franco-Prussian war . 1886 - At Skeleton Canyon in Arizona , Geronimo , Apache chief and leader of the last great Red Indian rebellion finally surrendered to General Nelson Miles . 1892 - Prolific French modernist composer Darius Milhaud born . He wrote a jazz ballet " La Creation du Monde " and scores for many films including an early version of " Madame Bovary " . 1906 - German-born U.S. biologist Max Delbruck born . Winner of the 1969 Nobel Prize for physiology or medicine for work on the genetic structure of viruses that infect bacteria . 1907 - Edvard Grieg , Norwegian composer best known for his " Peer Gynt Suite " and his Piano Concerto , died in Bergen . 1908 - U.S. film director Edward Dmytryk born . Best known for his films " Crossfire " - one of Hollywood 's first attempts to deal with racial discrimination and " Farewell My lovely " . 1909 - The world 's first Boy Scout Rally was held at Crystal Palace near London . 1944 - Brussels and Antwerp in Belgium were liberated by British and Canadian troops in World War Two . 1948 - Wilhelmina , Queen of the Netherlands from 1890 and throughout World Wars One and Two abdicated in favour of her daughter Juliana . 1963 - Robert Schuman , French statesman , Prime Minister 1947-48 and Foreign Minister 1948-52 , died . He was responsible for the establishment of the European Coal and Steel Community . 1964 - The Forth Road Bridge in Scotland , measuring 6156 ft , and with a centre span of 3300 ft , was opened by Her Majesty the Queen . 1965 - Albert Schweitzer , theologian , philosopher and organist died in Gabon where he had set up a hospital in 1913 . Acclaimed for his interpretations of J.S. Bach 's works , he also won the Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts on behalf of the " Brotherhood of Nations " in 1952 . 1972 - At the Olympic Games , U.S. swimmer Mark Spitz won his seventh gold medal , a record for a single Olympiad . 1974 - East Germany and the United States established formal diplomatic relations for the first time . 1977 - E.F. ( Fritz ) Schumacher , economic guru and author of the best seller " Small is Beautiful " , died on his way to a conference in Switzerland . 1989 - Georges Simenon , writer of 84 books based on the detective character Inspector Maigret , died . 1992 - Bulgaria 's former Communist leader Todor Zhivkov , deposed in 1989 , was sentenced to seven years in prison after being found guilty of embezzling state funds . 1995 - Declaring " united Jerusalem is ours " , Israel launched a 15-month celebration of the 3,000th anniversary of King David 's proclamation of the city as the capital of the Jewish people . 1995 - The Fourth World Conference on Women , the biggest U.N. gathering in history , began in China 's Great Hall of the People with a U.N. declaration that sexual equality was the last great project of the 20th century .