January 4
January 4 is the 4th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. There are 361 days remaining (362 in leap years).
Events
up to 19th century
- 871 - Battle of Reading - Ethelred of Wessex defeats Danish invasion army .
- 1493 - Christopher Columbus leaves the New World, ending his first journey .
- 1642 - English Civil War: King Charles I of England attacks Parliament .
- 1717 - The Netherlands, England and France sign the Triple Alliance.
- 1762 - England declares war on Spain and Naples .
- 1847 - Samuel Colt sells his first revolver pistol to the United States government.
- 1850 - The first American ice-skating club is formed (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania).
- 1884 - The Fabian Society is founded in London
- 1885 - The first successful appendectomy is performed (Dr. William Grant; patient was Mary Gartside).
- 1896 - Utah is admitted as the 45th U.S. state.
20th century
- 1936 - Billboard magazine publishes its first pop music charts.
- 1944 - World War II: The Battle of Monte Cassino begins.
- 1948 - Burma gains its independence from the United Kingdom.
- 1951 - Korean War: Chinese and North Korean forces capture Seoul.
- 1957 - After 69 years the last issue of Colliers magazine is published.
- 1958 - Sputnik 1 falls to Earth from its orbit (launched on October 4, 1957).
- 1962 - New York City introduces a train that operates without a crew on-board.
- 1965 - United States President Lyndon B. Johnson proclaims his "Great Society" during his State of the Union address.
- 1967 - Donald Campbell dies as his jet-powered Bluebird K7 crashes during an attempt to break the water speed record.
- 1972 - Rose Heilbron becomes the first woman judge in the United Kingdom (Old Bailey, London).
- 1974 - United States President Richard Nixon refuses to hand over materials subpoenaed by the Senate Watergate Committee.
- 1987 - An Amtrak train en route to Boston from Washington, DC collides with Conrail engines killing 16.
- 1999 - Gunmen open fire on Shiite Muslims worshipping in an Islamabad mosque killing 16 people injuring 25.
21st century
- 2004 - Dr. Mikhail Saakashvili won Presidential Elections in the Republic of Georgia.
Births
up to 19th century
- 1643 (Old Style) - Isaac Newton, British alchemist, mathematician, astronomer, scientist and philosopher (d. 1727)
- 1710 - Giovanni Battista Pergolesi, Italian composer (d. 1736)
- 1720 - Johann Friedrich Agricola, German composer (d. 1774)
- 1785 - Jakob Grimm, German philologist, one half of the Brothers Grimm (d. 1863)
- 1804 - Charlotte Ramsey Lennox, English author and poet (b. 1727)
- 1809 - Louis Braille, teacher, developed writing system for the blind (d. 1852)
- 1822 - Georg Büchmann, philologist (d. 1884)
- 1838 - Charles Stratton ("General Tom Thumb"), circus performer, entertainer (d. 1883)
- 1874 - Josef Suk, Czech composer and violinist (d. 1935)
- 1881 - Wilhelm Lehmbruck, sculptor (d. 1919)
- 1883 - Max Eastman, writer (d. 1969)
- 1896 - Everett Dirksen, American politician (d. 1969)
- 1896 - André Masson, French artist (d. 1987)
20th century
- 1914 - Jane Wyman, actress
- 1930 - Don Shula, American football coach
- 1931 - Adi Lady Lala Mara, Fijian chieftainess and former First Lady; widow of long-time former Prime Minister and President, Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara.
- 1932 - Carlos Saura, director
- 1935 - Floyd Patterson, boxing champion
- 1937 - Dyan Cannon, actress
- 1941 - Garrison Hearst, All-Pro NFL RB
- 1943 - Doris Kearns Goodwin, writer
- 1960 - Michael Stipe, singer for R.E.M.
Deaths
- 1248 - King Sancho II of Portugal (b. 1207)
- 1804 - Charlotte Lennox, English author and poet
- 1821 - Elizabeth Ann Seton, American saint (b. 1774)
- 1831 - James Monroe, President of the United States (b. 1758)
- 1877 - Cornelius Vanderbilt, entrepreneur (b. 1794)
- 1896 - Joseph Hubert Reinkens, German Old Catholic bishop (b. 1821)
- 1941 - Henri Bergson, writer (b. 1859)
- 1960 - Albert Camus, philosopher and writer (car crash) (b. 1913)
- 1961 - Erwin Schrödinger, physicist (b. 1887)
- 1965 - T. S. Eliot, poet (b. 1888)
- 1967 - Donald Campbell, water speed record setter (b. 1921)
- 1969 - Violet and Daisy Hilton, conjoined twins, actresses
- 1986 - Christopher Isherwood, writer (b. 1904)
- 1998 - Mae Questel, actress
- 1999 - Iron Eyes Cody, actor (b. 1904)
- 2000 - Tom Fears, American football star
- 2002 - Esquivel, musician (b. 1918)
- 2002 - Antonio Todde (112) - oldest man in the world at the time (from Thiana, Sardinia, Italy) (b. 1889)
- 2003 - Conrad Hall, cinematographer, a two-time Academy Award-winner
Holidays and observances
- Feast day of St Elizabeth Ann Seton
- The eleventh day of Christmas in Western Christianity
January 3 - January 5 - December 4 - February 4 -- listing of all days