January 4
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January 4 is the 4th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. There are 361 days remaining (362 in leap years).
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Events
- 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.
- 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 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.
- 1991 - The United Nations Security Council votes unanimously condemning Israel's treatment of Palestinians.
- 1999 - Gunmen open fire on Shiite Muslims worshipping in an Islamabad mosque killing 16 people injuring 25.
Births
- 1710 - Giovanni Battista Pergolesi, composer († 1736)
- 1785 - Jakob Grimm, philologist, one half of the Brothers Grimm († 1863)
- 1809 - Louis Braille, teacher, developed writing system for the blind († 1852)
- 1822 - [[Georg B�chmann]], philologist († 1884)
- 1838 - Charles Stratton ("General Tom Thumb"), circus performer, entertainer († 1883)
- 1881 - Wilhelm Lehmbruck, sculptor († 1919)
- 1896 - Everett Dirksen, American politician († 1969)
- 1914 - Jane Wyman, actress
- 1930 - Don Shula, American football coach
- 1932 - Carlos Saura, director
- 1935 - Floyd Patterson, boxing champion
- 1937 - Dyan Cannon, actress
- 1943 - Doris Kearns Goodwin, writer
- 1960 - Michael Stipe, singer for R.E.M.
Deaths
- 1248 - King Sancho II of Portugal
- 1821 - Elizabeth Ann Seton, American saint
- 1831 - James Monroe, President of the United States
- 1877 - Cornelius Vanderbilt, entrepreneur
- 1941 - Henri Bergson, writer
- 1960 - Albert Camus, philosopher and writer (car crash)
- 1961 - [[Erwin Schr�dinger]], physicist
- 1965 - T. S. Eliot, poet
- 1967 - Donald Campbell, water speed record setter
- 1969 - Violet and Daisy Hilton, conjoined twins, actresses
- 1998 - Mae Questel, actress
- 1999 - Iron Eyes Cody, actor
- 2000 - Tom Fears, American football star
- 2002 - Esquivel, musician
- 2002 - Antonio Todde (112) - oldest man in the world at the time (from Thiana, Sardinia - Italy)
- 2003 - Conrad L. Hall, camera operator
Holidays and observances
- Catholicism - Feast Day of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton.
See Also:
January 3 - January 5 - December 4 - February 4 -- listing of all days
January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December
References
- Adapted from the Wikipedia article, "January 4" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/January_4 October 24, 2003
