January 4 in History

Historical Events on January 4

46 BC

Julius Caesar fights Titus Labienus in the Battle of Ruspina.
871

Battle of Reading: Æthelred of Wessex fights, and is defeated by, a Danish invasion army.
1490

Anne of Brittany announces that all those who would ally with the King of France will be considered guilty of the crime of lèse-majesté.
1642

King Charles I of England attempts to arrest Five Members of Parliament, commencing England's slide into civil war.
1649

English Civil War: The Rump Parliament votes to put Charles I on trial.
1717

The Netherlands, Great Britain, and France sign the Triple Alliance.
1762

Great Britain enters the Seven Years' War against Spain and Naples.
1798

Constantine Hangerli arrives in Bucharest, Wallachia, as its new Prince, invested by the Ottoman Empire.
1847

Samuel Colt sells his first revolver pistol to the United States government.
1853

After having been kidnapped and sold into slavery in the American South, Solomon Northup regains his freedom; his memoir Twelve Years a Slave later becomes a national bestseller.
1854

The McDonald Islands are discovered by Captain William McDonald aboard the Samarang.
1863

The New Apostolic Church is established in Hamburg, Germany.
1865

The New York Stock Exchange opens its first permanent headquarters near Wall Street in New York City.
1878

Russo-Turkish War (1877-78): Sofia is liberated from Ottoman rule and becomes capital of Liberated Bulgaria in 1879.
1884

The Fabian Society is founded in London, England, United Kingdom.
1896

Utah is admitted as the 45th U.S. state.
1903

Topsy, an elephant, is electrocuted by the owners of Luna Park, Coney Island. The Edison film company shoots the film Electrocuting an Elephant of Topsy's death.
1912

The Scout Association is incorporated throughout the British Empire by royal charter.
1918

The Finnish Declaration of Independence is recognized by Russia, Sweden, Germany and France.
1944

World War II: Operation Carpetbagger, involving the dropping of arms and supplies to resistance fighters in Europe, begins.
1948

Burma gains its independence from the United Kingdom.
1951

Korean War: Chinese and North Korean forces capture Seoul.
1955

The Greek National Radical Union is formed by Konstantinos Karamanlis.
1958

Sputnik 1 falls to Earth from orbit.
1959

Luna 1 becomes the first spacecraft to reach the vicinity of the Moon.
1959

Gypsy opened and closed on Broadway after 120 performances and four previews
1966

A military coup takes place in Upper Volta (later Burkina Faso), dissolving the National Parliament and leading to a new national constitution.
1972

Rose Heilbron becomes the first female judge to sit at the Old Bailey in London, England.
1974

United States President Richard Nixon refuses to hand over materials subpoenaed by the Senate Watergate Committee.
1976

The Troubles: The Ulster Volunteer Force shoots dead six Irish Catholic civilians in County Armagh, Northern Ireland. The next day, gunmen shoot dead ten Protestant civilians nearby in retaliation.
1987

The Maryland train collision: An Amtrak train en route to Boston from Washington, D.C., collides with Conrail engines in Chase, Maryland, killing 16 people.
1989

Second Gulf of Sidra incident: A pair of Libyan MiG-23 "Floggers" are shot down by a pair of US Navy F-14 Tomcats during an air-to-air confrontation.
1990

In Pakistan's deadliest train accident an overloaded passenger train collides with an empty freight train, resulting in 307 deaths and 700 injuries.
1998

Wilaya of Relizane massacres in Algeria: Over 170 are killed in three remote villages.
1998

A massive ice storm hits eastern Canada and the northeastern United States, continuing through January 10 and causing widespread destruction.
1999

Former professional wrestler Jesse Ventura is sworn in as governor of Minnesota.
2004

Spirit, a NASA Mars rover, lands successfully on Mars at 04:35 UTC.
2004

Mikheil Saakashvili is elected President of Georgia following the November 2003 Rose Revolution.
2006

Prime Minister Ariel Sharon of Israel suffers a second, apparently more serious stroke. His authority is transferred to acting Prime Minister Ehud Olmert.
2007

The 110th United States Congress convenes, electing Nancy Pelosi as the first female Speaker of the House in U.S. history.
2010

The Burj Khalifa, the current tallest building in the world, officially opens in Dubai
2013

A gunman kills eight people in a house-to-house rampage in Kawit, Cavite, Philippines.

January 4 Birthdays

January 4 Deaths

Choose Another Date