January 4

Events

Pre-1600

*46 BC – Julius Caesar fights Titus Labienus in the Battle of Ruspina.
* 871 – Battle of Reading: Æthelred of Wessex and his brother Alfred are defeated by a Danish invasion army.

1601–1900

*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 declares war on Spain, which meant the entry of Spain into the Seven Years' War.
*1798 – Constantine Hangerli arrives in Bucharest, Wallachia, as its new Prince, invested by the Ottoman Empire.
*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, a Christian and chiliastic church, is established in Hamburg, Germany.
*1878 – Russo-Turkish War (1877–78): Sofia is liberated from Ottoman rule.
*1884 – The Fabian Society is founded in London, United Kingdom.
* 1885 – Sino-French War: French troops under General Oscar de Négrier defeat a numerically superior Qing force at Núi Bop in northern Vietnam.
*1896 – Utah is admitted as the 45th U.S. state.

1901–present

*1903 – Topsy, an elephant, is electrocuted by the owners of Luna Park, Coney Island. The Edison film company records the film ''Electrocuting an Elephant'' of Topsy's death.
* 1909 – Explorer Aeneas Mackintosh of the Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition escaped death by fleeing across ice floes.
* 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, becoming an independent republic.
*1951 – Korean War: Chinese and North Korean forces capture Seoul for the second time.
*1956 – The Greek National Radical Union is formed by Konstantinos Karamanlis.
*1958 – Sputnik 1, the first artificial Earth satellite, launched by the Soviet Union in 1957, falls to Earth from orbit.
*1959 – ''Luna 1'' becomes the first spacecraft to reach the vicinity of the Moon.
*1972 – Rose Heilbron becomes the first female judge to sit at the Old Bailey in London, UK.
*1975 – This date overflowed the 12-bit field that had been used in TOPS-10. There were numerous problems and crashes related to this bug while an alternative format was developed.
*1976 – The Troubles: The Ulster Volunteer Force shoots dead six Irish Catholic civilians in County Armagh, Northern Ireland. The next day, gunmen would 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, United States, 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 – 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, United States.
*2000 – A Norwegian passenger train departing from Trondheim, collides with a local train coming from Hamar in Åsta, Åmot; 19 people are killed and 68 injured in the accident.
* 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 – Ehud Olmert becomes acting Prime Minister of Israel after the incumbent, Ariel Sharon, suffers a second, apparently more serious stroke.
* 2007 – The 110th United States Congress convenes, electing Nancy Pelosi as the first female Speaker of the House in U.S. history.
*2008 – A Let L-410 Turbolet crashes in the Los Roques Archipelago in Venezuela, killing 14 people.
* 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.
*2018 – Hennenman–Kroonstad train crash: A passenger train operated by Shosholoza Meyl collides with a truck on a level crossing at Geneva Station between Hennenman and Kroonstad, Free State, South Africa. Twenty people are killed and 260 injured.

Births

Pre-1600

* 659 – Ali ibn Husayn Zayn al-Abidin (d.680)
* 1077 – Emperor Zhezong of China (d. 1100)
* 1334 – Amadeus VI, Count of Savoy (d. 1383)
*1467 – Bodo VIII, Count of Stolberg-Wernigerode (d. 1538)
*1581 – James Ussher, Irish archbishop and historian (d. 1656)

1601–1900

*1643 ( NS) – Isaac Newton, English mathematician and physicist (d. 1726/27)
*1654 – Lars Roberg, Swedish physician and academic (d. 1742)
*1672 – Hugh Boulter, English-Irish archbishop (d. 1742)
*1710 – Giovanni Battista Pergolesi, Italian composer, violinist, and organist (d. 1736)
*1720 – Johann Friedrich Agricola, German organist and composer (d. 1774)
*1785 – Jacob Grimm, German philologist and mythologist (d. 1863)
*1809 – Louis Braille, French educator, invented Braille (d. 1852)
*1813 – Isaac Pitman, English linguist and educator (d. 1897)
*1832 – George Tryon, English admiral (d. 1893)
* 1838 – General Tom Thumb, American circus performer (d. 1883)
*1839 – Carl Humann, German archaeologist, architect, and engineer (d. 1896)
*1848 – Katsura Tarō, Japanese general and politician, 6th Prime Minister of Japan (d. 1913)
*1858 – Carter Glass, American publisher and politician, 47th United States Secretary of the Treasury (d. 1946)
* 1864 – Clara Emilia Smitt, Swedish doctor and author (d. 1928)
*1869 – Tommy Corcoran, American baseball player and umpire (d. 1960)
* 1874 – Josef Suk, Czech violinist and composer (d. 1935)
*1877 – Marsden Hartley, American painter and poet (d. 1943)
*1878 – A. E. Coppard, English poet and short story writer (d. 1957)
* 1878 – Augustus John, Welsh painter and illustrator (d. 1961)
*1881 – Wilhelm Lehmbruck, German sculptor (d. 1919)
* 1883 – Max Eastman, American author and poet (d. 1969)
* 1883 – Johanna Westerdijk, Dutch pathologist and academic (d. 1961)
*1884 – Guy Pène du Bois, American painter, critic, and educator (d. 1958)
*1889 – M. Patanjali Sastri, Indian lawyer and jurist, 2nd Chief Justice of India (d. 1963)
*1891 – Edward Brooker, English-Australian sergeant and politician, 31st Premier of Tasmania (d. 1948)
*1895 – Leroy Grumman, American engineer and businessman, co-founded Grumman Aeronautical Engineering Co. (d. 1982)
*1896 – Everett Dirksen, American politician (d. 1969)
* 1896 – André Masson, French painter and illustrator (d. 1987)
*1897 – Chen Cheng, Chinese politician, Vice President of the Republic of China (d. 1965)
*1900 – James Bond, American ornithologist and zoologist (d. 1989)

1901–present

*1901 – C. L. R. James, Trinidadian journalist and theorist (d. 1989)
*1902 – John A. McCone, American businessman and politician, 6th Director of Central Intelligence (d. 1991)
*1905 – Sterling Holloway, American actor (d. 1992)
*1913 – Malietoa Tanumafili II, Samoan ruler (d. 2007)
*1916 – Lionel Newman, American pianist and composer (d. 1989)
* 1916 – Robert Parrish, American actor and director (d. 1995)
* 1920 – William Colby, American intelligence officer, 10th Director of Central Intelligence (d. 1996)
*1924 – Marianne Werner, German shot putter
*1925 – Veikko Hakulinen, Finnish skier and technician (d. 2003)
*1927 – Paul Desmarais, Canadian businessman and philanthropist (d. 2013)
* 1927 – Barbara Rush, American actress
*1929 – Günter Schabowski, German journalist and politician (d. 2015)
*1930 – Sorrell Booke, American actor and director (d. 1994)
* 1930 – Don Shula, American football player and coach (d. 2020)
*1931 – William Deane, Australian judge and politician, 22nd Governor-General of Australia
* 1931 – Nora Iuga, Romanian poet, writer and translator
* 1932 – Carlos Saura, Spanish director and screenwriter
*1934 – Rudolf Schuster, Slovak politician, 2nd President of Slovakia
* 1935 – Floyd Patterson, American boxer (d. 2006)
* 1937 – Grace Bumbry, American operatic soprano
* 1937 – Dyan Cannon, American actress, director, producer, and screenwriter
*1940 – Gao Xingjian, Chinese novelist, playwright, and critic, Nobel Prize laureate
* 1940 – Brian Josephson, Welsh physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
* 1941 – George P. Cosmatos, Italian-Canadian director and screenwriter (d. 2005)
* 1941 – Kalpnath Rai, Indian politician (d. 1999)
*1942 – Bolaji Akinyemi, Nigerian political scientist, academic, and politician
* 1942 – Jim Downing, American race car driver and inventor
* 1942 – John McLaughlin, English guitarist and songwriter
*1943 – Doris Kearns Goodwin, American historian and author
* 1943 – Hwang Sok-yong, South Korean author and educator
*1944 – Gary Stevens, Australian rugby league player
* 1944 – Alan Sutherland, New Zealand rugby player (d. 2020)
*1945 – Vesa-Matti Loiri, Finnish actor, musician and comedian (d. 2022)
* 1945 – Richard R. Schrock, American chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
* 1946 – Arthur Conley, American singer-songwriter (d. 2003)
* 1947 – Chris Cutler, English percussionist, lyricist and music theorist
* 1947 – Marie-Thérèse Letablier, French sociologist and academic
* 1948 – Kostas Davourlis, Greek footballer (d. 1992)
* 1948 – Cissé Mariam Kaïdama Sidibé, Malian civil servant and politician, Prime Minister of MaliMme Cissé Mariam Kaïdama Sidibé, nouveau Premier ministre
. Le Républicain. 4 April 2011.
* 1949 – Mick Mills, English footballer and manager
*1950 – Khondakar Ashraf Hossain, Bangladesh poet and academic (d. 2013)
*1953 – Norberto Alonso, Argentinian footballer
* 1954 – Rob Kerin, Australian politician, 43rd Premier of South Australia
* 1954 – Tina Knowles, American fashion designer, founded House of Deréon
*1956 – Ann Magnuson, American actress and performance artist
* 1956 – Zehava Gal-On, Israeli politician
* 1956 – Bernard Sumner, English singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
*1957 – Patty Loveless, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
*1958 – Matt Frewer, American-Canadian actor
*1960 – Gavin Miller, Australian rugby league player
* 1960 – Michael Stipe, American singer-songwriter and producer
*1961 – Sidney Green, American basketball player and coach
*1963 – Dave Foley, Canadian comedian, actor, director, and producer
* 1963 – Martina Proeber, German diver
*1964 – Susan Devoy, New Zealand squash player
* 1964 – Adrian Shelford, New Zealand rugby league player (d. 2003)
* 1965 – Guy Forget, French tennis player
* 1965 – Craig Revel Horwood, Australian-English dancer, choreographer, and director
* 1965 – Julia Ormond, English actress and producer
* 1966 – Deana Carter, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
*1967 – Johnny Nelson, English boxer and sportscaster
* 1967 – David Toms, American golfer and philanthropist
* 1967 – David Wilson, Australian rugby player
*1969 – Kees van Wonderen, Dutch footballer and manager
* 1971 – Shane Walker, Australian rugby league player
* 1971 – Colin Ward, Australian rugby league player
*1973 – Frank Høj, Danish cyclist
* 1974 – Danilo Hondo, German cyclist
*1975 – Shane Carwin, American mixed martial artist and wrestler
* 1975 – Paul Watson, English footballer and physiotherapist
*1976 – Ted Lilly, American baseball player
* 1978 – Dominik Hrbatý, Slovak tennis player
*1979 – Shergo Biran, German footballer
* 1979 – Tristan Gommendy, French race car driver
* 1980 – Miguel Monteiro, Portuguese footballer
* 1980 – Justin Ontong, South African cricketer
* 1982 – Richard Logan, English footballer
* 1982 – Danny Sullivan, Australian rugby league player
*1984 – Kho Jabing, Malaysian and convicted murderer executed in Singapore (d. 2016).
*1985 – Kari Aalvik Grimsbø, Norwegian handball player
* 1985 – Gökhan Gönül, Turkish footballer
* 1985 – Al Jefferson, American basketball player
*1986 – Younès Kaboul, French footballer
* 1986 – Andrei Krauchanka, Belarusian decathlete
* 1986 – James Milner, English footballer
*1987 – Kay Voser, Swiss footballer
*1988 – Anestis Argyriou, Greek footballer
* 1988 – Maximilian Riedmüller, German footballer
*1989 – Graham Rahal, American race car driver
*1990 – Iago Falque, Spanish footballer
* 1990 – Toni Kroos, German footballer
* 1990 – Alberto Paloschi, Italian footballer
* 1992 – Kris Bryant, American baseball player
*1994 – Derrick Henry, American football player
* 1996 – Jackson Hastings, Australian rugby league player
* 1996 – Jasmine Paolini, Italian tennis player
*1997 – Ante Žižić, Croatian basketball player
*1998 – Liza Soberano, Filipina actress
*1999 – Nico Hischier, Swiss ice hockey player
* 1999 – Jaeman Salmon, Australian rugby league player

Deaths

Pre-1600

* 871 – Æthelwulf, Saxon ealdorman
* 874 – Hasan al-Askari, eleventh of the Twelve Imams (probable; b. 846)
*1248 – Sancho II of Portugal (b. 1209)
*1344 – Robert de Lisle, 1st Baron Lisle, English peer (b. 1288)
* 1399 – Nicholas Eymerich, Catalan theologian and inquisitor
*1424 – Muzio Sforza, Italian condottiero
*1428 – Frederick I, Elector of Saxony (b. 1370)
*1584 – Tobias Stimmer, Swiss painter and illustrator (b. 1539)

1601–1900

*1604 – Ferenc Nádasdy, Hungarian noble (b. 1555)
*1695 – François-Henri de Montmorency, duc de Luxembourg, French general (b. 1628)
*1761 – Stephen Hales, English clergyman and physiologist (b. 1677)
*1782 – Ange-Jacques Gabriel, French architect, designed École Militaire (b. 1698)
*1786 – Moses Mendelssohn, German philosopher and theologian (b. 1729)
* 1804 – Charlotte Lennox, English author and poet (b. 1730)
*1821 – Elizabeth Ann Seton, American nun and saint (b. 1774)
*1825 – Ferdinand I of the Two Sicilies (b. 1751)
*1863 – Roger Hanson, American general (b. 1827)
* 1874 – Thomas Gregson, English-Australian lawyer and politician, 2nd Premier of Tasmania (b. 1798)
*1877 – Cornelius Vanderbilt, American businessman and philanthropist (b. 1794)
*1880 – Anselm Feuerbach, German painter and educator (b. 1829)
* 1880 – Edward William Cooke, English painter and illustrator (b. 1811)
*1882 – John William Draper, English-American physician, chemist, and photographer (b. 1811)
* 1883 – Antoine Chanzy, French general (b. 1823)
*1891 – Antoine Labelle, Canadian priest (b. 1833)
*1896 – Joseph Hubert Reinkens, German bishop and academic (b. 1821)
*1900 – Stanisław Mieroszewski, Polish-born politician, writer, historian and member of the Imperial Council of Austria (b. 1827)

1901–present

*1904 – Anna Winlock, American astronomer and academic (b. 1857)
*1910 – Léon Delagrange, French pilot and sculptor (b. 1873)
* 1912 – Clarence Dutton, American geologist and soldier (b. 1841)
*1919 – Georg von Hertling, German academic and politician, 7th Chancellor of the German Empire (b. 1843)
* 1920 – Benito Pérez Galdós, Spanish author and playwright (b. 1843)
*1924 – Alfred Grünfeld, Austrian pianist and composer (b. 1852)
*1925 – Nellie Cashman, American nurse, restaurateur, entrepreneur, and gold prospector (b. 1845)
*1927 – Süleyman Nazif, Turkish poet and civil servant (b. 1870)
*1931 – Art Acord, American actor and stuntman (b. 1890)
* 1931 – Louise, Princess Royal of the United Kingdom (b. 1867)
* 1941 – Henri Bergson, French philosopher and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1859)
*1943 – Jerzy Iwanow-Szajnowicz, Greek-Polish swimmer and water polo player (b. 1911)
* 1943 – Marina Raskova, Russian pilot and navigator (b. 1912)
*1944 – Kaj Munk, Danish playwright and pastor (b. 1898)
*1960 – Albert Camus, French novelist, philosopher, and journalist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1913)
*1961 – Erwin Schrödinger, Austrian physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1887)
* 1965 – T. S. Eliot, American-English poet, playwright, and critic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1888)
*1967 – Donald Campbell, English racing driver and world speed record holder (b. 1921)
*1969 – Paul Chambers, American bassist and composer (b. 1935)
*1975 – Carlo Levi, Italian painter, author, and activist (b. 1902)
*1985 – Brian Horrocks, Indian-English general (b. 1895)
*1986 – Christopher Isherwood, English-American author and academic (b. 1904)
* 1986 – Phil Lynott, Irish singer-songwriter, bass player, and producer (b. 1949)
*1988 – Lily Laskine, French harp player (b. 1893)
*1990 – Harold Eugene Edgerton, American engineer and academic (b. 1903)
* 1990 – Henry Bolte, Australian politician, 38th Premier of Victoria (b. 1908)
*1994 – R. D. Burman, Indian film composer and music director (b. 1939)
*1995 – Eduardo Mata, Mexican conductor and composer (b. 1942)
* 1995 – Sol Tax, American anthropologist and academic (b. 1907)
*1997 – Harry Helmsley, American businessman (b. 1909)
*1998 – Mae Questel, American actress (b. 1908)
*1999 – Iron Eyes Cody, American actor and stuntman (b. 1904)
* 2001 – Les Brown, American bandleader and composer (b. 1912)
* 2004 – Brian Gibson, English director and screenwriter (b. 1944)
* 2004 – Joan Aiken, English author (b. 1924)
* 2004 – John Toland, American historian and author (b. 1912)
* 2005 – Bud Poile, Canadian ice hockey player, coach, and manager (b. 1924)
* 2005 – Frank Harary, American mathematician and academic (b. 1921)
* 2005 – Humphrey Carpenter, English radio host and author (b. 1946)
* 2005 – Robert Heilbroner, American economist and historian (b. 1919)
* 2006 – Irving Layton, Romanian-Canadian poet and academic (b. 1912)
* 2006 – Maktoum bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Emirati politician, 1st Prime Minister of the United Arab Emirates (b. 1946)
* 2006 – Milton Himmelfarb, American sociographer, author, and academic (b. 1918)
* 2007 – Helen Hill, American director and producer (b. 1970)
* 2007 – Marais Viljoen, South African politician, 5th State President of South Africa (b. 1915)
*2008 – Xavier Chamorro Cardenal

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