Historical Events on January 4, Facts & Special Events On This Day - CalendarZ

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.

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