January 4 is the fourth day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. There are 361 days remaining until the end of the year (362 in leap years).

Events |

Up to 1900 |

• 
  46 BC - Julius Caesar defeats Titus Labienus in the Battle of Ruspina.


• 
  1490 - Anne of Brittany announces that all those who would ally (go on the same side) with the King of France will be guilty of the crime of lese-majesty.


• 
  1642 - Charles I of England sends soldiers in to arrest members of parliament.


• 
  1643 - Famous English scientist Isaac Newton is born. In the Julian calendar in use in England at the time, his date of birth was December 25, 1642.


• 
  1649 - The English Rump Parliament votes to put Charles I on trial.


• 
  1717 - The Netherlands, Great Britain and France sign a triple alliance.


• 
  1762 - Great Britain declares war on Spain and Naples.


• 
  1798 - Constantine Hangerli arrives in Bucharest, then-part of Wallachia, as its new prince, invested by the Ottoman Empire.


• 
  1847 - Samuel Colt sells his first revolver pistol to the US Government.


• 
  1852 - British steamer RMS Amazon catches fire and explodes and sinks, killing 104 people.


• 
  1854 - The Subantarctic McDonald Islands are discovered by Captain William McDonald.


• 
  1863 - The New Apostolic Church is created in Hamburg.


• 
  1865 - The New York Stock Exchange opens its first permanent headquarters on Wall Street.


• 
  1878 - The city of Sofia is freed from Ottoman Rule.


• 
  1880 - Mount Chimborazo in Ecuador is first climbed by Edward Whymper.


• 
  1885 – Dr. William W. Grant of Davenport, Iowa, performs what is thought to be the first appendectomy.


• 
  1889 - The Oklahoma Land Run opens 2 million square acres of unused Oklahoma Territory to first-come, first-served settlers from April 22.


• 
  1896 – Utah becomes a state of the US.

1901 – 2000 |

• 
  1904 – In Gonzales v. Williams, the U.S. Supreme Court decides that citizens of Puerto Rico are not aliens and can enter the U.S. freely.


• 
  1912 - The Scout Association is officially created throughout the British Commonwealth of Nations by Royal Charter.


• 
  1935 - Dry Tortugas National Park in Mexico is created.


• 
  1944 - World War II: Operation Carpetbagger, involving the dropping of arms and supplies to resistance fighters in Europe, begins.


• 
  1948 – Burma gained independence from the United Kingdom.


• 
  1950 - Israel declares Jerusalem to be its capital city.


• 
  1951 – The Communist forces of North Korea and China, seize the city of Seoul.


• 
  1958 - Sputnik 1 falls back to Earth.


• 
  1958 - Edmund Hillary reaches the South Pole, leading the first overland expedition there since Robert Falcon Scott.


• 
  1959 - Luna 1 becomes the first spacecraft to reach the area near the Moon.


• 
  1964 - Pope Paul VI visits Israel.


• 
  1965 – During the State of the Union Address, President Lyndon Johnson outlines his plan for "The Great Society".


• 
  1966 - A coup occurs in Upper Volta (present-day Burkina Faso).


• 
  1967 - Donald Campbell is killed in an attempt to beat his own water speed record on Coniston Water.


• 
  1970 - An earthquake in Yunnan, China, kills around 10,000 people.


• 
  1972 - Rose Heilbron becomes the first female judge to sit on the Old Bailey in London.


• 
  1976 - The Troubles: The Ulster Volunteer Force shoots dead six Irish Catholic civilians in County Armagh. On January 5, gunmen shoot dead 10 Protestant civilians nearby.


• 
  1981 - Peter Sutcliffe admits being the Yorkshire ripper.


• 
  1987 - An Amtrak train travelling from Boston, Massachusetts to Washington, DC, collides with Conrail engines in Chase, Maryland, killing 16 people.


• 
  1990 - A train accident in Sangi, Pakistan, kills 350 people.


• 
  1998 - A massive ice storm in eastern Canada and the northeastern United States causes widespread disruption and power outages.


• 
  1999 – Former wrestler, Jesse Ventura, becomes Minnesota's governor.


• 
  1999 – The US Mint begins issuing the 50 state quarters.

From 2001 |

• 
  2004 - Spirit, a NASA Mars Rover, lands successfully on Mars.


• 
  2004 - Mikheil Saakashvili becomes President of Georgia.


• 
  2006 - Prime Minister of Israel Ariel Sharon suffers a stroke. His duties are transferred to Ehud Olmert.


• 
  2007 - Nancy Pelosi becomes the first female Speaker of the United States House of Representatives.


• 
  2010 – The Burj Khalifa is opened in Dubai, officially becoming the world's tallest building.


• 
  2016 - Zinedine Zidane becomes the manager of Real Madrid C.F..

Births |

Up to 1900 |

• 
  1077 – Emperor Zhezong of China (d. 1100)


• 
  1334 – Amadeus VI of Savoy (d. 1383)


• 
  1341 – Wat Tyler, English leader of the Peasants' Revolt (d. 1381)


• 
  1581 - James Ussher, Irish bishop and theologian (d. 1656)


• 
  1643 – Isaac Newton, English scientist (d. 1727)


• 
  1664 - Lars Roberg, Swedish physician (d. 1742)


• 
  1710 - Giovanni Battista Pergolesi, Italian composer, violinist and organist (d. 1736)


• 
  1720 – Johann Friedrich Agricola, German composer (d. 1774)


• 
  1737 - Louis-Bernard Guyton de Morveau, French chemist and politician (d. 1816)


• 
  1785 – Jacob Grimm, German storyteller (d. 1863)


• 
  1793 - Roger Sherman Baldwin, American politician, Senator and Governor of Connecticut (d. 1863)


• 
  1809 – Louis Braille, French inventor of Braille (d. 1852)


• 
  1813 - Isaac Pitman, English linguist (d. 1897)


• 
  1838 - General Tom Thumb, American circus performer (d. 1883)


• 
  1839 - Carl Humann, German engineer, architect and classical archaeologist (d. 1896)


• 
  1848 – Katsura Taro, Prime Minister of Japan (d. 1913)


• 
  1858 - Carter Glass, 47th United States Secretary of the Treasury (d. 1946)


• 
  1866 - Joel Hastings Metcalf, American astronomer (d. 1925)


• 
  1866 - Ramon Casas i Carbo, Catalan painter (d. 1932)


• 
  1869 - Tommy Corcoran, American baseball player (d. 1960)


• 
  1870 - Percy Pitt, English organist and conductor (d. 1932)


• 
  1872 - Ottilie Sutro, American pianist (d. 1970)


• 
  1874 – Josef Suk, Czech composer (d. 1935)


• 
  1874 - Albert Tyler, American athlete (d. 1945)


• 
  1878 - Augustus John, Welsh painter (d. 1961)


• 
  1881 – Wilhelm Lehmbruck, German sculptor (d. 1919)


• 
  1883 – Max Eastman, American writer (d. 1969)


• 
  1883 - Pat Ryan, American hammer thrower (d. 1964)


• 
  1883 - Johanna Westerdijk, Dutch botanist (d. 1961)


• 
  1887 - Hugo Steinhaus, Polish mathematician (d. 1972)


• 
  1888 - Walther Kossel, German physicist (d. 1956)


• 
  1889 - M. Patanjali Sastri, 2nd Chief Justice of India (d. unknown)


• 
  1890 - Malcolm Wheeler-Nicholson, American pulp writer and publisher (DC Comics) (d. 1968)


• 
  1891 - Edward Brooker, Australian politician, 31st Premier of Tasmania (d. 1948)


• 
  1893 – Yone Minagawa, Japanese supercentenarian (d. 2007)


• 
  1896 – Everett Dirksen, American politician (d. 1969)


• 
  1896 - André Masson, French painter (d. 1987)


• 
  1896 - Arnold Susi, Estonian lawyer and politician (d. 1968)


• 
  1900 - James Bond, American ornithologist (d. 1980)

1901 – 1950 |

• 
  1902 - John McCone, 6th Director of Central Intelligence (d. 1991)


• 
  1903 - Georg Elser, German resistance activist (d. 1945)


• 
  1905 – Sterling Holloway, American actor (d. 1992)


• 
  1910 - Arthur Villeneuve, Canadian painter (d. 1990)


• 
  1913 – Malietoa Tanumafili II, Samoan Head of State (d. 2007)


• 
  1914 - Jean-Pierre Vernant, French historian and anthropologist (d. 2007)


• 
  1915 - Meg Mundy, English-American actress
  


• 
  1922 - Mart Port, Estonian architect (d. 2012)


• 
  1924 - Walter Ris, American swimmer (d. 1989)


• 
  1924 - Charles Thone, American politician, 34th Governor of Nebraska (d. 2018)


• 
  1925 - Veikko Hakulinen, Finnish skier (d. 2003)


• 
  1927 – Barbara Rush, American actress


• 
  1929 – Günter Schabowski, East German politician (d. 2015)


• 
  1930 – Don Shula, American football coach


• 
  1931 – William Deane, former Governor-General of Australia
  


• 
  1932 - Carlos Saura, Spanish director
  


• 
  1932 - Clint Hill, American secret service agent and author


• 
  1933 - Norman H. Bangerter, American politician, Governor of Utah (d. 2015)


• 
  1933 – Ilia II of Georgia, Patriarch of the Georgian Orthodox Church


• 
  1934 – Zurab Tsereteli, Georgian sculptor
  


• 
  1934 - Hellmuth Karasek, German journalist, author and critic (d. 2015)


• 
  1934 – Rudolf Schuster, former President of Slovakia
  


• 
  1935 – Floyd Patterson, American boxer (d. 2006)


• 
  1935 - Walter Mahlendorf, German athlete


• 
  1936 - Gianni Vattimo, Italian philosopher, author and politician
  


• 
  1937 - Grace Bumbry, American soprano
  


• 
  1937 - Dyan Cannon, American actress, director, screenwriter and producer
  


• 
  1939 - Veniamin Soldatenko, Soviet athlete


• 
  1939 - Joseph Bonnel, French footballer (d. 2018)


• 
  1940 - Antoni Krauze, Polish screenwriter and director (d. 2018)


• 
  1940 - Helmut Jahn, German-American architect
  


• 
  1940 – Brian David Josephson, Welsh physicist
  


• 
  1940 – Gao Xingjian, Chinese-French writer


• 
  1941 – Maureen Reagan, American political activist (d. 2001)


• 
  1942 - John McLaughlin, English guitarist and songwriter
  


• 
  1945 – Richard R. Schrock, American chemist
  


• 
  1947 – Chris Cutler, British singer and musician


• 
  1947 - Doc Neeson, Northern Irish-born Australian singer-songwriter and musician (d. 2014)


• 
  1947 - Tim Rooney, American actor (d. 2006)


• 
  1947 – Rick Stein, English chef and restaurateur


• 
  1948 - Cissé Mariam Kaïdema Sidibé, Prime Minister of Mali
  


• 
  1949 – Mick Mills, English footballer

1951 – 1975 |

• 
  1951 – Barbara Cochran, American skier
  


• 
  1951 – Ronald Corp, English composer, conductor and priest
  


• 
  1953 – Norberto Alonso, Argentine footballer
  


• 
  1954 – Oleg Romantsev, Russian footballer
  


• 
  1955 – Wolfgang Tiefensee, German politician
  


• 
  1956 – Bernard Sumner, English singer-songwriter, guitarist and producer
  


• 
  1956 – Sarojini Sahoo, Indian feminist writer
  


• 
  1957 – Patty Loveless, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
  


• 
  1957 – Vesnaja Zmijanac, Montenegrin-Serbian folk singer
  


• 
  1957 – Gurdas Maan, Indian singer, songwriter, choreographer and actor
  


• 
  1958 – Andy Borowitz, American comedian and actor
  


• 
  1958 – Julian Sands, English actor


• 
  1958 – Gary Jones, Welsh-Canadian actor


• 
  1960 – Michael Stipe, American singer and musician (R.E.M.)


• 
  1960 – April Winchell, American actress


• 
  1961 – Kiyotaka Matsui, Japanese footballer
  


• 
  1961 – Oh Se-hoon, South Korean politician


• 
  1962 – Robin Guthrie, Scottish guitarist and producer
  


• 
  1962 – Joe Kleine, American basketball player


• 
  1962 – Peter Steele, American musician (d. 2010)


• 
  1962 – André Rouvoet, French educator and politician


• 
  1963 – Dave Foley, Canadian comedian, actor, director and producer
  


• 
  1963 – Till Lindemann, German singer (Rammstein)


• 
  1963 – May-Britt Moser, Norwegian psychologist and neuroscientist, 2014 Nobel Prize winner


• 
  1964 – Dot Jones, American actress
  


• 
  1965 – Yvan Attal, Israeli-French actor and director
  


• 
  1965 – Craig Revel Horwood, Australian-English dancer
  


• 
  1965 – Guy Forget, French tennis player


• 
  1965 – Beth Gibbons, British musician


• 
  1965 – Cait O'Riordan, Irish musician (The Pogues)


• 
  1966 – Christian Kern, former Chancellor of Austria
  


• 
  1966 – Deana Carter, American singer


• 
  1971 – Katharine Viner, British newspaper editor (The Guardian)


• 
  1972 – James Longley, American director and producer
  


• 
  1973 – Harmony Korine, American movie director and screenwriter


• 
  1974 – Armin Zöggeler, Italian luger
  

From 1976 |

• 
  1977 – David Millar, British cyclist
  


• 
  1977 - Teitur Lassen, Faroese singer-songwriter
  


• 
  1978 – Karine Ruby, French snowboarder (d. 2009)


• 
  1978 - Mai Meneses, Spanish singer-songwriter and guitarist
  


• 
  1979 - Kevin Kuske, German bobsledder


• 
  1980 – Miguel Monteiro, Portuguese footballer


• 
  1980 - Greg Cipes, American actor


• 
  1980 - Happy Salma, Indonesian model, actress and writer
  


• 
  1981 - Zhang Jiewen, Chinese badminton player


• 
  1982 - Paulo Ferrari, Argentine footballer
  


• 
  1982 - Kang Hye-jung, South Korean actress
  


• 
  1983 - Gemma Hunt, English television presenter


• 
  1985 - Al Jefferson, American basketball player


• 
  1985 - Jung Sung Ryong, South Korean footballer
  


• 
  1985 - Ross Turnbull, English footballer
  


• 
  1986 – James Milner, English footballer


• 
  1986 - Younès Kaboul, French footballer


• 
  1986 - Hsieh Su-wei, Taiwanese tennis player


• 
  1987 - Nikolaj Misiuk, Lithuanian footballer
  


• 
  1988 - Nabila Jamshed, Indian author
  


• 
  1989 - Labrinth, English singer


• 
  1990 – Toni Kroos, German footballer
  


• 
  1990 - Alberto Paloschi, Italian footballer
  


• 
  1991 – Olivia Tennet, New Zealand actress


• 
  1991 - Tal Al-Mallohi, Syrian blogger and activist
  


• 
  1992 - Kris Bryant, American baseball player


• 
  1993 - Scott Redding, British motorcycle racer


• 
  1995 - Maddie Hasson, American actress
  


• 
  1995 - Maria Isabel, Spanish singer
  


• 
  1998 - Coco Jones, American actress and singer
  


• 
  1998 - Liza Soberano, Filipino-American actress and model
  


• 
  2003 - Jaeden Lieberher, American actor

Deaths |

Up to 1900 |

• 
  1066 – Edward the Confessor, Saxon king (b. 1003)


• 
  1248 – King Sancho II of Portugal (b. 1207)


• 
  1428 - Frederick I, Elector of Saxony (b. 1370)


• 
  1564 - Hosokawa Ujitsuna, Japanese military commander (b. 1514)


• 
  1584 - Tobias Stimmer, Swiss painter and illustrator (b. 1539)


• 
  1752 - Gabriel Cramer, Swiss mathematician (b. 1704)


• 
  1761 – Stephen Hales, English physicist and physiologist (b. 1677)


• 
  1773 - Anton Losenko, Russian painter (b. 1737)


• 
  1786 - Moses Mendelssohn, German philosopher (b. 1729)


• 
  1804 - Charlotte Lennox, British writer (b. 1730)


• 
  1821 – Elizabeth Ann Seton, American saint (b. 1774)


• 
  1825 – Ferdinand I of the Two Sicilies (b. 1751)


• 
  1843 - Stevens Mason, American politician, 1st Governor of Michigan (b. 1811)


• 
  1874 - Thomas Gregson, Australian politician, 2nd Premier of Tasmania (b. 1798)


• 
  1877 – Cornelius Vanderbilt, American businessman (b. 1794)


• 
  1880 - Anselm Feuerbach, German painter (b. 1829)


• 
  1882 - John William Draper, English-American physician, chemist and photographer (b. 1811)


• 
  1895 - Manuel Pavia, Spanish general (b. 1827)

1901 – 2000 |

• 
  1910 – Léon Delagrange, French aviator and sculptor (b. 1873)


• 
  1913 - Hjalmar Johansen, Norwegian explorer (b. 1867)


• 
  1915 - Anton von Werner, German painter (b. 1843)


• 
  1919 – Georg von Hertling, Chancellor of Germany (b. 1843)


• 
  1931 – Louise, Princess Royal (b. 1867)


• 
  1931 - Mohammad Ali Jouhar, Indian journalist, activist and scholar (b. 1878)


• 
  1941 – Henri Bergson, French philosopher (b. 1859)


• 
  1944 - Kaj Munk, Danish minister, poet and activist (b. 1898)


• 
  1956 - Savielly Tartakower, Polish-French chess player (b. 1887)


• 
  1960 – Albert Camus, French writer (b. 1913)


• 
  1961 – Erwin Schrödinger, Austrian physicist (b. 1887)


• 
  1965 – T. S. Eliot, American poet (b. 1888)


• 
  1967 – Donald Campbell, English motorboat racer (b. 1921)


• 
  1975 - Carlo Levi, Italian writer, painter and politician (b. 1902)


• 
  1986 – Christopher Isherwood, English writer (b. 1904)


• 
  1986 – Phil Lynott, Irish musician (b. 1949)


• 
  1990 – Henry Bolte, Australian politician, Premier of Victoria (b. 1907)


• 
  1995 - Eduardo Mata, Mexican conductor and composer (b. 1942)


• 
  1998 - John Gary, American singer (b. 1932)


• 
  1999 - Iron Eyes Cody, American actor (b. 1904)

From 2001 |

• 
  2004 – Joan Aiken, English writer (b. 1924)


• 
  2006 – Maktoum bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Dubai politician (b. 1946)


• 
  2007 – Marais Viljoen, South African politician (b. 1915)


• 
  2007 – Sandro Salvadore, Italian footballer (b. 1939)


• 
  2009 - Lei Clijsters, Belgian footballer (b. 1956)


• 
  2010 – Casey Johnson, American socialite (b. 1979)


• 
  2010 – Johan Ferrier, first President of Suriname (b. 1910)


• 
  2010 – Tsutomu Yamaguchi, Japanese survivor of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki atomic bombs (b. 1916).


• 
  2011 – Salmaan Taseer, Pakistani politician (b. 1964)


• 
  2011 – Gerry Rafferty, Scottish singer-songwriter (b. 1947)


• 
  2011 – Mohamed Bouazizi, Tunisian fruit seller (b. 1984)


• 
  2011 – Dick King-Smith, English writer (b. 1922)


• 
  2011 - Ali-Reza Pahlavi of Iran (b. 1966)


• 
  2012 - Eve Arnold, American photographer (b. 1912)


• 
  2013 - Tony Lip, American actor (b. 1930)


• 
  2014 - Sergey Kozlov, Russian footballer and manager (b. 1960)


• 
  2015 - Stuart Scott, American sportscaster (b. 1965)


• 
  2015 - Hank Peters, American baseball executive (b. 1924)


• 
  2015 - Stu Miller, American baseball player (b. 1927)


• 
  2015 - Lance Diamond, American singer (b. 1946)


• 
  2015 - Pino Daniele, Italian singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1955)


• 
  2015 - Natalino Pescarolo, Italian bishop (b. 1929)


• 
  2015 - René Vautier, French movie director (b. 1928)


• 
  2016 - Michel Galabru, French actor (b. 1922)


• 
  2016 - Tom Allin, English cricketer (b. 1987)


• 
  2016 - S. H. Kapadia, Indian judge (b. 1947)


• 
  2016 - Jorge Lepra, Uruguayan diplomat and politician (b. 1942)


• 
  2016 - John Roberts, Welsh footballer (b. 1946)


• 
  2016 - Fernando Barrachina, Spanish footballer (b. 1947)


• 
  2016 - Achim Mentzel, German musician and television presenter (b. 1946)


• 
  2016 - Leo Rucka, American football player (b. 1931)


• 
  2017 - Milt Schmidt, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1918)


• 
  2017 - Ezio Pascutti, Italian footballer (b. 1937)


• 
  2017 - Wayne Westner, South African golfer (b. 1961)


• 
  2017 - Hisham Al-Otaibi, Kuwaiti politician (b. 1946)


• 
  2017 - Heinz Billing, German physicist and computer scientist (b. 1914)


• 
  2017 - Abdul Halim Jaffer Khan, Indian sitar player and composer (b. 1927)


• 
  2017 - Jordi Pagans i Monsalvatje, Catalan painter (b. 1932)


• 
  2017 - Douglas Wass, British civil servant (b. 1923)


• 
  2017 - Georges Pretre, French conductor (b. 1924)


• 
  2018 - Aharon Appelfeld, Ukrainian-born Israeli writer (b. 1932)


• 
  2018 - Johannes Brost, Swedish actor (b. 1946)


• 
  2018 - Brendan Byrne, American politician, 47th Governor of New Jersey (b. 1924)


• 
  2018 - Bruce Halle, American automobile parts executive (b. 1930)


• 
  2018 - Senichi Hoshino, Japanese baseball player (b. 1947)


• 
  2018 - Philipp Jenninger, German politician (b. 1932)


• 
  2018 - Ray Thomas, English singer-songwriter (b. 1941)


• 
  2018 - Vladimir Yankilevsky, Russian artist (b. 1938)

Observances |

• Independence Day (Burma)


• Day of the Fallen against Colonial Repression (Angola)


• Day of the Martyrs (Democratic Republic of the Congo)


• World Braille Day