On this day in History - Jan. 04

• 0041 - Caligula dies, murdered .
• 0274 - St Eutychian begins his reign as Catholic Pope .
• 0871 - Battle of Reading - Ethelred of Wessex defeats Danish invasion army.
• 1248 - King Sancho II of Portugal (b. 1207) .
• 1278 -Na França, o rabino Isaac Males é queimado vivo pela Inquisição por ter permitido o enterro de um judeu que se converteu ao cristianismo e retornou ao judaísmo.
• 1493- Christopher Columbus leaves the New World, ending his first journey .
• 1642 -Sir Isaac Newton was born [d. 1727] ; mathematician, scientist and philosopher .
• 1642 - English Civil War: King Charles I of England attacks Parliament .
• 1695 - Duke of Luxembourg Luxembourg/French marshal, dies.
• 1698 - Most of the Palace of Whitehall in London, the main residence of the English monarchs, was destroyed by fire.
• 1710 - Giovanni Battista Pergolesi, was born, Italian composer (d. 1736).
• 1717 - The Netherlands, England and France sign the Triple Alliance.
• 1720 - Johann Friedrich Agricola, was born, German composer (d. 1774).
• 1745 - Benjamin Rush was born, physician, signer of the Declaration of Independence .
• 1754 - Columbia University founded, as Kings College (New York City NY) .
• 1759 - Inauguração do Museu Britânico em Londres .
• 1762 - England declares war on Spain and Naples .
• 1785 -Jakob Grimm, was born [d. 1863] German philologist and folklorist (Grimm's law).
• 1804 - Charlotte Lennox, dies, English author and poet.
• 1808 - Criação da primeira tipografia no Brasil.
• 1809 - Bartolomeo Giacometti composer, dies at 67.
• 1809 - Louis Braille was born, inventor of Braille system.
• 1810 - José Bonaparte, com exército de 80 mil homens, chega a Serra Morena, iniciando a ocupação de Andaluzia.
• 1813 - Sir Isaac Pitman was born, inventor of phonographic shorthand.
• 1821 - Elizabeth Ann Seton, dies, American saint (b. 1774).
• 1822 - Georg Büchmann, was born, philologist (d. 1884) .
• 1823 - El desborde incontrolado del río Guadalquivir causó una total inundación de Sevilla.
• 1831 - James Monroe, dies, President of the United States (b. 1758) .
• 1838 - Charles Stratton ("General Tom Thumb"),was born, American circus performer, entertainer (d. 1883) .
• 1837 - Casimiro de Abreu, poeta brasileiro , nasceu neste dia († 1860).
• 1847 - Samuel Colt sells his first revolver pistol to the United States government.
• 1850 - The first American ice-skating club is formed (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania).
• 1854 - The McDonald Islands were discovered by Captain William McDonald aboard the Samarang.
• 1874 - Josef Suk, was born , Czech composer and violinist (d. 1935).
• 1877 - Cornelius Vanderbilt, American entrepreneur (b. 1794) .
• 1881 - Wilhelm Lehmbruck, was born, German sculptor (d. 1919) .
• 1883 - Max Eastman, was born, American writer (d. 1969) .
• 1884 - The Fabian Society is founded in London.
• 1885 - The first successful appendectomy is performed (Dr. William Grant; patient was Mary Gartside).
• 1892 - Manoel Dias de Abreu, brasileiro inventor do diagnóstico da tuberculose , nasceu neste dia .
• 1893 - US President Harrison grants amnesty to Mormon polygamy .
• 1894 - France ratifies Duple Alliance with Russia.
• 1896 -Utah was admitted as 45th state in the United States.
• 1896 - Joseph Hubert Reinkens, German Old Catholic bishop (b. 1821) .
• 1896 - Everett Dirksen, was born, American politician (d. 1969).
• 1896 - André Masson, was born, French artist (d. 1987) .
• 1900 - James Bond, was born, American ornithologist (d. 1989) .
• 1903 - Ramón Ernesto Cruz Uclés , was born , Honduras President (1971-72); overthrown
• 1904- In Gonzales v. Williams, the U.S. Supreme Court decided that citizens of Puerto Rico are not aliens and can enter the U.S. freely.
• 1913 - Primeira transmissão telefônica sem fio entre Nova York e Berlim.
• 1914 - Jane Wyman, American actress .
• 1918 - A Finlândia é reconhecida independente pela Rússia.
• 1919 - Assassinato, em Berlim, de Rosa Luxemburgo e Karl Liebknecht, fundadores do Partido Comunista alemão e principais líderes da insurreição espartaquista na capital alemã.
• 1920 - Benito Perez Galdos, was born, Spanish writer (Fortunata y Jacinta) .
• 1924 -Tutankhamen's sarcophagus is found inside a fifth shrine at Luxor.
• 1926 - Theodorus Pangalos resigns as Greek dictator.
• 1930 - Don Shula, was born American football coach .
• 1931 - Adi Lady Lala Mara, was born , Fijian chieftainess and former First Lady; widow of long-time former Prime Minister and President, Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara.
• 1931 - Um terremoto destrói a cidade de Oaxaca, no México. Entra também em erupção o vulcão Popocatépetl.
• 1932 - Carlos Saura, was born director .
• 1932 British East Indies Viceroy Willingdon arrests Gandhi & Nehru .
• 1932 State of siege proclaimed in Honduras .
• 1935 - Floyd Patterson, was born, American boxer .
• 1936 - Mickey's Polo Team, a short animated film featuring Charlie Chaplin, Oliver Hardy, Stan Laurel and Harpo Marx in a polo match against various Disney characters, was first released.
• 1936 - Billboard magazine publishes its first pop music charts.
• 1937 - Dyan Cannon, was born, American actress .
• 1941 - Henri Bergson, dies, French writer (b. 1859) .
• 1941 - Garrison Hearst, was born, American football player .
• 1941 - Alfonso XIII abdica em Roma de seus direitos ao trono espanhol.
• 1942 - Nehru sucede Gandhi à frente do Partido Popular do Congresso Indiano.
• 1943 - Doris Kearns Goodwin, was born, writer .
• 1943 - Finalização das obras do Pentágono, sede do Departamento de Defesa do Estados Unidos, em Washington, o maior prédio de escritórios do mundo.
• 1944 - A cidade argentina de San Juan é destruída por um abalo sísmico.
• 1944 - World War II: The Battle of Monte Cassino begins.
• 1948 - Burma gains its independence from the United Kingdom.
• 1951-During the Korean War, North Korean and Communist Chinese forces captured the city of Seoul.
• 1951 - Korean War: Chinese and North Korean forces capture Seoul.
• 1956 - Bernard Sumner, was born, English rock musician .
• 1956 - O pintor Cândido Portinari entrega os painéis de Guerra e Paz para a sede da Organização das Nações Unidas, em Nova York.
• 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).
• 1959 - Luna 1 became the first spacecraft to reach the vicinity of the Moon.
• 1960 - Creación de la Asociación Europea de Libre Comercio (EFTA).
• 1960 - Michael Stipe, was born, American vocalist for R.E.M.
• 1960 - Albert Camus, Algerian-born French philosopher and writer (Stranger), dies in an automobile accident (b. 1913).
• 1961 - Erwin Schrödinger, Austrian physicist (b. 1887).
• 1962 - New York City introduces a train that operates without a crew on-board.
• 1963 - Till Lindemann, German vocalist for Rammstein .
• 1965 - Julia Ormond, was born , English actress (Sabrina, Legends of the Fall) .
• 1965 - T. S. Eliot, American poet dies in London (b. 1888) .
• 1965 - United States President Lyndon B. 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. (b. 1921).
• 1969 - Violet and Daisy Hilton, were born; conjoined twins, actresses.
• 1969 -Ifni province is returned to Morocco by Spain.
• 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.
• 1978 - Dwight Freeney, American football player .
• 1979 - Charles Mingus jazz bassist, dies of heart attack .
• 1979 - El Sha del Irán abandonó Teherán camino del exilio.
• 1984 - Bombardeos aéreos israelíes sobre el Líbano provocaron más de 100 muertos y alrededor de 400 heridos en la región de Baalbek .
• 1986 - Christopher Isherwood, English writer (b. 1904).
• 1986 - Acidente de helicóptero no Rally Paris-Dakar. O organizador Thierry Sabine, e mais quatro pessoas morrem no incidente.
• 1987 - An Amtrak train en route to Boston from Washington, DC collides with Conrail engines killing 16.
• 1988 - Morre Sean Mc Bride, político irlandês, Prémo Nobel (1974) e Prémio Lenine da Paz.
• 1990 - Alberto Lleras Camargo President of Colombia (1945-46, 58-62), dies.
• 1991 Jan Krzystof Bielecki becomes premier of Poland.
• 1993 -Daniel Torotich arap Moi is sworn in as Kenyan president.
• 1995 - Eduardo Mata, Mexican conductor, dies in air crash at 52 .
• 1998 - Ariel Henrìquez Castillo, fallecimiento de, músico, compositor, y cantante colombiano.
• 1998 - Mae Questel, dies, American actress (b. 1908).
• 1999 - Iron Eyes Cody, dies, American actor (b. 1904).
• 1999-Former wrestler Jesse Ventura was sworn in as Minnesota's governor.
• 1999-The U.S. Mint began distributing the 50 State Quarters.
• 1999 - Gunmen open fire on Shiite Muslims worshipping in an Islamabad mosque killing 16 people injuring 25.
• 2000 -Alan Greenspan, é apontado, pela quarta vez, presidente do Banco Central dos Estados Unidos. Ele é considerado o melhor presidente do Banco Central em toda a história do país.
• 2000 - Tom Fears, dies, American football star.
• 2002 - Esquivel, dies, musician (b. 1918).
• 2003 - Conrad Hall, dies,American cinematographer (b. 1927).
• 2004 - Dr. Mikhail Saakashvili was elected the President of the Georgia.
• 2004 - Spirit, a NASA Mars Rover, lands successfully on Mars at 04:35 UTC.
• 2005 - Paradox Interactive releases Hearts of Iron 2 .