On this day in History - Jan. 4

• 46 BC - Titus Labienus bloodily defeats Julius Caesar in the Battle of Ruspina.
• 0041 - Caligula dies murdered.
• 0274 - St Eutychian begins his reign as Catholic Pope.
• 0871 - Battle of Reading - Ethelred of Wessex defeats Danish invasion army.
• 1066 - Edward the Confessor dies (b.ca. 1004). Pre-Norman conquest English king.
• 1077 - Emperor Zhezong of Song Dynasty in China was born (d. 1100).
• 1248 - King Sancho II of Portugal dies (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.
• 1334 - Amadeus VI of Savoy was born (d. 1383).
• 1490 - Anna of Brittany announces that all those who would ally with the king of France will be considered as guilty of the crime of lese-majesty.
• 1493 - Christopher Columbus leaves the New World, ending his first journey .
• 1564 - Hosokawa Ujitsuna dies (b. 1514). Japanese military commander.
• 1581 - James Ussher was born (d. 1656). Irish Anglican archbishop.
• 1584 - Tobias Stimmer dies (b. 1539). Swiss painter and drawer.
• 1642 - King Charles I of England sends soldiers to arrest members of Parliament, commencing England's slide into civil war.
• 1643 - Sir Isaac Newton was born (d. 1727). English mathematician and natural philosopher.
• 1664 - Lars Roberg was born (d. 1742). Swedish physician.
• 1672 - Hugh Boulter was born (d. 1742). Irish Archbishop of Armagh.
• 1695 - François Henri de Montmorency-Bouteville, duc de Luxembourg dies. French General.
• 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 (d. 1736). Italian composer.
• 1717 - The Netherlands, England and France sign the Triple Alliance.
• 1720 - Johann Friedrich Agricola was born (d. 1774). German composer.
• 1745 - Benjamin Rush was born. Physician, signer of the Declaration of Independence.
• 1752 - Gabriel Cramer dies (b. 1704). Swiss mathematician.
• 1754 - Columbia University founded, as Kings College (New York City NY).
• 1759 - Inauguração do Museu Britânico em Londres.
• 1761 - Stephen Hales dies (b. 1677). English physiologist.
• 1762 - England declares war on Spain and Naples.
• 1773 - Anton Losenko dies (b. 1737). Russian painter.
• 1782 - Ange-Jacques Gabriel dies (b. 1698). French architect.
• 1785 - Jakob Grimm was born (d. 1863). German philologist and folklorist (Grimm's law).
• 1804 - Charlotte Lennox dies (b.c. 1730) English author and poet.
• 1808 - Criação da primeira tipografia no Brasil.
• 1809 - Bartolomeo Giacometti dies at 67. Composer.
• 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 (b. 1774). American saint.
• 1822 - George Büchmann was born (d. 1884). German philologist.
• 1823 - Spain: El desborde incontrolado del río Guadalquivir causó una total inundación de Sevilla.
• 1825 - King Ferdinand I of the Two Sicilies dies (b. 1751).
• 1832 - George Tryon was born (d. 1893). British admiral.
• 1838 - Charles Sherwood Stratton was born (d. 1883). American circus performer.
• 1839 - Carl Humann was born (d. 1896). German engineer.
• 1839 - Casimiro de Abreu was born († 1860). Brazilian poet.
• 1847 - Samuel Colt sells his first revolver pistol to the United States government.
• 1848 - Katsura Taro was born (d. 1913). Prime Minister of Japan.
  
• 1850 - The first American ice-skating club is formed (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania).
• 1854 - The McDonald Islands were discovered by Captain William McDonald aboard the Samarang.
• 1863 - Roger Hanson dies (b. 1827). Confederate general.
• 1865 - The New York Stock Exchange opens its first permanent headquarters at 10-12 Broad near Wall Street in New York City.
• 1869 - Tommy Corcoran was born (d. 1960). Baseball player.
• 1871 - Rui Teles Palhinha was born in Angra do Heroismo, Azores (d. 1957). Portuguese botanist.
• 1874 - Josef Suk was born (d. 1935). Czech composer and violinist.
• 1877 - Cornelius Vanderbilt dies (b. 1794). American entrepreneur.
• 1878 - Sofia is emancipated from Ottoman rule.
• 1881 - Wilhelm Lehmbruck was born (d. 1919). German sculptor.
• 1882 - Aristarkh Lentulov was born (d. 1943). Russian artist.
• 1883 - Max Eastman was born (d. 1969). American writer.
• 1883 - Antoine Eugène Alfred Chanzy dies (b. 1823). French general.
• 1884 - The Fabian Society is founded in London.
• 1885 - The first successful appendectomy is performed (Dr. William Grant; patient was Mary Gartside).
• 1891 - Antoine Labelle dies (b. 1833). Quebec catholic priest.
• 1893 - US President Harrison grants amnesty to Mormon polygamy.
• 1893 - Yone Minagawa was born (d. 13 Aug 2007). Japanese, became worlds Oldest living person January 29, 2007.
• 1894 - France ratifies Duple Alliance with Russia.
• 1894 - Manuel Dias de Abreu was born (d. 1962). Brazilian physician. Ver em português Manuel Dias de Abreu
• 1896 - Utah is admitted as the 45th U.S. state.
• 1896 - Everett Dirksen was born (d. 1969). American politician.
• 1896 - André Masson was born (d. 1987). French artist.
• 1896 - Joseph Hubert Reinkens dies (b. 1821). German Old Catholic bishop.
• 1900 - James Bond was born (d. 1989). American ornithologist.
• 1901 - C. L. R. James was born (d. 1989). Writer and journalist.
• 1903 - Topsy, an elephant, was electrocuted by Thomas Edison during the War of Currents campaign.
• 1903 - Ramón Ernesto Cruz Uclés was born (d. 1985). President of Honduras (7 Jun 1971 - 4 Dec 72).
• 1903 - Gulstan Ropert dies (b. 1839). Roman Catholic prelate.
• 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.
• 1905 - Sterling Holloway was born (d. 1992). American actor.
• 1910 - Arthur Villeneuve was born (d. 1990). Quebec painter.
• 1912 - The Scout Association is incorporated throughout the British Commonwealth by Royal Charter.
• 1913 - Malietoa Tanumafili II was born. Sovereign Ruler of Samoa.
  
• 1914 - Jane Wyman was born. American actress.
• 1914 - Herman Franks was born. Baseball player.
• 1916 - Lionel Newman was born (d. 1989). American film music composer.
• 1918 - A Finlândia é reconhecida independente pela Rússia.
• 1919 - Georg von Hertling dies (b. 1843). Chancellor of Germany.
• 1920 - Benito Pérez Galdós dies (b. 1843). Spanish novelist (Fortunata y Jacinta) .
• 1920 - William Colby was born (d. 1996). American CIA director.
• 1924 -Tutankhamen's sarcophagus is found inside a fifth shrine at Luxor.
• 1924 - Sebastian Kappen was born (d. 19939. Indian theologian.
• 1925 - Veikko Hakulinen was born (d. 2003). Finnish cross-country skier.
• 1926 - Theodorus Pangalos resigns as Greek dictator.
• 1927 - Paul Desmarais was born. Canadian businessman.
• 1927 - Barbara Rush was born. American actress.
• 1929 - Yayoi Kusama was born. Japanese artist, sculptor.
• 1930 - Sorrell Booke was born (d. 1994). American actor.
• 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.
• 1931 - Art Acord dies (b. 1890). American actor.
• 1932 - Carlos Saura was born. Spanish film director.
• 1932 - British East Indies Viceroy Willingdon arrests Gandhi & Nehru.
• 1932 - State of siege proclaimed in Honduras.
• 1933 - Ilia II was born. Catholicos-Patriarch of all Georgia.
• 1934 - Rudolf Schuster was born. Slovakian president.
• 1935 - Floyd Patterson was born (d. 2006). 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 - Grace Bumbryn was born. American singer.
• 1937 - Dyan Cannon was born. American actress.
• 1940 - Helmut Jahn was born. German architect.
• 1940 - Brian David Josephson was born. Nobel laureate.
• 1940 - Gao Xingjian was born. Nobel laureate.
  
• 1941 - The animated short Elmer's Pet Rabbit is released: it marks the second appearance of Bugs Bunny and the first to have his name on a title card.
• 1941 - Maureen Reagan was born (d. 2001). American political activist.
• 1941 - Garrison Hearst was born. American football player.
• 1941 - George Pan Cosmatos was born (d. 2005). Greek film director.
• 1941 - John Bennett Perry was born. American actor.
• 1941 - Alfonso XIII abdica em Roma de seus direitos ao trono espanhol.
• 1941 - Henri Bergson dies (b. 1859). French philosopher, Nobel laureate
• 1942 - Nehru sucede Gandhi à frente do Partido Popular do Congresso Indiano.
• 1942 - John McLaughlin was born. English jazz guitarist.
• 1943 - Finalização das obras do Pentágono, sede do Departamento de Defesa do Estados Unidos, em Washington, o maior prédio de escritórios do mundo.
• 1943 - Doris Kearns Goodwin was born. American writer.
• 1944 - World War II: Operation Carpetbagger, involving the dropping of arms and supplies to resistance fighters in Europe, begins.
• 1944 - World War II: The Battle of Monte Cassino begins.
• 1944 - A cidade argentina de San Juan é destruída por um abalo sísmico.
• 1945 - Richard R. Schrock was born. American chemist, one of the recipients of the 2005 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his contribution to the metathesis method in organic chemistry.
• 1945 - Vesa-Matti Loiri was born. Finnish entertainer.
• 1946 - Arthur Conley was born (d. 2003). American singer.
• 1946 - Susannah McCorkle was born (d. 2001). American Jazz singer.
• 1947 - Chris Cutler was born. English musician and composer (Henry Cow, Art Bears).
• 1947 - Rick Stein was born. English chef and television presenter.
• 1948 - Burma gains its independence from the United Kingdom.
• 1948 - Eugeniusz Wycisło was born. Polish politician.
• 1950 - John Louis Evans was born (d. 1983). Convicted murderer.
• 1951 - Korean War: Chinese and North Korean forces capture Seoul.
• 1951 - During the Korean War, North Korean and Communist Chinese forces captured the city of Seoul.
• 1951 - Barbara Cochran was born. American alpine skier.
• 1953 - George Tenet was born. American CIA director.
• 1953 - Norberto Alonso was born. Argentine football player.
• 1954 - Eugene Chadbourne was born. American composer and musician.
• 1955 - Mark Hollis was born. English musician and composer (Talk Talk).
• 1956 - Nels Cline was born. American guitarist and composer.
• 1956 - Bernard Sumner was born. English musician (New Order, Joy Division, Electronic)
• 1956 - O pintor brasileiro 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.
• 1957 - Patty Loveless was born. American singer.
• 1958 - Sputnik 1 falls to Earth from its orbit (launched on October 4, 1957).
• 1958 - Matt Frewer was born. American actor.
• 1958 - Andy Borowitz was born. American comedian and satirist.
• 1958 - Gary Jones was born. Welsh-born actor.
• 1958 - Julian Sands was born. British actor.
• 1959 - Luna 1 became the first spacecraft to reach the vicinity of the Moon.
• 1959 - Yoshitomo Nara was born. Japanese pop artist.
• 1960 - Creación de la Asociación Europea de Libre Comercio (EFTA).
• 1960 - Michael Stipe was born. American vocalist for R.E.M.
• 1960 - Albert Camus dies in an automobile accident (b. 1913). Algerian-born French philosopher and writer (Stranger).
• 1961 - Lee Curreri was born. American actor.
• 1961 - Erwin Schrödinger dies (b. 1887). Austrian physicist, Nobel laureate.
• 1962 - New York City introduces a train that operates without a crew on-board.
• 1962 - Laila Eloui was born. Egyptian actress.
• 1962 - Robin Guthrie was born. Scottish guitarist (Cocteau Twins).
• 1962 - Peter Steele was born. American musician (Type O Negative).
• 1962 - Hans Lammers dies (b. 1879). German SS officer.
• 1963 - Dave Foley was born. Canadian comedian and actor.
• 1963 - Till Lindemann was born. German singer (Rammstein).
• 1965 - United States President Lyndon B. Johnson proclaims his "Great Society" during his State of the Union address.
• 1965 - Julia Ormond was born. English actress (Sabrina, Legends of the Fall) .
• 1965 - Beth Gibbons was born. English singer (Portishead).
• 1965 - Cait O'Riordan was born. British musician (The Pogues).
• 1965 - Yvan Attal was born. French actor and director.
• 1965 - T. S. Eliot dies in London (b. 1888). American poet.
• 1966 - Deana Carter was born. American singer.
• 1967 - Marina Orsini was born. Quebec actress.
• 1967 - David Berman was born. American poet and singer/songwriter (Silver Jews).
• 1967 - Johnny Nelson was born. British former boxer.
• 1967 - Marina Orsini was born. Canadian actress.
• 1967 - David Toms was born. American professional golfer.
• 1967 - Donald Campbell dies as his jet-powered Bluebird K7 crashes during an attempt to break the water speed record (b. 1921). British motorboat racer.
• 1969 - Violet and Daisy Hilton were born; conjoined twins, actresses.
• 1969 - Ifni province is returned to Morocco by Spain.
• 1970 - The Beatles record as a band for the last time.
• 1970 - Chris Kanyon was born. First Active Openly Homosexual Professional Wrestler
• 1970 - Jean-Étienne Valluy dies (b. 1899). French general.
• 1971 - Junichi Kakizaki was born. Japanese artist, sculptor.
• 1971 - Arthur Ford dies (b. 1896). American clairaudient.
• 1972 - Rose Heilbron becomes the first woman judge in the United Kingdom (Old Bailey, London).
• 1973 - The world's longest running sitcom Last of the Summer Wine was first transmitted on BBC's Comedy Playhouse and is still running to date.
• 1973 - Harmony Korine was born. American film director and artist.
• 1973 - Frank Høj was born. Danish cyclist.
• 1974 - United States President Richard Nixon refuses to hand over materials subpoenaed by the Senate Watergate Committee.
• 1974 - Ian Moor was born. English singer.
• 1975 - Elizabeth Ann Seton becomes the first American-born saint.
• 1976 - Ted Lilly was born. American baseball player.
• 1977 - Irán Castillo was born. Mexican actress.
• 1977 - Tim Wheeler was born. Irish singer (Ash).
• 1978 - Dwight Freeney was born. American football player.
• 1978 - Dominik Hrbatý was born. Slovakian tennis player.
• 1978 - Mai Meneses was born. Spanish singer.
• 1979 - Tristan Gommendy was born. French racing driver.
• 1979 - Jeph Howard was born. American musician (The Used).
• 1979 - Tristan Gommendy was born. French racing driver.
• 1979 - El Sha del Irán abandonó Teherán camino del exilio.
• 1980 - Miguel [Luís Miguel Brito Garcia Monteiro] was born. Portuguese footballer.
• 1981 - Ruth Lowe dies (b. 1914). Canadian pianist and composer (I'll Never Smile Again).
• 1982 - Richard Logan was born. English football player.
• 1982 - Kang Hye-jeong was born. South Korean actress.
• 1982 - Richard Logan was born. English footballer.
• 1982 - Paulo Ferrari was born. Argentinian footballer.
• 1983 - Spencer Chamberlain was born. American vocalist (Underoath).
• 1984 - Bombardeos aéreos israelíes sobre el Líbano provocaron más de 100 muertos y alrededor de 400 heridos en la región de Baalbek.
• 1985 - Fernando Rees was born. Brazilian race car driver.
• 1985 - Al Jefferson was born. American professional basketball player for the Minnesota Timberwolves.
• 1985 - Brian Horrocks dies (b. 1895). British general.
• 1986 - Steve Slaton was born. American football player.
• 1986 - James Milner was born. English footballer.
• 1986 - Phil Lynott dies (b. 1949). Irish musician (Thin Lizzy).
• 1986 - Christopher Isherwood dies (b. 1904). English writer.
• 1987 - The Chase, Maryland rail wreck: An Amtrak train en route to Boston from Washington, DC collides with Conrail engines killing 16.
• 1988 - Nabila Jamshed was born. Indian writer.
• 1988 - Lily Laskine dies (b. 1893). French harpist.
• 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 - A crowded passenger train collides with a standing freight train in Pakistan's Sindh province, killing 300 people.
• 1990 - Alberto Lleras Camargo President of Colombia (1945-46, 58-62), dies.
• 1990 - Doc Edgerton dies (b. 1903). American electrical engineer.
• 1991 - Jan Krzystof Bielecki becomes premier of Poland.
• 1991 - Olivia Tennet was born. New Zealand actress.
• 1993 - Daniel Torotich arap Moi is sworn in as Kenyan president.
• 1994 - RD Burman dies (b. 1939). Indian musician.
• 1995 - María Isabel was born. Spanish singer.
• 1995 - Sol Tax dies (b. 1907). American anthropologist.
• 1995 - Eduardo Mata dies in air crash (b. 1942). Mexican conductor and composer.
• 1997 - Harry Helmsley dies (b. 1909). American real estate mogul.
• 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.
• 1998 - Ariel Henrìquez Castillo dies. Colombian singer and musician
• 1998 - Mae Questel dies (b. 1908). American actress.
• 1999 - Former wrestler Jesse Ventura was sworn in as Minnesota's governor.
• 1999 - Gunmen open fire on Shiite Muslims worshipping in an Islamabad mosque, killing 16 people and injuring 25.
• 1999 - The U.S. Mint began distributing the 50 State Quarters.
• 1999 - Iron Eyes Cody dies (b. 1904). American actor.
• 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 - Rhiannon Leigh Wryn was born. American actress.
• 2000 - Tom Fears dies (b. 1923). American football (not soccer) star.
• 2001 - RuneScape (Now known as RuneScape Classic) was released.
• 2003 - Conrad Hall dies (b. 1927). American cinematographer.
• 2003 - Yfrah Neaman dies (b. 1923). Lebanese-born violinist.
• 2003 - Sabine Ulibarri dies (b. 1919). Mexican American writer.
• 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.
• 2004 - Leicester City footballers Paul Dickov, Keith Gillespie, and Frank Sinclair are arrested in Spain over sexual assault allegations. The charges were later dropped.
• 2004 - Unrest takes over the southern provinces of Thailand.
• 2004 - Joan Aiken dies (b. 1924). English author.
• 2004 - Brian Gibson dies (b. 1944). English film director.
• 2004 - Jake Hess dies (b. 1927). American singer.
• 2004 - Jeff Nuttall dies (b. 1933). English writer.
• 2004 - John Toland dies (b. 1912). American historian.
• 2005 - Paradox Interactive releases Hearts of Iron 2 .
• 2005 - Guy Davenport dies (b. 1927). American author, artist, and scholar.
• 2005 - Humphrey Carpenter dies (b.1946). English author.
• 2005 - Ali al-Haidri dies assassinated. Iraqi governor of Baghdad.
• 2005 - Frank Harary dies (b. 1921). American mathematician.
• 2005 - Robert Heilbroner dies (b. 1919). American economist.
• 2005 - Bud Poile dies (b. 1924). Canadian hockey player.
• 2005 - Alton Tobey dies (b. 1914). American artist.
• 2006 - Prime Minister Ariel Sharon of Israel suffers a second, apparently more serious stroke. His authority is transferred to Acting Prime Minister Ehud Olmert.
• 2006 - Many American media outlets erroneously report that 12 miners have been found alive in the Sago Mine Disaster, but were later found to be dead.
• 2006 - Sheikh Maktoum bin Rashid Al Maktoum Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai died in Australia's, Gold Coast of a heart attack.
• 2006 - Maktoum bin Rashid Al Maktoum dies (b. 1946). Prime Minister of the United Arab Emirates and Ruler of Dubai.
• 2006 - Irving Layton dies (b. 1912). Canadian poet.
• 2006 - Robert Howard White dies (b. 1914). Mayor of Papatoetoe, New Zealand.
• 2007 - The 110th United States Congress convenes, electing Nancy Pelosi as the first female Speaker of the House in U.S. history.
• 2007 - Ben Gannon dies (b. 1952). Australian theatre film and television producer.
• 2007 - Helen Hill dies (b. 1970). American independent film-maker.
• 2007 - Sir Lewis Hodges dies (b. 1918). British Air Chief Marshal.
• 2007 - Grenfell (Gren) Jones dies (b. 1934). Welsh newspaper cartoonist.
• 2007 - Steve Krantz dies (b. 1923). American film and TV producer (Fritz the Cat).
• 2007 - Gáspár Nagy dies (b. 1949). Hungarian poet and writer.
• 2007 - Sandro Salvadore dies (b. 1939). Italian footballer.
• 2007 - Jan Schröder dies (b. 1941). Dutch cyclist.
• 2007 - Marais Viljoen dies (b. 1915). Former State President of South Africa.
• 2007 - Osman Waqialla dies (b. 1925). Sudanese artist and calligrapher.
• 2008 - Joyce Carlson dies (b. 1923). American artist.
  
• 2008 - Xavier Chamorro Cardenal dies (b. 1932). Nicaraguan print editor.
  
• 2008 - Jimmy Nah dies (b. 1968). Singapore comedian and actor.
  
• Feast day of St Elizabeth Ann Seton.
• Independence Day of Burma/Myanmar.
  
• Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People.