January 4 facts for kids

January 4th is a special day in history, filled with many important events, discoveries, and the birthdays of famous people. From ancient battles to modern space missions, this day has seen many moments that shaped our world. Let's explore some of the exciting things that happened on January 4th!

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

Events

Ancient Times and Early History

• 46 BC – The Roman leader Julius Caesar fought a battle against Titus Labienus in the Battle of Ruspina.
• 871 – In the Battle of Reading, Æthelred of Wessex and his brother Alfred were defeated by a Danish army.

From the 1600s to the 1900s

• 1642 – During the English Civil War, King Charles I tried to arrest five members of Parliament. However, they had been warned and escaped.
• 1649 – The Rump Parliament decided to put King Charles I on trial during the English Civil War.
• 1717 – The Netherlands, Great Britain, and France signed an important agreement called the Triple Alliance.
• 1762 – Great Britain declared war on Spain, which brought Spain into the Seven Years' War.
• 1798 – Constantine Hangerli became the new Prince of Wallachia (a region in modern-day Romania), appointed by the Ottoman Empire.
• 1844 – The first issue of the Swedish-language newspaper Saima was published in Kuopio, Finland. It was started by J. V. Snellman.
• 1853 – Solomon Northup, who had been kidnapped and forced into slavery in the American South, finally became free. His book, Twelve Years a Slave, later became very famous.
• 1854 – Captain William McDonald discovered the McDonald Islands while sailing on his ship, the Samarang.
• 1863 – The New Apostolic Church, a Christian church, was started in Hamburg, Germany.
• 1878 – During the Russo-Turkish War, the city of Sofia in Bulgaria was freed from Ottoman rule.
• 1884 – The Fabian Society, a group focused on social change, was founded in London, United Kingdom.
• 1885 – In the Sino-French War, French troops led by General Oscar de Négrier defeated a larger Chinese army at Núi Bop in northern Vietnam.
• 1896 – Utah officially became the 45th U.S. state.

The 20th and 21st Centuries

• 1903 – Topsy, an elephant at Luna Park in Coney Island, was put to death by the park owners.
• 1909 – Explorer Aeneas Mackintosh had a narrow escape from death by moving across ice floes during an expedition to Antarctica.
• 1912 – The Scout Association was officially recognized across the British Empire by a special royal document.
• 1918 – The Finnish Declaration of Independence was recognized by several countries, including Russia, Sweden, Germany, and France.
• 1944 – During World War II, Operation Carpetbagger began. This mission involved dropping weapons and supplies to resistance fighters in Europe.
• 1948 – Burma gained its independence from the United Kingdom and became its own republic.
• 1951 – During the Korean War, Chinese and North Korean forces captured Seoul for the second time.
• 1958 – Sputnik 1, the first artificial satellite launched by the Soviet Union in 1957, fell back to Earth from space.
• 1959 – Luna 1 became the first spacecraft to travel close to the Moon.
• 1972 – Rose Heilbron became the first female judge to work at the Old Bailey court in London, UK.
• 1989 – In an air battle, two Libyan MiG-23 jets were shot down by two US Navy F-14 Tomcat jets.
• 1998 – A huge ice storm hit eastern Canada and the northeastern United States, causing a lot of damage.
• 1999 – Former professional wrestler Jesse Ventura became the governor of Minnesota, United States.
• 2004 – Spirit, a NASA Mars rover, successfully landed on Mars.
• 2004 – Mikheil Saakashvili was elected President of Georgia after the Rose Revolution.
• 2006 – Ehud Olmert became the acting Prime Minister of Israel after the previous leader, Ariel Sharon, became ill.
• 2007 – The 110th United States Congress began, and Nancy Pelosi was chosen as the first female Speaker of the House in U.S. history.
• 2010 – The Burj Khalifa, which is the tallest building in the world, officially opened in Dubai.
• 2018 – A passenger train collided with a truck in South Africa, causing many injuries.

Births

Before the 1600s

• 1077 – Emperor Zhezong of China.
• 1334 – Amadeus VI, Count of Savoy.
• 1467 – Bodo VIII, Count of Stolberg-Wernigerode.
• 1581 – James Ussher, an Irish archbishop and historian.

From the 1600s to the 1900s

• 1643 – Isaac Newton, a famous English mathematician and physicist who discovered gravity.
• 1785 – Jacob Grimm, a German philologist and mythologist, known for collecting fairy tales with his brother.
• 1809 – Louis Braille, a French educator who invented Braille, a reading and writing system for blind people.
• 1813 – Isaac Pitman, an English linguist who created a popular shorthand system.
• 1838 – General Tom Thumb, a famous American circus performer.
• 1848 – Katsura Tarō, a Japanese general and politician who served as Prime Minister of Japan.
• 1864 – Clara Emilia Smitt, a Swedish doctor and author.
• 1874 – Josef Suk, a Czech violinist and composer.
• 1900 – James Bond, an American ornithologist (a scientist who studies birds).

From the 1900s to Today

• 1913 – Malietoa Tanumafili II, a ruler from Samoa.
• 1920 – William Colby, an American intelligence officer who was the Director of Central Intelligence.
• 1927 – Paul Desmarais, a Canadian businessman and generous giver to charities.
• 1931 – William Deane, an Australian judge and politician who was the Governor-General of Australia.
• 1932 – Carlos Saura, a Spanish director and screenwriter.
• 1935 – Floyd Patterson, a famous American boxer.
• 1937 – Dyan Cannon, an American actress and director.
• 1940 – Brian Josephson, a Welsh physicist who won the Nobel Prize.
• 1940 – Gao Xingjian, a Chinese novelist and playwright who won the Nobel Prize in Literature.
• 1943 – Doris Kearns Goodwin, an American historian and author.
• 1945 – Richard R. Schrock, an American chemist who won the Nobel Prize.
• 1950 – Khondakar Ashraf Hossain, a poet and academic from Bangladesh.
• 1953 – Norberto Alonso, an Argentinian footballer.
• 1954 – Tina Knowles, an American fashion designer.
• 1956 – Bernard Sumner, an English singer-songwriter and guitarist.
• 1957 – Patty Loveless, an American country singer-songwriter.
• 1958 – Matt Frewer, an American-Canadian actor.
• 1958 – Julian Sands, an English actor.
• 1960 – Michael Stipe, an American singer-songwriter, known for the band R.E.M.
• 1961 – Graham McTavish, a Scottish actor and author.
• 1963 – Dave Foley, a Canadian comedian and actor.
• 1963 – Till Lindemann, a German singer and songwriter.
• 1964 – Susan Devoy, a New Zealand squash player.
• 1965 – Guy Forget, a French tennis player.
• 1965 – Julia Ormond, an English actress.
• 1966 – Deana Carter, an American country singer-songwriter.
• 1967 – Johnny Nelson, an English boxer and sportscaster.
• 1975 – Shane Carwin, an American mixed martial artist.
• 1980 – D'Arcy Carden, an American actress and comedian.
• 1985 – Lenora Crichlow, a British actress.
• 1986 – James Milner, an English footballer.
• 1986 – Charlyne Yi, an American actor and comedian.
• 1990 – Toni Kroos, a German footballer.
• 1991 – Charles Melton, an American actor.
• 1992 – Kris Bryant, an American baseball player.
• 1994 – Derrick Henry, an American football player.
• 1998 – Coco Jones, an American singer-songwriter and actress.
• 2003 – Jaeden Martell, an American actor.
• 2004 – Victor Wembanyama, a French basketball player.
• 2005 – Dafne Keen, a British-Spanish actress.

Deaths

Before the 1600s

• 871 – Æthelwulf, a Saxon leader.
• 1248 – Sancho II of Portugal.
• 1399 – Nicholas Eymerich, a Catalan theologian.
• 1424 – Muzio Sforza, an Italian military leader.
• 1584 – Tobias Stimmer, a Swiss painter.

From the 1600s to the 1900s

• 1604 – Ferenc Nádasdy, a Hungarian noble.
• 1695 – François-Henri de Montmorency, duc de Luxembourg, a French general.
• 1761 – Stephen Hales, an English clergyman and physiologist.
• 1782 – Ange-Jacques Gabriel, a French architect.
• 1786 – Moses Mendelssohn, a German philosopher.
• 1804 – Charlotte Lennox, an English author.
• 1821 – Elizabeth Ann Seton, an American nun and saint.
• 1825 – Ferdinand I of the Two Sicilies.
• 1877 – Cornelius Vanderbilt, a famous American businessman.
• 1882 – John William Draper, an English-American physician, chemist, and photographer.

From the 1900s to Today

• 1910 – Léon Delagrange, a French pilot and sculptor.
• 1919 – Georg von Hertling, a German academic and politician who was Chancellor of the German Empire.
• 1920 – Benito Pérez Galdós, a Spanish author.
• 1941 – Henri Bergson, a French philosopher who won the Nobel Prize.
• 1960 – Albert Camus, a French novelist and philosopher who won the Nobel Prize in Literature.
• 1961 – Erwin Schrödinger, an Austrian physicist who won the Nobel Prize.
• 1965 – T. S. Eliot, an American-English poet and playwright who won the Nobel Prize in Literature.
• 1967 – Donald Campbell, an English racing driver who set world speed records.
• 1986 – Christopher Isherwood, an English-American author.
• 1986 – Phil Lynott, an Irish singer-songwriter and bass player.
• 1990 – Harold Eugene Edgerton, an American engineer known for high-speed photography.
• 1994 – R. D. Burman, an Indian film composer.
• 1999 – Iron Eyes Cody, an American actor.
• 2001 – Les Brown, an American bandleader.
• 2004 – Joan Aiken, an English author.
• 2005 – Humphrey Carpenter, an English radio host and author.
• 2006 – Maktoum bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the first Prime Minister of the United Arab Emirates.
• 2010 – Johan Ferrier, the first President of Suriname.
• 2011 – Gerry Rafferty, a Scottish singer-songwriter.
• 2012 – Eve Arnold, an American photographer.
• 2015 – Pino Daniele, an Italian singer-songwriter.
• 2017 – Milt Schmidt, a Canadian ice hockey player and coach.
• 2019 – Harold Brown, the 14th United States Secretary of Defense.
• 2021 – Tanya Roberts, an American actress.
• 2023 – Rosi Mittermaier, a German alpine skier and Olympic champion.
• 2024 – Glynis Johns, a British actress and singer.
• 2024 – David Soul, an American-British actor and singer.

Holidays and observances

• Christian feast day:
  • Angela of Foligno
  • Elizabeth Ann Seton
  • Ferréol of Uzès
  • Mavilus
  • Pharaildis of Ghent
  • Rigobert
  • January 4 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
• The eleventh of the Twelve Days of Christmas. (Western Christianity)
• Independence Day (Myanmar), celebrates the independence of Myanmar from the United Kingdom in 1948.
• Colonial Martyrs Repression Day (Angola)
• Day of the Martyrs (Democratic Republic of the Congo)
• Ogoni Day (Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People)
• Tokyo Dome Show: The annual Wrestle Kingdom event run by New Japan Pro-Wrestling
• World Braille Day

See also

In Spanish: 4 de enero para niños