October 4 facts for kids

October 4th is a day packed with exciting events and the birthdays of many interesting people throughout history! From space travel to important inventions and big changes in countries, this date has seen a lot happen. Let's explore some of the most memorable moments and people connected to October 4th.

Historical Events

Ancient Times and Middle Ages

• AD 23 – Rebels attacked the Chinese capital city of Chang'an during a big peasant rebellion.
• 1209 – Otto IV was crowned Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire by Pope Innocent III. This was a very important title in Europe back then.
• 1302 – The Byzantine–Venetian War finally ended. This was a conflict between the Byzantine Empire and Venice.
• 1363 – The Battle of Lake Poyang took place. This was one of the largest naval battles ever! Zhu Yuanzhang's rebels won against their rival Chen Youliang.
• 1511 – The Holy League was formed. This was an alliance of powerful states like Aragon, the Papal States, and Venice, all working together against France.
• 1535 – The Coverdale Bible was printed. This was a very early English translation of the Bible, thanks to William Tyndale and Myles Coverdale.
• 1582 – The Gregorian Calendar was introduced by Pope Gregory XIII. This is the calendar system we still use today!
• 1597 – Governor Gonzalo Méndez de Canço started to stop a local uprising against his rule in what is now the state of Georgia.

Later Historical Events

• 1602 – During the Eighty Years' War and the Anglo-Spanish War, a Spanish fleet was defeated by English and Dutch ships in the English Channel.
• 1636 – In the Thirty Years' War, the Swedish Army won a big victory against the armies of Saxony and the Holy Roman Empire at the Battle of Wittstock.
• 1777 – During the American Revolutionary War, American troops led by George Washington were pushed back by British troops.
• 1795 – Napoleon became famous when he stopped rioters who were threatening the government in France.
• 1824 – Mexico adopted a new constitution and became a federal republic, a country with different states working together.
• 1830 – The Belgian Revolution officially began when the temporary government decided to separate from the Netherlands.
• 1853 – The Crimean War started when the Ottoman Empire declared war on the Russian Empire.
• 1876 – The Agricultural and Mechanical College of Texas opened. It was the first public college in Texas.
• 1883 – The famous Orient Express train made its very first journey.
• 1883 – The Boys' Brigade, a youth organization, had its first meeting in Glasgow, Scotland.
• 1895 – Horace Rawlins won the very first U.S. Open Men's Golf Championship.

Modern Day Events

• 1917 – During World War I, the Battle of Broodseinde was fought between British and German armies.
• 1918 – A huge explosion at a Shell Loading Plant in New Jersey killed over 100 people and destroyed the plant.
• 1920 – The Mannerheim League for Child Welfare, a Finnish organization that helps children, was founded.
• 1927 – Gutzon Borglum began sculpting the famous Mount Rushmore monument.
• 1936 – The Metropolitan Police and anti-fascist groups had a violent clash in London, known as the Battle of Cable Street.
• 1941 – Norman Rockwell's popular Willie Gillis character appeared for the first time on the cover of The Saturday Evening Post magazine.
• 1957 – Sputnik 1 became the first artificial satellite to orbit Earth! This was a huge step in space exploration.
• 1958 – The current constitution of France was adopted, setting up how the country is governed.
• 1960 – An airliner crashed during takeoff from Boston, killing 62 people.
• 1963 – Hurricane Flora caused terrible damage and killed 6,000 people in Cuba and Haiti.
• 1965 – Pope Paul VI made history by starting the first ever papal visit to the Americas.
• 1966 – Basutoland became independent from the United Kingdom and changed its name to Lesotho.
• 1983 – Richard Noble set a new land speed record, reaching over 633 miles per hour in Nevada!
• 1985 – The Free Software Foundation was started. This group promotes software that everyone can use, study, and share freely.
• 1991 – An important agreement, the Protocol on Environmental Protection to the Antarctic Treaty, was opened for countries to sign. It helps protect the environment in Antarctica.
• 1992 – The Rome General Peace Accords officially ended a 16-year civil war in Mozambique.
• 1992 – El Al Flight 1862 crashed into apartment buildings in Amsterdam, killing 43 people.
• 1993 – Tanks attacked the Russian parliament during a political crisis.
• 1997 – The second largest cash robbery in U.S. history happened in North Carolina.
• 2001 – Siberia Airlines Flight 1812 crashed after being hit by a missile, killing 78 people.
• 2004 – SpaceShipOne won the Ansari X Prize for private spaceflight, showing that private companies could also reach space.
• 2006 – WikiLeaks, a website that publishes secret information, was launched.
• 2010 – A plant accident in Hungary released a huge amount of toxic mud, killing nine people and polluting rivers.
• 2017 – Joint Nigerien-American Special Forces were attacked by Islamic State militants in Niger.
• 2021 – Bubba Wallace became the first African-American driver in the modern era of NASCAR to win a major race.
• 2022 – Alain Aspect, John F. Clauser and Anton Zeilinger were awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics for their work on quantum mechanics.

Famous Birthdays

Historical Figures Born Today

• 1289 – Louis X of France, a king of France.
• 1542 – Robert Bellarmine, an Italian cardinal and saint.
• 1550 – Charles IX of Sweden, a king of Sweden.
• 1626 – Richard Cromwell, who was the Lord Protector of Great Britain.
• 1720 – Giovanni Battista Piranesi, a famous Italian sculptor and illustrator.
• 1787 – François Guizot, a French historian and Prime Minister.
• 1814 – Jean-François Millet, a well-known French painter.
• 1822 – Rutherford B. Hayes, who became the 19th President of the United States.
• 1841 – Prudente de Morais, the 3rd President of Brazil.
• 1861 – Frederic Remington, an American painter and sculptor famous for his Western art.
• 1862 – Johanna van Gogh-Bonger, who helped make her brother-in-law, Vincent van Gogh, famous after his death.
• 1895 – Buster Keaton, a legendary American film actor and director, known for his silent comedies.

Modern Personalities Born Today

• 1903 – John Vincent Atanasoff, an American physicist who helped invent the first electronic digital computer.
• 1916 – Vitaly Ginzburg, a Russian physicist who won the Nobel Prize in Physics.
• 1918 – Kenichi Fukui, a Japanese chemist who won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry.
• 1923 – Charlton Heston, a famous American actor.
• 1928 – Alvin Toffler, an American journalist and author known for his books about the future.
• 1937 – Jackie Collins, a popular English-American author.
• 1941 – Anne Rice, a best-selling American author.
• 1942 – Jóhanna Sigurðardóttir, who became the 24th Prime Minister of Iceland.
• 1946 – Susan Sarandon, a well-known American actress.
• 1948 – Linda McMahon, an American businesswoman and politician.
• 1949 – Armand Assante, an American actor.
• 1956 – Christoph Waltz, an Austrian-German actor who has won many awards.
• 1957 – Russell Simmons, an American businessman who founded Def Jam Recordings.
• 1959 – Chris Lowe, a singer and keyboard player from the band Pet Shop Boys.
• 1961 – Kazuki Takahashi, the Japanese author and illustrator who created Yu-Gi-Oh!.
• 1967 – Liev Schreiber, an American actor and director.
• 1976 – Alicia Silverstone, an American actress.
• 1979 – Rachael Leigh Cook, an American actress.
• 1980 – Tomáš Rosický, a famous Czech footballer.
• 1988 – Derrick Rose, an American basketball player.
• 1989 – Dakota Johnson, an American actress.
• 1991 – Leigh-Anne Pinnock, an English singer from the group Little Mix.
• 1996 – Ella Balinska, an English actress.
• 1997 – Rishabh Pant, an Indian cricketer.

Notable Deaths

Historical Figures Who Died Today

• 1160 – Constance of Castile, who was the Queen of France.
• 1189 – Gerard de Ridefort, a Grand Master of the Knights Templar.
• 1497 – John, Prince of Asturias, the only son of King Ferdinand II of Aragon and Queen Isabella I of Castile.
• 1582 – Teresa of Ávila, a Spanish nun and saint.
• 1669 – Rembrandt, one of the most famous Dutch painters and illustrators of all time.
• 1680 – Pierre-Paul Riquet, a French engineer who designed the important Canal du Midi.
• 1890 – Catherine Booth, an English theologian who helped start The Salvation Army.

Modern Personalities Who Died Today

• 1904 – Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi, the French sculptor who designed the amazing Statue of Liberty.
• 1947 – Max Planck, a German physicist who won the Nobel Prize and was a founder of quantum theory.
• 1951 – Henrietta Lacks, an American medical patient whose cells were used for important medical research without her knowledge.
• 1970 – Janis Joplin, a very famous American singer-songwriter.
• 1974 – Anne Sexton, an American poet.
• 1982 – Glenn Gould, a brilliant Canadian pianist.
• 1989 – Graham Chapman, an English actor and screenwriter, known for being part of Monty Python.
• 1992 – Denny Hulme, a New Zealand race car driver.
• 1997 – Gunpei Yokoi, a Japanese game designer who created the Game Boy.
• 2000 – Michael Smith, a Canadian biochemist who won the Nobel Prize.
• 2004 – Gordon Cooper, an American astronaut.
• 2010 – Norman Wisdom, a beloved English actor, comedian, and singer.
• 2013 – Võ Nguyên Giáp, a famous Vietnamese general and politician.
• 2014 – Jean-Claude Duvalier, a former President of Haiti.
• 2022 – Loretta Lynn, a legendary American country music singer-songwriter.

Holidays and Observances

• Christian feast day:
  • Amun
  • Francis of Assisi
  • Petronius of Bologna
  • October 4 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
• Cinnamon Roll Day in Sweden and Finland. Yum!
• Day of Peace and Reconciliation in Mozambique.
• Independence Day, celebrating when Lesotho became independent from the United Kingdom in 1966.
• The beginning of World Space Week (an International event).
• World Animal Day, a day to celebrate animals and their welfare.

See also

In Spanish: 4 de octubre para niños