From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
October 4 is the 277th day of the year (278th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 88 days remaining.
[edit] Events
- 610 - Heraclius arrives by ship from Africa at Constantinople, overthrows Byzantine Emperor Phocas and becomes Emperor.
- 1209 - Otto IV is crowned emperor of the Holy Roman Empire by Pope Innocent III.
- 1227 - Assassination of Caliph al-Adil.
- 1511 - Formation of the Holy League of Ferdinand II of Aragon, the Papal States and the Republic of Venice against France.
- 1537 - The first complete English-language Bible (the Matthew Bible) is printed, with translations by William Tyndale and Miles Coverdale.
- 1582 - Pope Gregory XIII implements the Gregorian Calendar. In Italy, Poland, Portugal, and Spain, October 4 of this year is followed directly by October 15.
- 1636 - The Swedish Army defeates those of Saxony and Holy Roman Empire at the Battle of Wittstock.
- 1693 - Battle of Marsaglia: Piedmontese troops are defeated by the French.
- 1725 - Foundation of Rosario in Argentina.
- 1777 - Battle of Germantown: Troops under George Washington are repelled by British troops under Sir William Howe
- 1779 - The Fort Wilson Riot takes place.
- 1795 - Napoleon Bonaparte first rises to national prominence with a "Whiff of Grapeshot", using cannon to suppress armed counter-revolutionary rioters threatening the French Legislature (National Convention).
- 1824 - Mexico adopts a new constitution and becomes a federal republic.
- 1830 - Creation of the state of Belgium after separation from The Netherlands.
- 1853 - Crimean War: The Ottoman Empire declares war on Russia.
- 1883 - First run of the Orient Express.
- 1883 - First meeting of the Boys' Brigade in Glasgow, Scotland.
- 1895 - The first U.S. Open Men's Golf Championship run by the United States Golf Association was played on a nine-hole course in Newport, Rhode Island.
- 1910 - Declaration of the Portuguese Republic. King Manuel II flees to the United Kingdom.
- 1910 - Adoption of the Flag of Bermuda.
- 1921 - Riccardo Zanella becomes first elected president of Free State of Fiume.
- 1927 - Gutzon Borglum begins sculpting Mt. Rushmore.
- 1931 - Debut appearance of the "Dick Tracy" comic strip, created by cartoonist Chester Gould.
- 1940 - Meeting of Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini at the Brenner Pass.
- 1943 - World War II: U.S. captures Solomon Islands.
- 1957 - Launch of Sputnik I, the first artificial satellite to orbit the Earth.
- 1957 - Avro Arrow roll-out ceremony at Avro Canada plant in Malton, Ontario.
- 1957 - The CBS television show Leave it to Beaver debuts, starring Jerry Mathers as Beaver.
- 1958 - Fifth Republic of France established.
- 1960 - Eastern Air Lines Flight 375, a Lockheed L-188 Electra, crashes on takeoff from Boston's Logan International Airport, killing 62 of 72 on board after a bird strike.
- 1965 - The first Pope to ever visit the United States of America, Pope Paul VI arrives in New York.
- 1966 - Basutoland becomes independent from the United Kingdom and is renamed Lesotho.
- 1967 - Omar Ali Saifuddin III of Brunei abdicates in favour of his son, His Majesty Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah
- 1975 - A Cessna 310Q airplane crashes over Wilmington, North Carolina, killing the pilot and severely injuring several pro wrestlers affiliated with the NWA's Mid-Atlantic promotion. One of the survivors is the legendary Ric Flair
- 1983 - Richard Noble sets a new land speed record of 633.468 mph (1,019 km/h), driving Thrust 2 at the Black Rock Desert of Nevada.
- 1988 - U.S. televangelist Jim Bakker indicted for fraud.
- 1991 - The Protocol on Environmental Protection to the Antarctic Treaty was opened for signature.
- 1992 - The Rome General Peace Accords end a 16 years' civil war in Mozambique.
- 1992 - An El Al Boeing 747-200F crashes into two apartment buildings in Amsterdam, killing 43 including 38 on the ground.
- 1993 - Russian Constitutional Crisis: In Moscow, tanks bombarded the White House, a government building that housed the Russian parliament, while demonstrators against President Boris Yeltsin rallied outside.
- 1997 - The second largest cash robbery in U.S. history occurred at the Charlotte, North Carolina office of Loomis, Fargo and Company. An FBI investigation eventually resulted in 24 convictions and the recovery of approximately 95% of the $17.3 million in cash which had been taken.
- 2001 - A Sibir Airlines Tupolev TU-154 crashes into the Black Sea after being struck by an errant Ukrainian S-200 missile. 78 people are killed.
- 2003 - Maxim restaurant suicide bombing in Haifa, Israel: 21 Israelis, Jews and Arabs, are killed, and 51 others wounded.
- 2004 - SpaceShipOne wins Ansari X Prize for private spaceflight.
[edit] Births
- 1160 - Alys, Countess of the Vexin, daughter of Louis VII of France
- 1289 - King Louis X of France (d. 1316)
- 1379 - King Henry III of Castile (d. 1406)
- 1515 - Lucas Cranach the Younger, German painter (d. 1586)
- 1542 - Robert Bellarmine, Italian saint (d. 1621)
- 1550 - King Charles IX of Sweden (d. 1611)
- 1562 - Christian Sørensen Longomontanus, Danish astronomer (d. 1647)
- 1570 - Péter Pázmány, Hungarian cardinal (d. 1637)
- 1625 - Jacqueline Pascal, French child prodigy (d. 1661)
- 1626 - Richard Cromwell, Lord Protector of England, Scotland, and Ireland (d. 1712)
- 1657 - Francesco Solimena, Italian painter (d. 1747)
- 1720 - Giovanni Battista Piranesi, Italian artist (d. 1778)
- 1723 - Nikolaus Poda von Neuhaus, German entomologist (d. 1798)
- 1759 - Antoine Arbogast, French mathematician (d. 1803)
- 1787 - François Guizot, French statesman (d. 1874)
- 1807 - Louis-Hippolyte Lafontaine, French Canadian politician, prime minister of the Province of Canada (d. 1864)
- 1814 - Jean-François Millet, French painter (d. 1875)
- 1822 - Rutherford B. Hayes, 19th President of the United States (d. 1893)
- 1841 - Prudente José de Morais Barros, President of Brazil (d. 1912)
- 1858 - Michael Pupin, Serbian-born telephone pioneer (d. 1935)
- 1861 - Frederic Remington, American painter (d. 1909)
- 1862 - Edward Stratemeyer, American author (d. 1930)
- 1876 - Hugh McCrae, Australian writer (d. 1958)
- 1877 - Razor Smith, English cricketer (d. 1946)
- 1880 - Damon Runyon, American writer (d. 1946)
- 1881 - Walther von Brauchitsch, German Commander-in-Chief (d. 1948)
- 1886 - Luis Alberni, Spanish actor (d. 1962)
- 1888 - Oscar Mathisen, Norwegian speed skater (d. 1954)
- 1892 - Engelbert Dollfuss, Austrian politician (d. 1934)
- 1895 - Buster Keaton, American comedian (d. 1966)
- 1903 - John Vincent Atanasoff, American computer pioneer (d. 1995)
- 1903 - Ernst Kaltenbrunner, German military officer and senior Nazi (d. 1946)
- 1903 - Bona Arsenault, French Canadian politician, historian and genealogist (d. 1993)
- 1907 - Run Run Shaw, Hong Kong media mogul
- 1910 - Frankie Crosetti, American baseball player (d. 2002)
- 1914 - Jim Cairns, Australian politician (d. 2003)
- 1914 - Brendan Gill, American writer (d. 1997)
- 1916 - Vitaly Ginzburg, Russian physicist, Nobel laureate
- 1916 - George Sidney, American film director (d. 2002)
- 1918 - Kenichi Fukui, Japanese chemist, Nobel laureate (d. 1998)
- 1922 - Malcolm Baldrige, 26th United States Secretary of Commerce (d. 1987)
- 1922 - Shin Kyuk-Ho, Japanese businessman
- 1924 - Charlton Heston, American actor
- 1928 - Alvin Toffler, American author
- 1928 - Torben Ulrich, Danish musician, writer, filmmaker and tennis player
- 1929 - Leroy Van Dyke, American singer
- 1931 - Richard Rorty, Professor Emeritus of Philosophy, Stanford University
- 1932 - Milan Chvostek, Canadian television director
- 1934 - Sam Huff, American football player
- 1937 - Jackie Collins, British author
- 1937 - Jim Sillars, Scottish politician
- 1938 - Kurt Wüthrich, Swiss chemist, Nobel laureate
- 1940 - Silvio Marzolini, Argentine footballer
- 1940 - Alberto Vilar, Cuban-American investor and philanthropist
- 1941 - Roy Blount, Jr., American writer
- 1941 - Jackie Collins, British writer
- 1941 - Anne Rice, American writer
- 1942 - Karl W. Richter, American aviator (d. 1967)
- 1943 - H. Rap Brown, American civil rights activist
- 1944 - Tony La Russa, American baseball manager
- 1944 - Rocío Dúrcal, Spanish singer and actress (d. 2006)
- 1945 - Clifton Davis, American actor
- 1946 - Chuck Hagel, American politician
- 1946 - Susan Sarandon, American actress
- 1947 - Ann Widdecombe, British politician
- 1947 - Julien Clerc, French singer
- 1947 - Jim Fielder, American bassist (Blood, Sweat & Tears)
- 1949 - Armand Assante, American actor
- 1949 - Stephen Gyllenhaal, American director
- 1951 - Bakhytzhan Kanapyanov, Kazakh poet
- 1953 - Tchéky Karyo, Turkish-French actor
- 1955 - Jorge Valdano, Argentine footballer
- 1957 - Alexander Tkachyov, Soviet gymnast
- 1957 - Bill Fagerbakke, American actor
- 1959 - Chris Lowe, British musician (Pet Shop Boys)
- 1959 - Tony Meo, English snooker player
- 1960 - Afrika Bambaataa, American musician
- 1960 - Joe Boever, American baseball player
- 1961 - Kazuki Takahashi, Japanese author
- 1962 - Jon Secada, Cuban singer and songwriter
- 1963 - A.C. Green, American basketball player
- 1967 - Marcus Bentley, British voice actor
- 1967 - Ekin Cheng Yee-Kin, Hong Kong actor and Cantopop singer
- 1967 - Liev Schreiber, American actor
- 1970 - Richard Hancox, English footballer
- 1971 - Friderika Bayer, Hungarian singer
- 1972 - Murray Happer, American wrestler
- 1972 - Kurt Thomas, American basketball player
- 1973 - Chris Parks, American wrestler
- 1975 - Cristiano Lucarelli, Italian football player
- 1976 - Alicia Silverstone, American actress
- 1976 - Mauro Camoranesi, Argentine-Italian footballer
- 1978 - Ko Soo, South Korean television and movie actor
- 1979 - Rachael Leigh Cook, American actress
- 1979 - Stefan Booth, British actor
- 1980 - Me'Lisa Barber, American athlete
- 1980 - Sarah Fisher, American race car driver
- 1980 - Tomáš Rosický, Czech footballer
- 1981 - Justin Williams, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1981 - Scott Hammond, American photographer
- 1982 - Jered Weaver, Starting Pitcher for the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim
- 1983 - Risa Kudo, Japanese gravure idol
- 1983 - Ueda Tatsuya, Japanese idol (member of KAT-TUN)
- 1984 - Elena Katina, Russian singer (t.A.T.u.)
[edit] Deaths
- 1052 - Vladimir of Novgorod (b. 1020)
- 1221 - William III Talvas, Count of Ponthieu (b. 1179)
- 1250 - Herman VI, Margrave of Baden
- 1305 - Emperor Kameyama of Japan (b. 1249)
- 1582 - Teresa of Avila, Spanish saint (b. 1515)
- 1597 - Sarsa Dengel, Emperor of Ethiopia (b. 1550)
- 1646 - Thomas Howard, 21st Earl of Arundel, English statesman (b. 1586)
- 1660 - Francesco Albani, Italian painter (b. 1578)
- 1661 - Jacqueline Pascal, French child prodigy (b. 1625)
- 1669 - Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn, Dutch painter (b. 1606)
- 1680 - Pierre-Paul Riquet, French engineer
- 1743 - John Campbell, 2nd Duke of Argyll, Scottish soldier (b. 1678)
- 1749 - Franz Freiherr von der Trenck, Austrian soldier (b. 1711)
- 1754 - Tanacharison, Catawba Indian chief
- 1785 - David Brearly, American statesman (b. 1703)
- 1821 - John Rennie, Scottish engineer (b. 1761)
- 1851 - Manuel de Godoy, Spanish statesman (b. 1767)
- 1859 - Karl Baedeker, German publisher (b. 1801)
- 1864 - Joseph Montferrand, French Canadian logger and strong man (b. 1802)
- 1890 - Catherine Booth, the Mother of The Salvation Army (b. 1829)
- 1903 - Otto Weininger, Austrian philosopher (b. 1880)
- 1904 - Frédéric Bartholdi, French sculptor (b. 1834)
- 1904 - Karl Bayer, Austrian chemist (b. 1847)
- 1910 - Sergey Muromtsev, Russian lawyer and politician, and President of the First Imperial Duma (b. 1850)
- 1935 - Jean Béraud, French painter (b. 1849)
- 1944 - Al Smith, American politician (b. 1873)
- 1946 - Barney Oldfield, American automobile pioneer (b. 1878)
- 1947 - Max Planck, Nobel laureate (b. 1858)
- 1951 - Willie Moretti, American gangster (b. 1894)
- 1969 - Natalino Otto, Italian singer (b. 1912)
- 1970 - Janis Joplin, American singer (b. 1943)
- 1974 - Anne Sexton, American poet (b. 1928)
- 1975 - Joan Whitney Payson, American heiress (b. 1903)
- 1981 - Freddie Lindstrom, Major League Baseball Hall of famer (b. 1905)
- 1982 - Glenn Gould, Canadian pianist (b. 1932)
- 1989 - Graham Chapman, British comedian (b. 1941)
- 1989 - Secretariat, American race horse (b. 1970)
- 1991 - J. Frank Wilson, American singer (J. Frank Wilson and the Cavaliers) (b. 1941)
- 1992 - Denny Hulme, New Zealand race care driver (b. 1936)
- 1994 - Danny Gatton, American guitar virtuoso (b. 1945)
- 1996 - Larry Gene Bell, American child murderer (executed by electric chair)
- 1997 - Gunpei Yokoi, Japanese game developer (b. 1941)
- 1999 - Erik Brødreskift (aka Grim), Norwegian black metal musician (b. 1969)
- 1999 - Art Farmer, American jazz trumpet player (b. 1928)
- 1999 - Bernard Buffet, French painter (b. 1928)
- 2000 - Michael Smith, Nobel laureate (b. 1932)
- 2002 - Alphonse Chapanis, founder of ergonomics
- 2002 - André Delvaux, Belgian film director and screenwriter (b. 1926)
- 2003 - Sid McMath, American politician (b. 1912)
- 2004 - Gordon Cooper, American astronaut (b. 1927)
- 2005 - Stanley K. Hathaway, American politician (b. 1924)
- 2006 - Tom Bell, English actor on stage, television and film (b. 1933)
[edit] Holidays and observances
[edit] External links
