January 4

## Events 
### Up to 1900 
* 46 BC &ndash; Julius Caesar defeats Titus Labienus in the Battle of Ruspina.
* 1490 &ndash; Anne of Brittany announces that all those who would ally (go on the same side) with the King of France will be guilty of the crime of lese–majesty.
* 1642 &ndash; Charles I of England sends soldiers in to arrest members of parliament.
* 1643 &ndash; Famous English scientist Isaac Newton is born. In the Julian calendar in use in England at the time, his date of birth was December 25, 1642.
* 1649 &ndash; The English Rump Parliament votes to put Charles I on trial.
* 1717 &ndash; The Netherlands, Great Britain and France sign a triple alliance.
* 1762 &ndash; Great Britain declares war on Spain and Naples.
* 1798 &ndash; Constantine Hangerli arrives in Bucharest, then–part of Wallachia, as its new prince, invested by the Ottoman Empire.
* 1847 &ndash; Samuel Colt sells his first revolver pistol to the US Government.
* 1852 &ndash; British steamer RMS *Amazon* catches fire and explodes and sinks, killing 104 people.
* 1854 &ndash; The Subantarctic McDonald Islands are discovered by Captain William McDonald.
* 1863 &ndash; The New Apostolic Church is created in Hamburg.
* 1865 &ndash; The New York Stock Exchange opens its first permanent headquarters on Wall Street.
* 1878 &ndash; The city of Sofia is freed from Ottoman Rule.
* 1880 &ndash; Mount Chimborazo in Ecuador is first climbed by Edward Whymper.
* 1885 &ndash; Dr. William W. Grant of Davenport, Iowa, performs what is thought to be the first appendectomy.
* 1889 &ndash; The Oklahoma Land Run opens 2 million square acres of unused Oklahoma Territory to first–come, first–served settlers from April 22.
* 1896 &ndash; Utah becomes a state of the US.

### 1901&ndash;2000 
* 1904 &ndash; In Gonzales v. Williams, the U.S. Supreme Court decides that citizens of Puerto Rico are not aliens and can enter the U.S. freely.
* 1912 &ndash; The Scout Association is officially created throughout the British Commonwealth of Nations by Royal Charter.
* 1935 &ndash; Dry Tortugas National Park in Mexico is created.
* 1944 &ndash; World War II: Operation Carpetbagger, involving the dropping of arms and supplies to resistance fighters in Europe, begins.
* 1948 &ndash; Burma gained independence from the United Kingdom.
* 1950 &ndash; Israel declares Jerusalem to be its capital city.
* 1951 &ndash; The Communist forces of North Korea and China, seize the city of Seoul.
* 1958 &ndash; Sputnik 1 falls back to Earth.
* 1958 &ndash; Edmund Hillary reaches the South Pole, leading the first overland expedition there since Robert Falcon Scott.
* 1959 &ndash; *Luna 1* becomes the first spacecraft to reach the area near the Moon.
* 1964 &ndash; Pope Paul VI visits Israel.
* 1965 &ndash; During the State of the Union Address, President Lyndon Johnson outlines his plan for "The Great Society".
* 1966 &ndash; A coup occurs in Upper Volta (present–day Burkina Faso).
* 1967 &ndash; Donald Campbell is killed in an attempt to beat his own water speed record on Coniston Water.
* 1970 &ndash; An earthquake in Yunnan, China, kills around 10,000 people.
* 1972 &ndash; Rose Heilbron becomes the first female judge to sit on the Old Bailey in London.
* 1976 &ndash; The Troubles: The Ulster Volunteer Force shoots dead six Irish Catholic civilians in County Armagh. On January 5, gunmen shoot dead 10 Protestant civilians nearby.
* 1981 &ndash; Peter Sutcliffe admits being the Yorkshire ripper.
* 1987 &ndash; An Amtrak train travelling from Boston, Massachusetts to Washington, DC, collides with Conrail engines in Chase, Maryland, killing 16 people.
* 1990 &ndash; A train accident in Sangi, Pakistan, kills 350 people.
* 1998 &ndash; A massive ice storm in eastern Canada and the northeastern United States causes widespread disruption and power outages.
* 1999 &ndash; Former wrestler, Jesse Ventura, becomes Minnesota's governor.
* 1999 &ndash; The US Mint begins issuing the 50 state quarters.

### From 2001 
* 2004 &ndash; Spirit, a NASA Mars Rover, lands successfully on Mars.
* 2004 &ndash; Mikheil Saakashvili becomes President of Georgia.
* 2006 &ndash; Prime Minister of Israel Ariel Sharon suffers a stroke. His duties are transferred to Ehud Olmert.
* 2007 &ndash; Nancy Pelosi becomes the first female Speaker of the United States House of Representatives.
* 2010 &ndash; The Burj Khalifa is opened in Dubai, officially becoming the world's tallest building.
* 2016 &ndash; Zinedine Zidane becomes the manager of Real Madrid C.F..

## Births 
### Up to 1900 
* 1077 &ndash; Emperor Zhezong of China (d. 1100)
* 1334 &ndash; Amadeus VI of Savoy (d. 1383)
* 1341 &ndash; Wat Tyler, English leader of the Peasants' Revolt (d. 1381)
* 1581 &ndash; James Ussher, Irish bishop and theologian (d. 1656)
* 1643 &ndash; Isaac Newton, English scientist (d. 1727)
* 1664 &ndash; Lars Roberg, Swedish physician (d. 1742)
* 1710 &ndash; Giovanni Battista Pergolesi, Italian composer, violinist and organist (d. 1736)
* 1720 &ndash; Johann Friedrich Agricola, German composer (d. 1774)
* 1737 &ndash; Louis-Bernard Guyton de Morveau, French chemist and politician (d. 1816)
* 1785 &ndash; Jacob Grimm, German storyteller (d. 1863)
* 1793 &ndash; Roger Sherman Baldwin, American politician, Senator and Governor of Connecticut (d. 1863)
* 1809 &ndash; Louis Braille, French inventor of Braille (d. 1852)
* 1813 &ndash; Isaac Pitman, English linguist (d. 1897)
* 1838 &ndash; General Tom Thumb, American circus performer (d. 1883)
* 1839 &ndash; Carl Humann, German engineer, architect and classical archaeologist (d. 1896)
* 1848 &ndash; Katsura Taro, Prime Minister of Japan (d. 1913)
* 1858 &ndash; Carter Glass, 47th United States Secretary of the Treasury (d. 1946)
* 1866 &ndash; Joel Hastings Metcalf, American astronomer (d. 1925)
* 1866 &ndash; Ramon Casas, Catalan painter (d. 1932)
* 1869 &ndash; Tommy Corcoran, American baseball player (d. 1960)
* 1870 &ndash; Percy Pitt, English organist and conductor (d. 1932)
* 1872 &ndash; Ottilie Sutro, American pianist (d. 1970)
* 1874 &ndash; Josef Suk, Czech composer (d. 1935)
* 1874 &ndash; Albert Tyler, American athlete (d. 1945)
* 1878 &ndash; Augustus John, Welsh painter (d. 1961)
* 1881 &ndash; Wilhelm Lehmbruck, German sculptor (d. 1919)
* 1883 &ndash; Max Eastman, American writer (d. 1969)
* 1883 &ndash; Pat Ryan, American hammer thrower (d. 1964)
* 1883 &ndash; Johanna Westerdijk, Dutch botanist (d. 1961)
* 1887 &ndash; Hugo Steinhaus, Polish mathematician (d. 1972)
* 1888 &ndash; Walther Kossel, German physicist (d. 1956)
* 1889 &ndash; M. Patanjali Sastri, 2nd Chief Justice of India (d. unknown)
* 1890 &ndash; Malcolm Wheeler-Nicholson, American pulp writer and publisher (DC Comics) (d. 1968)
* 1891 &ndash; Edward Brooker, Australian politician, 31st Premier of Tasmania (d. 1948)
* 1893 &ndash; Yone Minagawa, Japanese supercentenarian (d. 2007)
* 1896 &ndash; Everett Dirksen, American politician (d. 1969)
* 1896 &ndash; André Masson, French painter (d. 1987)
* 1896 &ndash; Arnold Susi, Estonian lawyer and politician (d. 1968)
* 1900 &ndash; James Bond, American ornithologist (d. 1980)

### 1901&ndash;1950 
* 1902 &ndash; John McCone, 6th Director of Central Intelligence (d. 1991)
* 1903 &ndash; Georg Elser, German resistance activist (d. 1945)
* 1905 &ndash; Sterling Holloway, American actor (d. 1992)
* 1910 &ndash; Arthur Villeneuve, Canadian painter (d. 1990)
* 1913 &ndash; Malietoa Tanumafili II, Samoan Head of State (d. 2007)
* 1914 &ndash; Jean-Pierre Vernant, French historian and anthropologist (d. 2007)
* 1915 &ndash; Meg Mundy, English–American actress
* 1922 &ndash; Mart Port, Estonian architect (d. 2012)
* 1924 &ndash; Walter Ris, American swimmer (d. 1989)
* 1924 &ndash; Charles Thone, American politician, 34th Governor of Nebraska (d. 2018)
* 1925 &ndash; Veikko Hakulinen, Finnish skier (d. 2003)
* 1927 &ndash; Barbara Rush, American actress
* 1929 &ndash; Günter Schabowski, East German politician (d. 2015)
* 1930 &ndash; Don Shula, American football coach
* 1931 &ndash; William Deane, former Governor-General of Australia
* 1932 &ndash; Carlos Saura, Spanish director
* 1932 &ndash; Clint Hill, American secret service agent and writer
* 1933 &ndash; Norman H. Bangerter, American politician, Governor of Utah (d. 2015)
* 1933 &ndash; Ilia II of Georgia, Patriarch of the Georgian Orthodox Church
* 1934 &ndash; Zurab Tsereteli, Georgian sculptor
* 1934 &ndash; Hellmuth Karasek, German journalist, writer and critic (d. 2015)
* 1934 &ndash; Rudolf Schuster, former President of Slovakia
* 1935 &ndash; Floyd Patterson, American boxer (d. 2006)
* 1935 &ndash; Walter Mahlendorf, German athlete
* 1936 &ndash; Gianni Vattimo, Italian philosopher, writer and politician
* 1937 &ndash; Grace Bumbry, American soprano
* 1937 &ndash; Dyan Cannon, American actress, director, screenwriter and producer
* 1939 &ndash; Veniamin Soldatenko, Soviet athlete
* 1939 &ndash; Joseph Bonnel, French footballer (d. 2018)
* 1940 &ndash; Antoni Krauze, Polish screenwriter and director (d. 2018)
* 1940 &ndash; Helmut Jahn, German–American architect
* 1940 &ndash; Brian David Josephson, Welsh physicist
* 1940 &ndash; Gao Xingjian, Chinese–French writer
* 1941 &ndash; Maureen Reagan, American political activist (d. 2001)
* 1942 &ndash; John McLaughlin, English guitarist and songwriter
* 1945 &ndash; Richard R. Schrock, American chemist
* 1947 &ndash; Chris Cutler, British singer and musician
* 1947 &ndash; Doc Neeson, Northern Irish–born Australian singer-songwriter and musician (d. 2014)
* 1947 &ndash; Tim Rooney, American actor (d. 2006)
* 1947 &ndash; Rick Stein, English chef and restaurateur
* 1948 &ndash; Cissé Mariam Kaïdema Sidibé, Prime Minister of Mali
* 1949 &ndash; Mick Mills, English footballer

### 1951&ndash;1975 
* 1951 &ndash; Barbara Cochran, American skier
* 1951 &ndash; Ronald Corp, English composer, conductor and priest
* 1953 &ndash; Norberto Alonso, Argentine footballer
* 1954 &ndash; Oleg Romantsev, Russian footballer
* 1955 &ndash; Wolfgang Tiefensee, German politician
* 1956 &ndash; Bernard Sumner, English singer-songwriter, guitarist and producer
* 1956 &ndash; Sarojini Sahoo, Indian feminist writer
* 1957 &ndash; Patty Loveless, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
* 1957 &ndash; Vesnaja Zmijanac, Montenegrin–Serbian folk singer
* 1957 &ndash; Gurdas Maan, Indian singer, songwriter, choreographer and actor
* 1958 &ndash; Andy Borowitz, American comedian and actor
* 1958 &ndash; Julian Sands, English actor
* 1958 &ndash; Gary Jones, Welsh–Canadian actor
* 1960 &ndash; Michael Stipe, American singer and musician (R.E.M.)
* 1960 &ndash; April Winchell, American actress
* 1961 &ndash; Kiyotaka Matsui, Japanese footballer
* 1961 &ndash; Oh Se-hoon, South Korean politician
* 1962 &ndash; Robin Guthrie, Scottish guitarist and producer
* 1962 &ndash; Joe Kleine, American basketball player
* 1962 &ndash; Peter Steele, American musician (d. 2010)
* 1962 &ndash; André Rouvoet, French educator and politician
* 1963 &ndash; Dave Foley, Canadian comedian, actor, director and producer
* 1963 &ndash; Till Lindemann, German singer (Rammstein)
* 1963 &ndash; May-Britt Moser, Norwegian psychologist and neuroscientist, 2014 Nobel Prize winner
* 1964 &ndash; Dot Jones, American actress
* 1965 &ndash; Yvan Attal, Israeli–French actor and director
* 1965 &ndash; Craig Revel Horwood, Australian–English dancer
* 1965 &ndash; Guy Forget, French tennis player
* 1965 &ndash; Beth Gibbons, British musician
* 1965 &ndash; Cait O'Riordan, Irish musician (The Pogues)
* 1966 &ndash; Christian Kern, former Chancellor of Austria
* 1966 &ndash; Deana Carter, American singer
* 1971 &ndash; Katharine Viner, British newspaper editor (*The Guardian*)
* 1972 &ndash; James Longley, American director and producer
* 1973 &ndash; Harmony Korine, American movie director and screenwriter
* 1974 &ndash; Armin Zöggeler, Italian luger

### From 1976 
* 1977 &ndash; David Millar, British cyclist
* 1977 &ndash; Teitur Lassen, Faroese singer-songwriter
* 1978 &ndash; Karine Ruby, French snowboarder (d. 2009)
* 1978 &ndash; Mai Meneses, Spanish singer-songwriter and guitarist
* 1979 &ndash; Kevin Kuske, German bobsledder
* 1980 &ndash; Miguel Monteiro, Portuguese footballer
* 1980 &ndash; Greg Cipes, American actor
* 1980 &ndash; Happy Salma, Indonesian model, actress and writer
* 1981 &ndash; Zhang Jiewen, Chinese badminton player
* 1982 &ndash; Paulo Ferrari, Argentine footballer
* 1982 &ndash; Kang Hye-jung, South Korean actress
* 1983 &ndash; Gemma Hunt, English television presenter
* 1985 &ndash; Al Jefferson, American basketball player
* 1985 &ndash; Jung Sung Ryong, South Korean footballer
* 1985 &ndash; Ross Turnbull, English footballer
* 1986 &ndash; James Milner, English footballer
* 1986 &ndash; Younès Kaboul, French footballer
* 1986 &ndash; Hsieh Su-wei, Taiwanese tennis player
* 1987 &ndash; Nikolaj Misiuk, Lithuanian footballer
* 1988 &ndash; Nabila Jamshed, Indian writer
* 1989 &ndash; Labrinth, English singer
* 1990 &ndash; Toni Kroos, German footballer
* 1990 &ndash; Alberto Paloschi, Italian footballer
* 1991 &ndash; Olivia Tennet, New Zealand actress
* 1991 &ndash; Tal Al-Mallohi, Syrian blogger and activist
* 1992 &ndash; Kris Bryant, American baseball player
* 1993 &ndash; Scott Redding, British motorcycle racer
* 1995 &ndash; Maddie Hasson, American actress
* 1995 &ndash; Maria Isabel, Spanish singer
* 1998 &ndash; Coco Jones, American actress and singer
* 1998 &ndash; Liza Soberano, Filipino–American actress and model
* 2003 &ndash; Jaeden Lieberher, American actor

## Deaths 
### Up to 1900 
* 1066 &ndash; Edward the Confessor, Saxon king (b. 1003)
* 1248 &ndash; King Sancho II of Portugal (b. 1207)
* 1428 &ndash; Frederick I, Elector of Saxony (b. 1370)
* 1564 &ndash; Hosokawa Ujitsuna, Japanese military commander (b. 1514)
* 1584 &ndash; Tobias Stimmer, Swiss painter and illustrator (b. 1539)
* 1752 &ndash; Gabriel Cramer, Swiss mathematician (b. 1704)
* 1761 &ndash; Stephen Hales, English physicist and physiologist (b. 1677)
* 1773 &ndash; Anton Losenko, Russian painter (b. 1737)
* 1786 &ndash; Moses Mendelssohn, German philosopher (b. 1729)
* 1804 &ndash; Charlotte Lennox, British writer (b. 1730)
* 1821 &ndash; Elizabeth Ann Seton, American saint (b. 1774)
* 1825 &ndash; Ferdinand I of the Two Sicilies (b. 1751)
* 1843 &ndash; Stevens Mason, American politician, 1st Governor of Michigan (b. 1811)
* 1874 &ndash; Thomas Gregson, Australian politician, 2nd Premier of Tasmania (b. 1798)
* 1877 &ndash; Cornelius Vanderbilt, American businessman (b. 1794)
* 1880 &ndash; Anselm Feuerbach, German painter (b. 1829)
* 1882 &ndash; John William Draper, English–American physician, chemist and photographer (b. 1811)
* 1895 &ndash; Manuel Pavia, Spanish general (b. 1827)

### 1901&ndash;2000 
* 1910 &ndash; Léon Delagrange, French aviator and sculptor (b. 1873)
* 1913 &ndash; Hjalmar Johansen, Norwegian explorer (b. 1867)
* 1915 &ndash; Anton von Werner, German painter (b. 1843)
* 1919 &ndash; Georg von Hertling, Chancellor of Germany (b. 1843)
* 1931 &ndash; Louise, Princess Royal (b. 1867)
* 1931 &ndash; Mohammad Ali Jouhar, Indian journalist, activist and scholar (b. 1878)
* 1941 &ndash; Henri Bergson, French philosopher (b. 1859)
* 1944 &ndash; Kaj Munk, Danish minister, poet and activist (b. 1898)
* 1956 &ndash; Savielly Tartakower, Polish–French chess player (b. 1887)
* 1960 &ndash; Albert Camus, French writer (b. 1913)
* 1961 &ndash; Erwin Schrödinger, Austrian physicist (b. 1887)
* 1965 &ndash; T. S. Eliot, American poet (b. 1888)
* 1967 &ndash; Donald Campbell, English motorboat racer (b. 1921)
* 1975 &ndash; Carlo Levi, Italian writer, painter and politician (b. 1902)
* 1986 &ndash; Christopher Isherwood, English writer (b. 1904)
* 1986 &ndash; Phil Lynott, Irish musician (b. 1949)
* 1990 &ndash; Henry Bolte, Australian politician, Premier of Victoria (b. 1907)
* 1995 &ndash; Eduardo Mata, Mexican conductor and composer (b. 1942)
* 1995 &ndash; Dorothy Granger, American actress (b. 1911)
* 1998 &ndash; John Gary, American singer (b. 1932)
* 1999 &ndash; Iron Eyes Cody, American actor (b. 1904)

### From 2001 
* 2004 &ndash; Joan Aiken, English writer (b. 1924)
* 2006 &ndash; Maktoum bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Dubai politician (b. 1946)
* 2007 &ndash; Marais Viljoen, South African politician (b. 1915)
* 2007 &ndash; Sandro Salvadore, Italian footballer (b. 1939)
* 2009 &ndash; Lei Clijsters, Belgian footballer (b. 1956)
* 2010 &ndash; Casey Johnson, American socialite (b. 1979)
* 2010 &ndash; Johan Ferrier, first President of Suriname (b. 1910)
* 2010 &ndash; Tsutomu Yamaguchi, Japanese survivor of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki atomic bombs (b. 1916).
* 2011 &ndash; Salmaan Taseer, Pakistani politician (b. 1964)
* 2011 &ndash; Gerry Rafferty, Scottish singer-songwriter (b. 1947)
* 2011 &ndash; Mohamed Bouazizi, Tunisian fruit seller (b. 1984)
* 2011 &ndash; Dick King-Smith, English writer (b. 1922)
* 2011 &ndash; Ali-Reza Pahlavi of Iran (b. 1966)
* 2012 &ndash; Eve Arnold, American photographer (b. 1912)
* 2013 &ndash; Tony Lip, American actor (b. 1930)
* 2014 &ndash; Sergey Kozlov, Russian footballer and manager (b. 1960)
* 2015 &ndash; Stuart Scott, American sportscaster (b. 1965)
* 2015 &ndash; Hank Peters, American baseball executive (b. 1924)
* 2015 &ndash; Stu Miller, American baseball player (b. 1927)
* 2015 &ndash; Lance Diamond, American singer (b. 1946)
* 2015 &ndash; Pino Daniele, Italian singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1955)
* 2015 &ndash; Natalino Pescarolo, Italian bishop (b. 1929)
* 2015 &ndash; René Vautier, French movie director (b. 1928)
* 2016 &ndash; Michel Galabru, French actor (b. 1922)
* 2016 &ndash; Tom Allin, English cricketer (b. 1987)
* 2016 &ndash; S. H. Kapadia, Indian judge (b. 1947)
* 2016 &ndash; Jorge Lepra, Uruguayan diplomat and politician (b. 1942)
* 2016 &ndash; John Roberts, Welsh footballer (b. 1946)
* 2016 &ndash; Fernando Barrachina, Spanish footballer (b. 1947)
* 2016 &ndash; Achim Mentzel, German musician and television presenter (b. 1946)
* 2016 &ndash; Leo Rucka, American football player (b. 1931)
* 2017 &ndash; Milt Schmidt, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1918)
* 2017 &ndash; Ezio Pascutti, Italian footballer (b. 1937)
* 2017 &ndash; Wayne Westner, South African golfer (b. 1961)
* 2017 &ndash; Hisham Al-Otaibi, Kuwaiti politician (b. 1946)
* 2017 &ndash; Heinz Billing, German physicist and computer scientist (b. 1914)
* 2017 &ndash; Abdul Halim Jaffer Khan, Indian sitar player and composer (b. 1927)
* 2017 &ndash; Jordi Pagans i Monsalvatje, Catalan painter (b. 1932)
* 2017 &ndash; Douglas Wass, British civil servant (b. 1923)
* 2017 &ndash; Georges Pretre, French conductor (b. 1924)
* 2018 &ndash; Aharon Appelfeld, Ukrainian–born Israeli writer (b. 1932)
* 2018 &ndash; Johannes Brost, Swedish actor (b. 1946)
* 2018 &ndash; Brendan Byrne, American politician, 47th Governor of New Jersey (b. 1924)
* 2018 &ndash; Bruce Halle, American automobile parts executive (b. 1930)
* 2018 &ndash; Senichi Hoshino, Japanese baseball player (b. 1947)
* 2018 &ndash; Philipp Jenninger, German politician (b. 1932)
* 2018 &ndash; Ray Thomas, English singer-songwriter (b. 1941)
* 2018 &ndash; Vladimir Yankilevsky, Russian artist (b. 1938)
* 2019 &ndash; Harold Brown, 14th United States Secretary of Defense (b. 1927)
* 2021 &ndash; Tanya Roberts, American actress (b. 1955)
* 2021 &ndash; Martinus J. G. Veltman, Dutch theoretical physicist and Nobel Prize winner (b. 1931)
* 2022 &ndash; Joan Copeland, American actress (b. 1922)
* 2022 &ndash; Hilton Cheong-Leen, Hong Kong politician (b. 1922)

## Observances 
* Independence Day (Burma)
* Day of the Fallen against Colonial Repression (Angola)
* Day of the Martyrs (Democratic Republic of the Congo)
* World Braille Day