# On this day: January 4

January 4 is the 4th day of the year (4th in leap years), with 361 days left until the end of the year (362 in a leap year).

## January 4 in one line

Headline entries for January 4, from Wikipedia: in 2010, The Burj Khalifa, the world's tallest structure, officially opened in Dubai; born 1940: Gao Xingjian, Chinese novelist, playwright, and critic, Nobel Prize laureate; died 1960: Albert Camus, French novelist, philosopher, and journalist, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1913). In 2026 it is a Sunday, in 2027 a Monday.

## Events on January 4

- 1642 English Civil War: King Charles I, accompanied by 400 soldiers, attempts to arrest five members of Parliament for treason, only to discover the men had been tipped off and fled. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_I_of_England)
- 1698 Most of London's Palace of Whitehall, the main residence of English monarchs since 1530, was destroyed by fire. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palace_of_Whitehall)
- 1762 Great Britain declares war on Spain, which meant the entry of Spain into the Seven Years' War. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seven_Years'_War)
- 1798 After his appointment as Prince of Wallachia, Constantine Hangerli arrived in Bucharest to assume the throne. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constantine_Hangerli)
- 1853 Solomon Northup regained his freedom after having been sold into slavery in the American South; his memoir Twelve Years a Slave later became a bestseller. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solomon_Northup)
- 1884 The Fabian Society is founded in London, United Kingdom. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fabian_Society)
- 1896 Utah is admitted as the 45th U.S. state. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U.S._state)
- 1903 Topsy, an elephant, is electrocuted by the owners of Luna Park, Coney Island. The Edison film company records the film Electrocuting an Elephant of Topsy's death. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Topsy_(elephant))
- 1909 British explorer Aeneas Mackintosh, a member of the Nimrod Expedition, escaped death by fleeing across ice floes. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aeneas_Mackintosh)
- 1936 Billboard published its first music hit parade. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Billboard_(magazine))
- 1951 Korean War: Chinese and North Korean troops captured Seoul from United Nations forces. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Third_Battle_of_Seoul)
- 1958 Sputnik 1, the first artificial Earth satellite, launched by the Soviet Union in 1957, falls to Earth from orbit. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sputnik_1)
- 1959 Luna 1 becomes the first spacecraft to reach the vicinity of the Moon. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spacecraft)
- 1967 The Doors released their eponymous debut album. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Doors_(album))
- 1970 A magnitude-7.1 earthquake occurred in Tonghai County, China, killing at least 15,000 people. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1970_Tonghai_earthquake)
- 1972 Rose Heilbron became the first female judge to sit at the Central Criminal Court of England and Wales. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rose_Heilbron)
- 1973 Last of the Summer Wine, the longest-running sitcom in the world, premiered as an episode of the BBC's Comedy Playhouse. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Last_of_the_Summer_Wine)
- 1977 The English punk-rock band Sex Pistols' lewd and disruptive behaviour at Heathrow Airport prompted the record label EMI to end their contract. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sex_Pistols)
- 1989 Two American F-14 Tomcats shot down two Libyan MiG-23 Floggers that appeared to be attempting to engage them over the Gulf of Sidra. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1989_air_battle_near_Tobruk)
- 1999 Former professional wrestler Jesse Ventura is sworn in as governor of Minnesota, United States. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesse_Ventura)
- 2004 Spirit, the first of two rovers of NASA's Mars Exploration Rover mission, successfully landed on Mars. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spirit_(rover))
- 2006 Ehud Olmert becomes acting Prime Minister of Israel after the incumbent, Ariel Sharon, suffers a second, apparently more serious stroke. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ariel_Sharon)
- 2007 Nancy Pelosi became Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, becoming the highest-ranking woman in the history of the U.S. government. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nancy_Pelosi)
- 2010 The Burj Khalifa, the world's tallest structure, officially opened in Dubai. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burj_Khalifa)
- 2019 A fire in an escape room in Koszalin, Poland, killed five teenagers. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Koszalin_escape_room_fire)
- 2020 Sembawang Hot Spring Park in Singapore reopened after being redeveloped by the National Parks Board. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sembawang_Hot_Spring_Park)

## Born on January 4

- 659 Ali ibn Husayn Zayn al-Abidin (died 680) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ali_al-Sajjad)
- 1710 Giovanni Battista Pergolesi, Italian composer, violinist, and organist (died 1736) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giovanni_Battista_Pergolesi)
- 1785 Jacob Grimm, German philologist and mythologist (died 1863) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacob_Grimm)
- 1809 Louis Braille, French educator, invented Braille (died 1852) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louis_Braille)
- 1848 Katsura Tarō, Japanese general and politician, 6th Prime Minister of Japan (died 1913) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Katsura_Tar%C5%8D)
- 1929 Günter Schabowski, German journalist and politician (died 2015) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/G%C3%BCnter_Schabowski)
- 1932 Carlos Saura, Spanish director and screenwriter (died 2023) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carlos_Saura)
- 1934 Rudolf Schuster, Slovak politician, 2nd President of Slovakia [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rudolf_Schuster)
- 1937 Dyan Cannon, American actress, director, producer, and screenwriter [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dyan_Cannon)
- 1940 Gao Xingjian, Chinese novelist, playwright, and critic, Nobel Prize laureate [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gao_Xingjian)
- 1940 Brian Josephson, Welsh physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brian_Josephson)
- 1942 John McLaughlin, English guitarist and songwriter [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_McLaughlin_(musician))
- 1945 Richard R. Schrock, American chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_R._Schrock)
- 1958 Julian Sands, English actor (died 2023) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julian_Sands)
- 1960 Michael Stipe, American singer-songwriter and producer [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Stipe)
- 1963 Till Lindemann, German singer, songwriter, and poet [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Till_Lindemann)
- 1965 Julia Ormond, English actress and producer [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julia_Ormond)
- 1986 James Milner, English footballer [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Milner)
- 1990 Toni Kroos, German footballer [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toni_Kroos)
- 2003 Jaeden Martell, American actor [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jaeden_Martell)
- 2004 Victor Wembanyama, French basketball player [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Victor_Wembanyama)
- 2005 Dafne Keen, British-Spanish actress [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dafne_Keen)

## Died on January 4

- 1248 Sancho II of Portugal (born 1209) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sancho_II_of_Portugal)
- 1786 Moses Mendelssohn, German philosopher and theologian (born 1729) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moses_Mendelssohn)
- 1825 Ferdinand I of the Two Sicilies (born 1751) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ferdinand_I_of_the_Two_Sicilies)
- 1877 Cornelius Vanderbilt, American businessman and philanthropist (born 1794) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cornelius_Vanderbilt)
- 1919 Georg von Hertling, German academic and politician, 7th Chancellor of the German Empire (born 1843) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georg_von_Hertling)
- 1920 Benito Pérez Galdós, Spanish author and playwright (born 1843) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benito_P%C3%A9rez_Gald%C3%B3s)
- 1941 Henri Bergson, French philosopher and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1859) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henri_Bergson)
- 1960 Albert Camus, French novelist, philosopher, and journalist, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1913) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albert_Camus)
- 1961 Erwin Schrödinger, Austrian physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1887) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erwin_Schr%C3%B6dinger)
- 1965 T. S. Eliot, American-English poet, playwright, and critic, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1888) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/T._S._Eliot)
- 1986 Christopher Isherwood, English-American author and academic (born 1904) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christopher_Isherwood)
- 2011 Mohamed Bouazizi, Tunisian street vendor who caused the Tunisian Revolution, which was the first revolution in the Arab Spring. (born 1984) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mohamed_Bouazizi)
- 2021 Tanya Roberts, American actress (born 1949) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tanya_Roberts)
- 2024 Glynis Johns, British actress and singer (born 1923) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glynis_Johns)

## Holidays and observances

- Christian feast day: Angela of Foligno [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angela_of_Foligno)
- Christian feast day: Elizabeth Ann Seton [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elizabeth_Ann_Seton)
- Christian feast day: Ferréol of Uzès [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ferr%C3%A9ol_of_Uz%C3%A8s)
- Christian feast day: Mavilus [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mavilus)
- Christian feast day: Pharaildis of Ghent [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pharaildis)
- Christian feast day: Rigobert [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rigobert)
- Christian feast day: January 4 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/January_4_(Eastern_Orthodox_liturgics))
- The eleventh of the Twelve Days of Christmas. (Western Christianity) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twelve_Days_of_Christmas)
- Independence Day (Myanmar), celebrates the independence of Myanmar from the United Kingdom in 1948. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Independence_Day_(Myanmar))
- Colonial Martyrs Repression Day (Angola) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strike_in_Baixa_do_Cassange)
- Day of the Martyrs (Democratic Republic of the Congo) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_holidays_in_the_Democratic_Republic_of_the_Congo)
- Ogoni Day (Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Movement_for_the_Survival_of_the_Ogoni_People)
- Tokyo Dome Show: The annual Wrestle Kingdom event run by New Japan Pro-Wrestling [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Japan_Pro-Wrestling)
- World Braille Day [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Braille_Day)

## Sources

- [Wikipedia — “January 4”](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/January_4) — events, births, deaths and observances (text under CC BY-SA 4.0) (checked 2026-10-15)
- [Wikipedia — “Selected anniversaries/January 4”](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Selected_anniversaries/January_4) — the anniversaries editors chose for the date and the article each one is about (checked 2026-10-15)
- [Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org/) — in how many language editions each entry's own article exists, used to fill the lists (CC0) (checked 2026-10-15)
- [vacanza/holidays (open-source holiday rules, MIT licence)](https://github.com/vacanza/holidays) — holiday rules used to build the lists (checked 2026-10-15)

The events, births, deaths and observances above are from the English Wikipedia article [“January 4”](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/January_4) and the articles it links to ([authors and history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/January_4?action=history)), retrieved 2026-10-15 through the Wikimedia “On this day” feed. They are licensed under [CC BY-SA 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/); this selection is shared under the same licence. Every anniversary that Wikipedia's editors selected for January 4 stays on the list; the remaining places, up to 26 events, 22 births and 14 deaths, go to the entries whose own article — about the event itself, or else the person or thing it is about — appears in the most language editions (counted from Wikidata); an article about a person or thing, which covers far more than one day, counts half. An entry with no article of its own counts, also at half, by the least covered article it links, and one that links only places counts for nothing. Each list runs by year, and the wording is unchanged apart from removing references to pictures, audio and video.

## January 4 in the calendar

| Year | Weekday | ISO week | Moon (UTC) |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 2026 | Sunday | 2026-W01 | 🌖 Waning Gibbous |
| 2027 | Monday | 2027-W01 | 🌘 Waning Crescent |
| 2028 | Tuesday | 2028-W01 | 🌒 Waxing Crescent |
| 2029 | Thursday | 2029-W01 | 🌖 Waning Gibbous |
| 2030 | Friday | 2030-W01 | 🌑 New Moon |

Moon phases are for the day in UTC; at the edges of a phase your local date can differ.

## Public holidays on January 4

- [🇳🇿 New Zealand](https://whathappen.today/holidays/new-zealand/): Day after New Year's Day (day off in lieu) (2027)

[Today's holidays in 28 countries →](https://whathappen.today/holidays/)

## Nearby dates

[← January 3](https://whathappen.today/on-this-day/january-3/) · [January 5 →](https://whathappen.today/on-this-day/january-5/)

[All 366 days](https://whathappen.today/on-this-day/)

Last updated: 15 October 2026

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Web page: https://whathappen.today/on-this-day/january-4/