October 4
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Template:Linked-title is the 277th day of the year (278th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar. There are 88 days remaining.
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.
- 1721 - Premiere of Antonio Caldara's Il germanico Marte at Salzburg.
- 1725 - Foundation of Rosario in Argentina.
- 1777 - Battle of Germantown: Troops under George Washington are repelled by British troops under Sir William Howe
- 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 "The 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.
- 1983 - The first Hooters restaurant opens in Clearwater, Florida.
- 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. See Bijlmerramp
- 1993 - Russian constitutional crisis of 1993: Russian President Boris Yeltsin orders tanks to storm the Russian parliament building.
- 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.
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)
- 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)
- 1924 - Charlton Heston, American actor
- 1928 - Alvin Toffler, American author
- 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
- 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-born 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
- 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
- 1980 - Me'Lisa Barber, American athlete
- 1980 - Sarah Fisher, American race car driver
- 1980 - Tomáš Rosický, Czech footballer
- 1981 - Scott Hammond, American Photographer
- 1981 - Justin Williams, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1983 - Risa Kudo, Japanese gravure idol
- 1984 - Elena Katina, Russian singer (t.A.T.u.)
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)
- 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)
- 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)
Holidays and observances
- Roman festivals - Ieiunium Cereris (Fast of Ceres) (since 191 BC; that calendar date fell in late spring at that time).
- RC Saints - Feast day of Saint Francis of Assisi; also of Saint Amun, Saint Petronius of Bologna.
- Also see October 4 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
- Australia - Labour Day of 2005 (ACT, NSW, & SA, 2004: first Monday of October).
- Lesotho - Independence Day (from Britain, 1966).
- Mozambique - Day of Peace and Reconciliation (Dia da Paz e da Reconciliação), in memory of the 1992 Rome General Peace Accords
- World Animal Day
- French Republican Calendar - Potiron (Pumpkin) Day, thirteenth day in the Month of Vendémiaire
- The beginning of World Space Week
- Sweden celebrates National Cinnamon bun Day (since 1999).