October 4
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October 4 is the 277th day of the year (278th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar; 88 days remain until the end of the year.
Events
- 610 - Heraclius arrives by ship from Africa at Constantinople, overthrows Byzantine Emperor Phocas and becomes Emperor.
- 1363 - End of the Battle of Lake Poyang; the Chinese rebel forces of Zhu Yuanzhang defeat that of his rival, Chen Youliang, in one of the largest naval battles in history.
- 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 defeats the armies of Saxony and the 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 administered by the United States Golf Association is played at the Newport Country Club 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.
- 1918 - An explosion kills more than 100 and destroys the T.A. Gillespie Company Shell Loading Plant in Sayreville, New Jersey. Fires and explosions continue for three days forcing massive evacuations and spreading ordnance over a wide area, pieces of which are still being found in 2007.
- 1921 - Riccardo Zanella becomes first elected president of Free State of Fiume.
- 1927 - Gutzon Borglum begins sculpting Mt. Rushmore.
- 1940 - Meeting between 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.
- 1958 - Fifth Republic of France is established.
- 1960 - Eastern Air Lines Flight 375, a Lockheed L-188 Electra, crashes after a bird strike on takeoff from Boston's Logan International Airport, killing 62 of 72 on board.
- 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.
- 1976 - Official launch of the Intercity 125 High Speed Train (HST).
- 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.
- 1985 - Free Software Foundation is founded in Massachusetts, USA.
- 1988 - U.S. televangelist Jim Bakker is indicted for fraud.
- 1991 - The Protocol on Environmental Protection to the Antarctic Treaty is opened for signature.
- 1992 - The Rome General Peace Accords ends a 16 year civil war in Mozambique.
- 1992 - El Al Flight 1862: an El Al Boeing 747-258F crashes into two apartment buildings in Amsterdam, killing 43 including 39 on the ground.
- 1993 - Russian Constitutional Crisis: In Moscow, tanks bombard the White House, a government building that housed the Russian parliament, while demonstrators against President Boris Yeltsin rally outside.
- 1995 - Hurricane Opal Makes landfall in Ft. Walton Beach, FL.
- 1997 - The second largest cash robbery in U.S. history occurs at the Charlotte, North Carolina office of Loomis, Fargo and Company. An FBI investigation eventually results in 24 convictions and the recovery of approximately 95% of the $17.3 million in cash which had been taken.
- 2001 - Siberia Airlines Flight 1812: 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 (d. 1220)
- 1276 - Margaret of Brabant, Queen of Germany (d. 1311)
- 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)
- 1585 - Anna of Tyrol, Empress consort of the Holy Roman Empire (d. 1618)
- 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)
- 1836 - Juliette Adam, French writer (d. 1936)
- 1841 - Prudente José de Morais Barros, President of Brazil (d. 1912)
- 1841 - Maria Sophie of Bavaria, queen of the Two Sicilies (d. 1925)
- 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)
- 1884 - Subramaniya Siva, Indian freedom fighter (d. 1925)
- 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 - Jan Murray, American comedian (d. 2006)
- 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 and former president of the NRA
- 1928 - Torben Ulrich, Danish musician, writer, filmmaker and tennis player
- 1929 - Scotty Beckett, American child actor, Our Gang comedies (d. 1968)
- 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 - Anne Rice, American writer
- 1941 - Robert Wilson (director), American theatre director
- 1941 - Karl Oppitzhauser, Austrian racing driver
- 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 - Bridget St John, English singer/songwriter and guitarist
- 1946 - Susan Sarandon, American actress
- 1947 - Ann Widdecombe, British politician
- 1947 - Julien Clerc, French singer
- 1947 - Jim Fielder, American bassist (Blood, Sweat & Tears)
- 1948 - Linda McMahon, CEO of World Wrestling Entertainment
- 1949 - Armand Assante, American actor
- 1949 - Stephen Gyllenhaal, American director
- 1950 - Meg Bennett, American writer and actress
- 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
- 1957 - Kyra Schon, American actress
- 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
- 1964 - Sarah Lancashire, British actress
- 1965 - Skip Heller, American musician
- 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 - Kurt Thomas, American basketball player
- 1973 - Chris Parks, American wrestler
- 1974 - Paco León, Spanish actor
- 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 - Kristina Lenko, Canadian Ice Skater
- 1980 - Me'Lisa Barber, American athlete
- 1980 - Sarah Fisher, American race car driver
- 1980 - Tim Peper, American actor
- 1980 - Tomáš Rosický, Czech footballer
- 1981 - Justin Williams, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1981 - Scott Hammond, American photographer
- 1981 - Juka, Japanese singer
- 1982 - Jered Weaver, American baseball player
- 1982 - Tony Gwynn Jr., American baseball player
- 1983 - Risa Kudo, Japanese gravure idol
- 1983 - Ueda Tatsuya, Japanese idol (member of KAT-TUN)
- 1983 - Dan Clarke, British racing driver
- 1983 - Kurt Suzuki, American baseball player
- 1984 - Lena Katina, Russian singer
- 1986 - Yuridia, Mexican singer
- 1987 - Rawez Lawan, Swedish footballer
- 1989 - Lil Mama, American rapper
- 1989 - Kimmie Meissner, American Figure skater
- 2005 - Prince Emmanuel of Belgium
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)
- 1867 - Francis Xavier Seelos German-American Roman Catholic priest (b. 1819)
- 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)
- 1935 - Marie Gutheil-Schoder, German soprano (b. 1874)
- 1943 - Irena Iłłakowicz, Polish agent of Intelligence (b. 1906)
- 1944 - Al Smith, American politician (b. 1873)
- 1946 - Barney Oldfield, American automobile pioneer (b. 1878)
- 1947 - Max Planck, A German Nobel laureate (b. 1858)
- 1951 - Willie Moretti, American gangster (b. 1894)
- 1961 - Metropolitan Benjamin (Fedchenkov), Orthodox missionary and writer, Exarch of Russian Church in North America (b. 1880)
- 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)
- 1990 - Avis Bunnage, English actress (b. 1923)
- 1991 - J. Frank Wilson, American singer (J. Frank Wilson and the Cavaliers) (b. 1941)
- 1992 - Denny Hulme, New Zealand race car driver and 1967 Formula One world champion (b. 1936)
- 1993 - Jim Holton, Scottish footballer (b. 1951)
- 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)
- 2000 - Yu Kuo-hwa, former Premier of Taiwan (b. 1914)
- 2001 - Blaise Alexander, American race car driver (b. 1976)
- 2002 - Alphonse Chapanis, founder of ergonomics (b. 1917)
- 2002 - André Delvaux, Belgian film director and screenwriter (b. 1926)
- 2003 - Sid McMath, American politician (b. 1912)
- 2004 - Gordon Cooper, American astronaut (b. 1927)
- 2004 - Rio Diaz, Filipino actress & TV hosts (b. 1959)
- 2005 - Stanley K. Hathaway, American politician (b. 1924)
- 2006 - Tom Bell, English actor on stage, television and film (b. 1933)
Holidays and observances
- RC Saints - Feast day of Saint Francis of Assisi; also of Saint Amun, Saint Petronius of Bologna.
- Also see October 4 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
- Lesotho - Independence Day (from Britain, 1966).
- World Animal Day
- The beginning of World Space Week