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January 4 facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts

2024 Calendar

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January 4 in recent years

January 4 is the fourth day of the year in the Gregorian calendar; 361 days remain until the end of the year (362 in leap years).

Events

Pre-1600

1601–1900

1901–present

  • 1903Topsy, an elephant, is put to death by the owners of Luna Park, Coney Island.
  • 1909 – Explorer Aeneas Mackintosh of the Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition escaped death by fleeing across ice floes.
  • 1912 – The Scout Association is incorporated throughout the British Empire by royal charter.
  • 1918 – The Finnish Declaration of Independence is recognized by Russia, Sweden, Germany and France.
  • 1944World War II: Operation Carpetbagger, involving the dropping of arms and supplies to resistance fighters in Europe, begins.
  • 1946 – The first day of a three-day “disastrous” tornado outbreak across the south-central United States leaves 41 people dead and at least 412 others injured.
  • 1948Burma gains its independence from the United Kingdom, becoming an independent republic.
  • 1951Korean War: Chinese and North Korean forces capture Seoul for the second time.
  • 1956 – The Greek National Radical Union is formed by Konstantinos Karamanlis.
  • 1958Sputnik 1, the first artificial Earth satellite, launched by the Soviet Union in 1957, falls to Earth from orbit.
  • 1959Luna 1 becomes the first spacecraft to reach the vicinity of the Moon.
  • 1972Rose Heilbron becomes the first female judge to sit at the Old Bailey in London, UK.
  • 1975 – This date overflowed the 12-bit field that had been used in TOPS-10. There were numerous problems and crashes related to this bug while an alternative format was developed.
  • 1987 – The Maryland train collision: An Amtrak train en route to Boston from Washington, D.C., collides with Conrail engines in Chase, Maryland, United States, killing 16 people.
  • 1989 – Second Gulf of Sidra incident: A pair of Libyan MiG-23 "Floggers" are shot down by a pair of US Navy F-14 Tomcats during an air-to-air confrontation.
  • 1990 – In Pakistan's deadliest train accident an overloaded passenger train collides with an empty freight train, resulting in 307 deaths and 700 injuries.
  • 1998 – A massive ice storm hits eastern Canada and the northeastern United States, continuing through January 10 and causing widespread destruction.
  • 1999 – Former professional wrestler Jesse Ventura is sworn in as governor of Minnesota, United States.
  • 2000 – A Norwegian passenger train departing from Trondheim, collides with a local train coming from Hamar in Åsta, Åmot; 19 people are killed and 68 injured in the accident.
  • 2004Spirit, a NASA Mars rover, lands successfully on Mars at 04:35 UTC.
  • 2004 – Mikheil Saakashvili is elected President of Georgia following the November 2003 Rose Revolution.
  • 2006Ehud Olmert becomes acting Prime Minister of Israel after the incumbent, Ariel Sharon, suffers a second, apparently more serious stroke.
  • 2007 – The 110th United States Congress convenes, electing Nancy Pelosi as the first female Speaker of the House in U.S. history.
  • 2008 – A Let L-410 Turbolet crashes in the Los Roques Archipelago in Venezuela, killing 14 people.
  • 2010 – The Burj Khalifa, the current tallest building in the world, officially opens in Dubai.
  • 2018 – Hennenman–Kroonstad train crash: A passenger train operated by Shosholoza Meyl collides with a truck on a level crossing at Geneva Station between Hennenman and Kroonstad, Free State, South Africa. Twenty people are killed and 260 injured.

Births

Pre-1600

1601–1900

1901–present

  • 1901C. L. R. James, Trinidadian journalist and theorist (d. 1989)
  • 1902 – John A. McCone, American businessman and politician, 6th Director of Central Intelligence (d. 1991)
  • 1913Malietoa Tanumafili II, Samoan ruler (d. 2007)
  • 1916Lionel Newman, American pianist and composer (d. 1989)
  • 1916 – Robert Parrish, American actor and director (d. 1995)
  • 1920William Colby, American intelligence officer, 10th Director of Central Intelligence (d. 1996)
  • 1920 – Rosalie Crutchley, British actress (d. 1997)
  • 1924 – Marianne Werner, German shot putter (d. 2023)
  • 1925Veikko Hakulinen, Finnish skier and technician (d. 2003)
  • 1927Paul Desmarais, Canadian businessman and philanthropist (d. 2013)
  • 1927 – Barbara Rush, American actress
  • 1929Günter Schabowski, German journalist and politician (d. 2015)
  • 1930Sorrell Booke, American actor and director (d. 1994)
  • 1930 – Don Shula, American football player and coach (d. 2020)
  • 1931William Deane, Australian judge and politician, 22nd Governor-General of Australia
  • 1931 – Nora Iuga, Romanian poet, writer and translator
  • 1932Carlos Saura, Spanish director and screenwriter (d. 2023)
  • 1934Rudolf Schuster, Slovak politician, 2nd President of Slovakia
  • 1935Floyd Patterson, American boxer (d. 2006)
  • 1937Grace Bumbry, American operatic soprano (d. 2023)
  • 1937 – Dyan Cannon, American actress, director, producer, and screenwriter
  • 1938Jim Norton, Irish stage, film and television actor
  • 1940Brian Josephson, Welsh physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
  • 1940 – Gao Xingjian, Chinese novelist, playwright, and critic, Nobel Prize laureate
  • 1941 – George P. Cosmatos, Italian-Canadian director and screenwriter (d. 2005)
  • 1941 – Kalpnath Rai, Indian politician (d. 1999)
  • 1942 – Bolaji Akinyemi, Nigerian political scientist, academic, and politician
  • 1942 – Jim Downing, American race car driver and inventor
  • 1942 – John McLaughlin, English guitarist and songwriter
  • 1943Doris Kearns Goodwin, American historian and author
  • 1943 – Hwang Sok-yong, South Korean author and educator
  • 1944 – Gary Stevens, Australian rugby league player
  • 1944 – Alan Sutherland, New Zealand rugby player (d. 2020)
  • 1945 – Vesa-Matti Loiri, Finnish actor, musician and comedian (d. 2022)
  • 1945 – Richard R. Schrock, American chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
  • 1946Arthur Conley, American singer-songwriter (d. 2003)
  • 1947 – Chris Cutler, English percussionist, lyricist and music theorist
  • 1947 – Marie-Thérèse Letablier, French sociologist and academic
  • 1948Kostas Davourlis, Greek footballer (d. 1992)
  • 1948 – Cissé Mariam Kaïdama Sidibé, Malian civil servant and politician, Prime Minister of Mali (d. 2021)
  • 1949Mick Mills, English footballer and manager
  • 1949 – Bwanga Tshimen, Congolese footballer
  • 1950Khondakar Ashraf Hossain, Bangladesh poet and academic (d. 2013)
  • 1953Norberto Alonso, Argentinian footballer
  • 1954 – Rob Kerin, Australian politician, 43rd Premier of South Australia
  • 1954 – Tina Knowles, American fashion designer, founded House of Deréon
  • 1956 – Tom Borton, American jazz saxophonist, songwriter and composer (d. 2011)
  • 1956 – Zehava Gal-On, Israeli politician
  • 1956 – Ann Magnuson, American actress and performance artist
  • 1956 – Bernard Sumner, English singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
  • 1957Patty Loveless, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1958 – Matt Frewer, American-Canadian actor
  • 1958 – Julian Sands, English actor (d. 2023)
  • 1960 – Gavin Miller, Australian rugby league player
  • 1960 – Michael Stipe, American singer-songwriter and producer
  • 1961Sidney Green, American basketball player and coach
  • 1961 – Cliff Levingston, American basketball player and coach
  • 1961 – Graham McTavish, Scottish actor and author
  • 1962 – Joe Kleine, American basketball player and coach
  • 1963Dave Foley, Canadian comedian, actor, director, and producer
  • 1963 – Till Lindemann, German singer, songwriter, and poet
  • 1963 – Martina Proeber, German diver
  • 1964 – Susan Devoy, New Zealand squash player
  • 1964 – Dot-Marie Jones, American actress and athlete
  • 1964 – Adrian Shelford, New Zealand rugby league player (d. 2003)
  • 1965 – Guy Forget, French tennis player
  • 1965 – Craig Revel Horwood, Australian-English dancer, choreographer, and director
  • 1965 – Julia Ormond, English actress and producer
  • 1966Deana Carter, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1967Johnny Nelson, English boxer and sportscaster
  • 1967 – David Toms, American golfer and philanthropist
  • 1967 – David Wilson, Australian rugby player
  • 1969 – Corie Blount, American basketball player
  • 1969 – Kees van Wonderen, Dutch footballer and manager
  • 1970 – Josh Stamberg, American actor
  • 1971 – Shane Walker, Australian rugby league player
  • 1971 – Colin Ward, Australian rugby league player
  • 1973 – Frank Høj, Danish cyclist
  • 1974 – Danilo Hondo, German cyclist
  • 1975 – Shane Carwin, American mixed martial artist and wrestler
  • 1975 – Paul Watson, English footballer and physiotherapist
  • 1976Ted Lilly, American baseball player
  • 1978 – Dominik Hrbatý, Slovak tennis player
  • 1979 – Shergo Biran, German footballer
  • 1979 – Tristan Gommendy, French racing driver
  • 1980 – D'Arcy Carden, American actress and comedian
  • 1980 – Miguel Monteiro, Portuguese footballer
  • 1980 – Justin Ontong, South African cricketer
  • 1982 – Richard Logan, English footballer
  • 1982 – Danny Sullivan, Australian rugby league player
  • 1983Will Bynum, American basketball player
  • 1983 – Richard Rankin, Scottish film, television and theatre actor
  • 1984Jiří Hudler, Czech ice hockey player
  • 1985Lenora Crichlow, British actress
  • 1985 – Kari Aalvik Grimsbø, Norwegian handball player
  • 1985 – Gökhan Gönül, Turkish footballer
  • 1985 – Al Jefferson, American basketball player
  • 1986 – Younès Kaboul, French footballer
  • 1986 – Andrei Krauchanka, Belarusian decathlete
  • 1986 – James Milner, English footballer
  • 1986 – Charlyne Yi, American actor, comedian, musician, and writer
  • 1987 – Marissa Coleman, American basketball player
  • 1987 – Kay Voser, Swiss footballer
  • 1988 – Anestis Argyriou, Greek footballer
  • 1988 – Maximilian Riedmüller, German footballer
  • 1989 – Kevin Pillar, American baseball player
  • 1989 – Graham Rahal, American race car driver
  • 1990 – Iago Falque, Spanish footballer
  • 1990 – Raisel Iglesias, Cuban baseball player
  • 1990 – Toni Kroos, German footballer
  • 1990 – Alberto Paloschi, Italian footballer
  • 1991Charles Melton, American actor
  • 1992Kris Bryant, American baseball player
  • 1993James Michael McAdoo, American basketball player
  • 1993 – Mahmoud Metwalli, Egyptian footballer
  • 1994Derrick Henry, American football player
  • 1996 – Michael Dickson, Australian gridiron football player
  • 1996 – Jackson Hastings, Australian rugby league player
  • 1996 – Jasmine Paolini, Italian tennis player
  • 1997Ante Žižić, Croatian basketball player
  • 1998Coco Jones, American singer-songwriter and actress
  • 1998 – Arnoldas Kulboka, Lithuanian basketball player
  • 1998 – Liza Soberano, Filipina actress
  • 1999Nico Hischier, Swiss ice hockey player
  • 1999 – Jaeman Salmon, Australian rugby league player
  • 1999 – Collin Sexton, American basketball player
  • 2003Jaeden Martell, American actor
  • 2004 – Victor Wembanyama, French basketball player
  • 2005Dafne Keen, British-Spanish actress
  • 2005 – Rob Dillingham, American basketball player

Deaths

Pre-1600

1601–1900

1901–present

Holidays and observances

  • Christian feast day:
    • Angela of Foligno
    • Elizabeth Ann Seton
    • Ferréol of Uzès
    • Mavilus
    • Pharaildis of Ghent
    • Rigobert
    • January 4 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
  • The eleventh of the Twelve Days of Christmas. (Western Christianity)
  • Independence Day (Myanmar), celebrates the independence of Myanmar from the United Kingdom in 1948.
  • Colonial Martyrs Repression Day (Angola)
  • Day of the Martyrs (Democratic Republic of the Congo)
  • Ogoni Day (Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People)
  • Tokyo Dome Show: The annual Wrestle Kingdom event run by New Japan Pro-Wrestling
  • World Braille Day

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: 4 de enero para niños

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