January 4

Historic Events

2019

A fire in an escape room in Koszalin, Poland, kills five teenagers through carbon monoxide poisoning. ›

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. ›

2013

A gunman kills eight people in a house-to-house rampage in Kawit, Cavite, Philippines. ›

2010

The Burj Khalifa, the current tallest building in the world, officially opens in Dubai. ›

2008

A Let L-410 Turbolet crashes in the Los Roques Archipelago in Venezuela, killing 14 people. ›

2007

The 110th United States Congress convenes, electing Nancy Pelosi as the first female Speaker of the House in U.S. history. ›

2006

Ehud Olmert becomes acting Prime Minister of Israel after the incumbent, Ariel Sharon, suffers a second, apparently more serious stroke. ›

2004

Mikheil Saakashvili is elected President of Georgia following the November 2003 Rose Revolution. ›

2000

A Norwegian passenger train departing from Trondheim, collides with a local train coming from Hamar in Åsta in Åmot Municipality; 19 people are killed and 68 injured in the accident. ›

1999

Former professional wrestler Jesse Ventura is sworn in as governor of Minnesota, United States. ›

1998

A massive ice storm hits eastern Canada and the northeastern United States, continuing through January 10 and causing widespread destruction. ›

1990

In Pakistan's deadliest train accident an overloaded passenger train collides with an empty freight train, resulting in 307 deaths and 700 injuries. ›

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. ›

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. ›

1976

The Troubles: The Ulster Volunteer Force shoots dead six Irish Catholic civilians in County Armagh, Northern Ireland. The next day, gunmen would shoot dead ten Protestant civilians nearby in retaliation. ›

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. ›

1972

Rose Heilbron becomes the first female judge to sit at the Old Bailey in London, UK. ›

1967

The Doors released their eponymous debut album. ›

1965

Aeroflot Flight 101/X-20 crashes on approach to Alma-Ata Airport, killing 64 people. ›

1959

Luna 1 becomes the first spacecraft to reach the vicinity of the Moon. ›

1958

Sputnik 1, the first artificial Earth satellite, launched by the Soviet Union in 1957, falls to Earth from orbit. ›

1956

The Greek National Radical Union is formed by Konstantinos Karamanlis. ›

1951

Korean War: Chinese and North Korean forces capture Seoul for the second time. ›

1948

Burma gains its independence from the United Kingdom, becoming an independent republic. ›

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. ›

1944

World War II: Operation Carpetbagger, involving the dropping of arms and supplies to resistance fighters in Europe, begins. ›

1918

The Finnish Declaration of Independence is recognized by Russia, Sweden, Germany and France. ›

1912

The Scout Association is incorporated throughout the British Empire by royal charter. ›

1909

Explorer Aeneas Mackintosh of the Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition escaped death by fleeing across ice floes. ›

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. ›

1896

Utah is admitted as the 45th U.S. state. ›

1885

Sino-French War: French troops under General Oscar de Négrier defeat a numerically superior Qing force at Núi Bop in northern Vietnam. ›

1884

The Fabian Society is founded in London, United Kingdom. ›

1878

Russo-Turkish War (1877–78): Sofia is liberated from Ottoman rule. ›

1863

The New Apostolic Church, a Christian and chiliastic church, is established in Hamburg, Germany. ›

1854

The McDonald Islands are discovered by Captain William McDonald aboard the Samarang. ›

1853

After having been kidnapped and sold into slavery in the American South, Solomon Northup regains his freedom; his memoir Twelve Years a Slave later becomes a national bestseller. ›

1844

The first issue of the Swedish-languaged Saima newspaper founded by J. V. Snellman is published in Kuopio, Finland. ›

1798

Constantine Hangerli arrives in Bucharest, Wallachia, as its new Prince, invested by the Ottoman Empire. ›

1762

Great Britain declares war on Spain, which meant the entry of Spain into the Seven Years' War. ›

1717

The Netherlands, Great Britain, and France sign the Triple Alliance. ›

1649

English Civil War: The Rump Parliament votes to put Charles I on trial. ›

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. ›

871

Battle of Reading: Æthelred of Wessex and his brother Alfred are defeated by a Danish invasion army. ›

46 BC

Julius Caesar fights Titus Labienus in the Battle of Ruspina. ›