On This Day — 4 January

2019

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

Koszalin escape room fire

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.

Hennenman–Kroonstad train crash

2013

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

Kawit shooting

2010

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

Burj Khalifa

2008

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

Let L-410 Turbolet

2007

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

110th United States Congress

2006

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

Ehud Olmert

2004

Spirit, a NASA Mars rover, lands successfully on Mars at 04:35 UTC.

Spirit (rover)

2004

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

Mikheil Saakashvili

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.

Trondheim

1999

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

Jesse Ventura

1998

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

January 1998 North American ice storm

1990

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

Sukkur rail disaster

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.

1989 air battle near Tobruk

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.

1987 Maryland train collision

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.

The Troubles

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.

TOPS-10

1972

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

Rose Heilbron

1967

The Doors released their eponymous debut album.

The Doors

1965

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

Aeroflot Flight 101/X-20

1959

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

Luna 1

1958

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

Sputnik 1

1956

The Greek National Radical Union is formed by Konstantinos Karamanlis.

National Radical Union

1948

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

Myanmar

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.

Tornado outbreak of January 4–6, 1946

1944

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

World War II

1918

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

Finnish Declaration of Independence

1912

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

The Scout Association

1909

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

Aeneas Mackintosh

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.

Topsy (elephant)

1896

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

Utah

1885

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

Sino-French War

1884

The Fabian Society is founded in London, United Kingdom.

Fabian Society

1878

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

Russo-Turkish War (1877–1878)

1863

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

New Apostolic Church

1854

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

Heard Island and McDonald Islands

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.

Solomon Northup

1844

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

Saima (newspaper)

1798

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

Constantine Hangerli

1762

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

Spain

1717

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

Dutch Republic

1649

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

Rump Parliament

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.

Charles I of England

871

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

Battle of Reading (871)

-46

Julius Caesar fights Titus Labienus in the Battle of Ruspina.

Julius Caesar