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On This Day in History — October 4
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Highlights of October 4
- 1943 — World War II: Allied forces executed Operation Leader, an air raid against German shipping near Bodø, Norway. Read more
- 1941 — Willie Gillis, one of Norman Rockwell's trademark characters, debuted on the cover of The Saturday Evening Post. Read more
- 1927 — Gutzon Borglum and approximately 400 workers began sculpting Mount Rushmore. Read more
- 1925 — Great Syrian Revolt: Rebels led by Fawzi al-Qawuqji captured the city of Hama from the French Mandate of Syria. Read more
- 1918 — First World War: The Japanese merhant ship Hirano Maru was sunk by a German submarine in the Celtic Sea with the loss of 291 lives. Read more
- 1917 — First World War: The Allies devastated the German defence at the Battle of Broodseinde, prompting a crisis among German commanders and causing a severe loss of morale in the 4th Army. Read more
- 1876 — Texas A&M University opened as the first public institution of higher education in the U.S. state. Read more
- 1862 — American Civil War: After a naval battle in Galveston Harbor, Texas, Confederate commanders negotiated the surrender of the city to Union forces. Read more
- 1633 — Smolensk War: Forces from the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth broke the Russian siege of Smolensk (depicted). Read more
- 1448 — Skanderbeg and Gjergj Arianiti signed a peace treaty to end the Albanian–Venetian War. Read more
- 1363 — Red Turban Rebellions: The rebel leader Zhu Yuanzhang won the Battle of Lake Poyang by deploying ships intentionally set aflame when the emperor tried to escape. Read more
Events
- 2017 — Joint Nigerien-American Special Forces are ambushed by Islamic State militants outside the village of Tongo Tongo. Read more
- 2010 — The Ajka plant accident in Hungary releases a million cubic metres of liquid alumina sludge, killing nine, injuring 122, and severely contaminating two major rivers. Read more
- 2006 — WikiLeaks is launched. Read more
- 2004 — SpaceShipOne wins the Ansari X Prize for private spaceflight. Read more
- 2003 — The Maxim restaurant suicide bombing in Israel kills twenty-one Israelis, both Jews and Arabs. Read more
- 2001 — Siberia Airlines Flight 1812 crashes after being struck by an errant Ukrainian missile. Seventy-eight people are killed. Read more
- 1997 — The second largest cash robbery in U.S. history occurs in North Carolina. Read more
- 1993 — Battle of Mogadishu occurs killing 18 U.S. Special Forces, two UN Peacekeepers and at least 600 Somalian militia men and civilians. Read more
- 1993 — Tanks bombard the Russian parliament, while demonstrators against President Yeltsin rally outside. Read more
- 1992 — The Rome General Peace Accords end a 16-year civil war in Mozambique. Read more
- 1992 — El Al Flight 1862 crashes into two apartment buildings in Amsterdam, killing 43 including 39 on the ground. Read more
- 1991 — The Protocol on Environmental Protection to the Antarctic Treaty is opened for signature. Read more
- 1985 — The Free Software Foundation is founded. Read more
- 1983 — Richard Noble sets a new land speed record of 633.468 miles per hour (1,019.468 km/h) at the Black Rock Desert in Nevada. Read more
- 1967 — Omar Ali Saifuddien III of Brunei abdicates in favour of his son. Read more
- 1966 — Basutoland becomes independent from the United Kingdom and is renamed Lesotho. Read more
- 1965 — Pope Paul VI begins the first papal visit to the Americas. Read more
- 1963 — Hurricane Flora kills 6,000 in Cuba and Haiti. Read more
- 1960 — Eastern Airlines flight 375 crashes on takeoff from Boston's Logan International Airport, killing 62 people of the 72 aboard. Read more
- 1958 — The current constitution of France is adopted. Read more
- 1957 — Sputnik 1 becomes the first artificial satellite to orbit the Earth. Read more
- 1941 — Norman Rockwell's Willie Gillis character debuts on the cover of The Saturday Evening Post. Read more
- 1936 — The Metropolitan Police and various anti-fascist organizations violently clash in the Battle of Cable Street. Read more
- 1927 — Gutzon Borglum begins sculpting Mount Rushmore. Read more
- 1925 — Great Syrian Revolt: Rebels led by Fawzi al-Qawuqji capture Hama from the French Mandate of Syria. Read more
- 1925 — S2, a Finnish Sokol class torpedo boat, sinks during a fierce storm near the coast of Pori in the Gulf of Bothnia, taking with it the whole crew of 53. Read more
- 1920 — The Mannerheim League for Child Welfare, a Finnish non-governmental organization, is founded on the initiative of Sophie Mannerheim. Read more
- 1918 — World War I: An explosion kills more than 100 people and destroys a Shell Loading Plant in New Jersey. Read more
- 1917 — World War I: The Battle of Broodseinde is fought between the British and German armies in Flanders. Read more
- 1895 — Horace Rawlins wins the first U.S. Open Men's Golf Championship. Read more
- 1883 — First meeting of the Boys' Brigade in Glasgow, Scotland. Read more
- 1876 — The Agricultural and Mechanical College of Texas (now known as Texas A&M) opens as the first public college in Texas. Read more
- 1862 — American Civil War: The two-day Second Battle of Corinth ends in a Union victory, with General William Rosecrans protecting the critical rail junction of Corinth, Mississippi from Confederate forces under General Earl Van Dorn. Read more
- 1853 — The Crimean War begins when the Ottoman Empire declares war on the Russian Empire. Read more
- 1830 — The Belgian Revolution takes legal form when the provisional government secedes from the Netherlands. Read more
- 1824 — Mexico adopts a new constitution and becomes a federal republic. Read more
- 1795 — Napoleon first rises to prominence by suppressing counter-revolutionary rioters threatening the National Convention. Read more
- 1777 — American Revolutionary War: Troops under George Washington are repelled by British troops under William Howe. Read more
- 1693 — Nine Years' War: Piedmontese troops are defeated by the French. Read more
- 1636 — Thirty Years' War: The Swedish Army defeats the armies of Saxony and the Holy Roman Empire at the Battle of Wittstock. Read more
- 1602 — Eighty Years' War and the Anglo-Spanish War: A fleet of Spanish galleys are defeated by English and Dutch galleons in the English Channel. Read more
- 1582 — The Gregorian Calendar is introduced by Pope Gregory XIII. Read more
- 1535 — The Coverdale Bible is printed, with translations into English by William Tyndale and Myles Coverdale. Read more
- 1511 — Formation of the Holy League of Aragon, the Papal States and Venice against France. Read more
- 1363 — Battle of Lake Poyang: In one of the largest naval battles in history, Zhu Yuanzhang's rebels defeat rival Chen Youliang. Read more
- 1302 — The Byzantine–Venetian War comes to an end. Read more
- 1209 — Otto IV is crowned Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire by Pope Innocent III. Read more
- 23 — Rebels sack the Chinese capital Chang'an during a peasant rebellion. Read more
Born on October 4
- 2001 — Graham Campbell, American actor Read more
- 1997 — Rishabh Pant, Indian cricketer Read more
- 1997 — Yuju, South Korean singer Read more
- 1996 — Ella Balinska, English actress Read more
- 1995 — Jeonghan, South Korean singer Read more
- 1995 — Kenny Clark, American football player Read more
- 1995 — Mikolas Josef, Czech singer and songwriter Read more
- 1994 — Mike Williams, American football player Read more
- 1993 — Mitchell Swepson, Australian cricketer Read more
- 1991 — Leigh-Anne Pinnock, English singer and songwriter Read more
- 1990 — Signy Aarna, Estonian footballer Read more
- 1990 — Saki, Japanese guitarist and songwriter Read more
- 1990 — Sergey Shubenkov, Russian hurdler Read more
- 1989 — Dakota Johnson, American actress Read more
- 1988 — Melissa Benoist, American actress and singer Read more
- 1988 — Lonnie Chisenhall, American baseball player Read more
- 1988 — Caner Erkin, Turkish footballer Read more
- 1988 — Evgeni Krasnopolski, Israeli figure skater Read more
- 1988 — Derrick Rose, American basketball player Read more
- 1987 — Marina Weisband, German politician Read more
- 1985 — Shontelle, Barbadian singer-songwriter Read more
- 1985 — Thorsten Wiedemann, German rugby player Read more
- 1984 — Lena Katina, Russian singer-songwriter Read more
- 1984 — Petri Kontiola, Finnish ice hockey player Read more
- 1984 — Karolina Tymińska, Polish heptathlete Read more
- 1983 — Vicky Krieps, Luxembourgish actress Read more
- 1983 — Kurt Suzuki, American baseball player Read more
- 1982 — Tony Gwynn Jr., American baseball player Read more
- 1982 — Ilhan Omar, American politician Read more
- 1982 — Jered Weaver, American baseball player Read more
- 1981 — Justin Williams, Canadian-American ice hockey player Read more
- 1980 — Sarah Fisher, American race car driver Read more
- 1980 — James Jones, American basketball player Read more
- 1980 — Tomáš Rosický, Czech footballer Read more
- 1979 — Caitríona Balfe, Irish actress Read more
- 1979 — Rachael Leigh Cook, American actress Read more
- 1979 — Adam Voges, Australian cricketer Read more
- 1978 — Dana Davis, American actress and author Read more
- 1978 — Kyle Lohse, American baseball player Read more
- 1977 — Richard Reed Parry, Canadian guitarist, songwriter, and producer Read more
Died on October 4
- 2024 — Christopher Ciccone, American artist (born 1960) Read more
- 2024 — Billy Shaw, American football player (born 1938) Read more
- 2022 — Loretta Lynn, American singer-songwriter and musician (born 1932) Read more
- 2020 — Clark Middleton, American actor (born 1957) Read more
- 2020 — Kenzō Takada, Japanese-French fashion designer (born 1939) Read more
- 2015 — Dave Pike, American vibraphone player and songwriter (born 1938) Read more
- 2015 — Edida Nageswara Rao, Indian director and producer (born 1934) Read more
- 2015 — Neal Walk, American basketball player (born 1948) Read more
- 2014 — Konrad Boehmer, German-Dutch composer and educator (born 1941) Read more
- 2014 — Hugo Carvana, Brazilian actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (born 1937) Read more
- 2014 — Fyodor Cherenkov, Russian footballer and manager (born 1959) Read more
- 2014 — Jean-Claude Duvalier, Haitian politician, 41st President of Haiti (born 1951) Read more
- 2013 — John Cloudsley-Thompson, Pakistani-English commander (born 1921) Read more
- 2013 — Ulric Cross, Trinidadian navigator, judge, and diplomat (born 1917) Read more
- 2013 — Akira Miyoshi, Japanese composer (born 1933) Read more
- 2013 — Diana Nasution, Indonesian singer (born 1958) Read more
- 2013 — Võ Nguyên Giáp, Vietnamese general and politician, 3rd Minister of Defence for Vietnam (born 1911) Read more
- 2013 — Nicholas Oresko, American sergeant, Medal of Honor recipient (born 1917) Read more
- 2012 — David Atkinson, Canadian actor and singer (born 1921) Read more
- 2012 — Stan Mudenge, Zimbabwean historian and politician, Zimbabwean Minister of Foreign Affairs (born 1941) Read more
- 2012 — Tom Stannage, Australian footballer, historian, and academic (born 1944) Read more
- 2011 — Doris Belack, American actress (born 1926) Read more
- 2010 — Norman Wisdom, English actor, comedian, and singer-songwriter (born 1915) Read more
- 2009 — Gerhard Kaufhold, German footballer (born 1928) Read more
- 2009 — Günther Rall, German general and pilot (born 1918) Read more
- 2007 — Qassem Al-Nasser, Jordanian general (born 1925) Read more
- 2005 — Stanley K. Hathaway, American lawyer and politician, 40th United States Secretary of the Interior (born 1924) Read more
- 2004 — Gordon Cooper, American colonel, engineer, and astronaut (born 1927) Read more
- 2003 — Sid McMath, American lawyer and politician, 34th Governor of Arkansas (born 1912) Read more
- 2002 — André Delvaux, Belgian-Spanish director and screenwriter (born 1926) Read more
- 2001 — Blaise Alexander, American race car driver (born 1976) Read more
- 2001 — John Collins, American guitarist (born 1913) Read more
- 2001 — Ahron Soloveichik, Russian rabbi and scholar (born 1917) Read more
- 2000 — Yu Kuo-hwa, Chinese politician, 32nd Premier of the Republic of China (born 1914) Read more
- 2000 — Michael Smith, English-Canadian biochemist and geneticist, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1932) Read more
- 1999 — Bernard Buffet, French painter and illustrator (born 1928) Read more
- 1999 — Art Farmer, American trumpet player and composer (born 1928) Read more
- 1998 — S. Arasaratnam, Sri Lankan historian and academic (born 1930) Read more
- 1997 — Otto Ernst Remer, German general (born 1912) Read more
- 1997 — Gunpei Yokoi, Japanese game designer, created the Game Boy (born 1941) Read more
Holidays & observances
Christian feast day:
Amun; Christian feast day:
Aurea of Paris; Christian feast day:
Francis of Assisi
Conclusion of Creationtide; Christian feast day:
Blessed Francis Xavier Seelos; Christian feast day:
Petronius of Bologna; Christian feast day:
October 4 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics); Feast of St Francis of Assisi patron saints of Italy.; Cinnamon Roll Day (Sweden and Finland); Day of Peace and Reconciliation (Mozambique); Independence Day, celebrates the independence of Lesotho from the United Kingdom in 1966.; The beginning of World Space Week (International); World Animal Day
Events, births and deaths from Wikipedia contributors, “October 4”, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Lists are selections; the full record lives at the source.