Who are famous people born on January 4?

Famous people born on January 4 include: Marc Guiu, Rob Dillingham, Emil Højlund.

What famous people died on January 4?

Notable historical figures who died on January 4 include: Michael Reagan, Ana Gligić, Glynis Johns.

January 4 in History

Q: What happened on January 4 in history?

On January 4, 2004: Spirit, a NASA Mars rover, lands successfully on Mars at 04:35 UTC.

2004 — Spirit, a NASA Mars rover, lands successfully on Mars at 04:35 UTC

January 4 spans 46 recorded events across recorded history — from 46 BC – 2019. Below is a curated digest of the most significant moments tied to this date.

By thisDay.info Editorial Team · January 4 — Wikipedia

Historical Events 46 events 46 BC – 2019

Did you know

In 2004, Spirit, a NASA Mars rover, lands successfully on Mars at 04:35 UTC. This featured entry focuses on the immediate decision and its direct historical impact.

Did you know

Spirit, also known as MER-A or MER-2, is a Mars robotic rover, active from 2004 to 2010. This helps explain why the event mattered beyond the initial announcement.

Did you know

Spirit was operational on Mars for 2208 sols or 3.3 Martian years. This clarifies the institutional and public response around the event.

Did you know

It was one of two rovers of NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Mission managed by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL). This shows how the event shaped policy and public communication in the same period.

Did you know

Spirit landed successfully within the impact crater Gusev on Mars at 04:35 Ground UTC on January 4, 2004, three weeks before its twin, Opportunity (MER-B), which landed on the other side of the planet. This helps explain why the event mattered beyond the initial announcement.

Julius Caesar fights Titus Labienus in the Battle of Ruspina.

Roman general and dictator (100–44 BC)

Gaius Julius Caesar was a Roman general, statesman, and author who was the dictator of the Roman Republic almost continuously from 49 BC until his assassination in 44 BC. A member of the First Triumvirate, he led the Roman armies through the Gallic Wars and defeated his political rival Pompey in Caesar's civil war. He consolidated power and proclaimed himself dictator for life in 44 BC, helping create the political conditions that led to the collapse of the Roman Republic and the emergence of the Roman Empire. For his role in these events, he is regarded as one of history’s most influential figures.

-46

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

Part of the Viking invasions of England

The Battle of Reading was a victory for a Danish Viking army over a West Saxon force on or about 4 January 871 at Reading in Berkshire. The Vikings were led by Bagsecg and Halfdan Ragnarsson and the West Saxons by King Æthelred and his brother, the future King Alfred the Great. It was the second of a series of battles that took place following an invasion of Wessex by the Danish army in December 870.

871

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.

King of England, Scotland and Ireland from 1625 to 1649

Charles I was King of England, Scotland, and Ireland from 27 March 1625 until his execution in 1649.

1642

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

English parliament 1648–1653

The Rump Parliament was what remained of the Long Parliament after Pride's Purge on 6 December 1648, when Colonel Thomas Pride commanded his soldiers to exclude from the House of Commons those members who were against the Grandees' intention to try King Charles I for high treason. The Rump was dissolved by Oliver Cromwell in 1653 and replaced by the Barebone's Parliament. After Richard Cromwell's removal from power in 1659, the Rump was briefly reinstated.

1649

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

Predecessor state of the Netherlands (1581–1795)

The Republic of the Seven United Netherlands, also known as the United Provinces (of the Netherlands), and referred to in historiography as the Dutch Republic, was a confederation and great power that existed from 1588 until the Batavian Revolution in 1795. It was a predecessor state of the present-day Netherlands and the first independent Dutch nation state. The republic was established after seven Dutch provinces in the Spanish Netherlands revolted against Spanish rule, forming a mutual alliance against Spain in 1579 (the Union of Utrecht) and declaring their independence in 1581 (the Act of Abjuration), after which they confederated in 1588 (the Instruction of 12 April 1588) after the States General could not agree on a new monarch. The seven provinces it comprised were Groningen (present-day Groningen), Frisia (present-day Friesland), Overijssel (present-day Overijssel), Guelders (present-day Gelderland), Utrecht (present-day Utrecht), Holland (present-day North Holland and South Holland), and Zeeland (present-day Zeeland).

1717

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

Country in Southern and Western Europe

Spain, officially the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Europe and the fourth-most populous European Union (EU) member state. Spanning the majority of the Iberian Peninsula, its territory also includes the Canary Islands, in the Eastern Atlantic Ocean; the Balearic Islands, in the Western Mediterranean Sea; and the autonomous cities of Ceuta and Melilla, in mainland Africa. Peninsular Spain is bordered to the north by France, Andorra, and the Bay of Biscay; to the east and south by the Mediterranean Sea and Gibraltar and Morocco, through its exclaves in North Africa; and to the west by Portugal and the Atlantic Ocean. Spain's capital and largest city is Madrid; other major urban areas include Barcelona, Valencia, Seville, Zaragoza, Málaga, Murcia, and Palma de Mallorca.

1762

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

Prince of Wallachia from 1797 to 1799

Constantine Hangerli, also written as Constantin Hangerliu, was a Prince of Wallachia between 1797 and the time of his death. He was the brother of Alexander Hangerli, who served as Prince of Moldavia in 1807.

1798

The first issue of the Swedish-languaged Saima newspaper founded by J.

V. Snellman is published in Kuopio, Finland.

Saima was a Swedish language weekly newspaper which was published in Kuopio, Finland in the 1840s. It was one of the first Swedish language newspapers in Finland. The paper adopted the libertarian theory of the press which would lead to its closure in 1846 soon after its start in 1844.

1844

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.

Free-born African American kidnapped by slave-traders

Solomon Northup was an American abolitionist and the primary author of the memoir Twelve Years a Slave. A free-born American of mixed race from New York, he was the son of a freed slave and a free woman of color. Northup was a professional violinist, farmer, and landowner in Washington County, New York. In 1841, he was offered a traveling musician's job and went to Washington, D.C. ; there, he was drugged and kidnapped into slavery. He was shipped to New Orleans on April 24, 1841 by James H. Birch aboard the Brig Orleans from Richmond, VA. Northup was purchased by a planter and held as a slave for nearly twelve years in the Red River region of Louisiana; mostly in Avoyelles Parish. He remained enslaved until he met Samuel Bass, a Canadian working on his plantation who helped get word to New York, where state law provided aid to free New York citizens who had been kidnapped and sold into slavery. His family and friends enlisted the aid of the governor of New York, Washington Hunt, and Northup regained his freedom on January 3, 1853.

1853

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

External territory of Australia

The Territory of Heard Island and McDonald Islands is an Australian external territory in the southern Indian Ocean. Discovered in the mid-19th century, the territory is a group of sub-Antarctic volcanic islands that lie on the Kerguelen Plateau. It is about 4000 kilometres (2500 mi) south-west of the Australian mainland and 1700 kilometres (1100 mi) north of Antarctica. The territory contains Australia's only active volcanoes and is home to its highest point outside the Australian Antarctic Territory, Mawson Peak. The territory is uninhabited and has been described as one of the most remote places on Earth.

1854

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

Church that split from the Catholic Apostolic Church

The New Apostolic Church (NAC) is a Christian church of the Irvingian tradition. Its origins are in 1863, when some members of a newly formed group of apostles settled in Germany to freely continue its practices to teach and baptize. The split left the Catholic Apostolic Church on one side and the Hamburg congregation on the other.

1863

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

Eleventh and penultimate conflict of the Russo-Turkish wars

The Russo-Turkish War (1877–1878) was a conflict between the Ottoman Empire and a coalition led by the Russian Empire which included Romania, Serbia, and Montenegro. Precipitating factors included the Russian goals of recovering territorial losses endured during the Crimean War of 1853–1856, re-establishing itself in the Black Sea and supporting the political movement attempting to free Balkan nations from the Ottoman Empire.

1878

The Fabian Society is founded in London, United Kingdom.

British socialist organisation founded in 1884

The Fabian Society is a British socialist organisation whose purpose is to advance the principles of social democracy and democratic socialism via gradualist and reformist effort in democracies, rather than by revolutionary overthrow. It is related to radicalism, a left-wing liberal tradition.

1884

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

1884–1885 conflict between France and China

The Sino-French or Franco-Chinese War, also known as the Tonkin War, was a limited conflict fought from August 1884 to April 1885 between the French Third Republic and the Qing dynasty for influence in Vietnam. There was no declaration of war.

1885

Utah is admitted as the 45th U.S.

state.

Utah is a landlocked state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is one of the Four Corners states, sharing a border with Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico. It also borders Wyoming to the northeast, Idaho to the north, and Nevada to the west. In comparison to all the U.S. states and territories, Utah, with a population of just over three million, is the 13th-largest by area, the 30th-most populous, and the 11th-least densely populated. Urban development is mostly concentrated in two regions: the Wasatch Front in the north-central part of the state, which includes the state capital, Salt Lake City, and is home to roughly two-thirds of the population; and Washington County in the southwest, which has approximately 180,000 residents. Most of the western half of Utah lies in the Great Basin.

1896

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 was a female Asian elephant who was electrocuted to death at Coney Island, New York, in January 1903. Born in Southeast Asia around 1875, Topsy was secretly brought into the United States soon thereafter and added to the herd of performing elephants at the Forepaugh Circus, who fraudulently advertised her as the first elephant born in the United States. During her 25 years at Forepaugh, Topsy gained a reputation as a "bad" elephant and, after killing a spectator in 1902, was sold to Coney Island's Sea Lion Park. Sea Lion was leased out at the end of the 1902 season and during the construction of the park that took its place, Luna Park, Topsy was used in publicity stunts and also involved in several well-publicized incidents, attributed to the actions of either her drunken handler or the park's new publicity-hungry owners, Frederic Thompson and Elmer "Skip" Dundy.

1903

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

British officer and explorer (1879–1916)

Aeneas Lionel Acton Mackintosh was a British Merchant Navy officer and Antarctic explorer who commanded the Ross Sea party as part of Sir Ernest Shackleton's Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition, 1914–1917. The Ross Sea party's mission was to support Shackleton's proposed transcontinental march by laying supply depots along the latter stages of the march's intended route. In the face of persistent setbacks and practical difficulties, Mackintosh's party fulfilled its task, although he and two others died in the course of their duties.

1909

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

Scout organisation in the United Kingdom

The Scout Association is a council that registers local Scout groups, which "are autonomous charities affiliated to The Scout Association" and they operate programmes with the largest enrolment of organisations in the Scout Movement in the United Kingdom. Following the rapid development of the Scout Movement from 1907, Robert Baden-Powell formed an advisory council in 1910, which was incorporated by a royal charter in 1912 under its previous name of The Boy Scouts Association. It is a founding member organisation of the World Organization of the Scout Movement.

1912

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

1917 resolution declaring independence from Russia

The Finnish Declaration of Independence was adopted by the Parliament of Finland on 6 December 1917. It declared Finland to be independent from Russia, with reference to a bill simultaneously delivered to the Parliament to make Finland an independent republic instead.

1918

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

1939–1945 global conflict

World War II, or the Second World War, was a global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies and the Axis powers. Nearly all of the world's countries participated. Tanks and aircraft played major roles, the latter enabling the strategic bombing of cities and delivery of the only nuclear weapons used in war. World War II was the deadliest conflict in history, causing the death of 60 to 75 million people. Millions died as a result of massacres, starvation, disease, and genocides, including the Holocaust. After the Allied victory, Germany, Austria, Soviet-occupied Poland, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Latvia and Lithuania.Japan, and Korea were occupied, and German and Japanese leaders were tried for war crimes.

1944

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

On January 4–6, 1946, a small but violent tornado outbreak struck the South-Central United States, killing 47 people and injuring at least 412 others. L. H. Seamon with the US Weather Bureau, the predecessor of the National Weather Service, later stated it was the "most disastrous" tornado event of the year; the US Weather Bureau stated in 1960 that January 4, 1946 had "outstanding tornadoes".

1946

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

Country in Southeast Asia

Myanmar, officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar and also referred to as Burma, is a country in northwest Southeast Asia. It is the largest country by area in Mainland Southeast Asia and has a population of about 55 million. It is bordered by India and Bangladesh to the northwest, China to the northeast, Laos and Thailand to the east and southeast, and the Andaman Sea and the Bay of Bengal to the south and southwest. The country's capital city is Naypyidaw, while its largest city is Yangon.

1948

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

1950–1953 conflict in Korean Peninsula

The Korean War was an armed conflict fought on the Korean Peninsula between North Korea and South Korea and their allies. North Korea was supported by China and the Soviet Union, while South Korea was supported by the United Nations led by the United States under the auspices of the United Nations Command (UNC). The conflict was one of the first major proxy wars of the Cold War and one of its deadliest conflicts on non-combatants, as it is estimated that 1.5 to 3 million civilians were killed during the war. The war was the first time the United Nations Security Council authorized the use of force under Chapter VII of the United Nations Charter.

1951

The Greek National Radical Union is formed by Konstantinos Karamanlis.

Defunct political party in Greece

The National Radical Union was a Greek political party formed in 1956 by Konstantinos Karamanlis, mostly out of the Greek Rally party.

1956

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

First artificial Earth satellite

Sputnik 1, often referred to as simply Sputnik, was the first artificial Earth satellite. It was launched into an elliptical low Earth orbit by the Soviet Union on 4 October 1957 as part of the Soviet space program. It sent a radio signal back to Earth for three weeks before its three silver-zinc batteries became depleted. Aerodynamic drag caused it to fall back into the atmosphere on 4 January 1958.

1958

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

Soviet spacecraft

Luna 1, also known as Mechta, E-1 No.4 and First Lunar Rover, was the first spacecraft to reach the vicinity of Earth's Moon, the first spacecraft to leave Earth's orbit, and the first to be placed in heliocentric orbit. Luna 1 was launched as part of the Soviet Luna programme in 1959.

1959

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

1965 aviation accident

Aeroflot Flight 101/X-20 was a scheduled domestic passenger flight from Moscow to Alma-Ata via Omsk, Soviet Union, that crashed in low visibility conditions on 4 January 1965, killing 64 of the 103 people on board.

1965

The Doors released their eponymous debut album.

American rock band

The Doors were an American rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1965, comprising vocalist Jim Morrison, keyboardist Ray Manzarek, guitarist Robby Krieger, and drummer John Densmore. They are one of the most influential and controversial rock acts in music history, primarily due to Morrison's lyrics and voice, along with his erratic stage persona and legal issues. The group is widely regarded as representative of the era's counterculture.

1967

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

British barrister and judge (1914–2005)

Dame Rose Heilbron, DBE was a British barrister who served later as a High Court judge. Her career included many "firsts" for a woman – she was the first woman to achieve a first class honours degree in law at the University of Liverpool, the first woman to win a scholarship to Gray's Inn, one of the first two women to be appointed King's Counsel in England, the first woman to lead in a murder case, the first woman recorder, the first woman judge to sit at the Old Bailey, and the first woman treasurer of Gray's Inn. She was also the second woman to be appointed a High Court judge, after Elizabeth Lane.

1972

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 System is a discontinued operating system from Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC) for the PDP-10 mainframe computer family. Launched in 1967, TOPS-10 evolved from the earlier "Monitor" software for the PDP-6 and PDP-10 computers; this was renamed to TOPS-10 in 1970.

1975

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 were an ethno-nationalist conflict in Northern Ireland that lasted for about 30 years from the late 1960s to 1998. Also known internationally as the Northern Ireland conflict, it began in the late 1960s and is usually deemed to have ended with the Good Friday Agreement of 1998. Although the Troubles mostly took place in Northern Ireland, at times violence spilled over into parts of the Republic of Ireland, England, and mainland Europe.

1976

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 rail transit disaster in Chase, Maryland, USA

On January 4, 1987, two trains collided on Amtrak's Northeast Corridor main line near Chase, Maryland, United States, at Gunpow Interlocking. Amtrak train 94, the Colonial, traveling north from Washington, D.C., to Boston, crashed at over 100 miles per hour (160 km/h) into a set of Conrail locomotives running light that had fouled the mainline. Fourteen passengers on the Amtrak train died, as well as the Amtrak engineer and lounge car attendant.

1987

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 between Libyan and US aircraft

On 4 January 1989, two Grumman F-14A Tomcats of the United States Navy shot down two Libyan-operated Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-23ML Flogger-G which the American aircrews believed were attempting to engage and attack them, as had happened eight years prior during the 1981 Gulf of Sidra incident. The engagement took place over the Mediterranean Sea, about 40 miles (64 km) north of Tobruk, Libya.

1989

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

1990 train crash in Sukkur, Sindh Province, Pakistan

The Sukkur rail disaster occurred on 4 January 1990 in the village of Sangi, near Sukkur in Sindh, Pakistan, claiming 307 lives. This makes it the deadliest rail accident in the country's history.

1990

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

Major ice storm that affected Eastern Canada and northeastern US in 1998

The North American Ice Storm of 1998 was a massive combination of five smaller successive ice storms in January 1998 that struck a relatively narrow swath of land from eastern Ontario to southern Quebec, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia in Canada, and bordering areas from northern New York to central Maine in the United States. It caused massive damage to trees and electrical infrastructure throughout the area, leading to widespread long-term power outages. Millions were left in the dark for periods varying from days to several weeks, and in some instances, months. It led to 34 fatalities, a shutdown of activities in large cities like Montreal and Ottawa, and an unprecedented effort in reconstruction of the power grid. The ice storm led to the largest deployment of Canadian military personnel since the Korean War, with over 16,000 Canadian Forces personnel deployed, 12,000 in Quebec and 4,000 in Ontario at the height of the crisis.

1998

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

American wrestler, actor and politician (born 1951)

Jesse Ventura is an American politician, Vietnam veteran, actor, and retired professional wrestler. After achieving fame in the World Wrestling Federation, he served as the 38th governor of Minnesota from 1999 to 2003. He was elected governor with the Reform Party and is the party's only candidate to win a major government office.

1999

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.

City in Norway

Trondheim, historically Kaupangen, Nidaros, and Trondhjem, is a city and municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. As of 1 January 2026, it had a population of 218,460. Trondheim is the third most populous municipality in Norway, and is the fourth largest urban area. Trondheim lies on the south shore of Trondheim Fjord at the mouth of the Nidelva. Among the significant technology-oriented institutions headquartered in Trondheim are the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), the Foundation for Scientific and Industrial Research (SINTEF), the Geological Survey of Norway (NGU), and St. Olavs University Hospital.

2000

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

President of Georgia (2004–2007; 2008–2013)

Mikheil "Misha" Saakashvili is a Georgian-Ukrainian politician. He was the third president of Georgia for two consecutive terms from January 2004 to November 2013, with a break from November 2007 to January 2008 after he stepped down following anti-government demonstrations and ahead of an early presidential election. He is the founder and former chairman of Georgia's United National Movement party. From May 2015 until November 2016, Saakashvili was the governor of Ukraine's Odesa Oblast.

2004

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

Prime Minister of Israel from 2006 to 2009

Ehud Olmert is an Israeli politician and lawyer who served as the prime minister of Israel from 2006 to 2009.

2006

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

history.

The 110th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, between January 3, 2007, and January 3, 2009, during the last two years of the Presidency of George W. Bush. It was composed of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The apportionment of seats in the House was based on the 2000 U.S. census.

2007

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

Twin-engine short-range transport aircraft

The Let L-410 Turbolet is a twin-engine short-range transport aircraft designed and produced by the Czech aircraft manufacturer Let Kunovice.

2008

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

Skyscraper in Dubai, United Arab Emirates

The Burj Khalifa is a megatall skyscraper in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, it is the world's tallest structure, with a total height of 829.8 m and a roof height of 828 m (2,717 ft). It has also been the tallest building in the world since its topping out in 2009, surpassing Taipei 101, which had held the record since 2004.

2010

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

2013 mass shooting in Kawit, Philippines

The Kawit shooting was a mass murder that occurred in barangay Tabon 1 in Kawit, Philippines, on January 4, 2013. 41-year-old Ronald Baquiran Bae killed at least eight people and a dog, and wounded twelve other people with a semiautomatic pistol, before he was shot and killed by police. Another man, 27-year-old John Paul Lopez, who was said to have been employed by Bae as his house caretaker, was later arrested for assisting the gunman during the shooting by reloading his pistol magazine. The motive of the suspect is unclear, officials said.

2013

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.

On 4 January 2018, a passenger train operated by Shosholoza Meyl collided with a truck at a level crossing at Geneva Station between Hennenman and Kroonstad, in the Free State, South Africa. The train derailed, and seven of the twelve carriages caught fire. Twenty-one people were killed and 254 others were injured.

2018

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

2019 fire in Koszalin, Poland

A fire in the ToNiePokój escape room in Koszalin, Poland, on 4 January 2019, killed five teenage customers and injured an adult employee. The deceased, all 15-year-old girls, were celebrating one of the girls' birthdays when a fire, fueled by leaking gas cylinders, broke out in the escape room's waiting area. Since the girls were in a room with no door handle and the windows were obstructed by "makeshift walls", they were trapped and died of carbon monoxide poisoning.

2019

Born on January 4

20 people 1998 – 2006

Marc Guiu

Spanish footballer

Marc Guiu Paz is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a striker for Premier League club Chelsea.

2006

Rob Dillingham

American basketball player

Robert Deon Potasi Dillingham is an American professional basketball player for the Chicago Bulls of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Kentucky Wildcats. He was a five-star…

2005

Emil Højlund

Danish footballer

Emil Winther Højlund is a Danish professional footballer who plays as a forward for 2. Bundesliga club Schalke 04.

2005

Oscar Højlund

Danish footballer

Oscar Winther Højlund is a Danish professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for German Bundesliga club Eintracht Frankfurt.

2005

Dafne Keen

British-Spanish actress

Dafne Keen Fernández is a Spanish and British actress. She became known for playing Laura in the X-Men films Logan (2017) and Deadpool & Wolverine (2024), earning nominations at the Critics' Choice Awards, the Saturn…

2005

Victor Wembanyama

French basketball player

Victor Wembanyama, nicknamed "Wemby" and "the Alien", is a French professional basketball player for the San Antonio Spurs of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was selected first overall by the Spurs in the…

2004

Jaeden Martell

American actor

Jaeden Martell is an American actor. He began his career as a child actor, with roles in the comedy drama St. Vincent (2014) and science fiction film Midnight Special (2016). His performance in St. Vincent earned him a…

2003

Kevin

Brazilian footballer

Kevin Santos Lopes de Macedo, simply known as Kevin, is a Brazilian professional footballer who plays as a winger for Premier League club Fulham.

2003

Vladyslav Vanat

Ukrainian footballer

Vladyslav Andriyovych Vanat is a Ukrainian professional footballer who plays as a striker for La Liga club Girona and the Ukraine national team.

2002

Odilon Kossounou

Ivorian footballer

Kouakou Odilon Dorgeless Kossounou, better known as Odilon Kossounou, is an Ivorian professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Serie A club Atalanta and the Ivory Coast national team.

2001

Lola Young

English singer and songwriter

Lola Emily Mary Young is an English singer and songwriter. Born and raised in South London, she attracted attention in 2016 when she won the under-16 category of Open Mic UK and reached the finals of Got What It Takes?.…

2001

Max Aarons

English footballer

Maximillian James Aarons is an English professional footballer who plays as a right-back for Scottish Premiership club Rangers, on loan from Premier League club Bournemouth.

2000

Facundo Colidio

Argentine footballer

Facundo Colidio is an Argentine footballer who plays as a forward for Argentine Primera División club River Plate.

2000

Wessam Abou Ali

Palestinian footballer

Wessam Haitham Mohammed Abou Ali is a professional footballer who plays as a striker for Major League Soccer club Columbus Crew. Born in Denmark, he plays for the Palestine national team.

1999

Daniel Arzani

Iranian-Australian footballer

Daniel Arzani is a professional soccer player who plays as a winger or attacking midfielder for Nemzeti Bajnokság I club Ferencváros. Born in Iran, he represents the Australia national team.

1999

Jan-Niklas Beste

German footballer

Jan-Niklas Beste is a German professional footballer who plays as a left-back or winger for Bundesliga club SC Freiburg.

1999

Nico Hischier

Swiss ice hockey player

Nico Hischier is a Swiss professional ice hockey player who is a centre and captain for the New Jersey Devils of the National Hockey League (NHL). Hischier made his professional debut in his native Switzerland in 2015,…

1999

Jaeman Salmon

Australian rugby league player

Jaeman Salmon is a professional rugby league footballer who plays as a lock or second-row forward for the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs in the National Rugby League (NRL).

1999

Collin Sexton

American basketball player

Collin Darnell Sexton is an American professional basketball player for the Chicago Bulls of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Alabama Crimson Tide. In January 2017, Sexton…

1999

Coco Jones

American singer-songwriter and actress

Courtney Michaela Ann "Coco" Jones is an American singer-songwriter and actress. She first appeared on the competition series Radio Disney's Next Big Thing (2010–2011), which led to her signing with the company's…

1998

See all birthdays on January 4

Died on January 4

20 people 2011 – 2026

Michael Reagan

American political commentator (born 1945)

Michael Edward Reagan was an American conservative political commentator, Republican Party strategist and radio talk show host. He was the adopted son of former U.S. president Ronald Reagan and his first wife, actress…

2026

Ana Gligić

Serbian virologist (born 1934)

Ana Gligić was a Yugoslav and Serbian virologist, a specialist in medical microbiology, and a senior research associate at the University of Belgrade Faculty of Medicine. She made important contributions to the…

2025

Glynis Johns

British actress and singer (born 1923)

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2024

David Soul

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David Soul was an American-British actor and singer. With a career spanning five decades, he rose to prominence for portraying Detective Kenneth "Hutch" Hutchinson in the American television series Starsky & Hutch from…

2024

Christian Oliver

German actor (born 1972)

Christian Oliver was a German actor who was mainly known for his role in the Cobra 11 television series.

2024

Rosi Mittermaier

German alpine skier and Olympic champion (born 1950)

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2023

Tanya Roberts

American actress (born 1949)

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2021

Tom Long

Australian actor (born 1968)

Thomas Andrew Long was an Australian film and television actor. He played court official and avid surfer Angus in the late 1990s TV series SeaChange and Brenden Abbott in the 2003 Australian TV movie The Postcard…

2020

Harold Brown

14th United States Secretary of Defense (born 1927)

Harold Brown was an American nuclear physicist who served as United States Secretary of Defense from 1977 to 1981, under President Jimmy Carter. Previously, in the John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson administrations,…

2019

Milt Schmidt

Canadian ice hockey player, coach and general manager (born 1918)

Milton Conrad Schmidt was a Canadian professional ice hockey centre, coach and general manager, mostly for the Boston Bruins of the National Hockey League (NHL), He was a member of the famed "Kraut Line" with teammates…

2017

Georges Prêtre

French orchestral and opera conductor (born 1924)

Georges Prêtre was a French orchestral and opera conductor.

2017

S. H. Kapadia

Indian lawyer, judge, and politician, 38th Chief Justice of India (born 1947)

Sarosh Homi Kapadia was the 38th Chief Justice of India. He was the first chief justice born after the partition of India.

2016

Stephen W. Bosworth

American academic and diplomat, United States Ambassador to South Korea (born 1939)

Stephen Warren Bosworth was an American academic and diplomat. He served as Dean of The Fletcher School at Tufts University and served as United States Special Representative for North Korea Policy from March 2009 to…

2016

Pino Daniele

Italian singer-songwriter and guitarist (born 1955)

Giuseppe "Pino" Daniele was an Italian singer-songwriter and musician. His influences covered a wide number of genres, including pop, blues, jazz, and Italian and Middle Eastern music.

2015

Anwar Shamim

Pakistani general (born 1931)

Mohammad Anwar Shamim was a former fighter pilot who was the Chief of Air Staff of the Pakistan Air Force, serving in the post from 1978 until retiring in 1985.

2013

Zoran Žižić

Montenegrin politician, 4th Prime Minister of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (born 1951)

Zoran Žižić was a Yugoslav and Montenegrin politician. He served as Deputy Prime Minister of Montenegro in the first two Đukanović cabinets from 1991 to 1996, and was the first Prime Minister of the Federal Republic of…

2013

Eve Arnold

American photographer and journalist (born 1912)

Eve Arnold, OBE (honorary), FRPS (honorary) was an American photojournalist and long time resident of Mayfair in the UK. She joined Magnum Photos agency in 1951, and became a full member in 1957. She was the first woman…

2012

Rod Robbie

English-Canadian architect, designed the Canadian Pavilion and Rogers Centre (born 1928)

Roderick George Robbie was a British-born Canadian architect and planner. He was known for his design of the Canadian Pavilion at Expo 67 and Toronto's Rogers Centre (SkyDome).

2012

Coen Moulijn

Dutch footballer (born 1937)

Coenraadt "Coen" Moulijn was a Dutch professional footballer. He spent nearly his entire club career with Feyenoord, winning several trophies. He also played for the Netherlands national team.

2011

Gerry Rafferty

Scottish singer-songwriter (born 1947)

Gerald Rafferty was a Scottish singer-songwriter. He was a founding member of Stealers Wheel, whose biggest hit was "Stuck in the Middle with You" in 1973. His solo hits in the late 1970s included "Baker Street", "Right…

2011

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What happened on January 4 in history?

On January 4, one notable event in history was 2004: Spirit, a NASA Mars rover, lands successfully on Mars at 04:35 UTC..

This date currently highlights 46 recorded events on thisDay.info, spanning 46 BC – 2019.

DateJanuary 4

Featured year2004

LocationHistorical Location

Events listed46

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January 4 in History

2004 — Spirit, a NASA Mars rover, lands successfully on Mars at 04:35 UTC

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January 4 in History

2004 — Spirit, a NASA Mars rover, lands successfully on Mars at 04:35 UTC

Born on January 4

Died on January 4

More questions about January 4

What happened on January 4?

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What happened on January 4 in history?

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