# What happened on October 4 in history?

**Date:** October 4  
**Events recorded:** 50  
**Years spanned:** 23 – 2017  
**Full page:** https://thisday.info/events/october/4/

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## Featured Event

**2006** — WikiLeaks is launched.

[Read more on Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WikiLeaks)

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## Events on this date

- **23** — Rebels sack the Chinese capital Chang'an during a peasant rebellion. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AD_23))
- **1209** — Otto IV is crowned Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire by Pope Innocent III. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Otto_IV%2C_Holy_Roman_Emperor))
- **1302** — The Byzantine–Venetian War comes to an end. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Byzantine%E2%80%93Venetian_War_(1296%E2%80%931302)))
- **1363** — Battle of Lake Poyang: In one of the largest naval battles in history, Zhu Yuanzhang's rebels defeat rival Chen Youliang. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Lake_Poyang))
- **1511** — Formation of the Holy League of Aragon, the Papal States and Venice against France. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/War_of_the_League_of_Cambrai))
- **1535** — The Coverdale Bible is printed, with translations into English by William Tyndale and Myles Coverdale. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coverdale_Bible))
- **1582** — The Gregorian Calendar is introduced by Pope Gregory XIII. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gregorian_calendar))
- **1597** — Governor Gonzalo Méndez de Canço begins to suppress a native uprising against his rule in what is now the US state of Georgia. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gonzalo_M%C3%A9ndez_de_Can%C3%A7o))
- **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. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eighty_Years'_War))
- **1636** — Thirty Years' War: The Swedish Army defeats the armies of Saxony and the Holy Roman Empire at the Battle of Wittstock. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thirty_Years'_War))
- **1693** — Nine Years' War: Piedmontese troops are defeated by the French. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nine_Years'_War))
- **1777** — American Revolutionary War: Troops under George Washington are repelled by British troops under William Howe. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Revolutionary_War))
- **1795** — Napoleon first rises to prominence by suppressing counter-revolutionary rioters threatening the National Convention. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/13_Vend%C3%A9miaire))
- **1824** — Mexico adopts a new constitution and becomes a federal republic. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1824_Constitution_of_Mexico))
- **1830** — The Belgian Revolution takes legal form when the provisional government secedes from the Netherlands. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belgian_Revolution))
- **1853** — The Crimean War begins when the Ottoman Empire declares war on the Russian Empire. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crimean_War))
- **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. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Civil_War))
- **1876** — The Agricultural and Mechanical College of Texas (now known as Texas A&M) opens as the first public college in Texas. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Texas_A%26M_University))
- **1883** — First run of the Orient Express. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orient_Express))
- **1883** — First meeting of the Boys' Brigade in Glasgow, Scotland. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boys'_Brigade))
- **1895** — Horace Rawlins wins the first U.S. Open Men's Golf Championship. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horace_Rawlins))
- **1917** — World War I: The Battle of Broodseinde is fought between the British and German armies in Flanders. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_War_I))
- **1918** — World War I: An explosion kills more than 100 people and destroys a Shell Loading Plant in New Jersey. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/T._A._Gillespie_Company_Shell_Loading_Plant_explosion))
- **1920** — The Mannerheim League for Child Welfare, a Finnish non-governmental organization, is founded on the initiative of Sophie Mannerheim. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mannerheim_League_for_Child_Welfare))
- **1925** — Great Syrian Revolt: Rebels led by Fawzi al-Qawuqji capture Hama from the French Mandate of Syria. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Syrian_Revolt))
- **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. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Finnish_torpedo_boat_S2))
- **1927** — Gutzon Borglum begins sculpting Mount Rushmore. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gutzon_Borglum))
- **1936** — The Metropolitan Police and various anti-fascist organizations violently clash in the Battle of Cable Street. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metropolitan_Police))
- **1941** — Norman Rockwell's Willie Gillis character debuts on the cover of The Saturday Evening Post. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Willie_Gillis))
- **1957** — Sputnik 1 becomes the first artificial satellite to orbit the Earth. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sputnik_1))
- **1958** — The current constitution of France is adopted. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constitution_of_France))
- **1960** — Eastern Airlines flight 375 crashes on takeoff from Boston's Logan International Airport, killing 62 people of the 72 aboard. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eastern_Air_Lines_Flight_375))
- **1963** — Hurricane Flora kills 6,000 in Cuba and Haiti. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hurricane_Flora))
- **1965** — Pope Paul VI begins the first papal visit to the Americas. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope_Paul_VI))
- **1966** — Basutoland becomes independent from the United Kingdom and is renamed Lesotho. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basutoland))
- **1967** — Omar Ali Saifuddien III of Brunei abdicates in favour of his son. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Omar_Ali_Saifuddien_III))
- **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. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Noble))
- **1985** — The Free Software Foundation is founded. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free_Software_Foundation))
- **1991** — The Protocol on Environmental Protection to the Antarctic Treaty is opened for signature. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protocol_on_Environmental_Protection_to_the_Antarctic_Treaty))
- **1992** — The Rome General Peace Accords end a 16-year civil war in Mozambique. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rome_General_Peace_Accords))
- **1992** — El Al Flight 1862 crashes into two apartment buildings in Amsterdam, killing 43 including 39 on the ground. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/El_Al_Flight_1862))
- **1993** — Battle of Mogadishu occurs killing 18 U.S. Special Forces, two UN Peacekeepers and at least 600 Somalian militia men and civilians. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Mogadishu_(1993)))
- **1993** — Tanks bombard the Russian parliament, while demonstrators against President Yeltsin rally outside. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1993_Russian_constitutional_crisis))
- **1997** — The second largest cash robbery in U.S. history occurs in North Carolina. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/October_1997_Loomis_Fargo_robbery))
- **2001** — Siberia Airlines Flight 1812 crashes after being struck by an errant Ukrainian missile. Seventy-eight people are killed. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siberia_Airlines_Flight_1812))
- **2003** — The Maxim restaurant suicide bombing in Israel kills twenty-one Israelis, both Jews and Arabs. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maxim_restaurant_suicide_bombing))
- **2004** — SpaceShipOne wins the Ansari X Prize for private spaceflight. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SpaceShipOne))
- **2006** — WikiLeaks is launched. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WikiLeaks))
- **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. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ajka_alumina_plant_accident))
- **2017** — Joint Nigerien-American Special Forces are ambushed by Islamic State militants outside the village of Tongo Tongo. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Army_Special_Forces))

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## Notable births on October 4

- **1997** — **Rishabh Pant** — Indian cricketer ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rishabh_Pant))
- **1997** — **Yuju** — South Korean singer ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yuju_(singer)))
- **1996** — **Ella Balinska** — English actress ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ella_Balinska))
- **1995** — **Jeonghan** — South Korean singer ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeonghan))
- **1995** — **Kenny Clark** — American football player ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kenny_Clark_(defensive_tackle)))
- **1995** — **Mikolas Josef** — Czech singer and songwriter ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mikolas_Josef))
- **1994** — **Mike Williams** — American football player ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mike_Williams_(wide_receiver%2C_born_1994)))
- **1993** — **Mitchell Swepson** — Australian cricketer ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mitchell_Swepson))
- **1991** — **Leigh-Anne Pinnock** — English singer and songwriter ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leigh-Anne_Pinnock))
- **1990** — **Signy Aarna** — Estonian footballer ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Signy_Aarna))

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## Notable deaths on October 4

- **2024** — **Christopher Ciccone** — American artist (born 1960) ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christopher_Ciccone))
- **2024** — **Billy Shaw** — American football player (born 1938) ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Billy_Shaw))
- **2022** — **Loretta Lynn** — American singer-songwriter and musician (born 1932) ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loretta_Lynn))
- **2020** — **Clark Middleton** — American actor (born 1957) ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clark_Middleton))
- **2020** — **Kenzō Takada** — Japanese-French fashion designer (born 1939) ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kenz%C5%8D_Takada))
- **2015** — **Dave Pike** — American vibraphone player and songwriter (born 1938) ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dave_Pike))
- **2015** — **Edida Nageswara Rao** — Indian director and producer (born 1934) ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edida_Nageswara_Rao))
- **2015** — **Neal Walk** — American basketball player (born 1948) ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neal_Walk))
- **2014** — **Konrad Boehmer** — German-Dutch composer and educator (born 1941) ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Konrad_Boehmer))
- **2014** — **Hugo Carvana** — Brazilian actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (born 1937) ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hugo_Carvana))

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## About this page

This is a machine-readable Markdown summary of [thisday.info/events/october/4/](https://thisday.info/events/october/4/).  
Historical data is sourced from [Wikipedia/Wikimedia](https://www.wikipedia.org) under [CC BY-SA](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/).  
Editorial framing and site content © thisday.info.
