On This Day in History for January 4
Events in History
- 46 BC Julius Caesar defeats Titus Labienus in the Battle of Ruspina
- 274 St Eutychian begins his reign as Catholic Pope
- 871 Battle at Reading: Ethelred of Wessex defeated by Danish invasion army
- 1490 Anna of Brittany announces that all those who would ally with the king of France will be considered guilty of the crime of lese-majesty.
- 1519 1st Altenburger sermon in Saxony by Martin Luther & Karl von Miltitz
- 1570 Spanish viceroy Alva banishes Zutphen City's only physician, Joost Sweiter, "because he is a Jew"
- 1642 King Charles I with 400 soldiers attacks the English parliament
- 1656 Spanish galleon Nuestra Señora de las Maravillas, laden with gold and jewellery bound for Spain, sinks off the coast of the Bahamas, only 45 of 650 people survive (most eaten by sharks) [1]
- More Events in History
Isaac Newton
Jacob Grimm
Louis Braille
Isaac Pitman
Doris Kearns GoodwinWeddings in History
- 1827 Naturalist and entomologist Thomas Say (39) secretly weds natural science illustrator Lucy Way Sistare (26)
- 2014 Actor Justin Bartha (35) weds personal trainer Lia Smith in Oahu, Hawaii
More Weddings in History
Elizabeth Ann Seton
Cornelius Vanderbilt
Albert Camus
Erwin Schrödinger
T. S. EliotJanuary in History
Master Potter Wedgwood Wows the World
An illness put an end to Josiah Wedgwood’s short career operating a potter’s wheel. But it diverted him into design and the creation of world-renowned pottery.
January 3, 1795
Topsy the Elephant is Electrocuted
Topsy the elephant is electrocuted to death at Luna Park in New York
January 4, 1903
Battle of Nancy
The corpse of Charles the Bold, Duke of Burgundy, is discovered after the Battle of Nancy
January 4, 1477
Rise and Fall of the Vanderbilt Empire
When he died on this day Cornelius Vanderbilt allegedly possessed more money than the U.S. Treasury. Much of it was squandered in lavish spending by descendants
January 4, 1877