On This Day in History for October 4

Events 1 - 100 of 133

• 1209 Pope Innocent II crowns German king Otto of Wittelsbach
• 1227 Assassination of Caliph al-Adil.
• 1363 End of the Battle of Lake Poyang; the Chinese rebel forces of Zhu Yuanzhang defeat that of his rival, Chen Youliang, one of the largest naval battles in history with 850,000 taking part (approx.)
• 1537 The first complete English-language Bible (the Matthew Bible) is printed, with translations by William Tyndale and Miles Coverdale.
• 1571 -13] Synod of Emden, Calvinist leaders establish the Dutch Reformed Church.
• 1582 Last Julian calendar day in Spain, Portugal and pontifical states
• 1636 Battle at Wittstock, Brandenburg: Sweden beat Ferdinand III
• 1636 In Massachusetts the Plymouth Colony's 1st law drafted
• 1648 Peter Stuyvesant establishes America's 1st volunteer fire service
• 1675 Dutch mathematician Christiaan Huygens patents the pocket watch
• 1693 Battle of Marsaglia: Piedmontese troops are defeated by the French.
• 1712 Utrecht banishes poor Jews
• 1725 Foundation of Rosario in Argentina.

• 1779 Fort Wilson Riot takes place

• 1824 Mexico becomes a republic
• 1830 Provisional government declares secession of Belgium from Netherlands
• 1834 Franz Grillparzer's "Der Traum ein Leben" premieres in Vienna

• 1862 Battle of Corinth ends
• 1864 National black convention meets in Syracuse, New York
• 1864 New Orleans Tribune, 1st black daily newspaper, forms
• 1880 University of California founded in Los Angeles

• 1883 First meeting of the Boys' Brigade in Glasgow, Scotland.

• 1900 Start of Sherlock Holmes adventure "Problem of Thor Bridge" (BG)
• 1900 In a final confrontation, some 4000 Ashantis are defeated by the British in Gold Coast (Ghana)
• 1910 Portugal becomes a republic, King Manuel II flees to England
• 1910 Adoption of the Flag of Bermuda.
• 1911 1st escalator installed on the London Underground at Earl's Court Station
• 1913 Freddy Wilson of Regina Roughriders kicks 10 singles in 21-3 win over Saskatoon Rugby Club
• 1914 Dardanelles: French & British fleet bombards Turkish forts
• 1915 Dinosaur National Monument in Colorado & Utah is established
• 1916 Market Street's "Path of Gold" lit for 1st time
• 1917 British assault on Broodseinde, France
• 1921 League of Nations refuses to assist starving Russians
• 1921 Riccardo Zanella becomes first elected President of Free State of Fiume
• 1922 Protocol of Genevia signed: Austria gains independence
• 1926 Dahlia is officially designated as San Francisco city flower


• 1927 Gutzon Borglum begins sculpting Mt. Rushmore (works on till 1941)
• 1928 KPD begins petition against Germany building a battle fleet
• 1931 Dick Tracy comic strip by Chester Gould debuts
• 1931 Juan Esteban Montero becomes President of Chile
• 1932 Anti-semite Julius Gombos forms new government in Hungary
• 1933 Esquire magazine is 1st published
• 1936 Italian lire devalued
• 1939 Last Polish troops surrender
• 1940 12 German aircrafts shot down above England

• 1940 French Vichy regime proclaims end of "Statute of the Jews"
• 1942 German assault on Tractor factory in Stalingrad
• 1943 Corsica freed by Free French
• 1943 German occupiers forbid flying of kites (6 month jail sentence)
• 1944 British troops land on Greek continent
• 1948 World Council of Churches forms under W Fisherman It Hooft
• 1949 American Contract Bridge League votes 58½% to keep blacks out
• 1949 United Nations' permanent NYC headquarters is dedicated
• 1955 Rev Sun Young Moon leaves prison in Seoul
• 1956 Great Britain performs nuclear test at Maralinga Australia
• 1957 USSR launches Sputnik I, 1st artificial Earth satellite
• 1957 Avro Arrow roll-out ceremony at Avro Canada plant in Malton, Ontario.
• 1958 5th French republic forms
• 1958 Transatlantic commercial jet passenger service began (BOAC)
• 1958 Fifth Republic of France is established.
• 1959 USSR Luna 3 sent back 1st photos of Moon's far side
• 1960 Courier 1B Launched; 1st active repeater satellite in orbit
• 1961 USSR performs nuclear test at Novaya Zemlya USSR
• 1962 USAF Maj Robert A Rushworth takes X-15 to 32,300m
• 1963 -8] Hurricane Flora, kills 6,000 in Cuba & Haiti
• 1963 Gambia achieves full internal self-government
• 1964 -7] Hurricane Hilda, kills 38 in La, Miss & Ga
• 1964 3 cars of a commuter train derails in South Africa killing 81
• 1964 Italian Autostrada del Sol opens at Milan-Naples
• 1965 Pope Paul VI becomes 1st Pope to visit Western Hemisphere (UN)
• 1965 USSR launches Luna 7; crash lands on Moon
• 1966 Dutch Cardinal Alfrink presents New Catechism
• 1966 France performs nuclear test at Mururoa atoll
• 1966 Lesotho (Basutoland) gains independence from Britain (National Day)
• 1967 Omar Ali Saifuddin III of Brunei abdicates in favour of his son, His Majesty Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah
• 1968 A Northern Ireland Civil Rights Association (NICRA) delegation meet with the Derry March organisers and try to have the march cancelled; eventually it was decided to go ahead with the march.
• 1969 Last wooden passenger subway cars retired at Brooklyn Myrtle Beach
• 1969 UN starts issuing postage stamps at Geneva headquarters
• 1970 Umps return after 1-day walkout in quest of higher wages
• 1970 Herbert Schmidtz makes highest parachute jump from a tower by leaping from a 1,984 ft TV mast in Tulsa, Oklahoma
• 1971 USSR performs underground nuclear test
• 1973 Hans of Manens ballet "Adagio Hammerklavier" premieres in Amsterdam
• 1975 A Cessna 310Q airplane crashes over Wilmington, North Carolina, killing the pilot and severely injuring several pro wrestlers affiliated with the NWA's Mid-Atlantic promotion. One of the survivors is the legendary Ric Flair.
• 1976 US Agriculture Secretary Earl Butz resigns after telling a racial joke
• 1976 Supreme Court lifts 1972 ban on death penalty for convicted murderers
• 1976 Official launch of the Intercity 125 High Speed Train (HST).
• 1978 Pier 39 opens in San Francisco
• 1978 Funeral services held for Pope John Paul I
• 1979 Hugh Leonards "Life" premieres in Dublin
• 1979 USSR performs nuclear test
• 1981 Meadowlands Arena opens in New Jersey

• 1983 Richard Noble driving Thrust2 reaches new land speed record of 650.88 mph (1,047.49 km/h) at Black Rock Desert, Nevada
• 1985 Shi'ite Muslims claim to have killed hostage William Buckley

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• 1160 Alys, Countess of the Vexin, Daughter of Louis VII of France (d. 1220)
• 1276 Margaret of Brabant, Queen of Germany (d. 1311)
• 1289 Louis X, King of France (1314-16), born in Paris (d. 1316)
• 1331 James Butler, 2nd Earl of Ormonde, born in Kilkenny Castle, Ireland (d. 1382)
• 1379 Henry III, King of Castile and León (1390-1406), born in Burgos, Castile (d. 1406)
• 1515 Lucas Cranach the Younger, German painter, born in Wittenberg, Germany (d. 1586)
• 1542 Roberto Bellarmino, Italian saint (Doctor of the Church), born in Montepulciano, Italy (d. 1621)
• 1550 Charles IX, King of Sweden (1604-11), born in Stockholm Castle, Sweden (d. 1611)
• 1562 Christian Sørensen Longomontanus, Danish astronomer, born in Lomborg, Jutland, Denmark (d. 1647)
• 1570 Péter Pázmány, Hungarian cardinal and statesman, born in Nagyvárad, Principality of Transylvania (d. 1637)
• 1585 Anna of Tyrol, Queen consort of Hungary and Bohemia (1611-18), born in Innsbruck, Austria (d. 1618)
• 1607 Francisco de Rojas Zorrilla, Spanish playwright (Del Rey Abajo Ninguno), born in Toledo (d. 1648)
• 1625 Jacqueline Pascal, French child prodigy, born in Clermont-Ferrand, Auvergne, France (d. 1661)
• 1626 Richard Cromwell, Lord Protector of the Commonwealth of England, Scotland and Ireland (1658-59), born in Cheshunt, Hertfordshire, England (d. 1712)
• 1657 Francesco Solimena, Italian painter, born in Canale di Serino, Avellino, Italy (d. 1747)
• 1720 Giovanni Battista Piranesi, Italian etcher, born in Mogliano Veneto, Italy (d. 1778)
• 1723 Nikolaus Poda von Neuhaus, Austrian entomologist, born in Vienna (d. 1798)
• 1759 Louis François Antoine Arbogast, French mathematician (Du calcul des derivations), born in Mutzig, France (d. 1803)
• 1787 François Guizot, French historian and politician (17th Prime Minister of France), born in Nîmes, France (d. 1874)
• 1796 John Richardson, Canadian writer (Wacousta, or the prophecy), born in Queenston, Ontario, Canada (d. 1852)
• 1797 Jeremias Gotthelf [Albert Bitzius], Swiss writer (The Black Spider), born in Murten, Switzerland (d. 1854)
• 1807 Louis-Hippolyte Lafontaine, French Canadian politician (Prime Minister of the Province of Canada), born in Boucherville, Lower Canada (d. 1864)
• 1809 Prince Albert of Prussia, Prussian colonel general, born in Königsberg (d. 1872)
• 1809 Robert Cumming Schenck, American Major General (Union Army), born in Franklin, Ohio (d. 1890)
• 1816 Egbert Benson Brown, American Brigadier General (Union Army), born in Brownsville, New York (d. 1902)
• 1818 Francesco Crispi, Italian statesman, born in Ribera, Italy (d. 1901)

• 1832 William Griggs, English inventor (photo chromo lithography), born in Woburn, Bedfordshire (d. 1911)
• 1836 Juliette Adam, French author (Salon/Nouvelle Revue) and feminist, born in Verberie, Oise, France (d. 1936)
• 1841 Prudente José de Morais Barros, 3rd President of Brazil (1894-98), born in Itu, São Paulo, Empire of Brazil (d. 1912)
• 1841 Maria Sophie of Bavaria, Queen consort of the Two Sicilies, born in Possenhofen Castle, Possenhofen, Kingdom of Bavaria (d. 1925)
• 1850 John McGraw, 2nd Governor of Washington (1893-97), born in Penobscot County, Maine (d. 1910)
• 1858 Mihajlo Pupin, Serbian-American physicist and telephone pioneer, born in Idvor, Military Frontier of Austria (d. 1935)
• 1860 Sidney Paget, British illustrator (Sherlock Holmes), born in London (d. 1908)
• 1861 Frederic Remington, American artist and sculptor of American West, born in Canton, New York (d. 1909)
• 1862 Edward Stratemeyer, American author (The Rover Boys), born in Elizabeth, New Jersey (d. 1930)
• 1865 Max Halbe, German playwright (Jugend), born in Güttland, Gdańsk (d. 1944)
• 1868 Marcelo Torcuato de Alvear, President of Argentina (1922-28), born in Buenos Aires, Argentina (d. 1942)
• 1876 Hugh McCrae, Australian writer and poet (Satyrs and Sunlight: Sylvarum Libri), born in Melbourne (d. 1958)
• 1879 Edward Murray East, American botanist and geneticist who developed hybrid corn, born in Du Quoin, Illinois (d. 1938)

• 1881 Walther von Brauchitsch, German field marshal, born in Berlin, Germany (d. 1948)
• 1885 Henricus Wijdefield, Dutch architect (Peace Palace)
• 1887 Francis Bull, Norwegian writer (Norsk literature historian), born in Oslo, Norway (d. 1974)
• 1892 Engelbert Dollfuss, Austrian Fascist chancellor killed by Nazis, born in Texingtal, Austria (d. 1934)
• 1892 Hermann Glauert, British aerodynamicist, born in Sheffield, Yorkshire (d. 1934)
• 1895 Richard Sorge, German spy for USSR in Tokyo (WWII), born in Baku, Russian Empire (d. 1944)
• 1895 Sergei Yesenin, Russian lyric poet, born in Konstantinovo, Ryazan Governorate, Russian Empire (d. 1925)
• 1901 [Robert] Carroll Nye, American actor (Gone with the Wind), born in Akron, Ohio (d. 1974)
• 1903 Bona Arsenault, French Canadian politician, historian and genealogist, born in Bonaventure, Quebec (d. 1993)
• 1904 Rene Cloke, British illustrator, born in Plymouth, England (d. 1995)
• 1906 Johannes Post, Dutch farmer and resistance fighter (passage fight), born in Hollandscheveld, Drente, Netherlands (d. 1944)
• 1909 James B. Pritchard, American theologist and archaeologist, born in Louisville, Kentucky (d. 1997)
• 1912 John de Mol, Dutch accordianist/producer (Baantjer, Pril Geluk)
• 1913 Stanley Oliphant Stewart, librarian
• 1914 Brendan Gill, American critic (The New Yorker), born in Hartford, Connecticut (d. 1997)
• 1914 Jim Cairns, Australian politician (d. 2003)
• 1915 Koos Schuur, Dutch journalist/poet (7 Curses)
• 1916 Owen Tudor Williams, civil engineer
• 1918 Kenichi Fukui, Japanese chemist, Nobel laureate (d. 1998)
• 1922 Malcolm Baldrige, American businessman and US Secretary of Commerce (1981-87), born in Omaha, Nebraska (d. 1987)
• 1922 Shin Kyuk-Ho, Japanese businessman
• 1928 Alvin Toffler, author (Future Shock, Power Shift, The Third Wave), born in NYC, New York (d. 2016)
• 1931 Dick Tracy, comic strip crimestopper
• 1932 Milan Chvostek, Canadian television director
• 1934 Malva M Basoalto, daughter of Pablo Neruda & Marie Hagenaar Vogelzang
• 1936 Sally Mary Caroline Belfrage, writer
• 1937 Franz Vranitzky, Austria union chancellor (1986- )
• 1937 Jackie Collins, British-American author (The Stud, Lucky), born in London, England (d. 2015)
• 1937 Jim Sillars, Scottish politician
• 1938 Kurt Wüthrich, Swiss chemist, Nobel laureate
• 1939 W Henson Moore, (Rep-R-LA, 1975- )
• 1940 Alberto Vilar, Cuban-American investor and philanthropist

• 1941 Lori Saunders, Kansas City Mo (Petticoat Junction, Dusty Trails)
• 1941 Roy Blount, Jr., American writer
• 1942 Karl W. Richter, American aviator (d. 1967)
• 1943 Buddy Roemer, (Gov/Rep-D-LA, 1981- )
• 1943 Owen Keir Davidson, Australia, 4 time Wimbledon mix double champ
• 1946 Chuck Hagel, American politician
• 1947 James Fielder, rocker (Blood Sweat & Tears), born in Denton, Texas
• 1947 Ann Widdecombe, British politician
• 1948 Linda McMahon, CEO of World Wrestling Entertainment
• 1949 Stephen Gyllenhaal, American director
• 1951 Bakhytzhan Kanapyanov, Kazakh poet
• 1953 Andreas Vollenweider, Swiss new-age harpist (Down to the Moon), born in Zürich, Switzerland
• 1957 Gregory T Linteris, Demarest NJ, astronaut (sk: STS 83)
• 1961 Kazuki Takahashi, Japanese author
• 1963 Koji Ishikawa (children's book author and illustrator)Japanese children's author
• 1965 "Stuttering John" Melendez, interviewer (Howard Stern Show)
• 1976 Ueli Steck, Swiss mountain climber, born in Emmental (d. 2017)
• 1981 Scott Hammond, American photographer
• 1983 Risa Kudo, Japanese gravure idol
• 1983 Ueda Tatsuya, Japanese idol (member of KAT-TUN)
• 1986 Barbara Jean Jones, fictional character (General Hospital)
• 1989 Dakota Johnson, American actress and daughter of Melanie Griffith & Don Johnson, born in Austin, Texas
• 2005 Prince Emmanuel of Belgium

• 1767 Prince Willem V marries Prussian princess Wilhelmina
• 1795 "Rime of the Ancient Mariner" poet Samuel Coleridge (22) marries Sarah Fricker in Bristol, England

• 1932 Russian author Mikhail Bulgakov marries Yelena Sergeyevna

• 1052 Vladimir of Novgorod (b. 1020)
• 1072 Sancho II, king of Castile/bro of Alfonso VI, murdered at about 35
• 1221 William III Talvas, Count of Ponthieu (b. 1179)
• 1250 Herman VI, Margrave of Baden
• 1305 Emperor Kameyama of Japan (b. 1249)
• 1540 Helius Eobanus Hessus, German humanist/poet (Silvae), dies
• 1564 Pietro P Vergerio, Italian theologist/bishop of Croatia, dies
• 1571 Claude Togniel d'Espence, French theologist (Sorbonne), dies at 60
• 1582 Theresia van Avila, Spanish mystic writer, dies
• 1590 Cujacius, [Jacques Cujas], French lawyer, dies at about 68
• 1597 Sarsa Dengel, Emperor of Ethiopia (b. 1550)
• 1661 Jacqueline Pascal, French child prodigy, dies at 36

• 1680 Pierre-Paul Riquet, French engineer
• 1721 Abraham Alewijn, poet/playwright (Beslikte Swaantje), dies at 36
• 1743 John Campbell, 2nd duke of Argyll and field marshal (Union of 1707), dies at 64
• 1749 Franz Freiherr von der Trenck, Austrian soldier (b. 1711)
• 1754 Tanacharison, Catawba Indian chief
• 1755 Samuel von Cocceji, German lawyer, dies
• 1785 David Brearly, American statesman (b. 1703)
• 1821 John Rennie, Scottish engineer, dies at 60
• 1830 Ludwig Yorck von Wartenburg, Prussian Generalfeldmarschall, dies at 71
• 1851 Manuel de Godoy, Spanish statesman (b. 1767)
• 1859 Karl Baedeker, German tour guide (Die Schweiz), dies at 57
• 1862 William Duncan Smith, American Brigadier General (Confederate Army), dies at 36
• 1863 Gerrit Schimmelpenninck, earl of Nijenhuis/Peckedam, dies at 69
• 1864 Joseph Montferrand, French-Canadian logger and strong man, dies at 61
• 1867 Francis Xavier Seelos German-American Roman Catholic priest (b. 1819)
• 1880 William Lassell, English astronomer (1st moon of Neptune), dies
• 1890 Catherine Booth, the Mother of The Salvation Army (b. 1829)
• 1892 Guillaume Van Kerckhoven, Belgian captain, dies at 39
• 1893 Pieter J Elout van Soeterwoude, MP (AR), dies at 88
• 1902 Lionel Pigot Johnson, British poet and critic (Ireland & Other Poems), dies of a stroke at 35
• 1903 Otto Weininger, Austrian philosopher (b. 1880)
• 1904 Karl Bayer, Austrian chemist (b. 1847)

• 1912 Gen Zeledon, Nicaraguan opponent of US occupation, is executed
• 1929 John Metzelaar, Dutch/US writer (Report on the Fishes), dies at 37
• 1935 Jean Béraud, French painter (b. 1849)
• 1943 Richard T Ely, US economist (Ground under our feet), dies
• 1943 Irena Iłłakowicz, Polish agent of Intelligence, dies at 37
• 1944 Alfred "Al" Smith, American politician, 4 time Governor of New York (1919-20 and 1923-28), and 1st Roman Catholic presidential candidate (D, 1928), dies at 70
• 1947 Max Planck, German physicist, father of Quantum Physics (Planck Constant, Nobel 1918), dies at 89
• 1948 Arthur Whitten Brown, British aviator (first nonstop airplane crossing of the Atlantic with John W. Alcock), dies at 62
• 1951 Willie Moretti, American gangster (b. 1894)
• 1951 Henrietta Lacks [Loretta Pleasant], African-American tobacco farmer whose cancer cells are the source of the HeLa cell line, extensively used in medical research since the 1950s (1st immortalised cell line),dies of cervical cancer at 31
• 1955 Alexander Papagos, Greek fieldmarshal and supreme commander, dies at 71
• 1961 Max Weber, Polish/Russ/US painter, dies
• 1961 Benjamin (Fedchenkov), Bishop of the Russian Church and Orthodox missionary, dies at 81
• 1966 Sherman Billingsley, talk show host (Stork Club), dies at 66
• 1974 Anne Sexton, American poet (Live or Die; Pulitzer 1967), dies at 45
• 1982 Ahmad H al-Bakr, Iraqi fieldmarshal/president/premier, dies
• 1991 Leonard C Odell, wrote 7,000 Burma Shave poems, dies at 83
• 1992 Itzhak Fuks, El Al captain, crashes in Bijlmer Netherlands
• 1992 Ohad Arnon, El Al captain, crashes in Bijlmer Netherlands
• 1993 Fran Carlon, dies of cancer at 80
• 1994 F. Gwendolen Rees, Welsh zoologist and parasitologist, dies at 88
• 1995 Peter Nicholson Gunn, Australian writer (The Churches of Rome), dies at 81
• 1996 Martyn Harris, journalist, dies at 43
• 1996 Tim N Gidal Gidalewitsch, photojournalist, dies at 87
• 1999 Bernard Buffet, French painter (Expressionism), dies at 71
• 2000 Michael Smith, Nobel laureate (b. 1932)
• 2000 Yu Kuo-hwa, former Premier of Taiwan (b. 1914)
• 2001 Ahron Soloveichik, Orthodox Jewish rabbi, dies at 84
• 2002 Alphonse Chapanis, founder of ergonomics (b. 1917)
• 2003 Sid McMath, American politician (b. 1912)
• 2004 Gordon Cooper, American astronaut (b. 1927)
• 2005 Stanley K. Hathaway, American politician (27th Governor of Wyoming), dies at 81
• 2006 Oskar Pastior, Romanian-born German writer, dies at 78
• 2009 Günther Rall, German fighter ace (b. 1918)
• 2013 Vo Nguyen Giap (Võ Nguyên Giáp), Vietnamese general and politician, dies at 102

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