4 January

Events46 BC - Titus Labienus defeats Julius Caesar in the Battle of Ruspina.871 - Battle of Reading: Ethelred of Wessex fights, and is defeated by, a Danish invasion army.1493 - Christopher Columbus leaves the New World, ending his first journey.1642 - King Charles I of England sends soldiers to arrest members of  Parliament, commencing England's slide into civil war.1698 - Most of the Palace of Whitehall in London, the main residence of the English monarchs, is destroyed by fire.1717 - The Netherlands, England, and France sign the Triple Alliance. 1762 - England declares war on Spain and Naples.1847 - Samuel Colt sells his first revolver pistol to the United States government. 1854 - The McDonald Islands are discovered by Captain William McDonald aboard the Samarang.1865 - The New York Stock Exchange opens its first permanent headquarters at 10-12 Broad near Wall Street in New York City.1884 - The Fabian Society is founded in London.1885 - The first successful appendectomy is performed by Dr. William W. Grant on Mary Gartside.1896 - Utah is admitted as the 45th U.S. state.1912 - The Scout Association is incorporated throughout the British Commonwealth by Royal Charter.1936 - Mickey's Polo Team, a short animated film featuring Charlie Chaplin, Oliver Hardy, Stan Laurel, and Harpo Marx in a polo match against various Disney characters, is first released.1936 - Billboard magazine publishes its first pop music charts.1941 - The animated short Elmer's Pet Rabbit is released: it marks the second appearance of Bugs Bunny and the first to have his name on a title card.1944 - Operation Carpetbagger, involving the dropping of arms and supplies to resistance fighters in Europe, begins.1944 - World War II: The Battle of Monte Cassino begins.1948 - Burma regains its independence from the United Kingdom.1951 - Korean War: Chinese and North Korean forces capture Seoul. 1957 - After 69 years the last issue of Collier's Weekly magazine is published. 1958 - Sputnik 1 falls to Earth from its orbit (launched on October 4, 1957).1959 - Luna 1 becomes the first spacecraft to reach the vicinity of the Moon.1962 - New York City introduces a train that operates without a crew on-board. 1965 - United States President Lyndon B. Johnson proclaims his "Great Society" during his State of the Union address.1972 - Rose Heilbron becomes the first woman judge to sit at the Old Bailey in London.1974 - United States President Richard Nixon refuses to hand over materials subpoenaed by the Senate Watergate Committee.1975 - Elizabeth Ann Seton becomes the first American-born saint.1987 - An Amtrak train en route to Boston from Washington, DC, collides with Conrail engines, killing 16 people (Chase, Maryland rail wreck). 1989 - 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.1990 - A crowded passenger train collides with a standing freight train in Pakistan's Sindh province, killing 300 people. 1998 - Wilaya of Relizane massacres in Algeria; over 170 are killed in three remote villages.1999 - Former professional wrestler Jesse Ventura is sworn in as governor of Minnesota.1999 - Gunmen open fire on Shiite Muslims worshipping in an Islamabad mosque, killing 16 people and injuring 25.2004 - Dr. Mikhail Saakashvili is elected the President of Georgia.2004 - Spirit, a NASA Mars Rover, lands successfully on Mars at 04:35 UTC.2006 - Prime Minister Ariel Sharon of Israel suffers a second, apparently more serious stroke. His authority is transferred to Acting Prime Minister Ehud Olmert.2007 - The 110th United States Congress convenes, electing Nancy Pelosi as the first female Speaker of the House in U.S. history.
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