October 4 is the 277th day of the year (278th in Leap years). There are 88 days remaining.

Events

600-1899

• 610 - Heraclius arrives by ship from Africa at Constantinople, otherthrows Byzantine Emperor Phocas and becomes Emperor.
• 1535 - The first complete English language Bible is printed, with translations by William Tyndale and Miles Coverdale.
• 1582 - Pope Gregory XIII implements the Gregorian Calendar. In Italy, Poland, Portugal, and Spain October 4 of this year is followed directly by October 15, skipping over 10 days.
• 1777 - Battle of Germantown - Troops under George Washington are repelled by British troops under Sir William Howe
• 1824 - Mexico becomes a republic
• 1830 - Creation of the state of Belgium after separation from The Netherlands
• 1883 - First run of the Orient Express
• 1883 - First meeting of the Boys' Brigade in Glasgow, Scotland.
• 1895 - The first U.S. Open Mens' Golf Championship run by the United States Golf Association was played on a nine-hole course in Newport, Rhode Island.

1900-1999

• 1910 - Portugal becomes a republic. King Manuel II flees to Britain.
• 1957 - Launch of Sputnik I, the first artificial satellite to orbit the Earth.
• 1958 - Fifth Republic of France established.
• 1983 - Richard Noble sets a new land speed record of 633.468 mph, driving Thrust 2 at the Black Rock Desert, Nevada.
• 1966 - Basutoland becomes independent from the United Kingdom and is renamed Lesotho.
• 1988 - Jim Bakker indicted for fraud.
• 1991 - The Protocol on Environmental Protection to the Antarctic Treaty was opened for signature.
• 1992 - An El Al Boeing 747-200F crashes into 2 apartment buildings in Amsterdam, killing 43 including 38 on the ground. See Bijlmerramp
• 1993 - Doom press-release version is made available to journalists for review.
• 1993 - At the climax of the Russian constitutional crisis of 1993, Russian President Boris Yeltsin orders army tanks to begin the storming of the Russian parliament building.
• 1998 - Leafie Mason of Hughes Springs, Texas is murdered by Angel Maturino Resendiz. She is Angel's second victim in his second incident.

2000-2099

• 2001 - A Sibir Airlines Tupolev TU-154 crashes into the Black Sea after being struck by an errant Ukrainian S-200 missile. 78 people are killed.
• 2003 - Maxim restaurant suicide bombing: A female Palestinian suicide bomber, Hanadi Jaradat, exploded inside the Maxim restaurant in Haifa. 21 Israelis, Jews and Arabs, were killed, and 51 others were wounded.
• 2004 - SpaceShipOne wins Ansari X Prize for private spaceflight

Births

1200-1899

• 1289 - King Louis X of France (d. 1316)
• 1550 - King Charles IX of Sweden (d. 1611)
• 1687 - Robert Simson, Scottish mathematician (d. 1768)
• 1814 - Jean-Francois Millet, French painter (d. 1875)
• 1822 - Rutherford B. Hayes, 19th president of the United States (d. 1893)
• 1858 - Michael Pupin, telephone pioneer, Pulitzer Prize winning author
• 1861 - Frederic Remington, painter (d. 1909)
• 1862 - Edward Stratemeyer, American author (d. 1930)
• 1877 - Razor Smith, Surrey slow bowler who took 247 wickets in 1910 (d. 1946)
• 1880 - Damon Runyon, writer (d. 1946)
• 1881 - Walther von Brauchitsch German Commander-in-Chief (d. 1948)
• 1892 - Engelbert Dollfuss, Austrian politician (d. 1934)
• 1895 - Buster Keaton, American comedian, actor (d. 1966)

1900-1999

• 1903 - John Vincent Atanasoff, American computer pioneer (d. 1995)
• 1903 - Ernst Kaltenbrunner German military officer (d. 1946)
• 1917 - Jan Murray , comedian
• 1924 - Charlton Heston, American actor, NRA president
• 1928 - Alvin Toffler, futurist, author
• 1939 - Jackie Collins, author
• 1941 - Anne Rice, American horror/fantasy writer
• 1943 - H. Rap Brown (Jamil Al-Amin), civil rights activist
• 1946 - Susan Sarandon, American actress
• 1947 - Ann Widdecombe, British Member of Parliament
• 1949 - Armand Assante, actor
• 1953 - Tchéky Karyo, actor
• 1959 - Tony Meo, English snooker player
• 1960 - Afrika Bambaataa, musician
• 1961 - Jon Secada , singer
• 1961 - Kazuki Takahashi, manga author/artist
• 1963 - A.C. Green , basketball star
• 1967 - Liev Schreiber, actor
• 1967 - Marcus Bentley, British voice actor
• 1976 - Alicia Silverstone, American actress
• 1984 - Lena , half of Russian pop group t.A.T.u.

Deaths

0-1499

• 1226 - Saint Francis of Assisi
• 1250 - Herman VI, Margrave of Baden
• 1305 - Emperor Kameyama of Japan (b. 1249)

1500-1899

• 1582 - Saint Teresa of Avila (b. 1515)
• 1669 - Rembrandt Dutch painter (b. 1606)
• 1821 - John Rennie, engineer (b. 1761)
• 1859 - Karl Baedeker, German author and publisher (b. 1801)
• 1880 - Jacques Offenbach, composer (b. 1819)

1900-1999

• 1904 - Frédéric Bartholdi, sculptor of the Statue of Liberty (b. 1834)
• 1935 - Jean Béraud, French impressionist painter (b. 1849)
• 1944 - Al Smith, candidate for President of the United States, Governor of New York (b. 1873)
• 1946 - Barney Oldfield, automobile pioneer (b. 1878)
• 1947 - Max Planck, German physicist (b. 1858)
• 1951 - Willie Moretti, Mafiosi (b. 1894)
• 1969 - Natalino Otto, Italian singer
• 1970 - Janis Joplin, American singer (b. 1943)
• 1982 - Glenn Gould, Canadian pianist (b. 1932)
• 1989 - Graham Chapman, British comedian (b. 1941)
• 1989 - Secretariat, Triple Crown-winning race horse (b. 1970)
• 1997 - Gunpei Yokoi, Japanese game developer (b. 1941)

2000-2099

• 2002 - Alphonse Chapanis, a founder of ergonomics
• 2003 - Sid McMath, former governor of Arkansas
• 2003 - Fred Tuttle, subject of 1996 indie film Man With A Plan (b. 1919)
• 2004 - Gordon Cooper, astronaut (b. 1927)

Holidays

• Australian Labour Day (ACT, NSW, & SA).
• Lesotho's Independence Day
• Feast day of Saint Francis of Assisi in the Roman Catholic Church.
• Feast day of Saint Amun in the Roman Catholic Church.

External links

• BBC: On This Day

October 3 - October 5 - September 4 - November 4 - more historical anniversaries