Events on 4 January 41
See all →Year 871
Battle of Reading: Æthelred of Wessex fights, and is defeated by, a Danish invasion army.
Year 1490
Anne of Brittany announces that all those who would ally with the King of France will be considered guilty of the crime of lèse-majesté.
Year 1642
King Charles I of England attempts to arrest Five Members of Parliament, commencing England's slide into civil war.
Year 1798
Constantine Hangerli arrives in Bucharest, Wallachia, as its new Prince, invested by the Ottoman Empire.
Year 1853
After having been kidnapped and sold into slavery in the American South, Solomon Northup regains his freedom; his memoir Twelve Years a Slave later becomes a national bestseller.
Year 1854
The McDonald Islands are discovered by Captain William McDonald aboard the Samarang.
Public Holidays Around The World On This Day 3
Birthdays on 4 January 166
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Emperor Zhezong
b. 1076 – d. 1100
Emperor Zhezong of Song (b. 1076)
Amadeus VI, Count of Savoy
b. 1334 – d. 1383
Amadeus VI, Count of Savoy (d. 1383)
Bodo VIII, Count of Stolberg-Wernigerode
b. 1467 – d. 1538
Bodo VIII, Count of Stolberg-Wernigerode (d. 1538)
François d'Aguilon
b. 1567 – d. 1617
François d'Aguilon, Belgian Jesuit mathematician (d. 1617)
James Ussher
b. 1581 – d. 1656
James Ussher, Irish archbishop and historian (d. 1656)
Isaac Newton
b. 1643 – d. 1727
Isaac Newton, English mathematician and physicist (d. 1727)
Lars Roberg
b. 1664 – d. 1742
Lars Roberg, Swedish physician and academic (b. 1664)
Hugh Boulter
b. 1672 – d. 1742
Hugh Boulter, Irish archbishop (b. 1672)
Giovanni Battista Pergolesi
b. 1710 – d. 1736
Giovanni Battista Pergolesi, Italian composer, violinist, and organist (d. 1736)
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Johann Friedrich Agricola
b. 1720 – d. 1774
Johann Friedrich Agricola, German organist and composer (d. 1774)
Jacob Grimm
b. 1785 – d. 1863
Jacob Grimm, German philologist and mythologist (b. 1785)
Louis Braille
b. 1809 – d. 1852
Louis Braille, French educator, invented Braille (b. 1809)
Deaths on 4 January 102
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Æthelwulf of Berkshire
d. 871
Æthelwulf, Saxon ealdorman
Hasan al-Askari
d. 874 (b. 846)
Hasan al-Askari, eleventh of the Twelve Imams (b. 846)
Simon II, Duke of Lorraine
d. 1207
Simon II, Duke of Lorraine
Sancho II of Portugal
d. 1248 (b. 1209)
Sancho II of Portugal (d. 1248)
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Anna Komnene Doukaina
d. 1286
Anna Komnene Doukaina, Princess of Achaea
Nicholas Eymerich
d. 1399
Nicholas Eymerich, Catalan theologian and inquisitor
Muzio Sforza
d. 1424
Muzio Sforza, Italian condottiero
Frederick I, Elector of Saxony
d. 1428 (b. 1370)
Frederick I, Elector of Saxony (d. 1428)
Tobias Stimmer
d. 1584 (b. 1539)
Tobias Stimmer, Swiss painter and illustrator (d. 1584)
Ferenc Nádasdy
d. 1604 (b. 1555)
Ferenc Nádasdy, Hungarian noble (d. 1604)
François-Henri de Montmorency, duc de Luxembourg
d. 1695 (b. 1628)
François-Henri de Montmorency, duc de Luxembourg, French general (d. 1695)
Gabriel Cramer
d. 1752 (b. 1704)
Gabriel Cramer, Swiss mathematician and physicist (d. 1752)