Calendar date · January

What happened on January 4

On January 4, -46: Julius Caesar fights Titus Labienus in the Battle of Ruspina.

Events

46

across history

Notable births

50

Notable deaths

50

Zodiac

Capricorn

Featured moment · -46

Julius Caesar fights Titus Labienus in the Battle of Ruspina.

Gaius Julius Caesar was a Roman general, statesman, and author who was the dictator of the Roman Republic almost continuously from 49 BC until his assassination in 44 BC. A member of the First Triumvirate, he led the Roman armies through the Gallic Wars and defeated his political rival Pompey in Caesar's civil war. He consolidated power and proclaimed himself dictator for life in 44 BC, helping create the political conditions that led to the collapse of the Roman Republic and the emergence of the Roman Empire.

People

Born on January 4

Marc Guiu 2006– Spanish footballer (born 2006)
Rob Dillingham 2005– American basketball player (born 2005)
Emil Højlund 2005– Danish footballer (born 2005)
Oscar Højlund 2005– Danish footballer (born 2005)
Dafne Keen 2005– Spanish-British actress (born 2005)
Victor Wembanyama 2004– French basketball player (born 2004)
Jaeden Martell 2003– American actor (born 2003)
Kevin 2003– Brazilian footballer
Vladyslav Vanat 2002– Ukrainian footballer
Show 9 more — notable births on January 4
Odilon Kossounou 2001– Ivorian footballer (born 2001)
Lola Young 2001– English musician (born 2001)
Max Aarons 2000– English footballer (born 2000)
Facundo Colidio 2000– Argentine footballer
Wessam Abou Ali 1999– Footballer (born 1999)
Daniel Arzani 1999– Australian soccer player (born 1999)
Jan-Niklas Beste 1999– German footballer
Nico Hischier 1999– Swiss ice hockey player (born 1999)
Jaeman Salmon 1999– Australian rugby league footballer

People

Died on January 4

Michael Reagan American television personality and journalist (1945–2026)
Ana Gligić Yugoslav and Serbian virologist (1934–2025)
Glynis Johns British actress (1923–2024)
David Soul American-British actor (1943–2024)
Christian Oliver German actor (1972–2024)
Rosi Mittermaier German alpine skier (1950–2023)
Tanya Roberts American actress (1949–2021)
Tom Long Australian actor (1968–2020)
Harold Brown American nuclear physicist and U.S. Secretary of Defense
Show 9 more — notable deaths on January 4
Milt Schmidt Canadian ice hockey player (1918–2017)
Georges Prêtre French conductor
S. H. Kapadia 38th Chief Justice of India
Stephen W. Bosworth American academic and diplomat (1939-2016)
Pino Daniele Italian singer-songwriter and musician (1955–2015)
Anwar Shamim Air Chief Marshal (1931-2013)
Zoran Žižić 4th Prime Minister of FR Yugoslavia
Eve Arnold American photojournalist (1912–2012)
Rod Robbie Canadian architect and planner

Timeline

Every January 4 on record

  1. -46 Julius Caesar fights Titus Labienus in the Battle of Ruspina.

    Roman general and dictator (100–44 BC)

    Gaius Julius Caesar was a Roman general, statesman, and author who was the dictator of the Roman Republic almost continuously from 49 BC until his assassination in 44 BC. A member of the First Triumvirate, he led the Roman armies through the Gallic Wars and defeated his political rival Pompey in Caesar's civil war. He consolidated power and proclaimed himself dictator for life in 44 BC, helping create the political conditions that led to the collapse of the Roman Republic and the emergence of the Roman Empire.

  2. 871 Battle of Reading: Æthelred of Wessex and his brother Alfred are defeated by a Danish invasion army.

    Part of the Viking invasions of England

    The Battle of Reading was a victory for a Danish Viking army over a West Saxon force on or about 4 January 871 at Reading in Berkshire. The Vikings were led by Bagsecg and Halfdan Ragnarsson and the West Saxons by King Æthelred and his brother, the future King Alfred the Great. It was the second of a series of battles that took place following an invasion of Wessex by the Danish army in December 870.

  3. 1642 English Civil War: King Charles I, accompanied by 400 soldiers, attempts to arrest five members of Parliament for treason, only to discover the men had been tipped off and fled.

    King of England, Scotland and Ireland from 1625 to 1649

    Charles I was King of England, Scotland, and Ireland from 27 March 1625 until his execution in 1649.

  4. 1649 English Civil War: The Rump Parliament votes to put Charles I on trial.

    English parliament 1648–1653

    The Rump Parliament was what remained of the Long Parliament after Pride's Purge on 6 December 1648, when Colonel Thomas Pride commanded his soldiers to exclude from the House of Commons those members who were against the Grandees' intention to try King Charles I for high treason. The Rump was dissolved by Oliver Cromwell in 1653 and replaced by the Barebone's Parliament. After Richard Cromwell's removal from power in 1659, the Rump was briefly reinstated.

  5. 1717 The Netherlands, Great Britain, and France sign the Triple Alliance.

    Predecessor state of the Netherlands (1581–1795)

    The Republic of the Seven United Netherlands, also known as the United Provinces (of the Netherlands), and referred to in historiography as the Dutch Republic, was a confederation and great power that existed from 1588 until the Batavian Revolution in 1795. It was a predecessor state of the present-day Netherlands and the first independent Dutch nation state. The republic was established after seven Dutch provinces in the Spanish Netherlands revolted against Spanish rule, forming a mutual alliance against Spain in 1579 (the Union of Utrecht) and declaring their independence in 1581 (the Act of Abjuration), after which they confederated in 1588 (the Instruction of 12 April 1588) after the States General could not agree on a new monarch.

  6. 1762 Great Britain declares war on Spain, which meant the entry of Spain into the Seven Years' War.
  7. 1798 Constantine Hangerli arrives in Bucharest, Wallachia, as its new Prince, invested by the Ottoman Empire.
  8. 1844 The first issue of the Swedish-languaged Saima newspaper founded by J. V. Snellman is published in Kuopio, Finland.
  9. 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.
  10. 1854 The McDonald Islands are discovered by Captain William McDonald aboard the Samarang.
  11. 1863 The New Apostolic Church, a Christian and chiliastic church, is established in Hamburg, Germany.
  12. 1878 Russo-Turkish War (1877–78): Sofia is liberated from Ottoman rule.
  13. 1884 The Fabian Society is founded in London, United Kingdom.
  14. 1885 Sino-French War: French troops under General Oscar de Négrier defeat a numerically superior Qing force at Núi Bop in northern Vietnam.
  15. 1896 Utah is admitted as the 45th U.S. state.
Show 15 earlier entries from January 4
  1. 1903 Topsy, an elephant, is electrocuted by the owners of Luna Park, Coney Island. The Edison film company records the film Electrocuting an Elephant of Topsy's death.
  2. 1909 Explorer Aeneas Mackintosh of the Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition escaped death by fleeing across ice floes.
  3. 1912 The Scout Association is incorporated throughout the British Empire by royal charter.
  4. 1918 The Finnish Declaration of Independence is recognized by Russia, Sweden, Germany and France.
  5. 1944 World War II: Operation Carpetbagger, involving the dropping of arms and supplies to resistance fighters in Europe, begins.
  6. 1946 The first day of a three-day "disastrous" tornado outbreak across the south-central United States leaves 41 people dead and at least 412 others injured.
  7. 1948 Burma gains its independence from the United Kingdom, becoming an independent republic.
  8. 1951 Korean War: Chinese and North Korean forces capture Seoul for the second time.
  9. 1956 The Greek National Radical Union is formed by Konstantinos Karamanlis.
  10. 1958 Sputnik 1, the first artificial Earth satellite, launched by the Soviet Union in 1957, falls to Earth from orbit.
  11. 1959 Luna 1 becomes the first spacecraft to reach the vicinity of the Moon.
  12. 1965 Aeroflot Flight 101/X-20 crashes on approach to Alma-Ata Airport, killing 64 people.
  13. 1967 The Doors released their eponymous debut album.
  14. 1972 Rose Heilbron becomes the first female judge to sit at the Old Bailey in London, UK.
  15. 1975 This date overflowed the 12-bit field that had been used in TOPS-10. There were numerous problems and crashes related to this bug while an alternative format was developed.

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