Major Events
- 1537 1st printing in England of complete English-language Bible, the "Matthew's Bible", with translations by William Tyndale and Miles Coverdale (an update of the earlier "Coverdale Bible") [exact month/day unclear] [1]
- 1582 Last Julian calendar day in Spain, Portugal and pontifical states. To sync to the Gregorian calendar, 10 days are skipped and the next date is Oct 15.
- 1883 The Orient Express departs on its first official journey from Paris to Istanbul
- 1900 In a final confrontation, around 4,000 Ashantis are defeated by the British in the Gold Coast (Ghana)
- 1957 Soviet Union launches Sputnik I, the 1st artificial Earth satellite into elliptical low Earth orbit
- 1993 Troops and tanks of President Boris Yeltsin shell and occupy the Russian White House in Moscow, the house of government of the Russian Federation
- 2006 WikiLeaks is launched, created by internet activist Julian Assange
- 2023 Kevin McCarthy becomes first speaker of the US House of Representatives to be voted out by fellow Republican hard-liners, led by Matt Gaetz [1]
- More October 4 Events
Oct 4 in Film & TV
- 1987 "The Last Emperor" directed by Bernardo Bertolucci and starring John Lone, Joan Chen and Peter O'Toole premieres at the Tokyo Film Festival (Best Picture 1988)
Oct 4 in Music
- 1974 Apple Records releases John Lennon's fifth studio album, "Walls & Bridges" in UK; features No. 1 single "Whatever Gets You Through the Night" (with Elton John) and "#9 Dream"
Oct 4 in Sport
- 1895 1st US Open Men's Golf, Newport GC: Englishman Horace Rawlins wins inaugural event; beats Willie Dunn of Scotland by 2 strokes
Did You Know?
Richard Cromwell
Rutherford B. Hayes
Damon Runyon
Jackie Collins
Anne Rice
Buster Keaton
Charlton Heston
Susan Sarandon
Alicia Silverstone
Dakota Johnson
Jon Secada
Tony La Russa
Sherri Turner
Fun Fact About October 4
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.)
Famous Weddings
- 1539 English King Henry VIII marries Anne of Cleves, his 4th wife
- 1767 Prince Willem V marries Prussian princess Wilhelmina
- 1795 "Rime of the Ancient Mariner" poet Samuel Coleridge (22) marries Sarah Fricker in Bristol, England
Famous Divorces
- 2016 Singer Gwen Stefani and musician Gavin Rossdale divorce after 13 years of marriage
More October 4 Weddings
Rembrandt van Rijn
Frédéric-Auguste Bartholdi
Janis Joplin
Secretariat
Jean-Claude Duvalier
Loretta Lynn
