120 things happened on 4 January, from AD 659 to 2024. UK stories come first, then the rest of the world.
1698 · 328 years ago
A fire destroyed most of the Palace of Whitehall in London. It had been the main home of English kings and queens since 1530, when Henry VIII moved there. One famous building survived: the Banqueting House, designed by Inigo Jones in 1622. The palace itself h…
UK history first: stories from England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
UK story
A Danish Viking army defeated the West Saxons at the Battle of Reading, in Berkshire. The West Saxons were led by King Æthelred of Wessex and his younger brother Alfred, later known as Alfred the Great. It was the second of several battles after the Danish army invaded Wessex in December 870. Just a few days later, the brothers beat the Vikings at the Battle of Ashdown.
UK story
King Charles I entered the House of Commons with about 400 soldiers to arrest five Members of Parliament for treason. But the five MPs had been warned and had already escaped. The king's attempt to force Parliament to obey him failed and turned many people against him. It was one of the events that led directly to the English Civil War, which began later in 1642.
UK story
A fire destroyed most of the Palace of Whitehall in London. It had been the main home of English kings and queens since 1530, when Henry VIII moved there. One famous building survived: the Banqueting House, designed by Inigo Jones in 1622. The palace itself has not survived, but the area is still called Whitehall and is a centre of British government.
UK story
The Boy Scouts Association was given a royal charter, an official document from the monarch, covering the whole British Empire. Scouting had grown fast since 1907, and Robert Baden-Powell had set up a council to run it in 1910. The organisation is now called The Scout Association. It has more young members than any other Scouting group in the United Kingdom.
UK story
Rose Heilbron became the first woman judge to sit at the Old Bailey, the Central Criminal Court of England and Wales in London. Her career was full of 'firsts' for women. She was one of the first two women in England to become a King's Counsel, a senior lawyer. She later became only the second woman to be appointed a High Court judge.
UK story
The first episode of Last of the Summer Wine was shown on BBC television, as part of a series called Comedy Playhouse. The sitcom, a comedy with the same characters in every episode, was set in Yorkshire and written by Roy Clarke. It ran until 2010, with 295 episodes in 31 series. That makes it the longest-running sitcom in the world.
UK story
English Civil War: The Rump Parliament votes to put Charles I on trial.
UK story
The Netherlands, Great Britain, and France sign the Triple Alliance.
UK story
Great Britain declares war on Spain, which meant the entry of Spain into the Seven Years' War.
UK story
The Fabian Society is founded in London, United Kingdom.
Sputnik 1, the first artificial satellite, fell out of orbit and back into Earth's atmosphere. The Soviet Union had launched it three months earlier, on 4 October 1957. It sent radio signals back to Earth for three weeks, until its batteries ran out. After that, drag from the air slowly pulled it down.
Spirit, a robot vehicle called a rover, landed safely in Gusev crater on Mars. Its twin, Opportunity, landed three weeks later on the other side of the planet. Spirit's name was chosen through an essay competition for students. It was only planned to work for 90 Martian days, but it kept going until 2010.
The Burj Khalifa skyscraper officially opened in Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates. With a total height of 829.8 metres, it is the tallest structure in the world. It took the title of world's tallest building from Taipei 101, which had held the record since 2004. The tower was designed by the architecture firm SOM.
After his appointment as Prince of Wallachia, Constantine Hangerli arrived in Bucharest to assume the throne.
The first issue of the Swedish-languaged Saima newspaper founded by J. V. Snellman is published in Kuopio, Finland.
The McDonald Islands are discovered by Captain William McDonald aboard the Samarang.
The New Apostolic Church, a Christian and chiliastic church, is established in Hamburg, Germany.
Russo-Turkish War (1877–78): Sofia is liberated from Ottoman rule.
Sino-French War: French troops under General Oscar de Négrier defeat a numerically superior Qing force at Núi Bop in northern Vietnam.
Utah is admitted as the 45th U.S. state.
The Finnish Declaration of Independence is recognized by Russia, Sweden, Germany and France.
Billboard published its first music hit parade.
World War II: Operation Carpetbagger, involving the dropping of arms and supplies to resistance fighters in Europe, begins.
Burma gains its independence from the United Kingdom, becoming an independent republic.
Korean War: Chinese and North Korean troops captured Seoul from United Nations forces.
The Greek National Radical Union is formed by Konstantinos Karamanlis.
Luna 1 becomes the first spacecraft to reach the vicinity of the Moon.
The Doors released their eponymous debut album.
A massive ice storm hits eastern Canada and the northeastern United States, continuing through January 10 and causing widespread destruction.
Former professional wrestler Jesse Ventura is sworn in as governor of Minnesota, United States.
Mikheil Saakashvili is elected President of Georgia following the November 2003 Rose Revolution.
Ehud Olmert becomes acting Prime Minister of Israel after the incumbent, Ariel Sharon, suffers a second, apparently more serious stroke.
Nancy Pelosi became Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, becoming the highest-ranking woman in the history of the U.S. government.
Sembawang Hot Spring Park in Singapore reopened after being redeveloped by the National Parks Board.
Every answer is somewhere on this page. Have a go, then check!
In which year did this happen: “Fire destroys most of London's Palace of Whitehall”?
B: 1698. 1698 — that’s 328 years ago. Find it on the page
In which year did this happen: “Charles I tries to arrest five MPs in Parliament”?
B: 1642. 1642 — that’s 384 years ago. Find it on the page
Which of these happened first?
C: Charles I tries to arrest five MPs in Parliament. 1972: Rose Heilbron becomes the first woman judge at the Old Bailey · 1698: Fire destroys most of London's Palace of Whitehall · 1642: Charles I tries to arrest five MPs in Parliament Find it on the page
“Rose Heilbron becomes the first woman judge at the Old Bailey” happened in 1972. How many years ago was that?
B: 54 years. 2026 − 1972 = 54. Find it on the page
Famous people whose birthday is 4 January.
Jacob Grimm was a German author and an expert on languages and folk tales. With his younger brother, Wilhelm, he formed the famous writing pair known as the Brothers Grimm. Jacob was an editor of Grimms' Fairy Tales, their well-known collection of stories. He also worked out a famous rule about languages, called Grimm's law, and helped to write a great German dictionary.
Well-known people who died on 4 January.
Festivals, holidays and saints’ days celebrated on 4 January somewhere in the world.
World Braille Day celebrates braille, a writing system that blind and visually impaired people read by touch. Braille can be read on embossed paper or on electronic displays linked to computers and phones. The day falls on the birthday of Louis Braille, the French educator who invented the system and was born in 1809. The United Nations chose the date in 2018.
Content note: these entries mention things like war, violence, deaths, disasters or crime. They are part of history, but they can be upsetting. Grown-ups and teachers: you may want to read them first. They come straight from Wikipedia and have not been rewritten for children.
Stories with a heading have been written for young readers by A Day in the Past, using the linked articles as sources. Other entries show text from Wikipedia’s “January 4” page and its “On this day” feed, written by Wikipedia contributors and shared under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 licence. Each “Read more” link goes to the article an entry is based on. Photos are credited under each picture. Spotted a mistake? Please tell us.