121 things happened on 4 October, from AD 23 to 2022. UK stories come first, then the rest of the world.
1936 · 90 years ago
Large crowds gathered in the East End of London to stop a march by the British Union of Fascists, led by Oswald Mosley. The group had become increasingly hostile to Jewish people, and many Jewish families lived in the area. Police tried to clear a route for t…
UK history first: stories from England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
UK story
The Coverdale Bible was printed, using translations into English by William Tyndale and Myles Coverdale. It was the first complete translation of the Bible into modern English, and the first complete printed English Bible. Later editions, from 1537, were the first complete Bibles printed in England. Its version of the Psalms was later used in the Church of England's Book of Common Prayer.
UK story
The Boys' Brigade, started by Scottish businessman Sir William Alexander Smith, held its first meeting in Glasgow. He wanted to combine drill, or marching practice, and fun activities with Christian values. The organisation quickly spread across the United Kingdom and then around the world. By 2018 it said it had 750,000 members in 60 countries.
UK story
Large crowds gathered in the East End of London to stop a march by the British Union of Fascists, led by Oswald Mosley. The group had become increasingly hostile to Jewish people, and many Jewish families lived in the area. Police tried to clear a route for the march, and clashes broke out, including on Cable Street. In the end the police said the march through East London could not go ahead.
UK story
Scottish businessman Richard Noble set a new world land speed record of 633.468 miles per hour (1,019.468 km/h). He drove Thrust2, a British jet car with a Rolls-Royce Avon jet engine, in the Black Rock Desert in Nevada, USA. The record stood until 1997. It was then beaten by ThrustSSC, another British car, whose project Noble led.
UK story
Eighty Years' War and the Anglo-Spanish War: A fleet of Spanish galleys are defeated by English and Dutch galleons in the English Channel.
UK story
American Revolutionary War: Troops under George Washington are repelled by British troops under William Howe.
UK story
Horace Rawlins wins the first U.S. Open Men's Golf Championship.
Pope Gregory XIII brought in a new calendar to replace the old Julian calendar. To bring it back into line with the seasons, ten days were skipped, so Thursday 4 October 1582 was followed by Friday 15 October. The new calendar also changed the rule for leap years: 1900 was not a leap year, but 2000 was. Most of the world uses the Gregorian calendar now.
The Ottoman Empire declared war on the Russian Empire, starting the Crimean War. Russia ended up fighting an alliance of the Ottoman Empire, France, the United Kingdom and Sardinia. Britain and France wanted to protect the Ottoman Empire and keep a balance of power in Europe. The war lasted until February 1856.
The Orient Express, a luxury passenger train, made its first run. It was created by a Belgian company, the Compagnie Internationale des Wagons-Lits. The train crossed the length of Europe, from Paris in the north-west to Istanbul in the south-east. Branch services also linked it with Athens, Brussels and London, and it kept running until 2009.
Sculptor Gutzon Borglum and around 400 workers began carving Mount Rushmore in the Black Hills of South Dakota, USA. The giant sculpture shows the heads of four US presidents: George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln. Each head is 18 metres tall. Borglum, helped by his son Lincoln, led the work until 1941.
The Soviet Union launched Sputnik 1, the first artificial satellite to orbit the Earth. It was a shiny metal ball 58 centimetres wide, with four radio aerials, and each trip around the Earth took about 96 minutes. Radio fans around the world could pick up its signal. Its launch started the Space Race between the Soviet Union and the United States.
Basutoland, a British colony in southern Africa, became independent from the United Kingdom and was renamed Lesotho. The Basotho people and their land had been under British control since 1868. From 1910 the country was completely surrounded by South Africa. Lesotho celebrates the date every year as Independence Day.
Rebels sack the Chinese capital Chang'an during a peasant rebellion.
Otto IV is crowned Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire by Pope Innocent III.
The Byzantine–Venetian War comes to an end.
Red Turban Rebellions: The rebel leader Zhu Yuanzhang won the Battle of Lake Poyang by deploying ships intentionally set aflame when the emperor tried to escape.
Skanderbeg and Gjergj Arianiti signed a peace treaty to end the Albanian–Venetian War.
Formation of the Holy League of Aragon, the Papal States and Venice against France.
Governor Gonzalo Méndez de Canço begins to suppress a native uprising against his rule in what is now the US state of Georgia.
Smolensk War: Forces from the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth broke the Russian siege of Smolensk (depicted).
Thirty Years' War: The Swedish Army defeats the armies of Saxony and the Holy Roman Empire at the Battle of Wittstock.
Nine Years' War: Piedmontese troops are defeated by the French.
Mexico adopts a new constitution and becomes a federal republic.
The Belgian Revolution takes legal form when the provisional government secedes from the Netherlands.
American Civil War: After a naval battle in Galveston Harbor, Texas, Confederate commanders negotiated the surrender of the city to Union forces.
Texas A&M University opened as the first public institution of higher education in the U.S. state.
First World War: The Allies devastated the German defence at the Battle of Broodseinde, prompting a crisis among German commanders and causing a severe loss of morale in the 4th Army.
The Mannerheim League for Child Welfare, a Finnish non-governmental organization, is founded on the initiative of Sophie Mannerheim.
Great Syrian Revolt: Rebels led by Fawzi al-Qawuqji captured the city of Hama from the French Mandate of Syria.
Willie Gillis, one of Norman Rockwell's trademark characters, debuted on the cover of The Saturday Evening Post.
The current constitution of France is adopted.
Pope Paul VI begins the first papal visit to the Americas.
Omar Ali Saifuddien III of Brunei abdicates in favour of his son.
The Free Software Foundation is founded.
The Protocol on Environmental Protection to the Antarctic Treaty is opened for signature.
The Rome General Peace Accords end a 16-year civil war in Mozambique.
SpaceShipOne wins the Ansari X Prize for private spaceflight.
WikiLeaks is launched.
Every answer is somewhere on this page. Have a go, then check!
In which year did this happen: “Crowds block a fascist march at the Battle of Cable Street”?
A: 1936. 1936 — that’s 90 years ago. Find it on the page
In which year did this happen: “The Boys' Brigade holds its first meeting in Glasgow”?
C: 1883. 1883 — that’s 143 years ago. Find it on the page
Which of these happened first?
A: The Coverdale Bible is printed, the first complete Bible in English. 1535: The Coverdale Bible is printed, the first complete Bible in English · 1883: The Boys' Brigade holds its first meeting in Glasgow · 1936: Crowds block a fascist march at the Battle of Cable Street Find it on the page
“Richard Cromwell” happened in 1626. How many years ago was that?
A: 400 years. 2026 − 1626 = 400. Find it on the page
Famous people whose birthday is 4 October.
UK story
Richard Cromwell was the son of Oliver Cromwell. Like his father, he served as Lord Protector, the head of state of the Commonwealth of England, Scotland and Ireland. Richard held the post from 1658 to 1659, only about a year. He lived to the age of 85 and died in 1712.
Well-known people who died on 4 October.
Festivals, holidays and saints’ days celebrated on 4 October somewhere in the world.
World Animal Day is an international day of action for animal welfare, which means the care and wellbeing of animals. It is held every year on the feast day of Saint Francis of Assisi, the patron saint of animals. Francis was an Italian friar who founded a religious order called the Franciscans.
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 “October 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.