History of 4 January
- 1928 – NBC Radio debuted “The Dodge Victory Hour” which starred Will Rogers, Paul Whiteman and his Orchestra and singer Al Jolson.
- 1935 – Bob Hope was heard for the first time on network radio as part of “The Intimate Revue.”
- 1936 – The first pop music chart based on national sales was published by “Billboard” magazine.
- 1944 – The attack on Monte Cassino was launched by the British Fifth Army in Italy.
- 1948 – Britain granted independence to Burma.
- 1951 – During the Korean conflict, North Korean and Communist Chinese forces captured the city of Seoul.
- 1953 – Tufted plastic carpeting was introduced by Barwick Mills.
- 1957 – “Collier’s” magazine was published for the last time. The periodical was published for 69 years.
- 1958 – The Soviet satellite Sputknik I fell to the earth from its orbit. The craft had been launched on October 4, 1957.
- 1962 – New York City introduced a train that operated without conductors and motormen.
- 1965 – The Fender Guitar Company was sold to CBS for $13 million.
- 1965 – In his State of the Union address, U.S. President Johnson proclaimed the building of the “Great Society.”
- 1972 – Rose Heilbron became the first woman judge in Britain at the Old Bailey, London.
- 1974 – U.S. President Nixon refused to hand over tape recordings and documents subpoenaed by the Senate Watergate Committee.
- 1974 – NBC-TV presented hockey in prime time. The Boston Bruins and the New York Rangers were the teams in the National Hockey League (NHL) game.
- 1981 – The Broadway show “Frankenstein” lost an estimated $2 million, when it opened and closed on the same night.
- 1982 – Bryant Gumbel moved from NBC Sports to the anchor desk where he joined Jane Pauley as co-host of the “Today” show on NBC.
- 1984 – Wayne ‘The Great One’ Gretzky scored eight points (four goals and four assists) for the second time in his National Hockey League (NHL) career. Edmonton’s Oilers defeated the Minnesota North Stars, 12-8. The game was the highest-scoring NHL game to date.
- 1991 – The U.N. Security Council voted unanimously to condemn Israel’s treatment of the Palestinians in the occupied territories.
- 1997 – The Greek Cypriot government signed an agreement to buy S-300 surface-to-air missiles from Russia.
- 1999 – A drifting Nicaraguan fishing boat was found by the Norwegian oil tanker Joelm. The fisherman had been lost at sea for 35 days after the engine of their vessel quit working.
- 1999 – Former professional wrestler Jesse Ventura was sworn in as Minnesota’s 37th governor.
- 2007 – Nancy Pelosi became Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives. She was the first woman to hold the position.
- 2010 – In Dubai, United Arab Emirates, the Burj Dubai (Dubai Tower) opened as the world’s tallest tower at 2,625 feet.
- 2011 – A murder–suicide in Liège, Belgium, kills six and wounds 125 people at a Christmas market.
- 2018 – A high-speed train crashes in Ankara, Turkey, killing at least nine people and injuring 84.
Celebrating Birthday Today
- 1891 – Edward Brooker, English-Australian sergeant and politician, 31st Premier of Tasmania (d. 1948)
- 1895 – Leroy Grumman, American engineer and businessman, co-founded Grumman Aeronautical Engineering Co. (d. 1982)
- 1896 – Everett Dirksen, American politician (d. 1969)
- 1896 – André Masson, French painter and illustrator (d. 1987)
- 1897 – Chen Cheng, Chinese politician, Vice President of the Republic of China (d. 1965)
- 1900 – James Bond, American ornithologist and zoologist (d. 1989)
- 1901 – C. L. R. James, Trinidadian journalist and theorist (d. 1989)
- 1902 – John A. McCone, American businessman and politician, 6th Director of Central Intelligence (d. 1991)
- 1905 – Sterling Holloway, American actor (d. 1992)
- 1913 – Malietoa Tanumafili II, Samoan ruler (d. 2007)
- 1916 – Slim Gaillard, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1991)
- 1916 – Lionel Newman, American pianist and composer (d. 1989)
- 1916 – Robert Parrish, American actor and director (d. 1995)
- 1920 – William Colby, American intelligence officer, 10th Director of Central Intelligence (d. 1996)
- 1924 – Marianne Werner, German shot putter
- 1925 – Veikko Hakulinen, Finnish skier and technician (d. 2003)
- 1927 – Paul Desmarais, Canadian businessman and philanthropist (d. 2013)
- 1927 – Barbara Rush, American actress
- 1929 – Günter Schabowski, German journalist and politician (d. 2015)
- 1930 – Sorrell Booke, American actor and director (d. 1994)
- 1931 – William Deane, Australian judge and politician, 22nd Governor-General of Australia
- 1931 – Coşkun Özarı, Turkish footballer and coach (d. 2011)
- 1932 – Clint Hill, American secret service agent and author
- 1932 – Carlos Saura, Spanish director and screenwriter
- 1934 – Rudolf Schuster, Slovak politician, 2nd President of Slovakia
- 1935 – Floyd Patterson, American boxer (d. 2006)
- 1937 – Grace Bumbry, American operatic soprano
- 1937 – Dyan Cannon, American actress, director, producer, and screenwriter
- 1940 – Gao Xingjian, Chinese novelist, playwright, and critic, Nobel Prize laureate
- 1940 – Brian Josephson, Welsh physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
- 1941 – George P. Cosmatos, Italian-Canadian director and screenwriter (d. 2005)
- 1941 – Kalpnath Rai, Indian politician (d. 1999)
- 1942 – Bolaji Akinyemi, Nigerian political scientist, academic, and politician
- 1942 – John McLaughlin, English guitarist and songwriter
- 1943 – Doris Kearns Goodwin, American historian and author
- 1943 – Hwang Sok-yong, South Korean author and educator
- 1945 – Richard R. Schrock, American chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
- 1946 – Arthur Conley, American singer-songwriter (d. 2003)
- 1947 – Marie-Thérèse Letablier, French sociologist and academic
- 1948 – Kostas Davourlis, Greek footballer (d. 1992)
- 1948 – Cissé Mariam Kaïdama Sidibé, Malian civil servant and politician, Prime Minister of Mali
- 1950 – Khondakar Ashraf Hossain, Bangladesh poet and academic (d. 2013)
- 1953 – Norberto Alonso, Argentinian footballer
- 1954 – Tina Knowles, American fashion designer, founded House of Deréon
- 1956 – Ann Magnuson, American actress and performance artist
- 1956 – Zehava Gal-On, Israeli politician
- 1956 – Bernard Sumner, English singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
- 1957 – Patty Loveless, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1958 – Matt Frewer, American-Canadian actor
- 1960 – Michael Stipe, American singer-songwriter and producer
- 1963 – Dave Foley, Canadian comedian, actor, director, and producer
- 1964 – Susan Devoy, New Zealand squash playe
- 1965 – Guy Forget, French tennis player
- 1965 – Craig Revel Horwood, Australian-English dancer, choreographer, and director
- 1965 – Julia Ormond, English actress and producer
- 1966 – Deana Carter, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1967 – David Toms, American golfer and philanthropist
- 1975 – Paul Watson, English footballer defender and physiotherapist
- 1978 – Dominik Hrbatý, Slovak tennis player
- 1980 – Miguel Monteiro, Portuguese footballer
- 1985 – Gökhan Gönül, Turkish footballer
- 1985 – Al Jefferson, American basketball player
- 1986 – James Milner, English footballer
- 1986 – Younès Kaboul, French footballer centre back
- 1990 – Toni Kroos, German footballer
- 1992 – Kris Bryant, American baseball player
- 1997 – Ante Žižić, Croatian basketball player
- 1998 – Liza Soberano, Filipina actress