Sembawang Hot Spring Park
Sembawang Hot Spring Park in Singapore reopened after being redeveloped by the National Parks Board.
What happened on January 4
32 events · 20 births · 20 deaths · 8 observances. From 1698 to 2026.
Standout on January 4
2020
Sembawang Hot Spring Park
Sembawang Hot Spring Park in Singapore reopened after being redeveloped by the National Parks Board.
About January 4
January 4 is the 4th day of the year. These facts are computed from the calendar, not copied from anywhere.
- Day of the year
- Day 4 of 365 (4 in leap years)361 days left in the year (362 in leap years)
- Falls on
- Sunday in 2026, Monday in 2027, Tuesday in 2028, Thursday in 2029, Friday in 2030
- Week
- ISO week 1 of 2026 · Q1
- Zodiac sign
- ♑ Capricorn (December 22 – January 19)
- Season
- Winter in the north · Summer in the south
- January birthstone
- Garnetprotection, friendship and trust
- January birth flower
- Carnation / Snowdroplove, devotion and hope
- Next occurrence
- In 69 days
- Roman numerals
- IV.Iday.month — see the Roman numeral date tool
Anniversaries in 2026
- 90thBillboard (magazine)1936
- 75thKorean War1951
- 50thThe Troubles1976
- 25thLola Young2001
- 25thOdilon Kossounou2001
- 20thEhud Olmert2006
- 20thMarc Guiu2006
- 10thS. H. Kapadia2016
January 4 through the years
- 10 years ago2016
- S. H. Kapadia · Stephen W. Bosworth
- 25 years ago2001
- Lola Young · Odilon Kossounou
- 50 years ago1976
- The Troubles
- 100 years ago1926
- Nothing recorded
- 200 years ago1826
- Nothing recorded
Born on January 4 — ages this year
- 2006Marc Guiuturns 20
- 2005Oscar Højlundturns 21
- 2005Rob Dillinghamturns 21
- 2005Emil Højlundturns 21
- 2005Dafne Keenturns 21
- 2004Victor Wembanyamaturns 22
Historical events 32
A dated happening — a battle, treaty, launch, discovery, disaster or decision — recorded on this calendar day.
Koszalin escape room fire
A fire in an escape room in Koszalin, Poland, killed five teenagers.
Hennenman–Kroonstad train crash
Hennenman–Kroonstad train crash: A passenger train operated by Shosholoza Meyl collides with a truck on a level crossing at Geneva Station between Hennenman and Kroonstad, Free State, South Africa. Twenty people are killed and 260 injured.
Kawit shooting
A gunman kills eight people in a house-to-house rampage in Kawit, Cavite, Philippines.
Burj Khalifa
The Burj Khalifa, the world's tallest structure, officially opened in Dubai.
Let L-410 Turbolet
A Let L-410 Turbolet crashes in the Los Roques Archipelago in Venezuela, killing 14 people.
110th United States Congress
The 110th United States Congress convenes, electing Nancy Pelosi as the first female Speaker of the House in U.S. history.
Nancy Pelosi
Nancy Pelosi became Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, becoming the highest-ranking woman in the history of the U.S. government.
Ehud Olmert
Ehud Olmert becomes acting Prime Minister of Israel after the incumbent, Ariel Sharon, suffers a second, apparently more serious stroke.
Spirit (rover)
Spirit (artist's impression depicted), the first of two rovers of NASA's Mars Exploration Rover mission, successfully landed on Mars.
Mikheil Saakashvili
Mikheil Saakashvili is elected President of Georgia following the November 2003 Rose Revolution.
Trondheim
A Norwegian passenger train departing from Trondheim, collides with a local train coming from Hamar in Åsta in Åmot Municipality; 19 people are killed and 68 injured in the accident.
Jesse Ventura
Former professional wrestler Jesse Ventura is sworn in as governor of Minnesota, United States.
January 1998 North American ice storm
A massive ice storm hits eastern Canada and the northeastern United States, continuing through January 10 and causing widespread destruction.
Sukkur rail disaster
In Pakistan's deadliest train accident an overloaded passenger train collides with an empty freight train, resulting in 307 deaths and 700 injuries.
Grumman F-14 Tomcat
Two American F-14 Tomcats shot down two Libyan MiG-23 Floggers that appeared to be attempting to engage them over the Gulf of Sidra.
1989 air battle near Tobruk
Second Gulf of Sidra incident: A pair of Libyan MiG-23 "Floggers" are shot down by a pair of US Navy F-14 Tomcats during an air-to-air confrontation.
1987 Maryland train collision
The Maryland train collision: An Amtrak train en route to Boston from Washington, D.C., collides with Conrail engines in Chase, Maryland, United States, killing 16 people.
Punk rock
The English punk-rock band Sex Pistols' lewd and disruptive behaviour at Heathrow Airport prompted the record label EMI to end their contract.
The Troubles
The Troubles: The Ulster Volunteer Force shoots dead six Irish Catholic civilians in County Armagh, Northern Ireland. The next day, gunmen would shoot dead ten Protestant civilians nearby in retaliation.
TOPS-10
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.
Last of the Summer Wine
Last of the Summer Wine, the longest-running sitcom in the world, premiered as an episode of the BBC's Comedy Playhouse.
Rose Heilbron
Rose Heilbron (pictured) became the first female judge to sit at the Central Criminal Court of England and Wales.
1970 Tonghai earthquake
A magnitude-7.1 earthquake occurred in Tonghai County, China, killing at least 15,000 people.
The Doors
The Doors released their eponymous debut album.
Aeroflot Flight 101/X-20
Aeroflot Flight 101/X-20 crashes on approach to Alma-Ata Airport, killing 64 people.
Korean War
Korean War: Chinese and North Korean troops captured Seoul from United Nations forces.
Billboard (magazine)
Billboard published its first music hit parade.
Aeneas Mackintosh
British explorer Aeneas Mackintosh, a member of the Nimrod Expedition, escaped death by fleeing across ice floes.
Solomon Northup
Solomon Northup (pictured) regained his freedom after having been sold into slavery in the American South; his memoir Twelve Years a Slave later became a bestseller.
List of princes of Wallachia
After his appointment as Prince of Wallachia, Constantine Hangerli arrived in Bucharest to assume the throne.
Palace of Whitehall
Most of London's Palace of Whitehall, the main residence of English monarchs since 1530, was destroyed by fire.
Births 20
A notable person born on this day. Each links to a person page with their dates and story.
Deaths 20
A notable person who died on this day.
Rosi Mittermaier
Rosi Mittermaier, German alpine skier and Olympic champion (born 1950)
Harold Brown (secretary of defense)
Harold Brown, 14th United States Secretary of Defense (born 1927)
Milt Schmidt
Milt Schmidt, Canadian ice hockey player, coach and general manager (born 1918)
S. H. Kapadia
S. H. Kapadia, Indian lawyer, judge, and politician, 38th Chief Justice of India (born 1947)
Stephen W. Bosworth
Stephen W. Bosworth, American academic and diplomat, United States Ambassador to South Korea (born 1939)
Zoran Žižić
Zoran Žižić, Montenegrin politician, 4th Prime Minister of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (born 1951)
Rod Robbie
Rod Robbie, English-Canadian architect, designed the Canadian Pavilion and Rogers Centre (born 1928)
Holidays & observances 8
A holiday, feast day, awareness day or national day observed every year on this date.
Angela of Foligno
Christian feast day: Angela of Foligno
January 4 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
Christian feast day: January 4 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
Mavilus
Christian feast day: Mavilus
Twelve Days of Christmas
The eleventh of the Twelve Days of Christmas. (Western Christianity)
Rigobert
Christian feast day: Rigobert
Elizabeth Ann Seton
Christian feast day: Elizabeth Ann Seton
Pharaildis
Christian feast day: Pharaildis of Ghent
Ferréol of Uzès
Christian feast day: Ferréol of Uzès
Spread across the centuries
- 17th century1
- 18th century1
- 19th century1
- 20th century27
- 21st century42
Earliest: Palace of Whitehall (1698). Most recent: Michael Reagan (2026).
What the categories mean, and how the standout is chosen
- Historical events
- A dated happening — a battle, treaty, launch, discovery, disaster or decision — recorded on this calendar day.
- Births
- A notable person born on this day. Each links to a person page with their dates and story.
- Deaths
- A notable person who died on this day.
- Milestones
- A first, a founding or a turning point our editors flagged as a landmark moment.
- Holidays & observances
- A holiday, feast day, awareness day or national day observed every year on this date.
- Standout / notable
- Editor-written entries come first, then entries covered by the most Wikipedia language editions. For the standout tile we prefer an entry that has a picture.
Nearby and related
Questions about January 4
What day of the year is January 4?
January 4 is the 4th day of the year, with 361 days left after it.
What star sign is January 4?
January 4 falls under Capricorn (December 22 – January 19), a earth sign ruled by Saturn. The birthstone for the month is Garnet.
How many things happened on January 4?
We record 80 entries for January 4: 32 events · 20 births · 20 deaths · 8 observances. From 1698 to 2026.
Who was born on January 4?
Marc Guiu (2006) is among the notable births on January 4. The births section lists the rest.
How often is the January 4 page updated?
The day is filled the first time anyone opens it and then re-checked for new entries about every 90 days. Computed facts such as the weekday and the anniversaries update every year.
Get a daily entry like January 4
One short email a day from this calendar. Kept for this site only.
Text adapted from Wikipedia under CC BY-SA 4.0 and from Wikidata (CC0). Images come from Wikimedia Commons; credit and licence are shown with each image. Editorial entries are © What's On This Date. Sources & licensing · How this site works.