Historical Events on January 4
- 1847: The U.S government buys Samuel Colt’s revolver pistol.
- 1853: After having been kidnapped, sold into slavery and spending twelve years as a slave, Solomon Northup finally gets his freedom. His memoir – Twelve Years a Slave – would become a bestseller.
- 1896: Utah becomes the 45 State in the United States on this day.
- 1903: A female Asian elephant named Topsy is electruted by the owners of Luna Park at Coney Island.
- 1944: Operation Carpetbagger begins during World War II. This operating involved dropped arms and other supplies to resistance fighters all across Europe.
- 2004: NASA Mars Rover named Spirit lands on the surface of Mars.
- 2007: Nancy Pelosi becomes the first female Speaker of the House in history.
Famous Birthdays on January 4
- German mythologist and philologist, Jacob Grimm is born in 1785.
- French educator and inventor of Braille, Louis Braille is born in 1809.
- American circus performer General Tom Thumb is born in 1838.
- English poet and short story writer, A.E. Coppard is born in 1878.
- American actress Barbara Rush is born in 1927.
- American boxer Floyd Patterson is born in 1935.
- American actress and screenwriter, Dyan Cannon is born in 1937.
- Chinese novelist and Nobel Prize laureate Gao Xingjian is born in 1940.
- American chemist and Nobel Prize laureate, Richard R. Schrock is born in 1945.
- American singer-songwriter Arthur Conley is born in 1946.
- American author Bob Black is born in 1951.
- American actress Ann Magnuson is born in 1956.
- American guitarist and singer-songwriter, Patty Loveless is born in 1957.
- English actor Julian Sands is born in 1958.
- Canadian-American dancer, singer-songwriter and actress, Vanity is born in 1959.
- American singer-songwriter Art Paul Schlosser is born in 1960.
- American singer-songwriter Michael Stipe is born in 1960.
- American bass player and singer-songwriter, Peter Steele is born in 1962.
- English footballer Richard Logan is born in 1982.
- Turkish footballer Gokhan Gonul is born in 1985.