October 4

October 4 is the 277th day of the year (278th in Leap years). There are 88 days remaining.

Events:

• 1582 - Pope Gregory XIII implements the Gregorian Calendar. In Italy, Poland, Portugal, and Spain October 4 of this year is followed directly by October 15, skipping over 10 days.
• 1777 - Battle of Germantown[?] - Troops under George Washington are repelled by British troops under Sir William Howe
• 1824 - Mexico becomes a republic
• 1830 - Creation of the state of Belgium after separation from The Netherlands
• 1883 - First run of the Orient Express
• 1910 - Portugal becomes a republic. King Manuel II flees to Great Britain.
• 1957 - Launch of Sputnik I, the first artificial satellite to orbit the Earth
• 1958 - Fifth Republic of France established
• 1966 - Lesotho becomes independent
• 1988 - Jim Bakker indicted for fraud
• 1992 - An El Al Boeing 747 crashes into a block of flats in Amsterdam, killing 43. See Bijlmerramp
• 1993 - Doom press-release version is made available to journalists for review.

Births:

• 1814 - Jean-Francois Millet, French painter
• 1822 - Rutherford B. Hayes, 19th president of the United States (+ 1893)
• 1861 - Frederic Remington[?], painter (+ 1909)
• 1858 - Michael Pupin[?], telephone pioneer, Pulitzer Prize winning author
• 1880 - Damon Runyon, writer (+ 1946)
• 1892 - Engelbert Dollfuss, Austrian politician
• 1895 - Buster Keaton, American comedian, actor (+ 1966)
• 1903 - John Atanasoff, American computer pioneer
• 1903 - Ernst Kaltenbrunner German military officer (+ 1946)
• 1917 - Jan Murray[?], comedian
• 1924 - Charlton Heston, American actor, NRA president
• 1928 - Alvin Toffler, futurist, author
• 1939 - Jackie Collins[?], author
• 1941 - Anne Rice, American horror/fantasy writer
• 1943 - H. Rap Brown (Jamil Al-Amin), civil rights activist
• 1946 - Susan Sarandon, American actress
• 1947 - Ann Widdecombe, British Member of Parliament
• 1949 - Armand Assante[?], actor
• 1953 - Tchéky Karyo[?], actor
• 1960 - Afrika Bambaataa, musician
• 1961 - Jon Secada[?], singer
• 1963 - A.C. Green[?], basketball star
• 1967 - Liev Schreiber, actor
• 1976 - Alicia Silverstone, American actress
• 1979 - Rachael Leigh Cook[?], actress

Deaths:

• 1582 - Saint Teresa of Avila
• 1880 - Jacques Offenbach, composer
• 1904 - Frédéric Bartholdi, sculptor of the Statue of Liberty
• 1944 - Al Smith[?], candidate for President of the United States, Governor of New York
• 1946 - Barney Oldfield[?], automobile pioneer
• 1947 - Max Planck, German physicist
• 1967 - Woody Guthrie, folk music singer
• 1970 - Janis Joplin, American singer
• 1982 - Glenn Gould, Canadian pianist
• 1989 - Graham Chapman, British comedian

Holidays:

October 3 - October 5 - September 4 - November 4 - more historical anniversaries