January 4 in History

A fire in an escape room in Koszalin, Poland, kills five teenagers through carbon monoxide poisoning.

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.

A gunman kills eight people in a house-to-house rampage in Kawit, Cavite, Philippines.

The Burj Khalifa, the current tallest building in the world, officially opens in Dubai.

A Let L-410 Turbolet crashes in the Los Roques Archipelago in Venezuela, killing 14 people.

The 110th United States Congress convenes, electing Nancy Pelosi as the first female Speaker of the House in U.S. history.

Ehud Olmert becomes acting Prime Minister of Israel after the incumbent, Ariel Sharon, suffers a second, apparently more serious stroke.

Spirit, a NASA Mars rover, lands successfully on Mars at 04:35 UTC.

Mikheil Saakashvili is elected President of Georgia following the November 2003 Rose Revolution.

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.

Former professional wrestler Jesse Ventura is sworn in as governor of Minnesota, United States.

A massive ice storm hits eastern Canada and the northeastern United States, continuing through January 10 and causing widespread destruction.

In Pakistan's deadliest train accident an overloaded passenger train collides with an empty freight train, resulting in 307 deaths and 700 injuries.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Rose Heilbron becomes the first female judge to sit at the Old Bailey in London, UK.

The Doors released their eponymous debut album.

Aeroflot Flight 101/X-20 crashes on approach to Alma-Ata Airport, killing 64 people.

Luna 1 becomes the first spacecraft to reach the vicinity of the Moon.

Sputnik 1, the first artificial Earth satellite, launched by the Soviet Union in 1957, falls to Earth from orbit.

The Greek National Radical Union is formed by Konstantinos Karamanlis.

Korean War: Chinese and North Korean forces capture Seoul for the second time.

Burma gains its independence from the United Kingdom, becoming an independent republic.

The first day of a three-day "disastrous" tornado outbreak across the south-central United States leaves 41 people dead and at least 412 others injured.

World War II: Operation Carpetbagger, involving the dropping of arms and supplies to resistance fighters in Europe, begins.

The Finnish Declaration of Independence is recognized by Russia, Sweden, Germany and France.

The Scout Association is incorporated throughout the British Empire by royal charter.

Explorer Aeneas Mackintosh of the Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition escaped death by fleeing across ice floes.

Topsy, an elephant, is electrocuted by the owners of Luna Park, Coney Island. The Edison film company records the film Electrocuting an Elephant of Topsy's death.

Utah is admitted as the 45th U.S. state.

Sino-French War: French troops under General Oscar de Négrier defeat a numerically superior Qing force at Núi Bop in northern Vietnam.

The Fabian Society is founded in London, United Kingdom.

Russo-Turkish War (1877–78): Sofia is liberated from Ottoman rule.

The New Apostolic Church, a Christian and chiliastic church, is established in Hamburg, Germany.

The McDonald Islands are discovered by Captain William McDonald aboard the Samarang.

After having been kidnapped and sold into slavery in the American South, Solomon Northup regains his freedom; his memoir Twelve Years a Slave later becomes a national bestseller.

The first issue of the Swedish-languaged Saima newspaper founded by J. V. Snellman is published in Kuopio, Finland.

Constantine Hangerli arrives in Bucharest, Wallachia, as its new Prince, invested by the Ottoman Empire.

Great Britain declares war on Spain, which meant the entry of Spain into the Seven Years' War.

The Netherlands, Great Britain, and France sign the Triple Alliance.

English Civil War: The Rump Parliament votes to put Charles I on trial.

English Civil War: King Charles I, accompanied by 400 soldiers, attempts to arrest five members of Parliament for treason, only to discover the men had been tipped off and fled.

Battle of Reading: Æthelred of Wessex and his brother Alfred are defeated by a Danish invasion army.

Julius Caesar fights Titus Labienus in the Battle of Ruspina.

Marc Guiu, Spanish footballer

Rob Dillingham, American basketball player

Emil Højlund, Danish footballer

Oscar Højlund, Danish footballer

Dafne Keen, British-Spanish actress

Victor Wembanyama, French basketball player

Jaeden Martell, American actor

Kevin, Brazilian footballer

Vladyslav Vanat, Ukrainian footballer

Odilon Kossounou, Ivorian footballer

Lola Young, English singer and songwriter

Max Aarons, English footballer

Facundo Colidio, Argentine footballer

Wessam Abou Ali, Palestinian footballer

Daniel Arzani, Iranian-Australian footballer

Jan-Niklas Beste, German footballer

Nico Hischier, Swiss ice hockey player

Jaeman Salmon, Australian rugby league player

Collin Sexton, American basketball player

Coco Jones, American singer-songwriter and actress

Arnoldas Kulboka, Lithuanian basketball player

Rodrigo Garro, Argentine footballer

Liza Soberano, Filipina actress

Angeliño, Spanish footballer

Ante Žižić, Croatian basketball player

Michael Dickson, Australian gridiron football player

Jackson Hastings, Australian rugby league player

Marcus Ingvartsen, Danish footballer

Jasmine Paolini, Italian tennis player

Sarah Nurse, Canadian ice hockey player

Adam Webster, English footballer

Derrick Henry, American football player

James Michael McAdoo, American basketball player

Mahmoud Metwalli, Egyptian footballer

Kris Bryant, American baseball player

Quincy Promes, Dutch footballer

Charles Melton, American actor

Iago Falque, Spanish footballer

Raisel Iglesias, Cuban baseball player

Toni Kroos, German footballer

Alberto Paloschi, Italian footballer

Kevin Pillar, American baseball player

Graham Rahal, American race car driver

Anestis Argyriou, Greek footballer

Maximilian Riedmüller, German footballer

Marissa Coleman, American basketball player

Przemysław Tytoń, Polish footballer

Danny Simpson, English footballer

Kay Voser, Swiss footballer

Younès Kaboul, French footballer

Andrei Krauchanka, Belarusian decathlete

Russell Martin, English footballer and manager

James Milner, English footballer

Charlyne Yi, American actor, comedian, musician, and writer

Lenora Crichlow, British actress

Kari Aalvik Grimsbø, Norwegian handball player

Gökhan Gönül, Turkish footballer

Al Jefferson, American basketball player

Jung Sung-ryong, South Korean footballer

Ross Turnbull, English footballer and coach

Javi Fuego, Spanish footballer

Jiří Hudler, Czech ice hockey player

Will Bynum, American basketball player

Richard Rankin, Scottish film, television and theatre actor

Richard Logan, English footballer

Danny Sullivan, Australian rugby league player

Kang Hye-jung, South Korean actress

D'Arcy Carden, American actress and comedian

Miguel Monteiro, Portuguese footballer

Justin Ontong, South African cricketer

Shergo Biran, German footballer

Tristan Gommendy, French racing driver

Dominik Hrbatý, Slovak tennis player

Ted Lilly, American baseball player

Shane Carwin, American mixed martial artist and wrestler

Paul Watson, English footballer

Danilo Hondo, German cyclist

Frank Høj, Danish cyclist

Shane Walker, Australian rugby league player

Colin Ward, Australian rugby league player

Josh Stamberg, American actor

Corie Blount, American basketball player

Kees van Wonderen, Dutch footballer and manager

Johnny Nelson, English boxer and sportscaster

David Toms, American golfer and philanthropist

David Wilson, Australian rugby player

Deana Carter, American singer-songwriter and guitarist

Guy Forget, French tennis player

Beth Gibbons, English singer and songwriter

Craig Revel Horwood, Australian-English dancer, choreographer, and director

Julia Ormond, English actress and producer

Susan Devoy, New Zealand squash player

Dot-Marie Jones, American actress and athlete

Adrian Shelford, New Zealand rugby league player (died 2003)

Dave Foley, Canadian comedian, actor, director, and producer

Till Lindemann, German singer, songwriter, and poet

Martina Proeber, German diver

Joe Kleine, American basketball player and coach

Sidney Green, American basketball player and coach

Cliff Levingston, American basketball player and coach

Graham McTavish, Scottish actor and author

Gavin Miller, Australian rugby league player

Michael Stipe, American singer-songwriter and producer

Matt Frewer, American-Canadian actor

Julian Sands, English actor (died 2023)

Patty Loveless, American singer-songwriter and guitarist

Tom Borton, American jazz saxophonist, songwriter and composer (died 2011)

Zehava Gal-On, Israeli politician

Ann Magnuson, American actress and performance artist

Bernard Sumner, English singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer

Rob Kerin, Australian politician, 43rd Premier of South Australia

Tina Knowles, American fashion designer, founded House of Deréon

Norberto Alonso, Argentinian footballer

Khondakar Ashraf Hossain, Bangladesh poet and academic (died 2013)

Mick Mills, English footballer and manager

Bwanga Tshimen, Congolese footballer

Kostas Davourlis, Greek footballer (died 1992)

Cissé Mariam Kaïdama Sidibé, Malian civil servant and politician, Prime Minister of Mali (died 2021)

Chris Cutler, English percussionist, lyricist and music theorist

Marie-Thérèse Letablier, French sociologist and academic

Arthur Conley, American singer-songwriter (died 2003)

Vesa-Matti Loiri, Finnish actor, musician and comedian (died 2022)

Richard R. Schrock, American chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate

Gary Stevens, Australian rugby league player (died 2025)

Alan Sutherland, New Zealand rugby player (died 2020)

Doris Kearns Goodwin, American historian and author

Hwang Sok-yong, South Korean author and educator

Bolaji Akinyemi, Nigerian political scientist, academic, and politician

Jim Downing, American race car driver and inventor

John McLaughlin, English guitarist and songwriter

George P. Cosmatos, Italian-Canadian director and screenwriter (died 2005)

Kalpnath Rai, Indian politician (died 1999)

Brian Josephson, Welsh physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate

Gao Xingjian, Chinese novelist, playwright, and critic, Nobel Prize laureate

Jim Norton, Irish stage, film and television actor

Eberhard Wagner, German academic, linguist and author

Grace Bumbry, American operatic soprano (died 2023)

Dyan Cannon, American actress, director, producer, and screenwriter

Floyd Patterson, American boxer (died 2006)

Rudolf Schuster, Slovak politician, 2nd President of Slovakia

Carlos Saura, Spanish director and screenwriter (died 2023)

Clint Hill, American Secret Service agent (died 2025)

William Deane, Australian judge and politician, 22nd Governor-General of Australia

Nora Iuga, Romanian poet, writer and translator

Sorrell Booke, American actor and director (died 1994)

Don Shula, American football player and coach (died 2020)

Günter Schabowski, German journalist and politician (died 2015)

Paul Desmarais, Canadian businessman and philanthropist (died 2013)

Barbara Rush, American actress (died 2024)

Veikko Hakulinen, Finnish skier and technician (died 2003)

Marianne Werner, German shot putter (died 2023)

William Colby, American intelligence officer, 10th Director of Central Intelligence (died 1996)

Rosalie Crutchley, British actress (died 1997)

Lionel Newman, American pianist and composer (died 1989)

Robert Parrish, American actor and director (died 1995)

Malietoa Tanumafili II, Samoan ruler (died 2007)

Georg Elser, German carpenter and attempted assassin of Adolf Hitler (died 1945)

John A. McCone, American businessman and politician, 6th Director of Central Intelligence (died 1991)

C. L. R. James, Trinidadian journalist and theorist (died 1989)

James Bond, American ornithologist and zoologist (died 1989)

Chen Cheng, Chinese politician, Vice President of the Republic of China (died 1965)

Everett Dirksen, American politician (died 1969)

André Masson, French painter and illustrator (died 1987)

Leroy Grumman, American engineer and businessman, co-founded Grumman Aeronautical Engineering Co. (died 1982)

Edward Brooker, English-Australian sergeant and politician, 31st Premier of Tasmania (died 1948)

M. Patanjali Sastri, Indian lawyer and jurist, 2nd Chief Justice of India (died 1963)

Guy Pène du Bois, American painter, critic, and educator (died 1958)

Max Eastman, American author and poet (died 1969)

Johanna Westerdijk, Dutch pathologist and academic (died 1961)

Wilhelm Lehmbruck, German sculptor (died 1919)

A. E. Coppard, English poet and short story writer (died 1957)

Augustus John, Welsh painter and illustrator (died 1961)

Gibson Gowland, English film actor (died 1951)

Marsden Hartley, American painter and poet (died 1943)

Josef Suk, Czech violinist and composer (died 1935)

Tommy Corcoran, American baseball player and umpire (died 1960)

Clara Emilia Smitt, Swedish doctor and author (died 1928)

Carter Glass, American publisher and politician, 47th United States Secretary of the Treasury (died 1946)

Katsura Tarō, Japanese general and politician, 6th Prime Minister of Japan (died 1913)

Carl Humann, German archaeologist, architect, and engineer (died 1896)

General Tom Thumb, American circus performer (died 1883)

George Tryon, English admiral (died 1893)

Isaac Pitman, English linguist and educator (died 1897)

Louis Braille, French educator, invented Braille (died 1852)

Jacob Grimm, German philologist and mythologist (died 1863)

Louis-Bernard Guyton de Morveau, chemist (died 1816)

Karl Abraham Zedlitz, Prussian minister of education (died 1793)

Johann Friedrich Agricola, German organist and composer (died 1774)

Giovanni Battista Pergolesi, Italian composer, violinist, and organist (died 1736)

Hugh Boulter, English-Irish archbishop (died 1742)

Lars Roberg, Swedish physician and academic (died 1742)

James Ussher, Irish archbishop and historian (died 1656)

Bodo VIII, Count of Stolberg-Wernigerode (died 1538)

Amadeus VI, Count of Savoy (died 1383)

Emperor Zhezong of China (died 1100)

Ali ibn Husayn Zayn al-Abidin (died 680)

Michael Reagan, American political commentator (born 1945)

Ana Gligić, Serbian virologist (born 1934)

Glynis Johns, British actress and singer (born 1923)

David Soul, American-British actor and singer (born 1943)

Christian Oliver, German actor (born 1972)

Rosi Mittermaier, German alpine skier and Olympic champion (born 1950)

Tanya Roberts, American actress (born 1949)

Tom Long, Australian actor (born 1968)

Harold Brown, 14th United States Secretary of Defense (born 1927)

Milt Schmidt, Canadian ice hockey player, coach and general manager (born 1918)

Georges Prêtre, French orchestral and opera conductor (born 1924)

S. H. Kapadia, Indian lawyer, judge, and politician, 38th Chief Justice of India (born 1947)

Stephen W. Bosworth, American academic and diplomat, United States Ambassador to South Korea (born 1939)

Pino Daniele, Italian singer-songwriter and guitarist (born 1955)

Anwar Shamim, Pakistani general (born 1931)

Zoran Žižić, Montenegrin politician, 4th Prime Minister of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (born 1951)

Eve Arnold, American photographer and journalist (born 1912)

Rod Robbie, English-Canadian architect, designed the Canadian Pavilion and Rogers Centre (born 1928)

Coen Moulijn, Dutch footballer (born 1937)

Gerry Rafferty, Scottish singer-songwriter (born 1947)

Salmaan Taseer, Pakistani businessman and politician, 26th Governor of Punjab, Pakistan (born 1944)

Mohamed Bouazizi, Tunisian street vendor who caused the Tunisian Revolution, which was the first revolution in the Arab Spring. (born 1984)

Johan Ferrier, Surinamese educator and politician, 1st President of Suriname (born 1910)

Tsutomu Yamaguchi, Japanese engineer (born 1916)

Gert Jonke, Austrian poet, playwright, and author (born 1946)

Xavier Chamorro Cardenal, Nicaraguan journalist (born 1932)

Helen Hill, American director and producer (born 1970)

Marais Viljoen, South African politician, 5th State President of South Africa (born 1915)

Irving Layton, Romanian-Canadian poet and academic (born 1912)

Maktoum bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Emirati politician, 1st Prime Minister of the United Arab Emirates (born 1946)

Milton Himmelfarb, American sociographer, author, and academic (born 1918)

Bud Poile, Canadian ice hockey player, coach, and manager (born 1924)

Frank Harary, American mathematician and academic (born 1921)

Humphrey Carpenter, English radio host and author (born 1946)

Robert Heilbroner, American economist and historian (born 1919)

Brian Gibson, English director and screenwriter (born 1944)

Joan Aiken, English author (born 1924)

John Toland, American historian and author (born 1912)

Les Brown, American bandleader and composer (born 1912)

Iron Eyes Cody, American actor and stuntman (born 1904)

Mae Questel, American actress (born 1908)

Harry Helmsley, American businessman (born 1909)

Eduardo Mata, Mexican conductor and composer (born 1942)

Sol Tax, American anthropologist and academic (born 1907)

R. D. Burman, Indian film composer and music director (born 1939)

Harold Eugene Edgerton, American engineer and academic (born 1903)

Henry Bolte, Australian politician, 38th Premier of Victoria (born 1908)

Lily Laskine, French harp player (born 1893)

Christopher Isherwood, English-American author and academic (born 1904)

Phil Lynott, Irish singer-songwriter, bass player, and producer (born 1949)

Brian Horrocks, Indian-English general (born 1895)

Carlo Levi, Italian painter, author, and activist (born 1902)

Paul Chambers, American bassist and composer (born 1935)

Donald Campbell, English racing driver and world speed record holder (born 1921)

T. S. Eliot, American-English poet, playwright, and critic, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1888)

Erwin Schrödinger, Austrian physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1887)

Albert Camus, French novelist, philosopher, and journalist, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1913)

Kaj Munk, Danish playwright and pastor (born 1898)

Jerzy Iwanow-Szajnowicz, Greek-Polish swimmer and water polo player (born 1911)

Marina Raskova, Russian pilot and navigator (born 1912)

Henri Bergson, French philosopher and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1859)

Art Acord, American actor and stuntman (born 1890)

Louise, Princess Royal of the United Kingdom (born 1867)

Mohammad Ali Jauhar, Indian Muslim activist (born 1878)

Süleyman Nazif, Turkish poet and civil servant (born 1870)

Margherita of Savoy, Queen of Italy (born 1851)

Nellie Cashman, American nurse, restaurateur, entrepreneur, and gold prospector (born 1845)

Alfred Grünfeld, Austrian pianist and composer (born 1852)

Benito Pérez Galdós, Spanish author and playwright (born 1843)

Georg von Hertling, German academic and politician, 7th Chancellor of the German Empire (born 1843)

Clarence Dutton, American geologist and soldier (born 1841)

Léon Delagrange, French pilot and sculptor (born 1873)

Anna Winlock, American astronomer and academic (born 1857)

Stanisław Mieroszewski, Polish-born politician, writer, historian and member of the Imperial Council of Austria (born 1827)

Joseph Hubert Reinkens, German bishop and academic (born 1821)

Antoine Labelle, Canadian priest (born 1833)

Antoine Chanzy, French general (born 1823)

John William Draper, English-American physician, chemist, and photographer (born 1811)

Anselm Feuerbach, German painter and educator (born 1829)

Edward William Cooke, English painter and illustrator (born 1811)

Cornelius Vanderbilt, American businessman and philanthropist (born 1794)

Thomas Gregson, English-Australian lawyer and politician, 2nd Premier of Tasmania (born 1798)

Roger Hanson, American general (born 1827)

Ferdinand I of the Two Sicilies (born 1751)

Elizabeth Ann Seton, American nun and saint (born 1774)

Charlotte Lennox, English author and poet (born 1730)

Moses Mendelssohn, German philosopher and theologian (born 1729)

Ange-Jacques Gabriel, French architect, designed École Militaire (born 1698)

Stephen Hales, English clergyman and physiologist (born 1677)

François-Henri de Montmorency, duc de Luxembourg, French general (born 1628)

Ferenc Nádasdy, Hungarian noble (born 1555)

Tobias Stimmer, Swiss painter and illustrator (born 1539)

Frederick I, Elector of Saxony (born 1370)

Muzio Sforza, Italian condottiero (born 1369)

Nicholas Eymerich, Catalan theologian and inquisitor

Robert de Lisle, 1st Baron Lisle, English peer (born 1288)

Sancho II of Portugal (born 1209)

Hasan al-Askari, eleventh of the Twelve Imams (probable; b. 846)

Æthelwulf, Saxon ealdorman