October 4th in History

Sputnik I

October 4 is the 277th day of the year (278th in leap years. There are 88 days remaining until the end of the year. (Photo: Sputnik I becomes the first artificial satellite to orbit the Earth, October 4, 1957.)

Today in History

  • The Gregorian calendar goes into effect: in Italy, Poland, Portugal, and Spain, the following day is October 15 (1582)
  • The Orient Express makes its first run (1883)
  • Gutzon Borglum begins sculpting Mount Rushmore (1927)
  • Sputnik I, the first artificial satellite to orbit the Earth, is launched (1957)
  • Leave it to Beaver premiers on CBS (1957)
  • Televangelist Jim Bakker is indicted for fraud (1988)
  • SpaceShipOne wins the Ansari X Prize as the first private craft to fly into space (2004)

Birthdays

  • Richard “Tumbledown Dick” Cromwell, Lord Protector (1626)
  • Rutherford B. Hayes, 19th US President (1822)
  • Frederic Remington, painter (1861)
  • Edward Stratemeyer, creator of The Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew (1862)
  • Damon Runyon, author (1880)
  • Buster Keaton, silent actor (1895)
  • Jan Murray, game show host (1916)
  • Charlton Heston, actor (1923)
  • Alvin Toffler, futurist (1928)
  • Sam Huff, football player (1934)
  • Jackie Collins, novelist (1937)
  • Roy Blount, Jr., writer (1941)
  • Anne Rice, author (1941)
  • Robert Wilson, playwright (1941)
  • H. Rap Brown, civil rights activist (1943)
  • Tony La Russa, baseball manager (1944)
  • Clifton Davis, actor and songwriter (1945)
  • Chuck Hagel, senator and defense secretary (1946)
  • Susan Sarandon, actress (1946)
  • Linda McMahon, wrestling promoter (1948)
  • Armand Assante, actor (1949)
  • Russell Simmons, hip hop businessman (1957)
  • Jon Secada, singer/songwriter (1962)
  • A. C. Green, basketball player (1963)
  • Micky Ward, boxer (1965)
  • Alicia Silverstone, actress (1976)
  • Rachael Leigh Cook, actress (1979)

Deaths

  • Rembrandt, painter (1669)
  • Karl Baedeker, guidebook publisher (1859)
  • Catherine Booth, Salvation Army co-founder (1890)
  • Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi, Statue of Liberty designer (1904)
  • Al Smith, first Catholic US presidential candidate (1944)
  • Barney Oldfield, racing driver (1946)
  • Max Planck, physicist (1947)
  • Janis Joplin, singer (1970)
  • The Amazing Criswell, psychic (1982)
  • Glenn Gould, pianist (1982)
  • Secretariat, Triple Crown winner (1989)
  • 横井 軍平 (Gunpei Yokoi), created Game Boy (1997)
  • Art Farmer, trumpeter (1999)
  • Gordon Cooper, astronaut (2004)
  • Günther Rall, fighter ace (2009)

Holidays

  • Day of Peace and Reconciliation (Mozambique)
  • Feast of Francis of Assisi (Christianity)
  • Kanelbullens Dag (Cinnamon Roll Day) (Sweden)
  • National Taco Day (US)
  • Ten-Four Day (CB radio enthusiasts)
  • World Animal Day (International)
  • First day of World Space Week (International)