On This Day: October 4

Historical Events 📜

• 2017: Joint Nigerien-American Special Forces are ambushed by Islamic State militants outside the village of Tongo Tongo.
• 2010: The Ajka plant accident in Hungary releases a million cubic metres of liquid alumina sludge, killing nine, injuring 122, and severely contaminating two major rivers.
• 2006: WikiLeaks is launched.
• 2004: SpaceShipOne wins the Ansari X Prize for private spaceflight.
• 2003: The Maxim restaurant suicide bombing in Israel kills twenty-one Israelis, both Jews and Arabs.
• 2001: Siberia Airlines Flight 1812 crashes after being struck by an errant Ukrainian missile. Seventy-eight people are killed.
• 1997: The second largest cash robbery in U.S. history occurs in North Carolina.
• 1993: Battle of Mogadishu occurs killing 18 U.S. Special Forces, two UN Peacekeepers and at least 600 Somalian militia men and civilians.
• 1993: Tanks bombard the Russian parliament, while demonstrators against President Yeltsin rally outside.
• 1992: The Rome General Peace Accords end a 16-year civil war in Mozambique.
• 1992: El Al Flight 1862 crashes into two apartment buildings in Amsterdam, killing 43 including 39 on the ground.
• 1991: The Protocol on Environmental Protection to the Antarctic Treaty is opened for signature.
• 1985: The Free Software Foundation is founded.
• 1983: Richard Noble sets a new land speed record of 633.468 miles per hour (1,019.468 km/h) at the Black Rock Desert in Nevada.
• 1967: Omar Ali Saifuddien III of Brunei abdicates in favour of his son.

Famous Births 👶

• 1997: Rishabh Pant, Indian cricketer
• 1997: Yuju, South Korean singer
• 1996: Ella Balinska, English actress
• 1995: Jeonghan, South Korean singer
• 1995: Kenny Clark, American football player
• 1995: Mikolas Josef, Czech singer and songwriter
• 1994: Mike Williams, American football player
• 1993: Mitchell Swepson, Australian cricketer
• 1991: Leigh-Anne Pinnock, English singer and songwriter
• 1990: Signy Aarna, Estonian footballer
• 1990: Saki, Japanese guitarist and songwriter
• 1990: Sergey Shubenkov, Russian hurdler
• 1989: Dakota Johnson, American actress
• 1988: Melissa Benoist, American actress and singer
• 1988: Lonnie Chisenhall, American baseball player

Notable Deaths 🕊️

• 2024: Christopher Ciccone, American artist (born 1960)
• 2024: Billy Shaw, American football player (born 1938)
• 2022: Loretta Lynn, American singer-songwriter and musician (born 1932)
• 2020: Clark Middleton, American actor (born 1957)
• 2020: Kenzō Takada, Japanese-French fashion designer (born 1939)
• 2015: Dave Pike, American vibraphone player and songwriter (born 1938)
• 2015: Edida Nageswara Rao, Indian director and producer (born 1934)
• 2015: Neal Walk, American basketball player (born 1948)
• 2014: Konrad Boehmer, German-Dutch composer and educator (born 1941)
• 2014: Hugo Carvana, Brazilian actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (born 1937)
• 2014: Fyodor Cherenkov, Russian footballer and manager (born 1959)
• 2014: Jean-Claude Duvalier, Haitian politician, 41st President of Haiti (born 1951)
• 2013: John Cloudsley-Thompson, Pakistani-English commander (born 1921)
• 2013: Ulric Cross, Trinidadian navigator, judge, and diplomat (born 1917)
• 2013: Akira Miyoshi, Japanese composer (born 1933)

Holidays & Observances 🎉

• Christian feast day:
  Amun
• Christian feast day:
  Francis of Assisi
  Conclusion of Creationtide
• Christian feast day:
  Petronius of Bologna
• Christian feast day:
  October 4 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
• Cinnamon Roll Day (Sweden and Finland)
• Day of Peace and Reconciliation (Mozambique)
• Independence Day, celebrates the independence of Lesotho from the United Kingdom in 1966.
• The beginning of World Space Week (International)
• World Animal Day