October 4

What happened on October 4 in history

5 events fall on October 4, from 1582 to 1965. Read them below, then try to place a historical scene yourself — guess where in the world it happened and in what year.

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Events on October 4

  1. 1582

    The calendar skips ten days

    Catholic Europe goes to bed on the 4th and wakes on the 15th.

    Play the Medieval & Renaissance round

  2. 1830

    Belgium declares independence

    The provisional government breaks from the Netherlands.

    Play the 19th century round

  3. 1883

    The Orient Express departs

    The first train leaves Paris for Constantinople.

    Play the 19th century round

  4. 1957

    Sputnik is launched

    Sputnik's launch sets off the space race between the superpowers.

    Sputnik 1 was a polished metal sphere the size of a beach ball, carrying little more than a radio transmitter whose beeps anyone with a shortwave set could hear overhead. That it was Soviet, and first, turned a technical milestone into a political shock in the United States. The space race and a surge of American science funding both date from that night.

    Source: NASA — Sputnik and the Space Age

    Play the 20th century round

  5. 1965

    A pope visits America

    Paul VI addresses the United Nations in New York.

    Play the 20th century round