January 4 in History

• 1853

  January 4, 1853:

  Solomon Northrup, author of the autobiography “12 Years a Slave” legally regains his freedom.

• 1903

  January 4, 1903:

  The Edison Manufacturing movie company films the electrocution of Topsey the Elephant.

• 1936

  January 4, 1936:

  The first music hit parade (list ranking the most popular songs at a given time) by Billboard is published.

• 1954

  January 4, 1954:

  The American daytime soap opera, “The Brighter Day” premieres on CBS.

• 1960

  January 4, 1960:

  Nobel Prize for Literature laureate Albert Camus is killed in a car accident.

• 1964

  January 4, 1964:

  Patsy Mink is sworn into office as the first Congresswoman of color and the first Asian-American Congresswoman.

• 1990

  January 4, 1990:

  The collision of two trains in Sangi, Pakistan kills close to 300 people.

• 2001

  January 4, 2001:

  Rapper Vanilla Ice stays in jail for one night for assaulting his wife.

• 2007

  January 4, 2007:

  Nancy Pelosi becomes the first woman in U.S. history to be elected Speaker of the House of Representatives.

• 2010

  January 4, 2010:

  Burj Khalifa in Dubai opens as the world’s tallest building.