On This Day: January 4

Updated January 3, 2012, 1:28 pm

On Jan. 4, 1965, President Lyndon B. Johnson outlined the goals of his ”Great Society” in his State of the Union address.

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On Jan. 4, 1896, Everett McKinley Dirksen, Republican leader of the Senate from 1959-1969, was born. Following his death on Sept. 7, 1969, his obituary appeared in The Times.

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On This Date

By The Associated Press

1896 Utah was admitted to the Union as the 45th state.

1948 Britain granted independence to Burma.

1951 North Korean and Communist Chinese forces captured the city of Seoul during the Korean War.

1960 Nobel Prize-winning French author Albert Camus died in a car accident at age 46.

1965 Poet T.S. Eliot died at age 76.

1974 President Richard Nixon refused to hand over tape recordings and documents subpoenaed by the Senate Watergate Committee.

1995 The 104th Congress convened, the first entirely under Republican control since the Eisenhower era; Newt Gingrich was elected speaker of the House.

1999 Former professional wrestler Jesse Ventura was sworn in as governor of Minnesota.

2004 Afghans approved a new constitution.

2006 Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon suffered a stroke and his powers were transferred to his deputy, Ehud Olmert.

2007 Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., became the first female speaker of the House.

2010 Dubai opened the world’s tallest skyscraper, the 2,717-foot gleaming glass-and-metal tower Burj Khalifa.

Current Birthdays

By The Associated Press

Rock singer Michael Stipe (R.E.M.) turns 52 years old today.

AP Photo/Evan Agostini

Actress Julia Ormond turns 47 years old today.

AP Photo/Evan Agostini

1927 Barbara Rush, Actress, turns 85

1930 Don Shula, Hall of Fame football coach, turns 82

1937 Dyan Cannon, Actress, turns 75

1943 Doris Kearns Goodwin, Author, historian, turns 69

1957 Patty Loveless, Country singer, turns 55

1963 Dave Foley, Actor, comedian (“NewsRadio”), turns 49

1964 Dot Jones, Actress (“Glee”), turns 48

1966 Deana Carter, Country singer, turns 46

Historic Birthdays

Everett McKinley Dirksen 1/4/1896 – 9/7/1969 American politician and Republican leader of the Senate.Go to obituary »

75 James Ussher 1/4/1581 – 3/21/1656
Anglo-Irish prelate; calculated age of the Earth from the Bible

26 Giovanni Battista Pergolesi 1/4/1710 – 3/16/1736
Italian composer

67 Benjamin Rush 1/4/1746 – 4/19/1813
American physician, political leader and signer of the Declaration of Independence

71 Francois Rude 1/4/1784 – 11/3/1855
French sculptor

78 Jacob Grimm 1/4/1785 – 9/20/1863
German scholar and author, with Wilhelm Carl Grimm, of Grimm’s Fairy Tales

84 Sir Isaac Newton 1/4/1643-3/31/1727
English physicist and father of modern science

53 Wilhelm Beer 1/4/1797 – 3/27/1850
German astronomer; made first map of moon

43 Louis Braille 1/4/1809 – 1/6/1852
French educator and inventor of Braille

84 Sir Isaac Pitman 1/4/1813 – 1/12/1897
English educator and inventor of shorthand

38 Wilhelm Lehmbruck 1/4/1881 – 3/25/1919
German sculpture

87 Leroy Randle Grumman 1/4/1895 – 10/4/1982
American aeronautical engineer and founder of Grumman Aircraft

1896	Utah was admitted to the Union as the 45th state.
1948	Britain granted independence to Burma.
1951	North Korean and Communist Chinese forces captured the city of Seoul during the Korean War.
1960	Nobel Prize-winning French author Albert Camus died in a car accident at age 46.
1965	Poet T.S. Eliot died at age 76.
1974	President Richard Nixon refused to hand over tape recordings and documents subpoenaed by the Senate Watergate Committee.
1995	The 104th Congress convened, the first entirely under Republican control since the Eisenhower era; Newt Gingrich was elected speaker of the House.
1999	Former professional wrestler Jesse Ventura was sworn in as governor of Minnesota.
2004	Afghans approved a new constitution.
2006	Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon suffered a stroke and his powers were transferred to his deputy, Ehud Olmert.
2007	Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., became the first female speaker of the House.
2010	Dubai opened the world’s tallest skyscraper, the 2,717-foot gleaming glass-and-metal tower Burj Khalifa.

1927	Barbara Rush, Actress, turns 85
1930	Don Shula, Hall of Fame football coach, turns 82
1937	Dyan Cannon, Actress, turns 75
1943	Doris Kearns Goodwin, Author, historian, turns 69
1957	Patty Loveless, Country singer, turns 55
1963	Dave Foley, Actor, comedian (“NewsRadio”), turns 49
1964	Dot Jones, Actress (“Glee”), turns 48
1966	Deana Carter, Country singer, turns 46

75	James Ussher 1/4/1581 – 3/21/1656 Anglo-Irish prelate; calculated age of the Earth from the Bible
26	Giovanni Battista Pergolesi 1/4/1710 – 3/16/1736 Italian composer
67	Benjamin Rush 1/4/1746 – 4/19/1813 American physician, political leader and signer of the Declaration of Independence
71	Francois Rude 1/4/1784 – 11/3/1855 French sculptor
78	Jacob Grimm 1/4/1785 – 9/20/1863 German scholar and author, with Wilhelm Carl Grimm, of Grimm’s Fairy Tales
84	Sir Isaac Newton 1/4/1643-3/31/1727 English physicist and father of modern science
53	Wilhelm Beer 1/4/1797 – 3/27/1850 German astronomer; made first map of moon
43	Louis Braille 1/4/1809 – 1/6/1852 French educator and inventor of Braille
84	Sir Isaac Pitman 1/4/1813 – 1/12/1897 English educator and inventor of shorthand
38	Wilhelm Lehmbruck 1/4/1881 – 3/25/1919 German sculpture
87	Leroy Randle Grumman 1/4/1895 – 10/4/1982 American aeronautical engineer and founder of Grumman Aircraft