What is the final answer?
Holidays
A Swedish kanelbulle (cinnamon roll)
A Swedish kanelbulle (cinnamon roll)
Cinnamon Roll Day
(Kanelbullens Dag), as celebrated in Sweden and Finland.
Roman spice traders introduced the Sri Lankan cinnamon spice to Europe and then much later, Sweden began using it in pastries, calling them kanelbulle ('cinnamon bun').
What Happened On
Kenneth, What Is the Frequency?
October 4, 1986
CBS newscaster Dan Rather is assaulted by a man who repeatedly demanded, "Kenneth, what is the frequency?" More than 10 years later in 1997, the assailant was identified as William Tager. Tager believed the television networks were beaming signals into his brain and he wanted to know the frequency they were using so that he could block it. In 1994, Tager killed a stagehand while trying to force his way into an NBC studio with a weapon. During this investigation it was uncovered the he was the attacker of Rather years earlier.
First Woman Co-Anchor of a Network TV Evening News Program
October 4, 1976
Barbara Walters anchors her first ABC Evening News. She was given a 5-year contract at $1,000,000 a year.
Janis Joplin Dies of Overdose
October 4, 1970
The singer Janis Joplin dies at the age of 27 of a heroin overdose. Some believe Joplin had been given heroin that was much more potent than normal, as several of her dealer's other customers also overdosed that week.
She has just finished recording her only #1 hit, a cover of Me and Bobby McGee, three days earlier. Released after her death, it became the second posthumously-released song to reach #1 on the U.S. charts, after "(Sittin' On) The Dock of the Bay" by Otis Redding.
Joplin was also known for her breakout performances at the Monterey Pop Festival (1967) and Woodstock (1969).
First image of the far side of the Moon
First image of the far side of the Moon
First Pictures of the Far Side of the Moon
October 4, 1959
The Soviet Lunik 3 is launched, taking its pictures three days later. The photos were transmitted to Earth on the 18th.
Technician putting the finishing touches on Sputnik 1
Technician putting the finishing touches on Sputnik 1
Beginning of the Space Age
October 4, 1957
The Soviets launch the first man-made satellite, Sputnik 1. It was about the size of a beach ball (58 cm., 22.8 inches in diameter), weighed 83.6 kg. (183.9 pounds), and took about 98 minutes to orbit the Earth on its elliptical path.
Leave It to Beaver
October 4, 1957
The TV show Leave It to Beaver debuts on CBS with the episode Beaver Gets 'Spelled'. The episode that was supposed to be the premiere, Captain Jack, was held back because it had a scene with a toilet, which was taboo at the time. Beaver and Wally were attempting to keep a pet alligator in the tank of their toilet. The producers compromised by agreeing to only show the back of the toilet, and when the episode did air the following week, it became the first sitcom to show a toilet and bathroom.
Snoopy, his World War I Flying Ace persona, and his first appearance
Snoopy, his World War I Flying Ace persona, and his first appearance
Snoopy
October 4, 1950
Snoopy makes his first appearance in the Charles M. Schulz comic strip Peanuts, which had debuted two days earlier. He wasn't named until six days later.
Charlie Brown was not Snoopy's owner in the early comic strips, and at various times, it was suggested that he was Patty's or Shermy's dog. It was not until 1955 when it was established that Charlie Brown was responsible for Snoopy.
Snoopy was first shown sleeping on top of his doghouse in 1958 and first adopted his World War I Flying Ace persona in 1965.
The Life of Riley - Starring Jackie Gleason
October 4, 1949
The TV show The Life of Riley debuts on NBC, starring Jackie Gleason as Chester A. Riley. It was not a success and was canceled the following year, but rebooted in 1953 starring William Bendix, who was originally wanted for the role, but was prevented by contractual obligations. Bendix had starred in the radio version of program from 1944 to 1951.
SpaceShipOne
October 4, 2004
SpaceShipOne wins the $10 million Ansari X Prize by becoming the first non-governmental reusable manned spacecraft to make two space flights in less than 14 days.
Kennedy Assassination - Russian Look-Alike Agent
October 4, 1981
Amid claims that a look-alike Russian agent had been buried in Lee Harvey Oswald's place, Oswald's body is exhumed and dental records are used to verify that it was actually Oswald buried in his grave.
Oswald had shot and killed U.S. President John F. Kennedy in 1963. Oswald was then shot and killed by Jack Ruby.
Death Penalty Ban Overturned
October 4, 1976
The U.S. Supreme Court reinstates the death penalty after overturning its 1972 ban.
First Reporter Jailed for Not Revealing Their Source
October 4, 1972
Peter Bridge is jailed for 21 days for refusing to reveal his source for a political corruption story printed in the Newark Evening News. A U.S. Supreme Court ruling in June denied reporters the right to protect confidential sources.
Dennis the Menace
October 4, 1959
The Dennis the Menace TV show debuts on CBS. The series was based on Hank Ketcham's comic strip and starred Jay North as Dennis the Menace; Herbert Anderson as his father; Gloria Henry as his mother; and Joseph Kearns as George Wilson.
Mount Rushmore
October 4, 1927
Carving on the Mount Rushmore memorial begins. The memorial was completed in 1941. Work had begun in 1927 by sculpture Gutzon Borglum who died in March of 1941 leaving his son to complete the task. The sculpture would feature the 60-foot (18 m) tall heads of U.S. Presidents George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt, and Abraham Lincoln. These presidents were chosen by Borglum to represent the nation's birth, growth, development, and preservation, respectively.
Start of the Gregorian Calendar
October 4, 1582
Pope Gregory XIII decrees that the following day to be Friday, October 15. England and its colonies, including America, didn't convert until 1752.
Birthdays
Charlton Heston (Charles Carter)
Born October 4, 1923 d. 2008
American Oscar-winning actor. Film: The Ten Commandments (1956, Moses), Ben-Hur (1959, title role, Oscar), Planet of the Apes (1968), The Omega Man (1971), and Soylent Green (1973). He was a five-term president of the National Rifle Association (1998-2003).
Buster Keaton (Joseph Frank Keaton)
Born October 4, 1895 d. 1966
American silent film actor. Known for his dangerous stunts, he is one of the greatest physical comedians of all time. His film The General is considered one of the greatest films ever made. Film: The Navigator (1924) and The General (1927).
The Blended Brothers
Giacomo and Giovanni Tocci
Born October 4, 1877 d. circa 1940
Italian Siamese twins. The twins had two heads, two necks, two rib cages that joined at the sixth rib, four arms, two legs, two hearts, two stomachs, two sets of lungs, two diaphragms, and a shared large and small intestine, anus, and penis. Each twin controlled his respective leg, and could not feel his twin's body. They toured Europe and the U.S. under the name "The Blended Brothers," earning as much a $1,000 per week (over $25,000 in today's dollars) and were the inspiration for Mark Twain's story, "The Incredible Twins." They retired to Italy in 1897 marrying separate women in 1904.
Rutherford B. Hayes
Born October 4, 1822 d. 1893
American politician. 19th U.S. President (1877-81), governor of Ohio (1876-77, 1868-72), U.S. House of Representatives (1865-67). He was opposed to fighting a civil war to restore the Union and suggested to the Union "let them go." However, he joined the Union army as an officer and was wounded five times during the war.
Hayes was the first U.S. president to have his voice recorded. However, the recording has since been lost. The oldest surviving recording of a U.S. president is of Benjamin Harrison.
Rutherford received a Siamese cat as a gift from the American Consul in Bangkok. Siam was the first Siamese cat in the U.S.
Conducted First Clinical Trial and Discovered that Citrus Prevented Scurvy
James Lind
Born October 4, 1716 d. 1794
Scottish physician. He conducted the world's first clinical trial to prove his theory that eating citrus fruits eliminated scurvy. Before then, scurvy killed more British sailors than combat.
Dakota Johnson
Born October 4, 1989
American actress. She is the daughter of actors Melanie Griffith and Don Johnson. TV: Ben and Kate (2012-13). Film: Fifty Shades of Grey (2015).
Armand Assante
Born October 4, 1949
American actor. TV: The Doctors (Dr. Mike Powers).
Susan Sarandon (Susan Tomaling)
Born October 4, 1946
American actress. Film: The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975, Janet Weiss), Witches of Eastwick (1987), and Bull Durham (1988).
Clifton Davis
Born October 4, 1945
American actor. TV: Amen (Reverend Gregory).
Anne Rice (Howard Allen Frances O'Brien)
Born October 4, 1941 d. 2021
American gothic fiction author. Writings: Interview with the Vampire (1976).
Scotty Beckett
Born October 4, 1929 d. 1968
American actor, one of the Little Rascals. He appeared in 15 Our Gang films. TV: Rocky Jones, Space Ranger (Winky).
Robert Shayne (Robert Shaen Dawe)
Born October 4, 1900 d. 1992
American actor. TV: The Adventures of Superman (Inspector Henderson).
Damon Runyon
Born October 4, 1880 d. 1946
American author, columnist. Writings: Guys and Dolls (1932). The stage version of Guys and Dolls featured characters from his various stories.
Michael Pupin
Born October 4, 1858 d. 1935
Hungarian-born American physicist. He invented "pupinization," which extends the range of long-distance telephone communication by placing loading coils (of wire) at predetermined intervals along the transmitting wire. He won the 1924 Pulitzer Prize for his autobiography From Immigrant to Inventor.
Louis X
Born October 4, 1289 d. 1316
"The Quarreller," King of France (1314-16).
Deaths
Loretta Lynn (Loretta Webb)
Died October 4, 2022 b. 1935
American country singer. She is the most awarded female country recording artist. Music: Don't Come Home Drinkin' (With Lovin' on Your Mind) (1966) and Coal Miner's Daughter (1970).
Gordon Cooper
Died October 4, 2004 b. 1927
American astronaut. He was the youngest of the seven original Project Mercury astronauts (1959). In 1963 Cooper piloted the longest and last Mercury spaceflight, Mercury-Atlas 9. During that 34-hour mission he became the first American to spend an entire day in space, the first to sleep in space, and the last American launched on an entirely solo orbital mission.
He was portrayed by Dennis Quaid in the movie The Right Stuff (1983).
Roy Lee "Rocky" Dennis
Died October 4, 1978 b. 1961
American boy who had craniodiaphyseal dysplasia. Craniodiaphyseal dysplasia is a bone disorder that causes calcium to build up in the skull.
The movie Mask (1985) was loosely based Rocky Dennis' life and starred Eric Stoltz as Rocky and Cher as his mother.
Rocky learned to read and excelled at school, despite poor eyesight caused by his condition. He also declined to have plastic surgery to correct his facial deformities. Rocky succumbed to his disease and died at age 16. When initially diagnosed at age two, the doctors said he wouldn't live past age 7.
In 2006, his mother Rusty was driving a three-wheel motorcycle when the wheel fell off causing her to crash. She died several weeks later in the hospital of an infection.
Janis Joplin
Died October 4, 1970 b. 1943
American Rock and Roll Hall of Fame singer. Known for her breakout performances at the Monterey Pop Festival (1967) and Woodstock (1969). She died of a heroin overdose at the age of 27. Some believe Joplin had been given heroin that was much more potent than normal, as several of her dealer's other customers also overdosed that week.
Her only #1 hit Me and Bobby McGee was released after her death, becoming the second posthumously-released song to reach #1 on the U.S. charts, after "(Sittin' On) The Dock of the Bay" by Otis Redding.
Music: Piece of My Heart (1968) and Me and Bobby McGee (1970, #1).
Frederic Auguste Bartholdi
Died October 4, 1904 b. 1834
French sculptor, designed the Statue of Liberty, using his mother as the model. The statue marked the Franco-American alliance of 1778.
Christ in the Storm on the Sea of Galilee
Christ in the Storm on the Sea of Galilee
Rembrandt (Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn)
Died October 4, 1669 b. 1606
Dutch painter.
Carroll as Julia and Marc Copage as her son
Carroll as Julia and Marc Copage as her son
Diahann Carroll (Carol Diahann Johnson)
Died October 4, 2019 b. 1935
American Tony-winning actress, singer. She was the first black woman to star in a TV series in which they didn't play a domestic (Julia, 1968-71) and the first black woman to star in a TV series since Beulah (1950-53).
She was also the first black woman to win a Tony for Best Actress, for the Broadway musical No Strings (1962).
Kalina
Died October 4, 2010 b. 1985
Killer whale. Kalina was the first killer whale born in captivity to survive. She was born at Sea World Orlando, Florida and billed as "Baby Shamu".
Secretariat with record-setting win at the 1973 Kentucky Derby
Secretariat with record-setting win at the 1973 Kentucky Derby
Secretariat
Died October 4, 1989 b. 1970
American thoroughbred racehorse, Triple Crown winner (1973), and the first horse to finish the Kentucky Derby in under two minutes (1:59.4, 1973).
Graham Chapman as The Colonel
Graham Chapman as The Colonel
Graham Chapman
Died October 4, 1989 b. 1941
British comedian. TV: Monty Python's Flying Circus (1969-74, co-creator, writer, actor). Film: Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975, King Arthur), The Life of Brian (1979, title role), Monty Python's The Meaning of Life (1983), and Yellowbeard (1983, title role and co-writer).
A recurring character of Chapman's was the British Colonel that would interrupt Monty Python skits that he found "too silly or offensive."
Chapman came out publicly as gay in 1972, making him one of the first celebrities to do so, and became an advocate for gay rights.
Max Planck
Died October 4, 1947 b. 1858
German Nobel-winning physicist. He discovered quantum physics (1900). His son was among those executed for the July 1944 attempt to assassinate Adolf Hitler.
Salvation Army logos past and present and founders William and Catherine Booth
Salvation Army logos past and present and founders William and Catherine Booth
Mother of the Salvation Army
Catherine Booth
Died October 4, 1890 b. 1829
English preacher. "Mother of the Salvation Army." She and her husband William Booth founded the Salvation Army in London in 1865.