On this day …
January 4, 2015
- In 1762, Great Britain declared war on Spain and Naples.
- In 1847, Samuel Colt sold his first revolver to the U.S. government.
- In 1896, Utah was admitted to the Union as the 45th state.
- In 1948, Burma gained its independence from the United Kingdom.
- In 1958, Sputnik I fell to Earth from orbit.
- In 1965, President Lyndon B. Johnson proclaimed his “Great Society” during the State of the Union address.
- In 2004, Spirit, a NASA Mars rover, landed successfully on the Red Planet.
- In 2007, Nancy Pelosi was elected as the first female Speaker of the House in U.S. history.