October 4

October 4, 1582 - The Gregorian Calendar took effect in Catholic countries as Pope Gregory XIII issued a decree stating the day following Thursday,

October 4, 1582, would be Friday, October 15, 1582, correcting a 10-day error accumulated by the Julian Calendar. Britain and the American colonies adopted the Gregorian Calendar in 1752.

October 4, 1830 - Belgium gained its independence, after having been a part of the Netherlands since 1815.

October 4, 1943 - The Island of Corsica became the first French territory in Europe freed from Nazi control as Free French troops liberated the city of Bastia.

October 4, 1957 - The Space Age began as the Russians launched the first satellite into orbit. Sputnik I weighed just 184 lbs. and transmitted a beeping radio signal for 21 days. The remarkable accomplishment by Soviet Russia sent a shockwave through the American political leadership resulting in U.S. efforts to be the first on the moon.

October 4, 1965 - Pope Paul VI became the first Pope to visit the U.S. and the first to address the United Nations.

October 4, 1993 - Russian tank-soldiers loyal to President Boris Yeltsin shelled the Russian White House, crushing a hard-line Communist rebellion. Yeltsin then fired Vice-president Alexander Rutskoi and jailed other opposition leaders.

Birthday - St. Francis of Assisi (1181-1226) was born in Assisi, Umbria, Italy (as Giovanni Francesco Bernardone). He renounced his family's wealth and founded the Friars Minor (Franciscan Order).
Birthday - Rutherford B. Hayes (1822-1893) the 19th U.S. President was born in Delaware, Ohio. He served from March 4, 1877 to March 3, 1881. He was a Republican best known for his much-quoted statement, "He serves his party best who serves his country best." Birthday - Artist Frederic Remington (1861-1909) was born in Canton, New York. He studied at Yale Art School then traveled extensively throughout the American West in the late 1800s sketching cowboys, Native Americans, frontiersmen, and soldiers. He also created lively sculptures featuring bucking broncos.