Important Events From This day in History – 4th October

Today in History

• 1992 – End of the Mozambican Civil War

  The 15-year-long civil war was fought between the Mozambique Resistance Movement and the Mozambican government. The conflict, which began in 1977, just a couple of years after the War of Independence against the Portuguese, resulted in massive losses of human life and property. The civil war ended with the signing of the Rome General Peace Accords by both of the warring parties.

• 1966 – Lesotho independence

  Lesotho gained independence from British rule.

• 1957 – World’s first artificial satellite launched

  The Soviet Union launched Sputnik from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Baikonur Cosmodrome is the world’s oldest and largest space launch facility still in operation. The successful launch of Sputnik spurred the Space Race – a race between Cold War rivals USSR and US to gain supremacy in spaceflight.

• 1895 – First US Open for Golf

  The now annual event was played at the Newport Country Club in Newport, Rhode Island, for the first time. 11 people played the 36-hole competition in a single day. Horace Rawlins, a 21-year-old Englishman won the tournament and took home a trophy and $150 cash.

• 1582 – Last day of the Julian Calendar in Catholic countries

  The next day, the Gregorian calendar took effect in Italy, Poland, Portugal, and Spain by the order of Pope Gregory XIII. The calendar was built to realign events like equinoxes and solstices with the calendar, ensuring that Easter is always celebrated around the Northern Hemisphere’s spring equinox. Because of the new calendar, several days were skipped, and October 4 was followed by October 15. Today, the Gregorian calendar is the most used calendar around the world.