On This Day for January 4 - Burma granted independence, Isaac Newton is featured, and more

This message contains graphics. If you do not see the graphics, click here to view. January 04 FEATURED BIOGRAPHY Isaac Newton READ MORE   FEATURED EVENT 1948 Burma granted independence READ MORE   Advertisement Advertisement   MORE EVENTS ON THIS DAY 2010: Burj Khalifa, the world's tallest building, officially opened in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. [Take our history of architecture quiz.] 2007: U.S. politician Nancy Pelosi was elected speaker of the House of Representatives, becoming the first woman to hold the office. [Read our list of seven female firsts in U.S. Politics.] 1965: American-English author T.S. Eliot, a leader of the Modernist movement in poetry in such works as The Waste Land (1922), died in London. [Test your knowledge of poetry.] 1965: In his State of the Union message, U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson proclaimed his vision of a "Great Society" and called for an enormous program of social welfare legislation. [Sort fact from fiction in our quiz about U.S. presidents.] 1960: French novelist and playwright Albert Camus, who received the 1957 Nobel Prize for Literature, was killed in an automobile accident. [ Test your knowledge of famous writers.] 1935: American professional boxer Floyd Patterson was born in Waco, North Carolina. [How much do you know about boxing?] SEE ALL EVENTS ON THIS DAY ALSO BORN ON THIS DAY 1643 Isaac Newton English physicist and mathematician 1930 Don Shula American coach 1809 Louis Braille French educator 1942 John McLaughlin British musician 1935 Floyd Patterson American boxer 1785 Jacob Ludwig Carl Grimm German author, folklorist, and philologist SEE ALL BIOS ON THIS DAY   Advertisement   FOLLOW: To unsubscribe from Britannica e-mails, click here. Encyclopædia Britannica 325 N. LaSalle Street, Suite 200 Chicago, Illinois 60654 United States © 2021 Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc. Privacy Policy • Help