Wikipedia:Selected anniversaries/January 4
- 1698 – Most of the Palace of Whitehall in London, the main residence of the English monarchs dating from 1530, was destroyed by fire.
- 1884 – The Fabian Society, an intellectual movement whose purpose is to advance the socialist cause by gradualist and reformist methods rather than revolutionary means, was founded in London.
- 1936 – Billboard magazine published its first music hit parade.
- 1948 – Burma achieved independence from the British Empire, with U Nu of the Anti-Fascist People's Freedom League as its first Prime Minister.
- 2004 – The NASA Mars Rover Spirit (artist's concept pictured) landed successfully on Mars at 04:35 Ground UTC.
- 2007 – Nancy Pelosi became Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, becoming the highest-ranking woman in the history of the U.S. Government.