On This Day: January 4th

Julius Caesar fights Titus Labienus in the Battle of Ruspina.

The McDonald Islands are discovered by Captain William McDonald aboard the Samarang.

After having been kidnapped and sold into slavery in the American South, Solomon Northup regains his freedom; his memoir Twelve Years a Slave later becomes a national bestseller.

The first issue of the Swedish-languaged Saima newspaper founded by J. V. Snellman is published in Kuopio, Finland.

Constantine Hangerli arrives in Bucharest, Wallachia, as its new Prince, invested by the Ottoman Empire.

Great Britain declares war on Spain, which meant the entry of Spain into the Seven Years' War.

The Netherlands, Great Britain, and France sign the Triple Alliance.

English Civil War: The Rump Parliament votes to put Charles I on trial.

English Civil War: King Charles I, accompanied by 400 soldiers, attempts to arrest five members of Parliament for treason, only to discover the men had been tipped off and fled.

Battle of Reading: Æthelred of Wessex and his brother Alfred are defeated by a Danish invasion army.