October 4 in history — On This Day

A photograph taken after the 1871 fire can make Chicago look as though its future had been decided by a wall of flame. A view from around 1905 tells a different story: tall offices, busy transport routes and commercial streets crowded again.

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France’s Fifth Republic constitution is promulgated

Also on October 4

Sputnik 1 enters Earth orbit

This Week in History

Jamal Khashoggi is killed in Istanbul

Catalonia holds a disputed independence referendum

Falcon 1 Reaches Orbit on Its Fourth Flight

Nadine Gordimer is named Nobel literature laureate

AI History Recreations

Politics

France’s Fifth Republic constitution is promulgated

War & Conflict

Poland’s final organized resistance at Kock ends

Space

Sputnik 1 enters Earth orbit

Technology

USS Nautilus Enters Commission

History

Melbourne’s Herald appears for the last time as a separate paper

Stanislav Petrov Assesses a False Nuclear Alarm

China Conducts Its First Nuclear Test

Crime & Justice

Al Capone’s Tax Verdict: The Document Behind the Downfall

Tombstone’s Gunfight: The Event Behind the O.K. Corral Legend

France uses the guillotine for the last time

Science

Mayor and Queloz announce a planet around 51 Pegasi

William Lassell discovers Neptune’s moon Triton

Eight People Entered Biosphere 2

Medicine & Health

An electron microscope reveals the shape of Ebola virus

Ether Day: The Demonstration That Changed Surgery

Surgeons Perform the First Partial Face Transplant

Nature & Disasters

Loma Prieta: The Earthquake That Shook the Bay Area

Aberfan: A Mining Waste Tip Collapses Onto a Village

The Lisbon Earthquake and the Destruction of a Capital

Exploration

Cabrillo Enters San Diego Bay

Stanley Meets Livingstone at Ujiji

Abel Tasman's Expedition Reaches Tasmania

Sport

Don Larsen’s Perfect Game: No Hits, No Walks, No Baserunners

Reggie Jackson’s Three Home Runs Seal a World Series

Muhammad Ali Wins the Rumble in the Jungle

Art & Literature

Nadine Gordimer is named Nobel literature laureate

Annie Ernaux is named Nobel literature laureate

Mrs Beeton’s household guide is published as a book

Music

Peri’s Euridice is performed in Florence

The Phantom of the Opera opens in London

Mahler’s Eighth Symphony premieres in Munich

Film & TV

Thomas the Tank Engine makes his British television debut

A Four-Page Contract Starts the Disney Studio

The first completed Cannes Film Festival opens

The Story Behind the Photo

Chicago After the Fire: From Burned Blocks to a New Skyline

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The Road to the Moon

Fires That Changed Cities

The Age of Invention

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My Birthday in History

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