◆ On this day

January 4

5 sourced moments from January 4 in history: Newton's birthday by today's calendar: January 4, 1643; Solomon Northup walks free after twelve stolen years (1853); Burma Chose Its Own Path Out of Empire (1948), plus 2 more.

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5 things happened on January 4

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2013 Science · Physics

Temperatures below absolute zero are hotter than infinity

A negative-kelvin gas is not colder than absolute zero but hotter than any positive temperature. How it was made, and why physicists still argue.

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2010 Geography · Landmarks & Wonders

The Burj Khalifa, the world's tallest building, opens in Dubai

Dubai inaugurated a half-mile-high tower that has dominated the global skyline ever since.

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1948 Geography · Countries

Burma Chose Its Own Path Out of Empire

On a date picked for good fortune, Burma walked away from British rule and refused to join the Commonwealth other colonies kept.

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1853 History · Modern

Solomon Northup walks free after twelve stolen years

A free New York musician, drugged and sold south, finally proved his identity and reclaimed his liberty in a Louisiana courthouse.

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1643 Science · Physics

Newton's birthday by today's calendar: January 4, 1643

English records say Christmas Day 1642, but by the modern calendar Isaac Newton was born on 4 January 1643. His tomb has a second date trap.

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