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Today in History, October 4th

On October 4, 1957, the Soviet Union launched Sputnik 1, the first artificial satellite. Plus Mount Rushmore's first carving and a Dodgers title.

By Today in History Updated November 10, 2026 3 min read Sources checked

Published October 4, 2026 · Last updated November 10, 2026

October 4 is best known for 1957, when the Soviet Union launched Sputnik 1, the first artificial satellite, and kicked off the space race. The date also saw sculptors start carving Mount Rushmore in 1927 and the Brooklyn Dodgers win their first World Series in 1955.

The big story: Sputnik opens the space age (1957)

Late on the night of October 4, 1957, a rocket lifted off from the Tyuratam launch base in the Kazakh Republic and put a small metal ball into orbit. Sputnik 1 was only about 22 inches across and weighed about 184 pounds, but it circled Earth roughly every hour and 36 minutes at around 18,000 miles per hour. Anyone with binoculars could spot it near dawn or dusk, and American ham radio operators picked up its steady beeping several times a day. The Soviets tied the launch to the International Geophysical Year, a worldwide science program. Americans heard something else in that beep. Washington, the military and U.S. scientists were caught flat-footed, and the satellite was about 10 times the size of the first one the U.S. had planned for the following year. Many people worried about what a rocket that could reach orbit might carry next. The U.S. answered with Explorer on January 31, 1958, and the space race was on. Sputnik itself fell back and burned up in January 1958.

More events on October 4

Year	What happened
1190	On his way to the Holy Land during the Third Crusade, England’s Richard I captured the Sicilian city of Messina.
1535	Miles Coverdale’s English translation of the Bible was published and became a model for later English versions.
1582	The countries that first adopted the Gregorian calendar used the old Julian calendar for the last time. The next day was dated October 15, skipping 10 days to catch the calendar up with the seasons.
1777	George Washington’s army attacked British troops at Germantown, Pennsylvania.
1853	The Ottoman Empire declared war on Russia, starting the Crimean War.
1895	Englishman Horace Rawlins won the first U.S. Open golf tournament.
1918	Germany asked President Woodrow Wilson for an armistice to end World War I.
1927	Sculptor Gutzon Borglum began carving Mount Rushmore in South Dakota.
1955	The Brooklyn Dodgers beat the New York Yankees 2–0 in Game 7 to win their first World Series.
1993	The Battle of Mogadishu ended. Eighteen U.S. soldiers and hundreds of Somalis were killed, and the fight led to the end of the U.S.-led mission in Somalia.
2011	Michael Morton, imprisoned for his wife’s murder, was freed after DNA evidence pointed to another man.
2014	Jean-Claude Duvalier, former president of Haiti, died while facing trial over alleged human rights abuses.

Born on October 4

1822: Rutherford B. Hayes, 19th president of the United States, born in Delaware, Ohio.
1861: Frederic Remington, painter and sculptor of the American West, born in Canton, New York.
1895: Buster Keaton, deadpan silent film comedian and director, born in Piqua, Kansas.
1923: Charlton Heston, star of The Ten Commandments and Ben-Hur, born in Evanston, Illinois.