On this day in history - October 4

What Happened On This Day – October 4

• 1992 End of the Mozambican Civil War

  The 15-year long civil war was fought between the Mozambique Resistance Movement and the Mozambican government. The conflict, which began in 1977, just a couple of years after the War of Independence against the Portuguese, resulted in massive losses of human life and property. The civil war ended with the signing of the Rome General Peace Accords by both of the warring parties.

• 1966 Lesotho independence

  Lesotho gained independence from British rule.

• 1957 World's first artificial satellite launched

  The Soviet Union launched the Sputnik from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Baikonur Cosmodrome is the world’s oldest and largest space launch facility still in operation. The successful launch of Sputnik spurred the Space Race – a race between Cold War rivals USSR and US to gain supremacy in spaceflight.

• 1895 First US Open for Golf

  The now annual event was played at the Newport Country Club in Newport, Rhode Island, for the first time. 11 people played the 36-hole competition in a single day. Horace Rawlins, a 21-year old Englishman won the tournament and took home a trophy and $150 cash.

• 1582 Last day of the Julian Calendar in Catholic countries

  The next day, the Gregorian calendar took effect in Italy, Poland, Portugal, and Spain by the order of Pope Gregory XIII. The calendar was put in place to realign events like equinoxes and solstices with the calendar, ensuring that Easter is always celebrated around the Northern Hemisphere's spring equinox. Because of the new calendar, several days were skipped, and October 4 was followed by October 15. Today, the Gregorian calendar is the most used calendar around the world.