On This Day for January 4 - Burma granted independence, Isaac Newton is featured, and more

This message contains graphics. If you do not see the graphics, [click here to view](. January 04 [Newton, Sir Isaac]( FEATURED BIOGRAPHY 1643 Isaac Newton [Isaac Newton]( born in England this day in 1643, was a leader of the scientific revolution whose Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy (1687) is among the most important single works in the history of modern [science](. [SEE ALL BORN ON THIS DAY]( [Aung San, 1947.]( FEATURED EVENT 1948 Burma granted independence On this day in 1948, the Southeast Asian nation of Burma ([Myanmar]( formally gained independence, completing the transfer of power negotiated by Burmese leader [Aung San]( and British Prime Minister [Clement Attlee]( in 1947. [SEE ALL EVENTS ON THIS DAY]( Advertisement Advertisement MORE EVENTS ON THIS DAY [Burj Khalifa] 2010: [Burj Khalifa]( the [world's tallest building]( officially opened in [Dubai]( United Arab Emirates. [Nancy Pelosi, c. 2006.] 2007: U.S. politician [Nancy Pelosi]( was elected [speaker]( of the [House of Representatives]( becoming the first woman to hold the office. [Johnson, Lyndon B.] 1965: In his [State of the Union]( message, U.S. President [Lyndon B. Johnson]( proclaimed his vision of a “[Great Society]( and called for an enormous program of social welfare legislation. [Albert Camus, photograph by Henri Cartier-Bresson.] 1960: French novelist and playwright [Albert Camus]( who received the 1957 [Nobel Prize]( for Literature, was killed in an automobile accident [Eliot, T.S.] 1965: American-English author [T.S. Eliot]( a leader of the [Modernist]( movement in [poetry]( in such works as [The Waste Land]( (1922), died in London. [Patterson, Floyd] 1935: American professional boxer [Floyd Patterson]( was born in Waco, North Carolina. [SEE ALL EVENTS ON THIS DAY]( ALSO BORN ON THIS DAY 1930 [Don Shula]( American coach 1809 [Louis Braille]( French educator 1942 [John McLaughlin]( British musician 1935 [Floyd Patterson]( American boxer 1785 [Jacob Ludwig Carl Grimm]( German author, folklorist, and philologist [SEE ALL BIOS ON THIS DAY]( Advertisement FOLLOW: [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [YouTube]( To unsubscribe from Britannica e-mails, [click here](. Encyclopædia Britannica 325 N. LaSalle Street, Suite 200 Chicago, Illinois 60654 United States © 2019 Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc. [Privacy Policy]( • [Help](