December 4
December 4 is the 338th day (339th on leap years ) of the Gregorian calendar . There are 27 days remaining.
Events
771 - Austrasian King Carloman dies, leaving his brother Charlemagne king of the now complete Frank kingdom.
1110 - First Crusade : The Crusaders conquer Sidon .
1563 - The final session of the Council of Trent is held (it opened on December 13 , 1545 ).
1619 - Thirty-eight colonists from Berkeley Parish in England disembark in Virginia and give thanks to God (this is considered to be the first Thanksgiving in the Americas ).
1674 - Father Jacques Marquette founds a mission on the shores of Lake Michigan to minister to the Illinois Indians (the mission would later grow into the city of Chicago ).
1676 - Battle of Lund
1783 - At Fraunces Tavern in New York City , US General George Washington formally bids his officers farewell.
1791 - The first issue of The Observer newspaper , is published.
1829 - In the face of fierce opposition, British Lord William Bentinck carries a regulation declaring that all who abetted suttee in India were guilty of culpable homicide .
1864 - American Civil War : Sherman's March to the Sea - At Waynesboro, Georgia , forces under Union General Judson Kilpatrick prevent troops led by Confederate General Joseph Wheeler from interfering with Union General William T. Sherman campaign of destroying a wide swath of the South on his march to the Gulf of Mexico (Union forces did suffer more than three times the casualties as the Confederates, however).
1867 - Former Minnesota farmer Oliver Hudson Kelley founds the Order of the Patrons of Husbandry (better known today as the Grange Movement).
1872 - The crewless American ship Mary Celeste is found by the British brig Dei Gratia (the ship was abandoned for 9 days but was only slightly damaged).
1875 - Notorious New York City politician Boss Tweed escapes from prison and flees to Cuba , then Spain .
1906 - Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Inc. , the first intercollegiate Greek-letter fraternity in the United States established for men of African descent, was founded at Cornell University .
1918 - US President Woodrow Wilson sails for Versailles for the World War I peace talks, becoming the first US president to travel to Europe while in office.
1921 - The Virginia Rappe manslaughter trial against actor and film director Roscoe Arbuckle ends in a hung jury .
1942 - Holocaust : In Warsaw , two Christian women, Zofia Kossak and Wanda Filipowicz risk their lives by setting up the Council for the Assistance of the Jews .
1943 - World War II : In Yugoslavia , resistance leader Marshal Tito proclaims a provisional democratic Yugoslav government in-exile.
1943 - Great Depression ends in the United States : With unemployment figures falling fast due to World War II -related employment, US President Franklin D. Roosevelt closes the Works Progress Administration .
1945 - By a vote of 65 to 7, the United States Senate approves United States participation in the United Nations (the UN was established on October 24 , 1945).
1952 - Great Smog of 1952 : A "killer fog" descends on London ("Smog " for "smoke" and "fog" becomes a word).
1958 - Dahomey (present-day Benin) becomes a self-governing country within the French Community .
1967 - Vietnam War : US and South Vietnamese forces engage Viet Cong troops in the Mekong Delta (235 of the 300-strong Viet Cong battalion were killed).
1969 - Black Panther members Fred Hampton and Mark Clark are shot to death in their sleep during a raid by 14 Chicago police officers.
1969 - Legendary surfer Greg "Da Bull" Noll rode a 65-foot wave on the North Shore of Oahu, still the highest ever recorded.
1977 - Jean-Bédel Bokassa , president of the Central African Republic , crowns himself Emperor Bokassa I of the Central African Empire .
1977 - A Malaysia Airlines Boeing 737 is hijacked and then blown up in mid-air over the Straits of Johore , killing 100.
1978 - Following the murder of Mayor George Moscone , Dianne Feinstein becomes San Francisco, California 's first woman mayor (she served until January 8 , 1988 ).
1981 - South Africa grants "homeland" Ciskei independence (not recognized outside South Africa).
1982 - The People's Republic of China adopts its current constitution .
1991 - Journalist Terry Anderson is released after a seven years' captivity as a hostage in Beirut (he was the last and longest-held American hostage in Lebanon ).
1991 - US airline Pan Am ends operations.
1992 - President George H. W. Bush orders 28,000 US troops to Somalia .
1993 - A truce is concluded between the government of Angola and UNITA rebels.
Births
1585 - John Cotton , American Puritan leader (d. 1652 )
1777 - Madame Récamier , writer (d. 1849 )
1795 - Thomas Carlyle , writer, historian (d. 1881 )
1835 - Samuel Butler , writer (d. 1902 )
1849 - Crazy Horse , Native American leader (d. 1877 )
1861 - Lillian Russell , singer, actress (d. 1922 )
1866 - Wassily Kandinsky , painter (d. 1944 )
1875 - Rainer Maria Rilke , poet (d. 1926 )
1892 - Francisco Franco , dictator of Spain (d. 1975 )
1895 - Fung Yu-lan , Chinese philosopher (d. 1990 )
1903 - Cornell Woolrich , crime writer, "Father of Film Noir" (d. September 24 , 1968 )
1908 - Alfred Hershey , American psychologist, Nobel winner 1969 (d. 1997 )
1912 - Pappy Boyington , American fighter pilot (d. 1988 )
1914 - Rudolf Hausner , painter and graphic artist (d. 1995 )
1916 - Ely Jacques Kahn, Jr. , American magazine writer (d. 1994)
1921 - Deanna Durbin , actress, singer
1922 - Gérard Philipe , actor (d. 1959 )
1931 - Alex Delvecchio , ice hockey Hall of Fame player
1934 - Victor French , actor (d. 1989 )
1934 - Wink Martindale , game show host
1937 - Max Baer, Jr. , actor, screen writer, director, producer
1938 - Yvonne Minton , Australian soprano
1939 - Freddy Cannon , American Rock musician
1940 - John Cale , rock musician (The Velvet Underground)
1942 - Gemma Jones , British actress
1942 - Roh Tae-woo , President of South Korea
1944 - Dennis Wilson , pop musician (The Beach Boys) (d. 1983 )
1945 - Roberta Bondar , astronaut and scientist
1949 - Jeff Bridges , actor
1955 - Brian O'Sullivan , Florida businessman.
1957 - Eric S. Raymond , open source advocate
1960 - Glynis Nunn , Australian heptathlete
1961 - Frank Reich , American football quarterback
1963 - Sergey Bubka , athlete (pole vault)
1964 - Marisa Tomei , actress
1969 - Shawn Carter , AKA 'Jay-Z,' singer
1972 - Nikki Tyler , pornographic actress
1973 - Tyra Banks , model
Deaths
765 - Jafar Sadiq , Shia Imam (b. 702 )
771 - Carloman , king of the Franks (b. 751 )
1131 - Omar Khayyam , Persian poet, astronomer, mathematician and philosopher (b. 1048 )
1214 - William I of Scotland
1334 - Pope John XXII
1408 - Valentina Visconti , wife of Louis of Valois, Duke of Orléans
1576 - Rheticus , mathematician
1642 - Cardinal Richelieu , French statesman (b. 1585 )
1679 - Thomas Hobbes , English political philosopher
1732 - John Gay , English playwright
1798 - Luigi Galvani , physicist
1845 - Gregor MacGregor , con artist
1867 - Sophie (Frémiet) Rude , French artist
1890 - King Willem III of the Netherlands (date of burial)
1926 - Ivana Kobilca , Slovene painter (b. 1861 )
1933 - Stefan George , German poet (b. 1868 )
1935 - Johan Halvorsen , Norwegian composer
1950 - Blind A Bing , Chinese folk musician
1956 - Alexandr Rodchenko , Russian painter and photographer
1967 - Bert Lahr , actor
1973 - Michael O'Shea , actor
1976 - Benjamin Britten , English composer (b. 1913 )
1976 - Tommy Bolin , rock guitarist (Deep Purple)
1980 - Francisco Sá Carneiro , Prime Minister of Portugal (died in office)
1980 - Stanislawa Walasiewicz , Polish-American sprinter
1993 - Frank Zappa , American rock musician, composer
1997 - Richard Vernon , actor
2001 - Sultan Salahuddin Abdul Aziz Shah ibni Almarhum Sultan Hisamuddin Alam Shah Al-Haj , Sultan of Selangor and Yang di-Pertuan Agong
Holidays and observances
External links
December 3 - December 5 - November 4 - January 4 -- listing of all days
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