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 Frankish Kingdom.
*1110 - First Crusade: The Crusaders conquer Sidon.
*1259 - Kings Louis IX of France and Henry III of England agree to the Treaty of Paris, in which Henry renounces his claims to French-controlled territory on continental Europe (including Normandy) in exchange for Louis withdrawing his support for English rebels.
*1563 - The final session of the Council of Trent is held (it opened on December 13, 1545).
*1619 - 38 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).
* 1639 - Jeremiah Horrocks made the first observation of a transit of Venus. (November 24 under the Julian calendar.)
*1674 - Father Jacques Marquette founds a mission on the shores of Lake Michigan to minister to the Illiniwek (the mission would later grow into the city of Chicago, Illinois).
*1676 - Battle of Lund: A Danish army under the command of King Christian V of Denmark engages the Swedish army commanded by Field Marshal Simon Grundel-Helmfelt.
*1783 - At Fraunces Tavern in New York City, US General George Washington formally bids his officers farewell.
*1791 - The first issue of ''The Observer'', the world's first Sunday newspaper, is published.
*1829 - In the face of fierce opposition, British governor 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's campaign destroying a wide swath of the South on his march to the Atlantic Ocean from Atlanta (Union forces did suffer more than three times the Confederate casualties, 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 the World War I peace talks in Versailles, becoming the first US president to travel to Europe while in office.
*1921 - The Virginia Rappe manslaughter trial against Roscoe 'Fatty' Arbuckle ends in a hung jury.
*1942 - Holocaust: In Warsaw, Zofia Kossak-Szczucka and Wanda Filipowicz set up Żegota.
*1943 - World War II: In Yugoslavia, resistance leader Marshal Tito proclaims a provisional democratic Yugoslav government in-exile.
*1943 - The Great Depression ends in the United States: With unemployment figures falling fast due to war-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).
*1951 - Mir Waiz Maulvi Muhammad Yusouf appointed President of Azad Kashmir Government.
*1952 - Great Smog of 1952: A cold fog descends upon London, combining with air pollution and killing up to 12,000 in the weeks and months that follow.
*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.
*1969 - Black Panther members Fred Hampton and Mark Clark are shot and killed in their sleep during a raid by 14 Chicago police officers.
*1969 - Surfer Greg Noll rides a 65-foot wave on the North Shore of Oahu, still the highest ever recorded.
*1971 - UN Security Council calls emergency session to consider deteriorating situation between India and Pakistan.
*1977 - Jean-Bédel Bokassa, president of the Central African Republic, crowns himself Emperor Bokassa I of the Central African Empire.
*1977 - Malaysia Airlines Flight 653 is hijacked and crashes in Tanjong Kupang, Johor, 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).
*1979 - The Hastie fire in Hull, kills three schoolboys and eventually leads police to arrest Bruce George Peter Lee.
*1980 - The rock group Led Zeppelin formally announce their breakup.
*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 7 years in 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 - Somali Civil War: 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.
*1994 - Pakistan wins World Hockey Championship after 12 years, beating Holland by four goals to three, in Sydney.
*1998 - ''Unity'', the second module of the International Space Station, is launched.
Births
*1555 - Heinrich Meibom, German historian and poet (d. 1625)
*1580 - Samuel Argall, English adventurer and naval officer (d. 1626)
*1585 - John Cotton, American Puritan leader (d. 1652)
*1595 - Jean Chapelain, French writer (d. 1674)
*1612 - Samuel Butler, English poet (d. 1680)
*1660 - André Campra, French composer (d. 1744)
*1670 - John Aislabie, English politician (d. 1742)
*1713 - Gasparo Gozzi, Italian critic and dramatist (d. 1786)
*1777 - Madame Récamier, French writer (d. 1849)
*1795 - Thomas Carlyle, British writer and historian (d. 1881)
*1798 - Jules Armand Dufaure, French statesman (d. 1881)
*1835 - Samuel Butler, British writer (d. 1902)
*1849 - Crazy Horse, Oglala Sioux chief (d. 1877)
*1861 - Lillian Russell, American singer and actress (d. 1922)
*1866 - Wassily Kandinsky, Russian-born French abstract painter (d. 1944)
*1875 - Rainer Maria Rilke, Austrian poet (d. 1926)
*1892 - Francisco Franco, Head of State of Spain (d. 1975)
*1895 - Fung Yu-lan, Chinese philosopher (d. 1990)
*1903 - Cornell Woolrich, American writer (d. 1968)
*1908 - Alfred Hershey, American bacteriologist and Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1997)
*1912 - Pappy Boyington, American pilot (d. 1988)
*1914 - Rudolf Hausner, Austrian artist (d. 1995)
*1916 - Ely Jacques Kahn, Jr., American writer (d. 1994)
*1921 - Deanna Durbin, Canadian actress and singer
*1922 - Gérard Philipe, French actor (d. 1959)
*1931 - Alex Delvecchio, Canadian hockey player
*1934 - Victor French, American actor (d. 1989)
*1934 - Wink Martindale, American game show host
*1937 - Max Baer, Jr., American actor, screenwriter, director, and producer
*1938 - Yvonne Minton, Australian soprano
*1939 - Freddy Cannon, American musician
*1942 - Gemma Jones, British actress
*1942 - Roh Tae-woo, President of South Korea
*1944 - Dennis Wilson, American musician and singer (The Beach Boys) (d. 1983)
*1945 - Roberta Bondar, Canadian astronaut and scientist
*1949 - Jeff Bridges, American actor
*1957 - Eric S. Raymond, American open source advocate
*1960 - Glynis Nunn, Australian heptathlete and Olympic gold medalist
*1961 - Frank Reich, American football player
*1963 - Sergei Bubka, Soviet-born Ukrainian pole-vaulter, IAAF World Champion, Olympic gold medalist and current world-record holder
*1964 - Marisa Tomei, American actress
*1966 - Fred Armisen, American actor and musician
*1969 - Jay-Z (Shawn Carter), American rapper
*1972 - Nikki Tyler, American actress
*1973 - Tyra Banks, American model
Deaths
*765 - Jafar Sadiq, Shia Imam (b. 702)
*771 - Carloman, King of the Franks (b. 751)
*1075 - Archbishop Anno II of Cologne
*1123 - Omar Khayyám, Persian poet, astronomer, mathematician, and philosopher (b. 1048)
*1214 - William I of Scotland
*1270 - Theobald V of Champagne, King of Navarre
*1334 - Pope John XXII (b. 1249)
*1340 - Henry Burghersh, English bishop and chancellor (b. 1292)
*1459 - Adolf VIII, Duke of Southern Jutland (b. 1401)
*1576 - Rheticus, Austrian mathematician (b. 1514)
*1585 - John Willock, Scottish reformer
*1609 - Alexander Hume, Scottish poet
*1642 - Armand Jean du Plessis, Cardinal Richelieu, French statesman (b. 1585)
*1649 - William Drummond of Hawthornden, Scottish poet (b. 1585)
*1679 - Thomas Hobbes, English philosopher (b. 1588)
*1680 - Thomas Bartholin, Danish physician, mathematician, and theologian (b. 1616)
*1696 - Empress Meisho of Japan (b. 1624)
*1732 - John Gay, British playwright (b. 1685)
*1784 - Wiseman Claget, British classical scholar (b. 1721)
*1798 - Luigi Galvani, Italian physicist (b. 1737)
*1845 - Gregor MacGregor, British con-artist
*1926 - Ivana Kobilca, Slovenian-born painter (b. 1861)
*1933 - Stefan George, German poet (b. 1868)
*1935 - Johan Halvorsen, Norwegian composer (b. 1864)
*1935 - Charles Robert Richet, French physiologist and Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1850)
*1945 - Thomas Hunt Morgan, American geneticist and Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1866)
*1956 - Alexandr Rodchenko, Russian-born Soviet painter and photographer (b. 1891)
*1967 - Bert Lahr, American actor (b. 1895)
*1976 - Tommy Bolin, American guitarist (b. 1951)
*1976 - Benjamin Britten, British composer (b. 1913)
*1980 - Francisco Sá Carneiro, Prime Minister of Portugal (b. 1934)
*1980 - Stanislawa Walasiewicz (Stella Walsh), Polish-born American athlete and Olympic gold medalist (competing for Poland) (b. 1911)
*1993 - Frank Zappa, American musician and composer (b. 1940)
*1997 - Richard Vernon, British actor (b. 1925)
*2005 - Gregg Hoffman, American movie producer (b. 1963/1964)
Holidays and observances
*Roman festivals - secret ceremonies in honor of Bona Dea
*R.C. Saints - Saint John of Damascus: optional memorial; also Saint Barbara
* Also see December 4 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
*Santería, Lukumí - Day of Shango
*International Hug Day. See Also: January 21st, National Hugging Day
External links
* Day
December 3 - December 5 - November 4 - January 4 — listing of all days
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