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.
• 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 – 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, the world's first Sunday 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, French writer (d. 1849)
• 1795 – Thomas Carlyle, Scottish writer and historian (d. 1881)
• 1835 – Samuel Butler, English writer (d. 1902)
• 1849 – Crazy Horse, Native American leader (d. 1877)
• 1861 – Lillian Russell, American singer and actress (d. 1922)
• 1866 – Wassily Kandinsky, Russian-born painter (d. 1944)
• 1875 – Rainer Maria Rilke, Austrian poet (d. 1926)
• 1892 – Francisco Franco, dictator of Spain (d. 1975)
• 1895 – Fung Yu-lan, Chinese philosopher (d. 1990)
• 1903 – Cornell Woolrich, crime writer (d. September 24, 1968)
• 1908 – Alfred Hershey, American psychologist, Nobel winner (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
• 1270 – Theobald V of Champagne, King of Navarre
• 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 (b. 1685)
• 1798 – Luigi Galvani, Italian physicist
• 1845 – Gregor MacGregor, con artist
• 1867 – Sophie (Frémiet) Rude, French artist
• 1890 – (date of burial) King Willem III of the Netherlands
• 1926 – Ivana Kobilca, Slovenian 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, guitarist (Deep Purple)
• 1980 – Francisco Sá Carneiro, Prime Minister of Portugal
• 1980 – Stanislawa Walasiewicz, Polish-American runner
• 1993 – Frank Zappa, American musician and 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

• Ancient Rome – secret ceremonies in honor of Bona Dea
• International Hug Day

External links

• BBC: On This Day

December 3 – December 5 – November 4 – January 4 — listing of all days