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Tupou I Day (Tonga), Thai Environment Day (Thailand), Navy Day (India) 2006 Billboard Music Awards, Miss France 2011 Jay Z, Orlando Brown, Skip Bayless, Tyra Banks, Marisa Tomei |
December 4 is the 338th day of the year (339th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 27 days remaining until the end of the year. This date is slightly more likely to fall on a Tuesday, Friday or Sunday (58 in 400 years each) than on Wednesday or Thursday (57), and slightly less likely to occur on a Monday or Saturday (56).
771 – Austrasian king Carloman I dies, leaving his brother Charlemagne king of the now complete Frankish Kingdom.
1110 – The Kingdom of Jerusalem captures 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 had opened on December 13, 1545.)
1619 – Thirty-eight colonists arrive at Berkeley Hundred, Virginia. The group's charter proclaims that the day "be yearly and perpetually kept holy as a day of thanksgiving to Almighty God."
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.)
1676 – Battle of Lund: A Danish army under the command of King Christian V engages the Swedish army commanded by Field Marshal Simon Grundel-Helmfelt.
1745 – Charles Edward Stuart's army reaches Derby, its furthest point during the Second Jacobite Rising.
1783 – At Fraunces Tavern in New York City, U.S. General George Washington bids farewell to his officers.
1786 – Mission Santa Barbara is dedicated (on the feast day of Saint Barbara).
1791 – The first edition of The Observer, the world's first Sunday newspaper, is published.
1829 – In the face of fierce local opposition, British Governor-General Lord William Bentinck issues a regulation declaring that anyone who abets suttee in Bengal is 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.
1867 – Former Minnesota farmer Oliver Hudson Kelley founds the Order of the Patrons of Husbandry (better known today as the Grange).
1872 – The crewless American ship Mary Celeste is found by the Canadian brig Dei Gratia. The ship had been abandoned for nine days but was only slightly damaged.
1875 – Notorious New York City politician Boss Tweed escapes from prison; he is later recaptured in Spain.
1881 – The first edition of the Los Angeles Times is published.
1893 – First Matabele War: A patrol of 34 British South Africa Company soldiers is ambushed and annihilated by more than 3,000 Matabele warriors on the Shangani River in Matabeleland.
1906 – Alpha Phi Alpha the first black intercollegiate Greek lettered fraternity was founded at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York.
1909 – In Canadian football, the First Grey Cup game is played. The University of Toronto Varsity Blues defeat the Toronto Parkdale Canoe Club, 26–6.
1909 – The Montreal Canadiens ice hockey club, the oldest surviving professional hockey franchise in the world, is founded as a charter member of the National Hockey Association.
1918 – U.S. 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.
1939 – World War II: HMS Nelson is struck by a mine (laid by U-31) off the Scottish coast and is laid up for repairs until August 1940.
1942 – World War II: Carlson's patrol during the Guadalcanal Campaign ends.
1943 – World War II: In Yugoslavia, resistance leader Marshal Josip Broz Tito proclaims a provisional democratic Yugoslav government in-exile.
1943 – World War II: U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt closes down the Works Progress Administration, because of the high levels of wartime employment in the United States.
1945 – By a vote of 65–7, the United States Senate approves United States participation in the United Nations. (The UN had been established on October 24, 1945.)
1954 – The first Burger King is opened in Miami.
1956 – The Million Dollar Quartet (Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins, and Johnny Cash) get together at Sun Studio for the first and last time.
1963 – Pope Paul VI promulgates the first two documents approved by the Second Vatican Council: the Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy and the Decree on the Media of Social Communications.
1965 – The Grateful Dead's first concert performance under this new name.
1967 – Vietnam War: U.S. and South Vietnamese forces engage Viet Cong troops in the Mekong Delta.
1969 – Black Panther Party members Fred Hampton and Mark Clark are shot and killed during a raid by 14 Chicago police officers.
1971 – The Indian Navy attacks the Pakistan Navy and Karachi.
1977 – Jean-Bédel Bokassa, president of the Central African Republic, crowns himself Emperor Bokassa I of the Central African Empire.
1977 – Malaysian Airline System 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's first female mayor.
1979 – The Hastie fire in Hull kills three schoolboys and eventually leads police to arrest Bruce George Peter Lee.
1981 – South Africa grants independence to the Ciskei "homeland" (not recognized by any government outside South Africa).
1982 – The People's Republic of China adopts its current constitution.
1984 – Sri Lankan Civil War: Sri Lankan Army soldiers kill 107–150 civilians in Mannar.
1988 – Roy Orbison plays his last set at The Front Row Theater in Highland Heights, Ohio
1991 – Terry A. Anderson is released after seven years in captivity as a hostage in Beirut; he is the last and longest-held American hostage in Lebanon.
1991 – Pan American World Airways ceases its operations after 64 years.
1992 – Somali Civil War: President George H. W. Bush orders 28,000 U.S. troops to Somalia in Northeast Africa.
1998 – The Unity Module, the second module of the International Space Station, is launched.
2005 – Tens of thousands of people in Hong Kong protest for democracy and call on the government to allow universal and equal suffrage.
2006 – Six black youths assault a white teenager in Jena, Louisiana.
2014 – Islamic insurgents kill three state police at a traffic circle before taking an empty school and a "press house" in Grozny. Ten state forces die with 28 injured in gun battles ending with ten insurgents killed.
2015 – A firebomb is thrown into a restaurant in the Egyptian capital of Cairo, killing 17 people.
AD 34 – Persius, Roman poet (d. 62)
1428 – Bernard VII, Lord of Lippe (d. 1511)
1555 – Heinrich Meibom, German poet and historian (d. 1625)
1585 – John Cotton, English-American minister and theologian (d. 1652)
1595 – Jean Chapelain, French poet and critic (d. 1674)
1646 – Alain Emmanuel de Coëtlogon, French field marshal (d. 1730)
1647 – Daniel Eberlin, German soldier and composer (d. 1715)
1660 – André Campra, French composer and conductor (d. 1744)
1667 – Michel Pignolet de Montéclair, French composer and educator (d. 1737)
1670 – John Aislabie, English politician, Chancellor of the Exchequer (d. 1742)
1713 – Gasparo Gozzi, Italian playwright and critic (d. 1786)
1777 – Juliette Récamier, French businesswoman (d. 1849)
1795 – Thomas Carlyle, Scottish-English historian, philosopher, and academic (d. 1881)
1798 – Jules Armand Dufaure, French lawyer and politician, 33rd Prime Minister of France (d. 1881)
1817 – Nikoloz Baratashvili, Georgian poet and author (d. 1845)
1835 – Samuel Butler, English author and critic (d. 1902)
1844 – Franz Xavier Wernz, German religious leader, 25th Superior General of the Society of Jesus (d. 1914)
1861 – Hannes Hafstein, Icelandic poet and politician, 1st Prime Minister of Iceland (d. 1922)
1861 – Lillian Russell, American actress and singer (d. 1922)
1865 – Edith Cavell, English nurse, humanitarian, and saint (Anglicanism) (d. 1915)
1866 – Wassily Kandinsky, Russian-German Abstract painter and author (d. 1944)
1868 – Jesse Burkett, American baseball player, coach, and manager (d. 1953)
1875 – Joe Corbett, American baseball player and coach (d. 1945)
1875 – Rainer Maria Rilke, Austrian-Swiss poet and author (d. 1926)
1881 – Erwin von Witzleben, Polish-German field marshal (d. 1944)
1883 – Katharine Susannah Prichard, Australian author and playwright (d. 1969)
1892 – Francisco Franco, Spanish general and politician, Prime Minister of Spain (d. 1975)
1892 – Liu Bocheng, Chinese commander and politician (d. 1986)
1893 – Herbert Read, English poet and critic (d. 1968)
1895 – Feng Youlan, Chinese philosopher and academic (d. 1990)
1897 – Robert Redfield, American anthropologist of Mexico (d. 1958)
1899 – Karl-Günther Heimsoth, German physician and politician (d. 1934)
1899 – Charlie Spencer, English footballer and manager (d. 1953)
1903 – Cornell Woolrich, American author (d. 1968)
1904 – Albert Norden, German journalist and politician (d. 1982)
1908 – Alfred Hershey, American bacteriologist and geneticist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1997)
1910 – Alex North, American composer and conductor (d. 1991)
1910 – R. Venkataraman, Indian lawyer and politician, 6th President of India (d. 2009)
1912 – Pappy Boyington, American colonel and pilot, Medal of Honor recipient (d. 1988)
1913 – Mark Robson, Canadian-American director and producer (d. 1978)
1914 – Rudolf Hausner, Austrian painter and sculptor (d. 1995)
1914 – Claude Renoir, French cinematographer (d. 1993)
1915 – Eddie Heywood, American pianist and composer (d. 1989)
1916 – Ely Jacques Kahn, Jr., American journalist and author (d. 1994)
1919 – I. K. Gujral, Indian poet and politician, 12th Prime Minister of India (d. 2012)
1920 – Nadir Afonso, Portuguese painter and architect (d. 2013)
1920 – Michael Bates, English actor (d. 1978)
1920 – Jeanne Manford, American educator and activist, co-founded PFLAG (d. 2013)
1921 – Deanna Durbin, Canadian-born French actress and singer (d. 2013)
1923 – Charles Keating, American lawyer and financier (d. 2014)
1923 – Eagle Keys, American-Canadian football player and coach (d. 2012)
1923 – John Krish, English director and screenwriter
1924 – John C. Portman, Jr., American architect, designed the Renaissance Center and Tomorrow Square
1925 – Albert Bandura, Canadian-American psychologist and academic
1926 – Monty M. Wyche, American soldier, lawyer, and judge (d. 2014)
1929 – Şakir Eczacıbaşı, Turkish pharmacist, photographer, and businessman (d. 2010)
1930 – Ronnie Corbett, Scottish actor and screenwriter (d. 2016)
1930 – Jim Hall, American guitarist and composer (d. 2013)
1931 – Alex Delvecchio, Canadian ice hockey player, coach, and manager
1931 – Wally George, American radio and television host (d. 2003)
1932 – Roh Tae-woo, South Korean general and politician, 6th President of South Korea
1933 – Wink Martindale, American game show host and producer
1933 – Horst Buchholz, German actor (d. 2003)
1934 – Victor French, American actor and director (d. 1989)
1935 – Paul O'Neill, American businessman and politician, 72nd United States Secretary of the Treasury
1936 – John Giorno, American poet and performance artist
1937 – Max Baer, Jr., American actor, director, and producer
1937 – Bill Collins, Australian film critic and author
1938 – Andre Marrou, American lawyer and politician
1938 – Yvonne Minton, Australian-English soprano and actress
1939 – Stephen W. Bosworth, American academic and diplomat, United States Ambassador to South Korea (d. 2016)
1939 – Joan Brady, American-British author
1939 – Freddy Cannon, American singer and guitarist
1940 – Gerd Achterberg, German footballer and manager
1941 – Marty Riessen, American tennis player and coach
1942 – Bob Mosley, American singer-songwriter and bass player
1944 – Chris Hillman, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
1944 – Anna McGarrigle, Canadian musician and singer-songwriter
1944 – François Migault, French race car driver (d. 2012)
1944 – Dennis Wilson, American singer-songwriter, producer, and drummer (d. 1983)
1945 – Roberta Bondar, Canadian neurologist, academic, and astronaut
1947 – Jane Lubchenco, American ecologist, academic, and diplomat
1947 – Terry Woods, Irish guitarist
1948 – Southside Johnny, American singer-songwriter
1949 – A. Scott Berg, American journalist and author
1949 – Jeff Bridges, American actor
1949 – Jock Stirrup, Baron Stirrup, English air marshal and politician
1950 – Bjørn Kjellemyr, Norwegian bassist and composer
1951 – Gary Rossington, American guitarist
1951 – Patricia Wettig, American actress and playwright
1953 – Rick Middleton, Canadian ice hockey player and sportscaster
1955 – Philip Hammond, English businessman and politician, Chancellor of the Exchequer
1955 – Dave Taylor, Canadian-American ice hockey player and manager
1955 – Cassandra Wilson, American singer-songwriter and producer
1956 – Nia Griffith, Welsh educator and politician, Shadow Secretary of State for Wales
1956 – Bernard King, American basketball player and sportscaster
1957 – Raul Boesel, Brazilian race car driver and radio host
1957 – Eric S. Raymond, American computer programmer and author
1960 – David Green, Nicaraguan-American baseball player
1960 – Glynis Nunn, Australian heptathlete and hurler
1961 – Frank Reich, American football player and coach
1962 – Gary Freeman, New Zealand rugby league player, coach, and sportscaster
1962 – Nixon Kiprotich, Kenyan runner
1962 – Kevin Richardson, English footballer and manager
1963 – Sergey Bubka, Ukrainian pole vaulter
1963 – Nigel Heslop, English rugby player
1964 – Scott Hastings, Scottish rugby player and sportscaster
1964 – Marisa Tomei, American actress
1965 – Álex de la Iglesia, Spanish director, producer, and screenwriter
1965 – Shaun Hollamby, English race car driver and businessman
1966 – Fred Armisen, American actor and musician
1966 – Andy Hess, American bass player
1966 – Suzanne Malveaux, American journalist
1966 – Suzette M. Malveaux, American lawyer and academic
1967 – Chris Shepherd, English animator, director, producer, and screenwriter
1968 – Dionne Farris, American singer-songwriter, producer and actress
1969 – Jay Z, American rapper, producer, and actor, co-founded Roc-A-Fella Records
1969 – Plum Sykes, English journalist and author
1971 – Shannon Briggs, American boxer and actor
1972 – Jassen Cullimore, Canadian ice hockey player
1972 – Yūko Miyamura, Japanese voice actress and singer
1973 – Tyra Banks, American model, actress, and producer
1973 – Frank Boeijen, Dutch keyboard player
1973 – Michael Jackson, English footballer and manager
1973 – Mina Caputo, American singer-songwriter and keyboard player
1973 – Steven Menzies, Australian rugby league player
1973 – Kate Rusby, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
1973 – Racci Shay, American drummer
1974 – Tadahito Iguchi, Japanese baseball player
1976 – Kristina Groves, Canadian speed skater
1977 – Ajit Agarkar, Indian cricketer
1977 – Darvis Patton, American sprinter
1977 – Morten Veland, Norwegian guitarist and songwriter
1978 – Jaclyn Victor, Malaysian singer and actress
1979 – Ysabella Brave, American singer-songwriter
1979 – Jay DeMerit, American soccer player
1980 – Rick Victor, Canadian wrestler and manager
1981 – Brian Vandborg, Danish cyclist
1982 – Nathan Douglas, English triple jumper
1982 – Waldo Ponce, Chilean footballer
1982 – Ho-Pin Tung, Dutch-Chinese race car driver
1982 – Nick Vujicic, Australian evangelist
1983 – Jimmy Bartel, Australian footballer
1984 – Marco Giambruno, Italian footballer
1984 – Anna Petrakova, Russian basketball player
1984 – Joe Thomas, American football player
1985 – Andrew Brackman, American baseball player
1985 – Stephen Dawson, Irish footballer
1985 – Carlos Gómez, Dominican baseball player
1986 – Kaija Udras, Estonian skier
1986 – Martell Webster, American basketball player
1987 – Orlando Brown, American actor and rapper
1988 – Andriy Pylyavskyi, Ukrainian footballer
1990 – Lukman Haruna, Nigerian footballer
1990 – Blake Leary, Australian rugby league player
1990 – Igor Sjunin, Estonian triple jumper
1992 – Peta Hiku, New Zealand rugby league player
1992 – Jean-Claude Iranzi, Rwandan footballer
1996 – Diogo Jota, Portuguese professional footballer
1996 – Sebastián Vegas, Chilean footballer
749 – John of Damascus, Syrian priest and saint (b. 676)
771 – Carloman I, Frankish king (b. 751)
870 – Suairlech ind Eidnén mac Ciaráin, Irish bishop
1075 – Anno II, German archbishop and saint (b. 1010)
1131 – Omar Khayyám, Persian poet, astronomer, mathematician, and philosopher (b. 1048)
1214 – William the Lion, Scottish king (b. 1143)
1270 – Theobald II of Navarre (b. 1238)
1334 – Pope John XXII (b. 1249)
1340 – Henry Burghersh, English bishop and politician, Lord Chancellor of England (b. 1292)
1341 – Janisław I, Archbishop of Gniezno
1408 – Valentina Visconti, wife of Louis of Valois, Duke of Orléans
1456 – Charles I, Duke of Bourbon (b. 1401)
1459 – Adolphus VIII, Count of Holstein (b. 1401)
1576 – Georg Joachim Rheticus, Austrian-Slovak mathematician and cartographer (b. 1514)
1585 – John Willock, Scottish minister and reformer (b. 1515)
1609 – Alexander Hume, Scottish poet (b. 1560)
1642 – Cardinal Richelieu, French cardinal and politician, Chief Minister to the French Monarch (b. 1585)
1649 – William Drummond of Hawthornden, Scottish poet (b. 1585)
1679 – Thomas Hobbes, English philosopher and theorist (b. 1588)
1680 – Thomas Bartholin, Danish physician, mathematician, and theologian (b. 1616)
1696 – Empress Meishō of Japan (b. 1624)
1732 – John Gay, English poet and playwright (b. 1685)
1798 – Luigi Galvani, Italian physician, physicist, and philosopher (b. 1737)
1828 – Robert Jenkinson, 2nd Earl of Liverpool, English politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (b. 1770)
1841 – David Daniel Davis, Welsh-English physician and academic (b. 1777)
1845 – Gregor MacGregor, Scottish soldier and explorer (b. 1786)
1850 – William Sturgeon, English physicist, invented the electric motor (b. 1783)
1893 – John Tyndall, Irish-English physicist and chemist (b. 1820)
1897 – Griffith Rhys Jones, Welsh conductor (b. 1834)
1902 – Charles Dow, American journalist and publisher, co-founded the Dow Jones & Company (b. 1851)
1926 – Ivana Kobilca, Slovenian painter (b. 1861)
1933 – Stefan George, German-Swiss poet and translator (b. 1868)
1935 – Johan Halvorsen, Norwegian violinist, composer, and conductor (b. 1864)
1935 – Charles Richet, French physiologist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1850)
1938 – Tamanishiki San'emon, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 32nd Yokozuna (b. 1903)
1942 – Juhan Kukk, Estonian politician, 3rd Head of State of Estonia (b. 1885)
1944 – Roger Bresnahan, American baseball player and manager (b. 1879)
1945 – Thomas Hunt Morgan, American geneticist and biologist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1866)
1948 – Frank Benford, American physicist and engineer (b. 1883)
1955 – József Galamb, Hungarian-American engineer (b. 1881)
1967 – Bert Lahr, American actor (b. 1895)
1971 – Shunryū Suzuki, Japanese-American monk and educator, founded the San Francisco Zen Center (b. 1904)
1975 – Hannah Arendt, German-American historian, theorist, and academic (b. 1906)
1976 – Tommy Bolin, American guitarist and songwriter (b. 1951)
1976 – Benjamin Britten, English pianist, composer, and conductor (b. 1913)
1976 – W. F. McCoy, Irish soldier, lawyer, and politician (b. 1886)
1980 – Francisco de Sá Carneiro, Portuguese lawyer and politician, 111th Prime Minister of Portugal (b. 1934)
1980 – Stanisława Walasiewicz, Polish-American runner (b. 1911)
1980 – Don Warrington, Canadian football player (b. 1948)
1984 – Jack Mercer, American animator, screenwriter, voice actor, and singer (b. 1910)
1987 – Arnold Lobel, American author and illustrator (b. 1933)
1987 – Rouben Mamoulian, Georgian-American director and screenwriter (b. 1897)
1988 – Osman Achmatowicz, Polish chemist and academic (b. 1899)
1992 – Henry Clausen, American lawyer and author (b. 1905)
1993 – Margaret Landon, American missionary and author (b. 1903)
1993 – Frank Zappa, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (b. 1940)
1999 – Rose Bird, American academic and judge, 25th Chief Justice of California (b. 1936)
2000 – Henck Arron, Surinamese banker and politician, 1st Prime Minister of the Republic of Suriname (b. 1936)
2003 – Iggy Katona, American race car driver (b. 1916)
2004 – Elena Souliotis, Greek soprano and actress (b. 1943)
2005 – Errol Brathwaite, New Zealand soldier and author (b. 1924)
2005 – Gregg Hoffman, American film producer (b. 1963)
2006 – K. Ganeshalingam, Sri Lankan accountant and politician, Mayor of Colombo (b. 1938)
2006 – Ross A. McGinnis, American soldier, Medal of Honor recipient (b. 1987)
2009 – Liam Clancy, Irish singer, actor, and guitarist (b. 1935)
2011 – Sócrates, Brazilian footballer and manager (b. 1954)
2011 – Hubert Sumlin, American singer and guitarist (b. 1931)
2012 – Vasily Belov, Russian author, poet, and playwright (b. 1932)
2012 – Jack Brooks, American colonel, lawyer, and politician (b. 1922)
2012 – Miguel Calero, Colombian footballer and manager (b. 1971)
2012 – Anthony Deane-Drummond, English general (b. 1917)
2012 – Carroll E. Lanier, American sailor and politician (b. 1926)
2013 – Joana Raspall i Juanola, Spanish author and poet (b. 1913)
2014 – Claudia Emerson, American poet and academic (b. 1957)
2014 – V. R. Krishna Iyer, Indian lawyer and judge (b. 1914)
2014 – Vincent L. McKusick, American lawyer and judge (b. 1921)
2014 – Jeremy Thorpe, English lawyer and politician (b. 1929)
2015 – Bill Bennett, Canadian lawyer and politician, 27th Premier of British Columbia (b. 1932)
2015 – Robert Loggia, American actor and director (b. 1930)
2015 – Yossi Sarid, Israeli journalist and politician, 15th Israeli Minister of Education (b. 1940)
Holidays and observances
Christian feast day:
Ada
Barbara, and its related observances:
Barbórka, Miners' Day in Poland
Eid il-Burbara, a holiday similar to Halloween in honor of Saint Barbara. (Russia, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine, Syria, Turkey)
Bernard degli Uberti
Clement of Alexandria (Anglicanism, Eastern Catholicism)
Giovanni Calabria
John of Damascus
Nicholas Ferrar (Anglicanism)
Osmund
Sigiramnus
December 4 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
Earliest day on which Detinjci can fall, while December 10 is the latest; celebrated on Sunday two weeks before Christmas Day. (Serbia)
National Cookie Day (United States)
Navy Day (India)
Thai Environment Day (Thailand)
Tupou I Day (Tonga)
December 4 Wikipedia (Text) CC BY-SA