On December 4th...

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1131 Mathematician-poet Omar Khayyam died.

1334 Pope John XXII died.

1423 The Treaty of London provided for the release of James I from English captivity.

1563 The Council of Trent held its last session.

1619 38 colonists from Berkeley Parish in England disembarked in Virginia and gave thanks to God.

1642 French churchman and statesman Cardinal Richelieu died.

1674 Father Jacques Marquette built the first dwelling in what is now Chicago, Illinois.

1679 Philosopher Thomas Hobbes died.

1783 General George Washington formally bid "goodbye" to his Continental Army officers.

1791 The first issue of The Observer, the world's first Sunday newspaper, was published.

1795 Author Thomas Carlyle was born.

1798 Anatomist Luigi Galvani died.

1812 Peter Gaillard patented a horse-drawn mower.

1833 The American Anti-Slavery Society was formed by Arthur Tappan, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

1836 The Whig Party held its first national convention, in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.

1860 Businessman George A. Hormel was born.

1861 French President Louis Napoleon crushed a coup d'etat.

1867 The Grange was organized to protect farm interests.

1872 The ship Mary Celeste was found adrift with no crewmen aboard.

1892 Spanish General Francisco Franco was born.

1902 Charles Henry Dow, co-founder of The Wall Street Journal, died.

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.

1912 World War II flying ace Pappy Boyington was born.

1918 U. S. President Woodrow Wilson sailed for the Versailles Peace Conference.
1918 The Kingdom of Serbs, Croats & Slovenes was proclaimed.

1920 Actor Michael Bates was born.

1921 Actress Deanna Durbin was born.

1923 Cecil B. DeMille's first version of The Ten Commandments premiered.

1933 The Federal Alcohol Control Administration was created.

1934 Actor Victor French was born.
1934 Game show host Wink Martindale was born.

1937 Actor Max Baer, Jr. was born.

1940 Murderer Gary Gilmore was born.

1945 The U. S. Senate voted to allow the United States to participate in the United Nations.

1948 The SS Kiangya hit a mine in the Whangpoo River (China) and sank, killing 2,750 persons.

1949 Actor Jeff Bridges was born.

1951 Superheated gasses rolled down Mount Catarman, in the Philippines, killing 500 persons.

1954 The first Burger King opened in Miami, Florida.

1959 Sam, a monkey, was launched from Wallops Island, Virginia.

1964 Baseball approved a free-agent draft.
1964 Actress Marisa Tomei was born.

1965 Frank Borman and James A. Lovell, Jr., were launched into orbit aboard Gemini VII.
1965 Vietcong terrorists bombed a U. S. military hotel in Saigon, Vietnam, killing 2 Americans and wounding 67 others.
1965 The Grateful Dead performed for the first time, at a party inSan Jose, California.

1967 The four-place Cessna Model 327 Center-Line-Thrust aircraft was test flown for the first time, by G.M. Baker.
1967 Actor Bert Lahr died.

1969 Black Panther leader Fred Hampton was killed in Chicago.
1969 Surfer Greg Noll rode a record 65-foot high wave off the North Shore of Oahu.
1969 Rapper Jay-Z was born.

1973 Model Tyra Banks was born.
1973 Businessman Alfred Fuller died.

1976 Jean-Bédel Bokassa proclaimed himself Emperor of the Central African Empire.
1976 Elizabeth Taylor married John Warner.
1976 Composer Benjamin Britten died.

1978 Dianne Feinstein became San Francisco's first female mayor.
1978 Pioneer Venus 1 went into orbit around Venus.

1980 Led Zeppelin formally announced its break-up.

1981 "Falcon Crest" premiered on CBS-TV.

1991 Pan American World Airways ceased operation.
1991 Journalist Terry Anderson was released after 7 years in captivity as a hostage in Beirut.

1992 U.S. troops landed in Somalia.

1993 Musician Frank Zappa died.

2012 Typhoon Bopha killed at least 81 persons in the Philippines.

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This page was last updated on July 09, 2018.