What happened on December 4? There are more than 273 events that were made this day in history. Here are the important historical events, facts, and some myths about this day.
Interesting Facts & Myths About December 4
December 4 is the 339th day of the year 2024. There are 27 days remaining until the end of this year. The day of the week is Wednesday. This day falls under the 49th week of the year 2024.
On this day in Pell City, Alabama 35125 sunrise will occur at 06:33 AM and sunset will occur at 04:38 PM (local time).
The zodiac sign of a person born on this day is Sagittarius. The modern birthstone for this month is Turquoise while the mystical birthstone is Onyx.
According to the Chinese calendar, there are 56 days remaining before the start of the next Chinese New Year (January 29, 2025).
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Historical Events For December 4
- 306Martyrdom of Saint Barbara.
- 771Austrasian King Carloman dies, leaving his brother Charlemagne King of the now complete Frankish Kingdom.
- 1110First Crusade: The Crusaders sack Sidon.
- 1259Kings 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.
- 1563The final session of the Council of Trent is held (it opened on December 13, 1545).
- 161938 colonists from Berkeley Parish in England disembark in Virginia and give thanks to God (this is considered by many to be the first Thanksgiving in the Americas).
- 1674Father 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).
- 1676Battle 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.
- 1745Charles Edward Stewart’s army reaches Derby, its furthest point during the second Jacobite Rising.
- 1783At Fraunces Tavern in New York City, US General George Washington formally bids his officers farewell.
- 1791The first edition of The Observer, the world’s first Sunday newspaper, is published.
- 1829In the face of fierce local opposition, British governor Lord William Bentinck issues a regulation declaring that all who abet suttee in India are guilty of culpable homicide.
- 1864American 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, Georgia.
- 1867Former Minnesota farmer Oliver Hudson Kelley founds the Order of the Patrons of Husbandry (better known today as the Grange).
- 1872The crewless American ship Mary Celeste is found by the British brig Dei Gratia (the ship had been abandoned for nine days but was only slightly damaged).
- 1875Notorious New York City politician Boss Tweed escapes from prison and flees to Cuba, then Spain.
- 1881The first edition of the Los Angeles Times is published.
- 1893First Matabele War: A patrol of 34 British South Africa Police officers is killed in battle by an estimated 3,000 Ndebele on the Shangani River in Matabeleland.
- 19091st Grey Cup game is played. The University of Toronto Varsity Blues defeat the Toronto Parkdale Canoe Club 26–6.
- 1909The Montreal Canadiens ice hockey club, the oldest professional hockey franchise in the world, is founded as a charter member of the National Hockey Association.
- 1918U.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.
- 1921The first Virginia Rappe manslaughter trial against Roscoe ‘Fatty’Arbuckle ends in a hung jury.
- 1937The first issue of the children’s comic, The Dandy Comic, is published, one of the first to use speech balloons.
- 1939World War II: HMS Nelson is struck by a mine (laid by GS U-31) off the Scottish coast and is laid up for repairs until August 1940.
- 1942Holocaust: In Warsaw, Zofia Kossak-Szczucka and Wanda Krahelska-Filipowicz set up the Żegota organization.
- 1942World War II: Carlson’s patrol during the Guadalcanal Campaign ends.
- 1943World War II: In Yugoslavia, resistance leader Marshal Josip Broz Tito proclaims a provisional democratic Yugoslav government in-exile.
- 1943World 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.
- 1945By a vote of 65 to 7, the United States Senate approves United States participation in the United Nations (the UN is established on October 24, 1945).
- 1954The first Burger King is opened in Miami, Florida, United States
- 1958Dahomey (present-day Benin) becomes a self-governing country within the French Community.
- 1967Vietnam War: US and South Vietnamese forces engage Viet Cong troops in the Mekong Delta.
- 1969Black Panther Party members Fred Hampton and Mark Clark are shot and killed in their sleep during a raid by 14 Chicago police officers.
- 1971McGurk’s Bar bombing: An Ulster Volunteer Force bomb kills 15 civilians and wounds 17 in Belfast, Northern Ireland.
- 1971The Indian Navy attacks the Pakistan Navy and Karachi.
- 1971The Montreux Casino in Switzerland is set ablaze by someone wielding a flare gun during a Frank Zappa concert; the incident would be noted in the Deep Purple song “Smoke on the Water”.
- 1971The United Nations Security Council calls an emergency session to consider the deteriorating situation between India and Pakistan.
- 1975Suriname joins the United Nations.
- 1977Jean-Bédel Bokassa, president of the Central African Republic, crowns himself Emperor Bokassa I of the Central African Empire.
- 1977Malaysia Airlines Flight 653 is hijacked and crashes in Tanjong Kupang, Johor, killing 100.
- 1978Following the murder of Mayor George Moscone, Dianne Feinstein becomes San Francisco, California’s first female mayor (she served until January 8, 1988).
- 1979The Hastie fire in Hull, kills three schoolboys and eventually leads police to arrest Bruce George Peter Lee.
- 1980English rock group Led Zeppelin officially disbands, following the death of drummer John Bonham on September 25th.
- 1981South Africa grants independence to the Ciskei “homeland” (not recognized by any government outside South Africa).
- 1982The People’s Republic of China adopts its current constitution.
- 1984Hezbollah militants hijack a Kuwait Airlines plane, killing four passengers.
- 1991Captain Mark Pyle pilots Clipper Goodwill, a Pan American World Airways Boeing 727-221ADV, to Miami International Airport ending 64 years of Pan Am operations.
- 1991Journalist Terry A. Anderson is released after 7 years in captivity as a hostage in Beirut. He is the last and longest-held American hostage in Lebanon.
- 1991Pan Am goes bankrupt and ceases operations.
- 1992Somali Civil War: President George H. W. Bush orders 28,000 US troops to Somalia in Northeast Africa.
- 1993A truce is concluded between the government of Angola and UNITA rebels.
- 1998The Unity Module, the second module of the International Space Station, is launched.
- 2005Tens of thousands of people in Hong Kong protest for democracy and call on the Government to allow universal and equal suffrage.
- 2006An adult giant squid is caught on video for the first time by Tsunemi Kubodera near the Ogasawara Islands, 1,000 km south of Tokyo.
- 2006Six black youths assault a white teenager in Jena, Louisiana, US; the subsequent court case becomes a cause célèbre.
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Who Were Born On December 4?
- 1555Heinrich Meibom, German historian and poet (d. 1625)
- 1580Samuel Argall, English adventurer and naval officer (d. 1626)
- 1585John Cotton, American Puritan leader (d. 1652)
- 1595Jean Chapelain, French writer (d. 1674)
- 1646Alain Emmanuel de Coëtlogon, Marshal of France (d. 1730)
- 1660André Campra, French composer (d. 1744)
- 1670John Aislabie, English politician (d. 1742)
- 1711Barbara of Portugal, queen of Spain (d. 1758)
- 1713Gasparo Gozzi, Italian critic and dramatist (d. 1786)
- 1777Juliette Récamier, French socialite (d. 1849)
- 1795Thomas Carlyle, Scottish writer and historian (d. 1881)
- 1798Jules Armand Dufaure, French statesman (d. 1881)
- 1817Nikoloz Baratashvili, Georgian poet (d. 1845)
- 1835Samuel Butler, English writer (d. 1902)
- 1844Franz Xavier Wernz, German Superior General of the Society of Jesus (d. 1914)
- 1852Orest Khvolson, Russian physicist (d. 1934)
- 1861Hannes Hafstein, 1st Prime Minister of Iceland (d. 1922)
- 1861Lillian Russell, American singer and actress (d. 1922)
- 1868Jesse Burkett, American baseball player (d. 1953)
- 1875Joe Corbett, American baseball player (d. 1945)
- 1875Rainer Maria Rilke, Austrian poet (d. 1926)
- 1881Erwin von Witzleben, German field marshal (d. 1944)
- 1883Katharine Susannah Prichard, Australian author (d. 1969)
- 1886Jan Thomée, Dutch football player (d. 1954)
- 1889Lloyd Bacon, American actor and film director (d. 1955)
- 1892Francisco Franco, dictator of Spain (d. 1975)
- 1892Liu Bocheng, Chinese Communist military commander and Marshal of the People’s Liberation Army (d. 1986)
- 1895Fung Yu-lan, Chinese philosopher (d. 1990)
- 1899Charles William (Charlie) Spencer Newcastle and England football player (d. 1953)
- 1903Anna van der Vegt, Dutch gymnast (d. 1983)
- 1903Cornell Woolrich, American writer (d. 1968)
- 1908Alfred Hershey, American bacteriologist, Nobel laureate (d. 1997)
- 1909Jimmy Jewel, English actor (d. 1995)
- 1910Alex North, American film music composer (d. 1991)
- 1910R. Venkataraman, 8th President of India (d. 2009)
- 1912Gregory “Pappy” Boyington, American pilot (d. 1988)
- 1913Mark Robson, Canadian-born film director and producer (d. 1978)
- 1914Claude Renoir, French cinematographer (d. 1993)
- 1914Rudolf Hausner, Austrian artist (d. 1995)
- 1915Eddie Heywood, American jazz musician (d. 1989)
- 1916Ely Jacques Kahn, Jr., American writer (d. 1994)
- 1917Movita Castaneda, American actress
- 1918Albert Francis Capone, son of Al Capone (d. 2004)
- 1921Deanna Durbin, Canadian actress
- 1922Gérard Philipe, French actor (d. 1959)
- 1923Charles Keating, American attorney and businessman
- 1924John Portman, American architect
- 1925Lino Lacedelli, Italian mountaineer who made the first ascent of K2 (d. 2009)
- 1927William Labov, American linguist
- 1928Dena Dietrich, American actress
- 1930Jim Hall, American jazz guitarist
- 1930Ronnie Corbett, Scottish actor
- 1931Alex Delvecchio, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1931Wally George, American TV commentator (d. 2003)
- 1932Roh Tae-woo, former (13th) President of South Korea
- 1933Horst Buchholz, German-born actor (d. 2003)
- 1934Victor French, American actor (d. 1989)
- 1934Wink Martindale, American game show host
- 1935Paul O'Neill, 72nd Secretary of the Treasury
- 1935Robert Vesco, American financier and fugitive (d. 2007)
- 1936Derek Nally, Irish Politician
- 1937Max Baer, Jr., American actor
- 1938Andre Marrou, American politician, presidential candidate
- 1938Yvonne Minton, Australian soprano
- 1939Freddy Cannon, American musician
- 1940Gary Gilmore, American murderer (d. 1977)
- 1940Gerd Achterberg, German football manager
- 1942Gemma Jones, English actress
- 1944Anna McGarrigle, Canadian folk music singer and songwriter
- 1944Chris Hillman, American singer (The Byrds)
- 1944Dennis Wilson, American musician (The Beach Boys) (d. 1983)
- 1944François Migault, French racing driver
- 1945Roberta Bondar, Canadian astronaut
- 1946Geert Mak, Dutch writer
- 1947Terry Woods, Irish musician (The Pogues, Steeleye Span)
- 1948Southside Johnny, American singer
- 1949Jeff Bridges, American actor
- 1949Pamela Stephenson, New Zealand-born actress
- 1951Gary Rossington, American musician (Lynyrd Skynyrd)
- 1951Patricia Wettig, American actress
- 1953Rick Middleton, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1954Tony Todd, American actor and producer
- 1955Dave Taylor, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1956Bernard King, American basketball player
- 1957Eric S. Raymond, American open source advocate
- 1957Raul Boesel, Brazilian racing driver
- 1959Christa Rothenburger, German speed skater and cyclist
- 1959Paul McGrath, Irish footballer
- 1959Susan W Krebs, American politician
- 1960David Green, American baseball player
- 1960Glynis Nunn, Australian athlete
- 1961Frank Reich, American football player
- 1961Naomi Robson, American-born Australian journalist
- 1962Julie Lemieux, Canadian voice actress
- 1962Kevin Richardson, English footballer
- 1963Sergey Bubka, Ukrainian pole vaulter
- 1964Chelsea Noble, American actress
- 1964Jonathan Goldstein, American actor
- 1964Marisa Tomei, American actress
- 1964Scott Hastings, Scottish Rugby Union international
- 1964Sertab Erener, Turkish singer
- 1965Álex de la Iglesia, Spanish film director
- 1966Chris Shepherd, English film director
- 1966Fred Armisen, American actor and musician
- 1966Masta Ace, American rapper
- 1966Suzanne Malveaux, American television news reporter
- 1968Mike Barrowman, American swimmer
- 1969Jay-Z, American rapper
- 1970John L. Adams, American actor
- 1970Kevin Sussman, American actor
- 1970Sylvester Terkay, American wrestler
- 1971Shannon Briggs, American boxer
- 1972Jassen Cullimore, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1972Nikki Tyler, American actress
- 1973Atsushi Tamura, Japanese comedian, musician (jealkb)
- 1973Ferry Corsten, Dutch musician and DJ
- 1973Ferry Corsten, Dutch producer of trance music, in addition to being a DJ and remixer
- 1973Frank Boeijen, Dutch musician (The Gathering)
- 1973Kate Rusby, English folk singer
- 1973Keith Caputo, American singer (Life Of Agony)
- 1973Racci Shay, American Musician
- 1973Steven Menzies, Australian rugby league footballer
- 1973Tyra Banks, American supermodel
- 1974Tadahito Iguchi, Japanese baseball player
- 1976Amie Comeaux, American singer (d. 1997)
- 1976Kristina Groves, Canadian speed skater
- 1977Big Pokey, American rapper
- 1977Morten Veland, Norwegian musician (Sirenia)
- 1978Jaclyn Victor, Malaysian singer
- 1978Michele Di Piedi, Italian footballer
- 1979Jay DeMerit, American soccer player
- 1979Jeff Taylor, Canadian computer scientist
- 1979Ysabella Brave, American singer
- 1981Courtney Cummz, American pornographic actress
- 1981Lila McCann, American country singer
- 1982Ho-Pin Tung, Dutch-Chinese racing driver
- 1982Waldo Ponce, Chilean footballer
- 1983Jimmy Bartel, Australian rules footballer
- 1984Brooke Adams, American model
- 1984Genta Ismajli, a Kosovan-Albanian singer
- 1984Joe Thomas, American football player
- 1984Lauren London, American actress
- 1984Lindsay Felton, American actress
- 1984Marco Giambruno, Italian footballer
- 1985Andrew Brackman, American baseball player
- 1985Carlos Gómez, Dominican baseball player
- 1986Martell Webster, American basketball player
- 1987Orlando Brown, American actor
- 1988Andriy Pylyavskyi,Ukrainian footballer
- 1992Guan Xueting, Chinese ice dancer
- 1992Jean-Claude Iranzi, Rwandan footballer
- 1992Līna Mūze, Latvian javelin thrower
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Who Died On December 4?
- 749Saint John of Damascus
- 765Jafar Sadiq, Shia Imam (b. 702)
- 771Carloman, King of the Franks (b. 751)
- 1075Archbishop Anno II of Cologne
- 1123Omar Khayyám, Persian poet, astronomer, mathematician, and philosopher (b. 1048)
- 1214William I of Scotland (a.k.a. William the Lion; b. abt.1143)
- 1270Theobald V of Champagne, King of Navarre
- 1334Pope John XXII (b. 1249)
- 1340Henry Burghersh, English bishop and chancellor (b. 1292)
- 1459Adolf VIII, Duke of Southern Jutland (b. 1401)
- 1576Rheticus, Austrian mathematician (b. 1514)
- 1585John Willock, Scottish reformer
- 1609Alexander Hume, Scottish poet
- 1642Armand Jean du Plessis, Cardinal Richelieu, French statesman (b. 1585)
- 1649William Drummond of Hawthornden, Scottish poet (b. 1585)
- 1679Thomas Hobbes, English philosopher (b. 1588)
- 1680Thomas Bartholin, Danish physician, mathematician, and theologian (b. 1616)
- 1696Empress Meishō, Japan (b. 1624)
- 1732John Gay, English poet and dramatist (b. 1685)
- 1798Luigi Galvani, Italian physicist (b. 1737)
- 1828Robert Jenkinson, 2nd Earl of Liverpool, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (b. 1770)
- 1841David Daniel Davis, British politician (b. 1777)
- 1850William Sturgeon, English physicist and inventor (b. 1783)
- 1893John Tyndall, Irish physicist (b. 1820)
- 1897Griffith Rhys Jones, Welsh conductor (b. 1834)
- 1902Charles Dow, American journalist (b. 1851)
- 1926Ivana Kobilca, Slovenian-born painter (b. 1861)
- 1933Stefan George, German poet (b. 1868)
- 1935Charles Richet, French physiologist, Nobel laureate (b. 1850)
- 1935Johan Halvorsen, Norwegian composer (b. 1864)
- 1938Tamanishiki San'emon, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 32nd Yokozuna (b. 1903)
- 1944Roger Bresnahan, American baseball player (b. 1879)
- 1945Thomas Hunt Morgan, American geneticist, Nobel laureate (b. 1866)
- 1948Frank Benford, American electrical engineer and physicist (b. 1883)
- 1955József Galamb, Hungarian mechanical engineer (b. 1881)
- 1956Alexandr Rodchenko, Russian painter and photographer (b. 1891)
- 1967Bert Lahr, American actor (b. 1895)
- 1969Fred Hampton, American activist (b. 1948)
- 1975Hannah Arendt, German political theorist (b. 1906)
- 1976Benjamin Britten, English composer (b. 1913)
- 1976Tommy Bolin, American guitarist (b. 1951)
- 1976W. F. McCoy, Northern Irish politician (b. 1886)
- 1980Francisco Sá Carneiro, Prime Minister of Portugal (b. 1934)
- 1980Stanisława Walasiewicz, Polish-born athlete (b. 1911)
- 1987Rouben Mamoulian, Armenian-American film director (b. 1897)
- 1988Osman Achmatowicz, Polish chemist (b. 1899)
- 1993Frank Zappa, American musician and composer (b. 1940)
- 1993Margaret Landon, American writer (b. 1903)
- 1995Lionel Giroux, Canadian midget wrestler (b. 1935)
- 1997Richard Vernon, English actor (b. 1925)
- 1999Rose Bird, American judge (b. 1936)
- 2003Iggy Katona, American race car driver (b. 1916)
- 2004Elena Souliotis, Greek soprano (b. 1943)
- 2004Teo Peter, Romanian rock musician and bass player (b. 1954)
- 2005Errol Brathwaite, New Zealand author (b. 1924)
- 2005Gloria Lasso, French-Spanish singer (b. 1922)
- 2005Gregg Hoffman, American film producer (b. 1963)
- 2006James Kim, American television personality (b. 1971)
- 2006Ross A. McGinnis, American soldier (b. 1987)
- 2007Chip Reese, American professional poker player (b. 1951)
- 2007Norval Morrisseau, Canadian artist (b. 1932)
- 2007Pimp C, American rapper (b. 1973)
- 2009Eddie Fatu, Samoan-American professional wrestler (b. 1973)
- 2009Liam Clancy, Irish singer (b. 1935)
- 2011Hubert Sumlin, American blues guitarist (b. 1931)
- 2011Sócrates, Brazilian footballer (b. 1954)
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