December 4: Meaning (information, definition, explanation, facts)

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 - 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.

• 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)
• 1852 - Orest Khvolson, Russian physicist (d. 1934)
• 1861 - Lillian Russell, American singer and actress (d. 1922)
• 1866 (O.S.) - 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

• 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)

• 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

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