THUNDER BAY – Today in history – December 4
Events of Note on December 4
- 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 British 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 will later be 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.
- 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.
- 1921 – The first Virginia Rappe manslaughter trial against Roscoe “Fatty” Arbuckle ends in a hung jury.
- 1937 – The first issue of the children’s comic The Dandy is published.
- 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 to 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.
- 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 in their sleep during a raid by 14 Chicago police officers.
- 1971 – The United Nations Security Council calls an emergency session to consider the deteriorating situation between India and Pakistan.
- 1971 – The Indian Navy attacks the Pakistan Navy and Karachi.
- 1971 – The 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”.
- 1971 – “The Troubles”: The Ulster Volunteer Force bombs a Catholic-owned pub in Belfast, killing 15 civilians and wounding 17. It was the city’s highest death toll from a single incident during the conflict.
- 1975 – Suriname joins the United Nations.
- 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. (She will serve until January 8, 1988.)
- 1979 – The Hastie fire in Hull kills three schoolboys and eventually leads police to arrest Bruce George Peter Lee.
- 1980 – English rock group Led Zeppelin officially disbands, following the death of drummer John Bonham on September 25.
- 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.
- 1984 – Hezbollah militants hijack a Kuwait Airlines plane, killing four passengers.
- 1991 – Journalist 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 – Captain Mark Pyle pilots Clipper Goodwill, a Pan American World Airways Boeing 727-221ADV, to Miami International Airport, ending 64 years of Pan Am operations.
- 1992 – Somali Civil War: President George H. W. Bush orders 28,000 U.S. troops to Somalia in Northeast Africa.
- 1993 – A truce is concluded between the government of Angola and UNITA rebels.
- 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.
Sources: Wikipedia
