What Happened This Day In History

Today in History
December 4

771		With the death of his brother Carloman, Charlemagne becomes sole ruler of the Frankish Empire.
1861		The U.S. Senate, voting 36 to 0, expels Senator John C. Brekinridge of Kentucky because of his joining the Confederate Army.
1861		Queen Victoria of Britain forbids the export of gunpowder, firearms and all materials for their production.
1862		Winchester, Va., falls into Union hands, resulting in the capture of 145 Southern soldiers.
1863		Seven solid days of bombardment ends at Charleston, S.C. The Union fires some 1,307 rounds.
1872		The U.S. brigantine Marie Celeste is found adrift and deserted with its cargo intact, in the Atlantic Ocean between the Azores and Portugal.
1900		The French National Assembly, successor to the States-General, rejects Nationalist General Mercier’s proposal to plan an invasion of England.
1914		The first Seaplane Unit formed by the German Navy officially comes into existence and begins operations from Zeebrugge, Belgium.
1918		France cancels trade treaties in order to compete in the postwar economic battles.
1941		Operation Taifun (Typhoon), which was launched by the German armies on October 2, 1941, as a prelude to taking Moscow, is halted because of freezing temperatures and lack of serviceable aircraft.
1942		U.S. planes make the first raids on Naples, Italy.
1947		Tennessee William’s play A Streetcar Named Desire premieres on Broadway starring Marlon Brando and Jessica Tandy.
1950		The University of Tennessee defies court rulings by rejecting five Negro applicants.
1952		The Grumman XS2F-1 makes its first flight.
1959		Peking pardons Pu Yi, ex-emperor of China and of the Japanese puppet-state of Manchukuo.
1981		President Ronald Reagan broadens the power of the CIA by allowing spying in the United States.
1985		Robert McFarland resigns as National Security Advisor. Admiral John Poindexter is named to succeed.
1991		The last American hostages held in Lebanon are released.
1992		US Pres. George H. W. Bush orders 28,000 troops to Somalia during the Somali Civil War.
Born on December 4
1584		John Cotton, English-born Puritan clergyman (The Way of the Church of Christ in New England).
1795		Thomas Carlyle, Scottish historian and essayist (The French Revolution,Sartor Resartus).
1835		Samuel Butler, English writer and painter (Erewhon, The Way of All Flesh).
1861		Lillian Russell, singer and actress.
1865		Edith Cavell, English nurse who tended to friend and foe alike during World War I.
1866		Wassily Kandinsky, Russian-born painter.
1875		Rainer Maria Rilke, German poet.
1892		Francisco Franco, Spanish general and dictator who came to power as a result of the Spanish Civil War.
1924		Frank Press, geophysicist.
1937		Max Baer Jr., actor, screenwriter, director, producer; best know for his role as Jethro on The Beverly Hillbillies TV series
1940		Gary Gilmore, American murderer who demanded his death sentence be carried out; he was the first prisoner executed in the US following the Supreme Court’s ruling on the death penalty in Gregg v. Georgia.
1944		Chris Hillman, singer, songwrier, musician; performed with the bands The Byrds, The Hillmen, The Flying Burrito Brothers, and Manassas.
1945		A. Scott Berg, Pulitzer Prize–winning biographer (Lindberg, 1998).
1949		Jeff Bridges, actor, producer; won Academy Award for Best Actor as Otis "Bad" Blake in Crazy Heart (2009).