December 4

This Date In History

1110

Crusaders conquer the Lebanese port town of Sidon.

Famed Arabic poet Omar Khayyam dies.

Pope John XXII dies.

Pope Julius II is born.

The notorious French emissary Cardinal Richelieu dies.

A small missionary is founded on Lake Michigan by French Catholic Jacques Marquette. It takes another 100 years before the city is officially incorporated as Chicago, Illinois.

Noted English political theorist Thomas Hobbes, whose book Leviathan became a central starting point for the modern democracy, dies at the age of 81.

At Fraunces Tavern in lower Manhattan, George Washington delivers his famous tearjerker farewell to his soldiers and staff.

Thomas Carlyle, eminent Victorian historian, is born. His extensions of John Stuart Mill's and Ralph Waldo Emerson's work gave rise to both Socialism and Fascism, particulary in post-World War I Germany.

Italian physcist Luigi Galvani, whose work with electricity gave us the word "galvanize", dies.

English author and translator Samuel Butler is born. He is perhaps most famous for his theory that the Odyssey was written by a young woman, though he also edited several collections of Shakespeare's works and wrote the novel The Way Of All Flesh, a scathing look at Victorian hypocrisy.

Native American rebel Crazy Horse, who led the charge against Custer at Little Big Horn, is born.

Respected Russian painter Wassily Kandinsky, known for his minimalism and vivid use of color, is born.

Disgruntled farmer Oliver Hudson Kelley forms the farmers' union known as The Grange.

Hall of Fame baseball player Jesse Burkett is born.

The Mary Celeste is found 9 days after it was reported missing. The fact that no crew member was ever found again sparked a mystery that thrives to this day.

Tammany Hall politician and recent convict Boss Tweed escapes from prison; he would later resurface in Cuba.
Nobel Prize-winning author Rainer Maria Rilke is born.

The Spanish dictator Generalissimo Francisco Franco (who is still dead) is born.

Nobel Prize-winning psychologist Alfred Hershey, who helped lead the studies of viruses and their genetic structures, is born.

Noted comedian Fatty Arbuckle is acquitted of manslaughter when the jury hangs for a fifth consecutive day.
Famed actress and singer Deanna Durbin is born.

1953's American League Rookie of the Year Harvey Kuenn is born.

Actor Max Baer, Jr., most famous for his role as Jethro on the television series "The Beverly Hillbillies", is born.

Velvet Underground violinist and guitarist John Cale is born.

After finally achieving some success economically and domestically, President Franklin D. Roosevelt officially closes the WPA, bringing an end to the last of the major New Deal work programs.

Dennis Wilson, who along with brothers Brian and Carl helped found The Beach Boys, is born.

The United States officially joins the United Nations, by a vote of 65 to 7.

Actor Jeff Bridges (Tron, The Big Lebowski) is born.

Lee Smith, baseball's all-time leader in saves, is born.

Oscar-winning Actress Marisa Tomei (My Cousin Vinnie, Oscar) is born.

Actor Bert Lahr, most famous for his role as The Cowardly Lion in the MGM musical blockbuster The Wizard of Oz, dies.

Rapper Jay-Z (nee Shawn Carter) is born.

Model and television host Tyra Banks is born.

Benjamin Britten, composer who converted such notable works as Billy Budd, The Turn of the Screw, and Thomas Mann's Death in Venice into operas, dies.

A Malaysia Airlines 737 is hijacked and explodes mid-air over the Straits of Jahore. Over 100 people die.

Led Zeppelin officially calls it quits, marking the end of one of the greatest bands in rock history.

Actor Gary Busey suffers major injuries in a motorcycle crash. He would be convicted later of driving under the influence and served one years' probation.

Kidnapped American journalist Terry Anderson is finally released after seven years' captivity in Beirut, the longest American captive in Middle Eastern history.
Pan American Airlines declares bankruptcy and shuts its doors for good.

Space rocker and musical critic Frank Zappa dies. He was 52.