TODAY’S HISTORY LESSON: DEC 4
0771 With the death of his brother Carloman, Charlemagne becomes sole ruler of the Frankish Empire.
1259 Treaty of Paris: English king Henry III & French king Louis IX
1563 Council of Trent holds its last session, after 18 years. Last ecumenical council for more than 300 years.
1783 George Washington delivered his farewell address to his officers at Fraunces Tavern in New York City.
1791 Britain’s Observer, oldest Sunday newspaper in the world, first published
1829 Britain outlaws “suttee” in India (widow burning herself to death on her husband’s funeral pyre)
1861 The U.S. Senate, voting 36 to 0, expels Senator John C. Brekinridge of Kentucky because of his joining the Confederate Army.
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.
1875 William Marcy “Boss” Tweed of New York’s Tammany Hall escaped from jail and fled the country.
1900 The French National Assembly, successor to the States-General, rejects Nationalist General Mercier’s proposal to plan an invasion of England.
1930 Vatican approves rhythm method for birth control
1933 FDR creates Federal Alcohol Control Administration
1941 Nazi ordinances places Jews of Poland outside protection of courts
1942 U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt ordered the dismantling of the Works Progress Administration. The program had been created in order to provide jobs during the Great Depression.
1945 The Senate approved U.S. participation in the United Nations.
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 Killer fogs begin in London England, “Smog” becomes a word
1977 Jean-Bedel Bokassa, ruler of the Central African Empire, crowned himself emperor in a ceremony believed to have cost more than $100 million. He was deposed 2 years later.
1978 Dianne Feinstein became the first female mayor of San Francisco
1981 President Ronald Reagan broadens the power of the CIA by allowing spying in the United States.
1982 China adopts its current constitution
1984 A five-day hijack drama began as four men seized a Kuwaiti airliner en route to Pakistan and forced it to land in Tehran. Two American passengers were killed by the hijackers.
1990 Due to Persian Gulf crisis gas hits $1.60 per gallon price in New York NY
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.
1993 The Angolan government and its UNITA guerrilla foes formally adopted terms for a truce. The conflict was killing an estimated 1,000 people per day.
2003 Interpol put the former president of Liberia, Charles Taylor, on its most-wanted list.
REFERENCES: history.net, onthisday.com, thepeoplehistory.com, timeandate.com, factmonster.com, scopesys.com, on-this-day.com
