History Snacks

What happened in history on December 4?

Change Date

~ 771 ~

Austrasian King Carloman I dies, leaving his brother Charlemagne as the sole ruler of the Frankish Kingdom.

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~ 1110 ~

The Crusaders conquer Sidon.

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~ 1619 ~

Settlers from Bristol, England arrive at Berkeley Hundred in present-day Charles City County, Virginia. The group's charter proclaimed that the day "be yearly and perpetually kept holy as a day of thanksgiving to Almighty God."

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~ 1674 ~

Father Jacques Marquette founds a mission on the shores of Lake Michigan to minister to the Illiniwek, a group of Native Americans.

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~ 1783 ~

At Fraunces Tavern in New York City, U.S. General George Washington bids farewell to his officers.

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~ 1867 ~

Former Minnesota farmer Oliver Hudson Kelley founds the Grange, a fraternal organization that promotes the well-being of farmers.

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~ 1918 ~

U.S. President Woodrow Wilson sails for the World War I peace talks in Versailles, becoming the first U.S. president to travel to Europe while in office.

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~ 1942 ~

The Manhattan Project's Chicago Pile-1 achieves criticality, marking the first controlled nuclear chain reaction.

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~ 1965 ~

The Gemini 7 spacecraft was launched with astronauts Frank Borman and Jim Lovell.

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~ 1978 ~

Following the murder of Mayor George Moscone, Dianne Feinstein becomes San Francisco's first female mayor.

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~ 1991 ~

Journalist Terry A. Anderson is released after seven years in captivity as a hostage in Beirut.

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~ 1998 ~

The Space Shuttle Endeavour blasts off on a mission to repair the Hubble Space Telescope.

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~ 2012 ~

NASA's robotic rover, Curiosity, discovers that Mars' soil contains water.

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