04 December History
- 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.
04 December Birthdays
- 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.