On this day...

1489 Battle of Baza-Spanish army captures Baza from the Moors
1563 Council of Trent holds last session, after 18 years
1619 America's First Thanksgiving Day (Virginia)
1674 Father Marquette builds first dwelling in what is now Chicago
1682 First General Assembly in Pennsylvania (Chester)
1783 Gen. Washington bids officers farewell at Fraunce's Tavern, NYC
1812 Peter Gaillard of Lancaster, PA patents a horse-drawn mower
1816 James Monroe elected 5th US President, defeating Federalist Rufus King
1833 American Anti-Slavery Society organizes
1836 Whig party holds its first national convention, Harrisburg, Pa
1864 Romanian Jews are forbidden to practice law
1867 Grange organized to protect farm interests
1875 William Marcy "Boss" Tweed (NYC-Tammany Hall) escapes from jail
1899 56th Congress (1899-1901) convenes
1899 Webb Hayes, son of President Rutherford Hayes receives Medal of Honor
1909 First Grey Cup game (University of Toronto 26, Toronto Parkdale 6)
1915 Ku Klux Klan receives charter from Fulton County Georgia
1915 Panama Pacific International Exposition opens
1918 Kingdom of Servs, Croats & Slovenes (Yugoslavia) proclaimed
1918 President Wilson sails for Versailles Peace Conference in France, first chief executive to travel outside US while in office
1920 First Pro football playoff game Buffalo-7, Canton-3 at Polo Grounds
1933 FDR creates Federal Alcohol Control Administration
1935 1,200 at St Joseph's College (Philadelphia) enroll in anti-communism class
1942 First US citizenship granted an alien on foreign soil (James Hoey)
1942 FDR orders dismantling of Works Progress Administration
1942 US bombers strike Italian mainland for First time in WW II
1942 Works Progress Administration liquidated
1943 Commissioner Landis announces any baseball club may sign Negroes
1945 Doc Blanchard becomes first junior to win Heisman Trophy
1945 Senate approves US participation in United Nations
1947 USSR joins International Amateur Athletic Union
1949 Bob Gage ties NFL record of a 97 yard touchdown run
1951 Superheated gases roll down Mount Catarman (Philippines), kills 500
1952 Killer fogs begin in London England. "Smog" becomes a word
1956 Paul Hornung wins the Heisman Trophy
1957 First edition of "Chase's Annual Events" published
1957 two commuter trains collide in heavy fog killing 92 (St John's England)
1961 Museum of Modern Art hung Matisse's Le Bateau upside down for 47 days
1961 Tanganyika becomes the 104th member of the UN
1965 Gemini 7 launched with two astronauts
1973 John Cappelletti wins Heisman trophy
1974 Dutch DC-8 charter crashes in Sri Lanka killing 191 Moslem pilgrims
1976 Elizabeth Taylor's 7th marriage (John Warner)
1977 Jean-Bedel Bokassa, ruler of Central African Empire, crowns himself
1977 NFL's 5,000th game, Cincinnati beats KC 27-7
1978 Dianne Feinstein is named SF First female mayor
1979 Liza Minnelli's third marriage (Mark Gero)
1981 "Falcon Crest" premieres on CBS-TV
1983 US jet fighters strike Syrian anti-aircraft positions in Lebanon
1985 President Reagan appoints Vice Admiral John Poindexter as security adviser
1990 Due to Persian Gulf crisis gas hits $1.60 per gallon price in NYC
1990 Iraq announces it will release all 3,300 Soviet hostages
1991 Muslim Shiites release last US hostage Terry Anderson (held 6+ years)
1992 US Troops land in Somalia

Birthdays which occurred on December 4th:

1443 Pope Julius II, (1503-13), patron of Michelangelo, Bramante, Raphael
1584 John Cotton, Puritan clergyman in Massachusetts Bay colony
1795 Thomas Carlyle, Scotland, essayist/historian (French Revolution)
1803 Augustus Zerega diZerega, Martinique, ship owner (Red Z Lane)
1822 Frances Crabbe, England, feminist founded Anti-Vivisection Society
1835 Samuel Butler, England, author (Erewhom, Way of All Flesh)
1861 Lillian Russell, US, singer/actress (Great Mogul)
1865 Edith Louisa Cavell, England, nurse (WW I)
1866 Vassily Kandisky, abstract artist (Dreamy Inspiration)
1875 Rainer Maria Rilke, Germany, poet (Duino Elegies)
1892 Francisco Franco, general/dictator of Spain (1936-85)
1903 Cornell Woolrich, US, writer (El Angel Nego)
1908 A.D. Hershey, US, biologist, worked with bacteriophages (Nobel 1969)
1910 Alex North, Chester Pennsylvania, composer (Viva Zapata)
1915 Allan Jackson, Hot Springs Arkansas, newscaster (Youth Takes a Stand)
1922 Deanna Durbin, actress/singer (100 Men & a Girl)
1923 Charles Keating, Los Angeles district attorney
1924 John Portman, SC, architect (Ivan Allen Award-1964)
1930 Harvey Kuenn, baseball player (AL Rookie of the Year-1953)
1930 Ronnie Corbett, England, comedian (Two Ronnies)
1932 Roh Tae Woo, Taegu South Korea, President South Korea
1933 Horst Buchholz, actor (Magnificent 7, Raid on Entebbe, Sahara)
1934 Victor French, Santa Barbara California, actor (Highway to Heaven)
1934 Wink Martindale, Jackson Tn, TV host (Tic-Tac-Dough, Can You Top This)
1937 Max Baer, Jr., Oakland California, actor (Jethro-Beverly Hillbillies)
1938 Andre Marrou, Libertarian Presidential candidate (1992)
1940 Freddy Cannon, rocker (Palisades Park)
1942 Chris Hillman, rocker (Byrds-Turn Turn Turn, Mr Tambourine Man)
1944 Dennis Wilson, California, drummer/singer (Beach Boys)
1949 Jeff Bridges, actor (Jagged Edge, Against All Odds)
1950 Pamela Stephenson, Auckland NZ, actress (Superman 3, Saturday Night Live)
1951 Patricia Wettig, actress (Nancy Weston-30 Something)
1956 Bernard King, basketball player (NY Knicks, NJ Nets)
1956 Blagoi Blagoyev, Bulgaria, 82.5 kg weightlifter (Olympics silver-1976)
1957 Raul Boesel, Brazil, Indy-car racer (CART)

Deaths which occurred on December 4th:

1576 Rheticus, mathematician
1732 John Gay, poet (Beggar's Opera), dies at 47
1807 Prince Hall, activist & Masonic leader, dies in Boston
1976 Benjamin Britten, British composer (Beggar's Opera), dies at 63
1979 Robert Karnes, actor (Max-The Lawless Years), dies at 62
1983 Estelle Omens, actress, dies at 55
1987 Rouben Mamoulian, director (Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde), dies at 90