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1 - 31 of 31 Interesting & Fun 4th of December Facts: |
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| 771 - Austrasian King Carloman dies, leaving his brother Charlemagne King of the now complete Frankish Kingdom. |
| 1563 - The final session of the Council of Trent is held (it opened on December 13, 1545). |
| 1619 - 38 colonists from Berkeley Parish in England disembark in Virginia and give thanks to God (this is considered by many to be the first Thanksgiving in the Americas). |
| 1639 - Jeremiah Horrocks made the first observation of a transit of Venus. (November 24 under the Julian calendar.) |
| 1674 - Father Jacques Marquette founds a mission on the shores of Lake Michigan to minister to the Illiniwek (the mission would later grow into the city of Chicago, Illinois). |
| 1676 - Battle of Lund: A Danish army under the command of King Christian V of Denmark engages the Swedish army commanded by Field Marshal Simon Grundel-Helmfelt. |
| 1783 - At Fraunces Tavern in New York City, US General George Washington formally bids his officers farewell. |
| 1791 - The first issue of The Observer, the world's first Sunday newspaper, is published. |
| 1829 - In the face of fierce opposition, British governor Lord William Bentinck carries a regulation declaring that all who abetted suttee in India were guilty of culpable homicide. |
| 1867 - Former Minnesota farmer Oliver Hudson Kelley founds the Order of the Patrons of Husbandry (better known today as the Grange movement). |
| 1872 - The crewless American ship Mary Celeste is found by the British brig Dei Gratia (the ship was abandoned for 9 days but was only slightly damaged). |
| 1875 - Notorious New York City politician Boss Tweed escapes from prison and flees to Cuba, then Spain. |
| 1906 - Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Inc., the first intercollegiate Greek-letter fraternity in the United States established for men of African descent, was founded at Cornell University. |
| 1918 - US President Woodrow Wilson sails for the World War I peace talks in Versailles, becoming the first US president to travel to Europe while in office. |
| 1921 - The Virginia Rappe manslaughter trial against Roscoe 'Fatty' Arbuckle ends in a hung jury. |
| 1943 - World War II: In Yugoslavia, resistance leader Marshal Tito proclaims a provisional democratic Yugoslav government in-exile. |
| 1943 - US President Franklin D. Roosevelt closes the Works Progress Administration. |
| 1945 - By a vote of 65 to 7, the United States Senate approves United States participation in the United Nations (the UN was established on October 24, 1945). |
| 1951 - Mir Waiz Maulvi Muhammad Yusouf appointed President of Azad Kashmir Government. |
| 1952 - Great Smog of 1952: A cold fog descends upon London, combining with air pollution and killing up to 12,000 in the weeks and months that follow. |
| 1958 - Dahomey (present-day Benin) becomes a self-governing country within the French Community. |
| 1967 - Vietnam War: US and South Vietnamese forces engage Viet Cong troops in the Mekong Delta. |
| 1969 - Black Panther members Fred Hampton and Mark Clark are shot and killed in their sleep during a raid by 14 Chicago police officers. |
| 1971 - UN Security Council calls emergency session to consider deteriorating situation between India and Pakistan. |
| 1977 - Malaysia Airlines Flight 653 is hijacked and crashes in Tanjong Kupang, Johor, killing 100. |
| 1978 - Following the murder of Mayor George Moscone, Dianne Feinstein becomes San Francisco, California's first woman mayor (she served until January 8, 1988). |
| 1980 - The rock group Led Zeppelin formally announce their breakup. |
| 1982 - The People's Republic of China adopts its current constitution. |
| 1992 - Somali Civil War: President George H. W. Bush orders 28,000 US troops to Somalia. |
| 1994 - Pakistan wins World Hockey Championship after 12 years, beating the Netherlands by four goals to three, in Sydney. |
| 1998 - Unity, the second module of the International Space Station, is launched. |
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