December 4

"December 4th" redirects here. For the song by Jay-Z, see December 4th (song).

December 4 is the 338th day of the year (339th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 27 days remaining until the end of the year. This date is slightly more likely to fall on a Tuesday, Friday or Sunday (58 in 400 years each) than on Wednesday or Thursday (57), and slightly less likely to occur on a Monday or Saturday (56).

Events

• 771 – Austrasian king Carloman I dies, leaving his brother Charlemagne king of the now complete Frankish Kingdom.
• 1110 – The Kingdom of Jerusalem captures Sidon.
• 1259 – Kings Louis IX of France and Henry III of England agree to the Treaty of Paris, in which Henry renounces his claims to French-controlled territory on continental Europe (including Normandy) in exchange for Louis withdrawing his support for English rebels.
• 1563 – The final session of the Council of Trent is held. (It had opened on December 13, 1545.)
• 1619 – Thirty-eight colonists arrive at Berkeley Hundred, Virginia. The group's charter proclaims that the day "be yearly and perpetually kept holy as a day of thanksgiving to Almighty God."
• 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.)
• 1676 – Battle of Lund: A Danish army under the command of King Christian V engages the Swedish army commanded by Field Marshal Simon Grundel-Helmfelt.
• 1745 – Charles Edward Stuart's army reaches Derby, its furthest point during the Second Jacobite Rising.
• 1783 – At Fraunces Tavern in New York City, U.S. General George Washington bids farewell to his officers.
• 1786 – Mission Santa Barbara is dedicated (on the feast day of Saint Barbara).
• 1791 – The first edition of The Observer, the world's first Sunday newspaper, is published.
• 1829 – In the face of fierce local opposition, British Governor-General Lord William Bentinck issues a regulation declaring that anyone who abets suttee in Bengal is guilty of culpable homicide.
• 1864 – American Civil War: Sherman's March to the Sea: At Waynesboro, Georgia, forces under Union General Judson Kilpatrick prevent troops led by Confederate General Joseph Wheeler from interfering with Union General William T. Sherman's campaign destroying a wide swath of the South on his march to the Atlantic Ocean from Atlanta.
• 1867 – Former Minnesota farmer Oliver Hudson Kelley founds the Order of the Patrons of Husbandry (better known today as the Grange).
• 1872 – The crewless American ship Mary Celeste is found by the Canadian brig Dei Gratia. The ship had been abandoned for nine days but was only slightly damaged.
• 1875 – Notorious New York City politician Boss Tweed escapes from prison. He will later be recaptured in Spain.
• 1881 – The first edition of the Los Angeles Times is published.
• 1893 – First Matabele War: A patrol of 34 British South Africa Company soldiers is ambushed and annihilated by more than 3,000 Matabele warriors on the Shangani River in Matabeleland.
• 1906 – Alpha Phi Alpha the first black intercollegiate Greek lettered fraternity was founded at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York.
• 1909 – In Canadian football, the First Grey Cup game is played. The University of Toronto Varsity Blues defeat the Toronto Parkdale Canoe Club, 26–6.
• 1909 – The Montreal Canadiens ice hockey club, the oldest surviving professional hockey franchise in the world, is founded as a charter member of the National Hockey Association.
• 1918 – U.S. 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 first Virginia Rappe manslaughter trial against Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle ends in a hung jury.
• 1937 – The first issue of the children's comic The Dandy is published.
• 1939 – World War II: HMS Nelson is struck by a mine (laid by U-31) off the Scottish coast and is laid up for repairs until August 1940.
• 1942 – World War II: Carlson's patrol during the Guadalcanal Campaign ends.
• 1943 – World War II: In Yugoslavia, resistance leader Marshal Josip Broz Tito proclaims a provisional democratic Yugoslav government in-exile.
• 1943 – World War II: U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt closes down the Works Progress Administration, because of the high levels of wartime employment in the United States.
• 1945 – By a vote of 65–7, the United States Senate approves United States participation in the United Nations. (The UN had been established on October 24, 1945.)
• 1954 – The first Burger King is opened in Miami.
• 1956 – The Million Dollar Quartet (Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins, and Johnny Cash) get together at Sun Studio for the first and last time.
• 1963 – Pope Paul VI promulgates the first two documents approved by the Second Vatican Council: the Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy and the Decree on the Media of Social Communications.
• 1967 – Vietnam War: U.S. and South Vietnamese forces engage Viet Cong troops in the Mekong Delta.
• 1969 – Black Panther Party members Fred Hampton and Mark Clark are shot and killed in their sleep during a raid by 14 Chicago police officers.
• 1971 – The United Nations Security Council calls an emergency session to consider the deteriorating situation between India and Pakistan.
• 1971 – The Indian Navy attacks the Pakistan Navy and Karachi.
• 1971 – The Montreux Casino in Switzerland is set ablaze by someone wielding a flare gun during a Frank Zappa concert; the incident would be noted in the Deep Purple song "Smoke on the Water".
• 1971 – "The Troubles": The Ulster Volunteer Force bombs a Catholic-owned pub in Belfast, killing 15 civilians and wounding 17. It was the city's highest death toll from a single incident during the conflict.
• 1975 – Suriname joins the United Nations.
• 1977 – Jean-Bédel Bokassa, president of the Central African Republic, crowns himself Emperor Bokassa I of the Central African Empire.
• 1977 – Malaysian Airline System 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's first female mayor. (She will serve until January 8, 1988.)
• 1979 – The Hastie fire in Hull kills three schoolboys and eventually leads police to arrest Bruce George Peter Lee.
• 1980 – English rock group Led Zeppelin officially disbands, following the death of drummer John Bonham on September 25.
• 1981 – South Africa grants independence to the Ciskei "homeland" (not recognized by any government outside South Africa).
• 1982 – The People's Republic of China adopts its current constitution.
• 1984 – Sri Lankan Civil War: Sri Lankan Army soldiers kill 107–150 civilians in Mannar.
• 1984 – Hezbollah militants hijack a Kuwait Airlines plane, killing four passengers.
• 1991 – Journalist Terry A. Anderson is released after seven years in captivity as a hostage in Beirut. He is the last and longest-held American hostage in Lebanon.
• 1991 – Captain Mark Pyle pilots Clipper Goodwill, a Pan American World Airways Boeing 727-221ADV, to Miami International Airport, ending 64 years of Pan Am operations.
• 1992 – Somali Civil War: President George H. W. Bush orders 28,000 U.S. troops to Somalia in Northeast Africa.
• 1993 – A truce is concluded between the government of Angola and UNITA rebels.
• 1998 – The Unity Module, the second module of the International Space Station, is launched.
• 2005 – Tens of thousands of people in Hong Kong protest for democracy and call on the government to allow universal and equal suffrage.
• 2006 – Six black youths assault a white teenager in Jena, Louisiana.
• 2013 – Xavier Bettel becomes Luxembourg's first openly gay Prime Minister.
• 2014 – Islamic insurgents kill three state police at a traffic circle before taking an empty school and a "press house" in Grozny. Ten state forces die with 28 injured in gun battles ending with ten insurgents killed.
• 2015 – A firebomb is thrown into a restaurant in the Egyptian capital of Cairo killing 17 people.

Births

• 34 – Persius, Roman poet (d. 62)
• 1555 – Heinrich Meibom, German poet and historian (d. 1625)
• 1585 – John Cotton, English-American minister and theologian (d. 1652)
• 1595 – Jean Chapelain, French poet and critic (d. 1674)
• 1646 – Alain Emmanuel de Coëtlogon, French field marshal (d. 1730)
• 1647 – Daniel Eberlin, German soldier and composer (d. 1715)
• 1660 – André Campra, French composer and conductor (d. 1744)
• 1667 – Michel Pignolet de Montéclair, French composer and educator (d. 1737)
• 1670 – John Aislabie, English politician, Chancellor of the Exchequer (d. 1742)
• 1711 – Barbara of Portugal (d. 1758)
• 1713 – Gasparo Gozzi, Italian playwright and critic (d. 1786)
• 1777 – Juliette Récamier, French businesswoman (d. 1849)
• 1795 – Thomas Carlyle, Scottish-English historian, philosopher, and academic (d. 1881)
• 1798 – Jules Armand Dufaure, French lawyer and politician, 33rd Prime Minister of France (d. 1881)
• 1817 – Nikoloz Baratashvili, Georgian poet and author (d. 1845)
• 1835 – Samuel Butler, English author and critic (d. 1902)
• 1844 – Franz Xavier Wernz, German religious leader, 25th Superior General of the Society of Jesus (d. 1914)
• 1861 – Hannes Hafstein, Icelandic poet and politician, 1st Prime Minister of Iceland (d. 1922)
• 1861 – Lillian Russell, American actress and singer (d. 1922)
• 1865 – Edith Cavell, English nurse (d. 1915)
• 1868 – Jesse Burkett, American baseball player, coach, and manager (d. 1953)
• 1875 – Joe Corbett, American baseball player and coach (d. 1945)
• 1875 – Rainer Maria Rilke, Austrian-Swiss poet and author (d. 1926)
• 1878 – Grand Duke Michael Alexandrovich of Russia (d. 1918)
• 1881 – Erwin von Witzleben, Polish-German field marshal (d. 1944)
• 1883 – Katharine Susannah Prichard, Australian author and playwright (d. 1969)
• 1889 – Lloyd Bacon, American actor and director (d. 1955)
• 1892 – Francisco Franco, Spanish general and politician, Prime Minister of Spain (d. 1975)
• 1892 – Liu Bocheng, Chinese commander and politician (d. 1986)
• 1893 – Herbert Read, English poet and critic (d. 1968)
• 1895 – Feng Youlan, Chinese philosopher and academic (d. 1990)
• 1899 – Karl-Günther Heimsoth, German physician and politician (d. 1934)
• 1899 – Charlie Spencer, English footballer and manager (d. 1953)
• 1903 – Cornell Woolrich, American author (d. 1968)
• 1904 – Albert Norden, German journalist and politician (d. 1982)
• 1908 – Alfred Hershey, American bacteriologist and geneticist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1997)
• 1909 – Jimmy Jewel, English actor and singer (d. 1995)
• 1910 – Alex North, American composer and conductor (d. 1991)
• 1910 – R. Venkataraman, Indian lawyer and politician, 6th President of India (d. 2009)
• 1912 – Pappy Boyington, American colonel and pilot, Medal of Honor recipient (d. 1988)
• 1913 – Mark Robson, Canadian-American director and producer (d. 1978)
• 1914 – Rudolf Hausner, Austrian painter and sculptor (d. 1995)
• 1914 – Claude Renoir, French cinematographer (d. 1993)
• 1915 – Eddie Heywood, American pianist and composer (d. 1989)
• 1916 – Ely Jacques Kahn, Jr., American journalist and author (d. 1994)
• 1919 – I. K. Gujral, Indian poet and politician, 12th Prime Minister of India (d. 2012)
• 1920 – Nadir Afonso, Portuguese painter and architect (d. 2013)
• 1920 – Michael Bates, Indian-English actor (d. 1978)
• 1920 – Jeanne Manford, American educator and activist, co-founded PFLAG (d. 2013)
• 1921 – Deanna Durbin, Canadian-French actress and singer (d. 2013)
• 1922 – Gérard Philipe, French actor (d. 1959)
• 1923 – Charles Keating, American lawyer and financier (d. 2014)
• 1923 – Eagle Keys, American-Canadian football player and coach (d. 2012)
• 1923 – John Krish, English director and screenwriter
• 1924 – John C. Portman, Jr., American architect, designed the Renaissance Center and Tomorrow Square
• 1925 – Albert Bandura, Canadian-American psychologist and academic
• 1926 – Monty M. Wyche, American soldier, lawyer, and judge (d. 2014)
• 1927 – William Labov, American linguist and academic
• 1929 – Şakir Eczacıbaşı, Turkish pharmacist, photographer, and businessman (d. 2010)
• 1930 – Ronnie Corbett, Scottish actor and screenwriter (d. 2016)
• 1930 – Jim Hall, American guitarist and composer (d. 2013)
• 1931 – Alex Delvecchio, Canadian ice hockey player, coach, and manager
• 1931 – Wally George, American radio and television host (d. 2003)
• 1932 – Roh Tae-woo, South Korean general and politician, 6th President of South Korea
• 1933 – Wink Martindale, American game show host and producer
• 1933 – Horst Buchholz, German actor (d. 2003)
• 1934 – Victor French, American actor and director (d. 1989)
• 1935 – Paul O'Neill, American businessman and politician, 72nd United States Secretary of the Treasury
• 1935 – Robert Vesco, American financier (d. 2007)
• 1936 – Bernie McInerney, American actor
• 1937 – Max Baer, Jr., American actor, director, and producer
• 1938 – Andre Marrou, American lawyer and politician
• 1938 – Yvonne Minton, Australian-English soprano and actress
• 1939 – Stephen W. Bosworth, American academic and diplomat, United States Ambassador to South Korea (d. 2016)
• 1939 – Joan Brady, American-British author
• 1939 – Freddy Cannon, American singer and guitarist
• 1940 – Gerd Achterberg, German footballer and manager
• 1944 – Chris Hillman, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (The Byrds, The Hillmen, The Flying Burrito Brothers, and Manassas)
• 1944 – Anna McGarrigle, Canadian musician and singer-songwriter (Kate & Anna McGarrigle and Mountain City Four)
• 1944 – François Migault, French race car driver (d. 2012)
• 1944 – Dennis Wilson, American singer-songwriter, producer, and drummer (The Beach Boys) (d. 1983)
• 1945 – Roberta Bondar, Canadian neurologist, academic, and astronaut
• 1946 – Geert Mak, Dutch journalist and author
• 1947 – Jane Lubchenco, American ecologist, academic, and diplomat
• 1947 – Terry Woods, Irish guitarist (The Pogues, Steeleye Span, Sweeney's Men, The Bucks, and Dr. Strangely Strange)
• 1948 – Southside Johnny, American singer-songwriter (Southside Johnny & The Asbury Jukes)
• 1949 – A. Scott Berg, American journalist and author
• 1949 – Jeff Bridges, American actor, singer, and producer
• 1949 – Paula England, American sociologist and academic
• 1949 – Pamela Stephenson, New Zealand-Australian actress and psychologist
• 1949 – Jock Stirrup, Baron Stirrup, English air marshal and politician
• 1950 – Bjørn Kjellemyr, Norwegian bassist and composer
• 1951 – Gary Rossington, American guitarist (Lynyrd Skynyrd, Rossington Collins Band, and The Rossington Band)
• 1951 – Patricia Wettig, American actress and playwright
• 1953 – Gwen Humble, American actress
• 1953 – Rick Middleton, Canadian ice hockey player and sportscaster
• 1954 – Tony Todd, American actor and producer
• 1955 – Philip Hammond, English businessman and politician, Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs
• 1955 – Dave Taylor, Canadian-American ice hockey player and manager
• 1955 – Cassandra Wilson, American singer-songwriter and producer (M-Base)
• 1956 – Nia Griffith, Irish-Welsh educator and politician, Shadow Secretary of State for Wales
• 1956 – Bernard King, American basketball player and sportscaster
• 1957 – Raul Boesel, Brazilian race car driver and radio host
• 1957 – Eric S. Raymond, American computer programmer and author
• 1958 – Tim Hutchings, English runner
• 1959 – Susan W. Krebs, American accountant and politician
• 1959 – Paul McGrath, English-born Irish footballer
• 1959 – Christa Luding-Rothenburger, German speed skater and cyclist
• 1960 – David Green, Nicaraguan-American baseball player
• 1960 – Glynis Nunn, Australian heptathlete and hurler
• 1961 – Frank Reich, American football player and coach
• 1962 – Nixon Kiprotich, Kenyan runner
• 1962 – Kevin Richardson, English footballer and manager
• 1963 – Sergey Bubka, Ukrainian pole vaulter
• 1964 – Scott Hastings, Scottish rugby player and sportscaster
• 1964 – Marisa Tomei, American actress
• 1965 – Álex de la Iglesia, Spanish director, producer, and screenwriter
• 1965 – Shaun Hollamby, English race car driver and businessman
• 1966 – Masta Ace, American rapper (eMC and Juice Crew)
• 1966 – Fred Armisen, American actor, screenwriter, drummer, and bandleader (Trenchmouth)
• 1966 – Andy Hess, American bass player (Gov't Mule and The Black Crowes)
• 1966 – Suzanne Malveaux, American journalist
• 1966 – Suzette M. Malveaux, American lawyer and academic
• 1966 – Chris Shepherd, English animator, director, producer, and screenwriter
• 1968 – Mike Barrowman, Paraguayan-American swimmer
• 1968 – Dionne Farris, American singer-songwriter, producer and actress
• 1969 – Jay Z, American rapper, producer, and actor, co-founded Roc-A-Fella Records
• 1969 – Plum Sykes, English journalist and author
• 1970 – Kevin Sussman, American actor
• 1970 – Sylvester Terkay, American wrestler and mixed martial artist
• 1971 – Shannon Briggs, American boxer and actor
• 1972 – Jassen Cullimore, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1972 – Yūko Miyamura, Japanese voice actress and singer
• 1973 – Tyra Banks, American model, actress, and producer
• 1973 – Frank Boeijen, Dutch keyboard player (The Gathering)
• 1973 – Michael Jackson, English footballer and manager
• 1973 – Mina Caputo, American singer-songwriter and keyboard player (Life of Agony)
• 1973 – Ferry Corsten, Dutch DJ and producer (Gouryella and Veracocha)
• 1973 – Steven Menzies, Australian rugby player
• 1973 – Kate Rusby, English singer-songwriter and guitarist (The Poozies)
• 1973 – Racci Shay, American drummer (Murderdolls, Synical, Dope, and Genitorturers)
• 1974 – Tadahito Iguchi, Japanese baseball player
• 1976 – Amie Comeaux, American singer (d. 1997)
• 1976 – Kristina Groves, Canadian speed skater
• 1977 – Darvis Patton, American sprinter
• 1977 – Big Pokey, American rapper (Screwed Up Click)
• 1977 – Morten Veland, Norwegian guitarist and songwriter
• 1978 – Jaclyn Victor, Malaysian singer and actress
• 1979 – Ysabella Brave, American singer-songwriter
• 1979 – Jay DeMerit, American soccer player
• 1980 – Rick Victor, Canadian wrestler and manager
• 1981 – Lila McCann, American singer and actress
• 1981 – Brian Vandborg, Danish cyclist
• 1982 – Nathan Douglas, English triple jumper
• 1982 – Waldo Ponce, Chilean footballer
• 1982 – Ho-Pin Tung, Dutch-Chinese race car driver
• 1982 – Nick Vujicic, Australian evangelist
• 1983 – Chinx, American rapper (d. 2015)
• 1983 – Jimmy Bartel, Australian footballer
• 1984 – Marco Giambruno, Italian footballer
• 1984 – Anna Petrakova, Russian basketball player
• 1984 – Joe Thomas, American football player
• 1985 – Andrew Brackman, American baseball player
• 1985 – Stephen Dawson, Irish footballer
• 1985 – Carlos Gómez, Dominican baseball player
• 1986 – Kaija Udras, Estonian skier
• 1986 – Martell Webster, American basketball player
• 1987 – Orlando Brown, American actor and rapper
• 1987 – Yukina Kinoshita, Japanese model, actress, singer, and television personality
• 1987 – Kethy Õunpuu, Estonian footballer
• 1988 – Andriy Pylyavskyi, Ukrainian footballer
• 1990 – Lukman Haruna, Nigerian footballer
• 1990 – Igor Sjunin, Estonian triple jumper
• 1992 – Jean-Claude Iranzi, Rwandan footballer

Deaths

• 749 – John of Damascus, Syrian priest and saint (b. 676)
• 771 – Carloman I, Frankish king (b. 751)
• 1075 – Anno II, German archbishop and saint (b. 1010)
• 1131 – Omar Khayyám, Persian poet, astronomer, mathematician, and philosopher (b. 1048)
• 1214 – William the Lion, Scottish king (b. 1143)
• 1270 – Theobald II of Navarre (b. 1238)
• 1334 – Pope John XXII (b. 1249)
• 1340 – Henry Burghersh, English bishop and politician, Lord Chancellor of England (b. 1292)
• 1456 – Charles I, Duke of Bourbon (b. 1401)
• 1459 – Adolphus VIII, Count of Holstein (b. 1401)
• 1576 – Georg Joachim Rheticus, Austrian-Slovak mathematician and cartographer (b. 1514)
• 1585 – John Willock, Scottish minister and reformer (b. 1515)
• 1609 – Alexander Hume, Scottish poet (b. 1560)
• 1642 – Cardinal Richelieu, French cardinal and politician, Chief Minister to the French Monarch (b. 1585)
• 1649 – William Drummond of Hawthornden (b. 1585)
• 1679 – Thomas Hobbes, English philosopher and theorist (b. 1588)
• 1680 – Thomas Bartholin, Danish physician, mathematician, and theologian (b. 1616)
• 1696 – Empress Meishō of Japan (b. 1624)
• 1732 – John Gay, English poet and playwright (b. 1685)
• 1798 – Luigi Galvani, Italian physician, physicist, and philosopher (b. 1737)
• 1828 – Robert Jenkinson, 2nd Earl of Liverpool, English politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (b. 1770)
• 1841 – David Daniel Davis, Welsh-English physician and academic (b. 1777)
• 1850 – William Sturgeon, English physicist, invented the electric motor (b. 1783)
• 1893 – John Tyndall, Irish-English physicist and chemist (b. 1820)
• 1897 – Griffith Rhys Jones, Welsh conductor (b. 1834)
• 1902 – Charles Dow, American journalist and publisher, co-founded the Dow Jones & Company (b. 1851)
• 1926 – Ivana Kobilca, Slovenian painter (b. 1861)
• 1933 – Stefan George, German-Swiss poet and translator (b. 1868)
• 1935 – Johan Halvorsen, Norwegian violinist, composer, and conductor (b. 1864)
• 1935 – Charles Richet, French physiologist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1850)
• 1938 – Tamanishiki San'emon, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 32nd Yokozuna (b. 1903)
• 1942 – Juhan Kukk, Estonian politician, 3rd Head of State of Estonia (b. 1885)
• 1944 – Roger Bresnahan, American baseball player and manager (b. 1879)
• 1945 – Thomas Hunt Morgan, American geneticist and biologist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1866)
• 1948 – Frank Benford, American physicist and engineer (b. 1883)
• 1955 – József Galamb, Hungarian-American engineer (b. 1881)
• 1967 – Bert Lahr, American actor and singer (b. 1895)
• 1969 – Fred Hampton, American activist (b. 1948)
• 1971 – Shunryū Suzuki, Japanese-American monk and educator, founded the San Francisco Zen Center (b. 1904)
• 1975 – Hannah Arendt, German-American historian, theorist, and academic (b. 1906)
• 1976 – Tommy Bolin, American guitarist and songwriter (Zephyr, James Gang, and Deep Purple) (b. 1951)
• 1976 – Benjamin Britten, English pianist, composer, and conductor (b. 1913)
• 1976 – W. F. McCoy, Irish soldier, lawyer, and politician (b. 1886)
• 1980 – Francisco de Sá Carneiro, Portuguese lawyer and politician, 111th Prime Minister of Portugal (b. 1934)
• 1980 – Stanisława Walasiewicz, Polish-American runner (b. 1911)
• 1980 – Don Warrington, Canadian football player (b. 1948)
• 1984 – Jack Mercer, American animator, screenwriter, voice actor, and singer (b. 1910)
• 1987 – Arnold Lobel, American author and illustrator (b. 1933)
• 1987 – Rouben Mamoulian, Georgian-American director and screenwriter (b. 1897)
• 1988 – Osman Achmatowicz, Polish chemist and academic (b. 1899)
• 1992 – Henry Clausen, American lawyer and author (b. 1905)
• 1993 – Margaret Landon, American missionary and author (b. 1903)
• 1993 – Frank Zappa, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, producer, and actor (b. 1940)
• 1999 – Rose Bird, American academic and judge, 25th Chief Justice of California (b. 1936)
• 2000 – Henck Arron, Surinamese banker and politician, 1st Prime Minister of the Republic of Suriname (b. 1936)
• 2003 – Iggy Katona, American race car driver (b. 1916)
• 2004 – Mahmut Atalay, Turkish wrestler (b. 1934)
• 2004 – Teo Peter, Romanian bass player (b. 1954)
• 2004 – Elena Souliotis, Greek soprano and actress (b. 1943)
• 2005 – Errol Brathwaite, New Zealand soldier and author (b. 1924)
• 2005 – Gregg Hoffman, American film producer (b. 1963)
• 2006 – K. Ganeshalingam, Sri Lankan accountant and politician, Mayor of Colombo (b. 1938)
• 2006 – Ross A. McGinnis, American soldier, Medal of Honor recipient (b. 1987)
• 2009 – Liam Clancy, Irish singer, guitarist, and actor (The Clancy Brothers) (b. 1935)
• 2011 – Sócrates, Brazilian footballer and manager (b. 1954)
• 2011 – Hubert Sumlin, American singer and guitarist (b. 1931)
• 2011 – RJ Rosales, Filipino-Australian singer and actor (b. 1974)
• 2012 – Vasily Belov, Russian author, poet, and playwright (b. 1932)
• 2012 – Jack Brooks, American colonel, lawyer, and politician (b. 1922)
• 2012 – Miguel Calero, Colombian footballer and manager (b. 1971)
• 2012 – Anthony Deane-Drummond, English general (b. 1917)
• 2012 – Carroll E. Lanier, American sailor and politician (b. 1926)
• 2013 – Joana Raspall i Juanola, Spanish author and poet (b. 1913)
• 2014 – Claudia Emerson, American poet and academic (b. 1957)
• 2014 – V. R. Krishna Iyer, Indian lawyer and judge (b. 1914)
• 2014 – Lynne Kosky, Australian social worker and politician (b. 1958)
• 2014 – Vincent L. McKusick, American lawyer and judge (b. 1921)
• 2014 – Jeremy Thorpe, English lawyer and politician (b. 1929)
• 2015 – Bill Bennett, Canadian lawyer and politician, 27th Premier of British Columbia (b. 1932)
• 2015 – Erik De Vlaeminck, Belgian cyclist (b. 1945)
• 2015 – Robert Loggia, American actor and director (b. 1930)
• 2015 – Yossi Sarid, Israeli journalist and politician, 15th Israeli Minister of Education (b. 1940)
• 2015 – Dmitry Shumkov, Russian lawyer and philanthropist (b. 1972)

Holidays and observances

• Christian feast day:
  • Ada
  • Barbara, and its related observances:
    • Barbórka, Miners' Day in Poland
    • Eid il-Burbara, a holiday similar to Halloween in honor of Saint Barbara. (Lebanon, Syria, and Palestine)
  • Bernard degli Uberti
  • Clement of Alexandria (Anglicanism)
  • Giovanni Calabria
  • John of Damascus
  • Nicholas Ferrar (Anglicanism)
  • Osmund
  • Sigiramnus
  • December 4 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
• Earliest day on which Detinjci can fall, while December 10 is the latest; celebrated on Sunday two weeks before Christmas Day. (Serbia)
• Navy Day (India)
• Thai Environment Day (Thailand)
• Tupou I Day (Tonga)

External links

• BBC: On This Day
• The New York Times: On This Day
• Today in Canadian History