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771 - Austrasian King Carloman dies, leaving his brother Charlemagne King of the now complete Frankish Kingdom.

1110 - First Crusade: The Crusaders conquer 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 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.

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 (Union forces did suffer more than three times the Confederate casualties, however).

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.

1942 - Holocaust: In Warsaw, Zofia Kossak-Szczucka and Wanda Filipowicz set up Żegota.

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.

1969 - Surfer Greg Noll rides a 65-foot wave on the North Shore of Oahu, still the highest ever recorded.

1971 - UN Security Council calls emergency session to consider deteriorating situation between India and Pakistan.

1971 - Attack on Pakistan Navy and Karachi by the Indian Navy.

1977 - Jean-Bédel Bokassa, president of the Central African Republic, crowns himself Emperor Bokassa I of the Central African Empire.

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).

1979 - The Hastie fire in Hull, kills three schoolboys and eventually leads police to arrest Bruce George Peter Lee.

1980 - The rock group Led Zeppelin formally announces its breakup.

1981 - South Africa grants "homeland" Ciskei independence (not recognized outside South Africa).

1982 - The People's Republic of China adopts its current constitution.

1991 - Journalist Terry Anderson is released after 7 years in captivity as a hostage in Beirut (he was the last and longest-held American hostage in Lebanon).

1991 - US airline Pan Am ends operations.

1992 - Somali Civil War: President George H. W. Bush orders 28,000 US troops to Somalia.

1993 - A truce is concluded between the government of Angola and UNITA rebels.

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.

2001 - Lisa Beamer, wife of Todd Beamer, through the Todd M. Beamer Foundation, registers * the trademark "Let's Roll" with the United States Patent and Trademark Office less than three months after his death in the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks in the United States.

2005 - Tens of thousands of people in Hong Kong protested for democracy and called on the Government to allow universal and equal suffrage.

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1555 - Heinrich Meibom, German historian and poet (d. 1625)

1580 - Samuel Argall, English adventurer and naval officer (d. 1626)

1585 - John Cotton, American Puritan leader (d. 1652)

1595 - Jean Chapelain, French writer (d. 1674)

1612 - Samuel Butler, English poet (d. 1680)

1660 - André Campra, French composer (d. 1744)

1670 - John Aislabie, English politician (d. 1742)

1713 - Gasparo Gozzi, Italian critic and dramatist (d. 1786)

1777 - Madame Récamier, French writer (d. 1849)

1795 - Thomas Carlyle, British writer and historian (d. 1881)

1798 - Jules Armand Dufaure, French statesman (d. 1881)

1835 - Samuel Butler, British writer (d. 1902)

1844 - Franz Xavier Wernz, German Superior General of the Society of Jesus (d. 1914)

1849 - Crazy Horse, Oglala Sioux chief (d. 1877)

1852 - Orest Khvolson, Russian physicist (d. 1934)

1861 - Lillian Russell, American singer and actress (d. 1922)

1866 (O.S.) - Wassily Kandinsky, Russian-born painter (d. 1944)

1868 - Jesse Burkett, Baseball player (d. 1953)

1875 - Rainer Maria Rilke, Austrian poet (d. 1926)

1875 - Joe Corbett, baseball player (d. 1945)

1881 - Erwin von Witzleben, German field marshal (d. 1944)

1892 - Francisco Franco, dictator of Spain (d. 1975)

1895 - Fung Yu-lan, Chinese philosopher (d. 1990)

1903 - Cornell Woolrich, American writer (d. 1968)

1908 - Alfred Hershey, American bacteriologist, Nobel laureate (d. 1997)

1912 - Pappy Boyington, American pilot (d. 1988)

1914 - Rudolf Hausner, Austrian artist (d. 1995)

1916 - Ely Jacques Kahn, Jr., American writer (d. 1994)

1921 - Deanna Durbin, Canadian actress

1922 - Gérard Philipe, French actor (d. 1959)

1930 - Jim Hall, jazz guitarist

1930 - Ronnie Corbett, Scotish actor

1931 - Alex Delvecchio, Canadian hockey player

1931 - Wally George, American TV commentator (d. 2003)

1934 - Victor French, American actor (d. 1989)

1934 - Wink Martindale, American game show host

1937 - Max Baer, Jr., American actor

1938 - Yvonne Minton, Australian soprano

1939 - Freddy Cannon, American musician

1940 - John Cale, Welsh musician The Velvet Underground)

1942 - Gemma Jones, British actress

1942 - Roh Tae-woo, President of South Korea

1944 - Dennis Wilson, American musician (The Beach Boys) (d. 1983)

1945 - Roberta Bondar, Canadian astronaut

1949 - Jeff Bridges, American actor

1949 - Pamela Stephenson, actress

1953 - Rick Middleton, Canadian ice hockey player

1955 - Dave Taylor, Canadian ice hockey player

1957 - Eric S. Raymond, American open source advocate

1958 - Steve Sailer, American political commentator

1959 - Christa Rothenburger, German speed skater and cyclist

1960 - Glynis Nunn, Australian athlete

1960 - David Green, baseball player

1961 - Frank Reich, American football player

1963 - Sergei Bubka, Ukrainian pole vaulter

1964 - Marisa Tomei, American actress

1966 - Fred Armisen, American actor and musician

1966 - Chris Shepherd, British film director

1969 - Lucas Radebe, South-african footballer

1969 - Jay-Z (Shawn Carter), American rapper

1970 - Sylvester Terkay, American professional wrestler

1972 - Nikki Tyler, American actress

1973 - Tyra Banks, American supermodel

1973 - Steven Menzies, Australian rugby league player

1974 - Tadahito Iguchi, Japanese baseball player

1978 - Kyle Lohse, baseball pitcher (Cincinnati Reds)

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765 - Jafar Sadiq, Shia Imam (b. 702)

771 - Carloman, King of the Franks (b. 751)

1075 - Archbishop Anno II of Cologne

1123 - Omar Khayyám, Persian poet, astronomer, mathematician, and philosopher (b. 1048)

1214 - William I of Scotland

1270 - Theobald V of Champagne, King of Navarre

1334 - Pope John XXII (b. 1249)

1340 - Henry Burghersh, English bishop and chancellor (b. 1292)

1459 - Adolf VIII, Duke of Southern Jutland (b. 1401)

1576 - Rheticus, Austrian mathematician (b. 1514)

1585 - John Willock, Scottish reformer

1609 - Alexander Hume, Scottish poet

1642 - Armand Jean du Plessis, Cardinal Richelieu, French statesman (b. 1585)

1649 - William Drummond of Hawthornden, Scottish poet (b. 1585)

1679 - Thomas Hobbes, English philosopher (b. 1588)

1680 - Thomas Bartholin, Danish physician, mathematician, and theologian (b. 1616)

1696 - Empress Meisho of Japan (b. 1624)

1732 - John Gay, British playwright (b. 1685)

1798 - Luigi Galvani, Italian physicist (b. 1737)

1828 - Robert Jenkinson, 2nd Earl of Liverpool, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (b. 1770)

1845 - Gregor MacGregor, British con-man

1926 - Ivana Kobilca, Slovenian-born painter (b. 1861)

1933 - Stefan George, German poet (b. 1868)

1935 - Johan Halvorsen, Norwegian composer (b. 1864)

1935 - Charles Robert Richet, French physiologist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1850)

1944 - Roger Bresnahan, Baseball player (b. 1879)

1945 - Thomas Hunt Morgan, American geneticist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (b. 1866)

1956 - Alexandr Rodchenko, Russian painter and photographer (b. 1891)

1967 - Bert Lahr, American actor (b. 1895)

1969 - Fred Hampton, American activist (b. 1948)

1975 - Hannah Arendt, German political theorist (b. 1906)

1976 - Tommy Bolin, American guitarist (b. 1951)

1976 - Benjamin Britten, British composer (b. 1913)

1976 - W. F. McCoy, Northern irish politician (b. 1886)

1980 - Francisco Sá Carneiro, Prime Minister of Portugal (b. 1934)

1980 - Stanislawa Walasiewicz, Polish-born athlete (b. 1911)

1993 - Frank Zappa, American musician and composer (b. 1940)

1995 - Lionel Giroux, Canadian midget wrestler (b. 1935)

1997 - Richard Vernon, British actor (b. 1925)

2005 - Gregg Hoffman, American film producer (b. 1963)

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Roman festivals - secret ceremonies in honor of Bona Dea

R.C. Saints - Saint John of Damascus: optional memorial; also Saint Barbara

Also see December 4 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)

Santería, Lukumí - Day of Shango

International Hug Day. See Also: January 21st, National Hugging Day

Navy Day in India