On This Day in History: December 4

Pope Leo VIII was installed as Pope on December 4, 963, by Holy Roman Emperor Otto I, after the Emperor removed John XII for conspiring against him. Leo Initially a layman (a papal notary) was hurriedly ordained and made a Bishop in a single day to fill the seat, making his legitimacy disputed during the turbulent period of 963–965. Expand +

Bishop Anselm. Abbot of the Bec Abbey, reluctantly becomes Archbishop of Canterbury on December 4, 1093. He was consecrated in Canterbury after King William II agreed to restore the lands of the archbishopric that had been seized by the crown.  Expand +

Adrian IV is elected pope on December 4, 1154 following the death of Pope Anastasius IV. He was the only English person to ever hold the position and served until his death on September 1, 1159. Expand +

The Treaty of Paris is signed, ending a conflict between King Louis IX of France and King Henry III of England. The treaty established a complex feudal relationship that ultimately sowed seeds for future conflicts like the Hundred Years' War.

Ivan IV, known as Ivan the Terrible, is proclaimed Grand Prince of Moscow on December 4, 1533, at the age of three after the death of his father, Grand Prince Vasily III. He ruled under the regency of his mother, Yelena Glinskaya, until her death in 1538. Expand +

The Council of Trent concludes its discussions on the Catholic Church Counter-Reformation on December 4, 1563 after 18 years of intermittent sessions. from its start on December 13, 1545. The decrees of the council were later confirmed by Pope Pius IV in the bull Benedictus Deus on January 26, 1564. Expand +

The first observed transit of Venus, where the planet crosses the Sun's face as a small black dot, takes place  and is observed by Jeremiah Horrocks and William Crabtree on December 4, 1639. Expand +

The first documented recorded observation of a transit of Venus across the Sun is made by the English astronomer Jeremiah Horrocks from his home at Carr House in Much Hoole, near Preston in England on December 4, 1639  Expand +

The Battle of Lund, the deadliest battle of the Scanian war between Sweden, led by King Charles XI (Karl XI) and Denmark led by King Christian V takes place on December 4, 1676.  Expand +

The Patrons of Husbandry, or the Grange, was founded on December 4, 1867, in Washington, D.C. It was the first successful national farm organization. It was established by Oliver Kelley, Caroline Hall and five others to advance the social, economic, and educational needs of farmers and their families.  Expand +

The Patrons of Husbandry, better known as the Grange is founded by Oliver Hudson Kelley. The Grange went on to become and influential political force in the western U. S. States. More

NASA's Gemini 7 and Gemini 6 spacecraft achieve the first space rendezvous, flying within 1 foot of each other.

The United Nations General Assembly recognizes the independence of Barbados and Guyana.

U.S. President George H.W. Bush, orders about 25.000 U.S. troops to Somalia as part of an agreement with the UN to protect aid workers. The military operation encounter difficulties from the start due to the absence of a national Somali leadership and the daily fighting in the streets of the capital city of Mogadishu.  Expand +

The Mars Pathfinder American robotic spacecraft is launched by NASA on December 4. 1996 aboard a Delta II booster. It landed a base station with a roving probe on Mars on July 4 1997. It was the first rover to operate outside the Earth–Moon system. Expand +

Typhoon Bopha, known in the Philippines locally as Pablo makes landfall three times in the Philippines in spreading destruction across 30 provinces. In all, 5.4 million people were affected, and at least 2,000 died or were reported missing. More

British businessman Richard Branson becomes the first person to reach space aboard a Virgin Galactic suborbital spaceplane.