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Explore the historical events that shaped our world on December 4th. From major milestones to cultural achievements, see what happened on this day in history. Dates for earlier events may be approximate.
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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.
His tenure was marked by conflict with William II and his successor, King Henry I, over the issue of royal control over Church appointments (lay investiture). He is recognized as a Christian philosopher and theologian of the eleventh century. More
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.
His mother's death was followed by a period of intense power struggles among nobles. Ivan was crowned "Tsar and Grand Prince of all Russia" on January 16, 1547, at the age of 16, marking the beginning of a new era for Russia, with a more centralized and powerful ruler at its head.
The Council of Trent concludes its discussions on the Catholic Church Counter-Reformation on December 4, 1563. The decrees of the council were later confirmed by Pope Pius IV in the bull Benedictus Deus on January 26, 1564.
The Council met intermittently over 18 years beginning on December 13, 1545. It reaffirmed Catholic doctrines on salvation, sacraments, and the biblical canon, while also standardizing the mass, implementing disciplinary reforms and the establishment of seminaries for the proper training of priests and requiring bishops to reside in their dioceses.
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
His meticulous calculations of the timing of the transit and those of his friend William Crabtree, who made his own observation from Broughton were the first to be recorded, and Horrocks' work helped to correct earlier astronomical tables and helped to refine the understanding of the solar parallax and the distance between the Earth and the Sun. His work was later published by Johannes Hevelius in the treatise Venus in sole visa.
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.
The battle resulted in a decisive victory by Sweden securing their control over Scania and forcing the Danish army to retreat. Swedish casualties were between 2,300 and 3,000, and Danish casualties between 6,000 and 9,000.
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.
The organization experienced a significant surge in membership after the financial crisis of 1873. The Grange became a powerful force in politics, supporting reform movements like the Populist Party and playing a role in achieving initiatives such as the Interstate Commerce Act of 1887 and Rural Free Delivery. More
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
A magnitude 9.5 earthquake, the most powerful ever recorded, strikes Chile, resulting in widespread destruction and loss of life.
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.
Weeks later, the new U.S. president, Bill Clinton, ordered the number of U.S. troops to be reduced as other UN forces come in. In October 1993, soon after an incident at Mogadishu where 18 U.S. soldiers lost their lives and two U.S. two helicopters were shut down, Clinton orders all U.S. combat troops to be out of Somalia by March 31. A year later UN troops were also withdrawn, leaving the country engulfed in clan warfare. More
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.
It consisted of a lander, renamed the Carl Sagan Memorial Station, and a lightweight, 10.6 kg (23 lb) wheeled robotic Mars rover named Sojourner. The mission carried a series of scientific instruments to analyze the Martian atmosphere, climate, and geology and the composition of its rocks and soil. The mission terminated in 1998.
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.
