today.nukz.net: Almanac December 4

Thomas Carlyle (4 December 1795 – 5 February 1881) was a Scottish satirical writer, essayist, historian and teacher during the Victorian era. He called economics "the dismal science", wrote articles for the Edinburgh Encyclopedia, and became a controversial social commentator.

Coming from a strict Calvinist family, Carlyle was expected to become a preacher by his parents, but while at the University of Edinburgh he lost his Christian faith. Calvinist values, however, remained with him throughout his life. His combination of a religious temperament with loss of faith in traditional Christianity, made Carlyle's work appealing to many Victorians who were grappling with scientific and political changes that threatened the traditional social order. He brought a trenchant style to his social and political criticism and a complex literary style to works such as The French Revolution: A History (1837). Dickens used Carlyle's work as a primary source for the events of the French Revolution in his novel A Tale of Two Cities.

Events

771 – Austrasian King Carloman dies, leaving his brother Charlemagne King of the now complete Frankish Kingdom.
1110 – First Crusade: The Crusaders sack 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).
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.
1745 – Charles Edward Stewart's army reaches Derby, its furthest point during the second Jacobite Rising.
1783 – At Fraunces Tavern in New York City, US General George Washington formally bids his officers farewell.
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 Lord William Bentinck issues a regulation declaring that all who abet suttee in India are 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, Georgia.
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 British 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 and flees to Cuba, then 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.
1909 – 1st 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 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 Comic, is published, one of the first to use speech balloons.
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 to 7, the United States Senate approves United States participation in the United Nations (the UN is established on October 24, 1945).
1954 – The first Burger King is opened in Miami, Florida, United States
1956 – The Million Dollar Quartet (Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins, and Johnny Cash) get together at Sun Studios for the first and last time.
1967 – Vietnam War: US 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 – 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 female 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 – English rock group Led Zeppelin officially disbands, following the death of drummer John Bonham on September 25th.
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 – Hezbollah militants hijack a Kuwait Airlines plane, killing four passengers.
1991 – Pan Am goes bankrupt and ceases operations.
1991 – Journalist Terry A. Anderson is released after 7 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 US 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 – An adult giant squid is caught on video for the first time by Tsunemi Kubodera near the Ogasawara Islands, 1,000 km (620 mi) south of Tokyo.
2006 – Six black youths assault a white teenager in Jena, Louisiana, US; the subsequent court case becomes a cause célèbre.

Births

1555 – Heinrich Meibom, German historian and poet (d. 1625)
1580 – Samuel Argall, English adventurer and naval officer (d. 1626)
1585 – John Cotton, English-born American Puritan leader (d. 1652)
1595 – Jean Chapelain, French writer (d. 1674)
1646 – Alain Emmanuel de Coëtlogon, Marshal of France (d. 1730)
1647 – Daniel Eberlin, German composer and conductor (d. ca. 1715)
1660 – André Campra, French composer (d. 1744)
1667 – Michel Pignolet de Montéclair, French composer (d. 1737)
1670 – John Aislabie, English politician (d. 1742)
1711 – Barbara of Portugal, queen of Spain (d. 1758)
1713 – Gasparo Gozzi, Italian critic and dramatist (d. 1786)
1777 – Juliette Récamier, French socialite (d. 1849)
1795 – Thomas Carlyle, Scottish writer and historian (d. 1881)
1798 – Jules Armand Dufaure, French statesman (d. 1881)
1817 – Nikoloz Baratashvili, Georgian poet (d. 1845)
1835 – Samuel Butler, English writer (d. 1902)
1844 – Franz Xavier Wernz, German religious leader (d. 1914)
1852 – Orest Khvolson, Russian physicist (d. 1934)
1861 – Lillian Russell, American singer and actress (d. 1922)
1861 – Hannes Hafstein, 1st Prime Minister of Iceland (d. 1922)
1868 – Jesse Burkett, American baseball player (d. 1953)
1875 – Joe Corbett, American baseball player (d. 1945)
1875 – Rainer Maria Rilke, Austrian poet (d. 1926)
1878 – Grand Duke Michael Alexandrovich of Russia (d. 1918)
1880 – Tom Taylor, Canadian soccer player (death date unknown)
1881 – Erwin von Witzleben, German field marshal (d. 1944)
1883 – Katharine Susannah Prichard, Australian author (d. 1969)
1886 – Jan Thomée, Dutch football player (d. 1954)
1889 – Lloyd Bacon, American actor and film director (d. 1955)
1892 – Francisco Franco, dictator of Spain (d. 1975)
1892 – Liu Bocheng, Chinese Marshal of the People's Liberation Army (d. 1986)
1895 – Fung Yu-lan, Chinese philosopher (d. 1990)
1899 – Charles William (Charlie) Spencer English football player (d. 1953)
1903 – Anna van der Vegt, Dutch gymnast (d. 1983)
1903 – Cornell Woolrich, American writer (d. 1968)
1908 – Alfred Hershey, American bacteriologist, Nobel laureate (d. 1997)
1909 – Jimmy Jewel, English actor (d. 1995)
1910 – Alex North, American film music composer (d. 1991)
1910 – R. Venkataraman, President of India (d. 2009)
1912 – Gregory "Pappy" Boyington, American pilot (d. 1988)
1913 – Mark Robson, Canadian-born producer and director (d. 1978)
1914 – Rudolf Hausner, Austrian artist (d. 1995)
1914 – Claude Renoir, French cinematographer (d. 1993)
1915 – Eddie Heywood, American jazz musician (d. 1989)
1916 – Ely Jacques Kahn, Jr., American writer (d. 1994)
1917 – Movita Castaneda, American actress
1918 – Albert Francis Capone, American crime boss son (d. 2004)
1919 – I. K. Gujral 12th Prime Minister of India (d. 2012)
1920 – Neville Thiele, Australian engineer (d. 2012)
1921 – Deanna Durbin, Canadian actress
1922 – Gérard Philipe, French actor (d. 1959)
1923 – Charles Keating, American attorney and businessman
1924 – John Portman, American architect
1925 – Lino Lacedelli, Italian mountaineer (d. 2009)
1927 – William Labov, American linguist
1928 – Dena Dietrich, American actress
1930 – Ronnie Corbett, Scottish actor
1930 – Jim Hall, American guitarist
1931 – Alex Delvecchio, Canadian ice hockey player
1931 – Wally George, American TV commentator (d. 2003)
1932 – Roh Tae-woo, President of South Korea
1933 – Horst Buchholz, German-born actor (d. 2003)
1934 – Victor French, American actor (d. 1989)
1934 – Wink Martindale, American game show host
1935 – Paul O'Neill, American businessman, politician, and 72nd United States Secretary of the Treasury
1935 – Robert Vesco, American financier and fugitive (d. 2007)
1936 – Derek Nally, Irish Politician
1937 – Max Baer, Jr., American actor
1938 – Andre Marrou, American politician
1938 – Yvonne Minton, Australian soprano
1939 – Freddy Cannon, American musician
1940 – Gerd Achterberg, German football manager
1940 – Gary Gilmore, American murderer (d. 1977)
1942 – Gemma Jones, English actress
1944 – Chris Hillman, American singer
1944 – Anna McGarrigle, Canadian singer and songwriter
1944 – François Migault, French racing driver (d. 2012)
1944 – Dennis Wilson, American musician (d. 1983)
1945 – Roberta Bondar, Canadian astronaut
1946 – Geert Mak, Dutch writer
1947 – Terry Woods, Irish musician
1948 – Southside Johnny, American singer
1949 – Jeff Bridges, American actor
1949 – Pamela Stephenson, New Zealand-born actress
1951 – Gary Rossington, American musician
1951 – Patricia Wettig, American actress
1953 – Rick Middleton, Canadian ice hockey player
1954 – Tony Todd, American actor and producer
1955 – Dave Taylor, Canadian ice hockey player
1955 – Cassandra Wilson, American jazz vocalist
1956 – Bernard King, American basketball player
1957 – Raul Boesel, Brazilian racing driver
1957 – Eric S. Raymond, American open source advocate
1959 – Susan W Krebs, American politician
1959 – Paul McGrath, Irish footballer
1959 – Christa Rothenburger, German speed skater and cyclist
1960 – David Green, American baseball player
1960 – Glynis Nunn, Australian athlete
1961 – Frank Reich, American football player
1961 – Naomi Robson, American-born Australian journalist
1962 – Julie Lemieux, Canadian voice actress
1962 – Kevin Richardson, English footballer
1963 – Sergey Bubka, Ukrainian pole vaulter
1964 – Sertab Erener, Turkish singer
1964 – Jonathan Goldstein, American actor
1964 – Scott Hastings, Scottish rugby player
1964 – Chelsea Noble, American actress
1964 – Marisa Tomei, American actress
1965 – Álex de la Iglesia, Spanish director
1966 – Fred Armisen, American actor and musician
1966 – Masta Ace, American rapper
1966 – Suzanne Malveaux, American TV news reporter
1966 – Chris Shepherd, English film director
1968 – Mike Barrowman, American swimmer
1969 – Jay-Z, American rapper
1969 – Plum Sykes, English-born fashion writer and novelist
1970 – Kevin Sussman, American actor
1970 – John L. Adams, American actor
1970 – Sylvester Terkay, American wrestler
1971 – Shannon Briggs, American boxer
1972 – Jassen Cullimore, Canadian ice hockey player
1972 – Nikki Tyler, American actress
1973 – Racci Shay, American musician
1973 – Tyra Banks, American supermodel
1973 – Frank Boeijen, Dutch musician (The Gathering)
1973 – Keith Caputo, American singer (Life Of Agony)
1973 – Ferry Corsten, Dutch musician and DJ
1973 – Steven Menzies, Australian rugby league footballer
1973 – Kate Rusby, English folk singer
1973 – Atsushi Tamura, Japanese comedian, musician (jealkb)
1974 – Tadahito Iguchi, Japanese baseball player
1976 – Amie Comeaux, American singer (d. 1997)
1976 – Kristina Groves, Canadian speed skater
1977 – Big Pokey, American rapper
1977 – Morten Veland, Norwegian musician (Sirenia)
1978 – Jaclyn Victor, Malaysian singer
1979 – Ysabella Brave, American singer
1979 – Jay DeMerit, American soccer player
1981 – Courtney Cummz, American pornographic actress
1981 – Lila McCann, American country singer
1982 – Waldo Ponce, Chilean footballer
1982 – Ho-Pin Tung, Dutch-Chinese racing driver
1983 – Jimmy Bartel, Australian rules footballer
1984 – Brooke Adams, American model
1984 – Lindsay Felton, American actress
1984 – Marco Giambruno, Italian footballer
1984 – Lauren London, American actress
1984 – Joe Thomas, American football player
1985 – Andrew Brackman, American baseball player
1985 – Carlos Gómez, Dominican baseball player
1986 – Martell Webster, American basketball player
1987 – Orlando Brown, American actor
1988 – Andriy Pylyavskyi, Ukrainian footballer
1990 – Lukman Haruna, Nigerian footballer
1992 – Jean-Claude Iranzi, Rwandan footballer
1992 – Lina Muze, Latvian javelin thrower
1992 – Guan Xueting, Chinese ice dancer

Deaths

749 – Saint John of Damascus
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 (a.k.a. William the Lion; b. abt.1143)
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, Japan (b. 1624)
1732 – John Gay, English poet and dramatist (b. 1685)
1798 – Luigi Galvani, Italian physicist (b. 1737)
1828 – Robert Jenkinson, 2nd Earl of Liverpool, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (b. 1770)
1841 – David Daniel Davis, British politician (b. 1777)
1850 – William Sturgeon, English physicist and inventor (b. 1783)
1893 – John Tyndall, Irish physicist (b. 1820)
1897 – Griffith Rhys Jones, Welsh conductor (b. 1834)
1902 – Charles Dow, American journalist (b. 1851)
1926 – Ivana Kobilca, Slovenian-born painter (b. 1861)
1933 – Stefan George, German poet (b. 1868)
1935 – Johan Halvorsen, Norwegian composer (b. 1864)
1935 – Charles Richet, French physiologist, Nobel laureate (b. 1850)
1938 – Tamanishiki San'emon, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 32nd Yokozuna (b. 1903)
1944 – Roger Bresnahan, American baseball player (b. 1879)
1945 – Thomas Hunt Morgan, American geneticist, Nobel laureate (b. 1866)
1948 – Frank Benford, American electrical engineer and physicist (b. 1883)
1955 – József Galamb, Hungarian mechanical engineer (b. 1881)
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, English composer (b. 1913)
1976 – W. F. McCoy, Northern Irish politician (b. 1886)
1980 – Francisco Sá Carneiro, Prime Minister of Portugal (b. 1934)
1984 – Jack Mercer, American voice-actor (b. 1910)
1980 – Stanislawa Walasiewicz, Polish-born athlete (b. 1911)
1987 – Rouben Mamoulian, Armenian-American film director (b. 1897)
1988 – Osman Achmatowicz, Polish chemist (b. 1899)
1992 – Henry Clausen, author of the Clausen report (b. 1905)
1993 – Frank Zappa, American musician and composer (b. 1940)
1993 – Margaret Landon, American writer (b. 1903)
1995 – Lionel Giroux, Canadian midget wrestler (b. 1935)
1997 – Richard Vernon, English actor (b. 1925)
1999 – Rose Bird, American judge (b. 1936)
2003 – Iggy Katona, American race car driver (b. 1916)
2004 – Elena Souliotis, Greek soprano (b. 1943)
2004 – Teo Peter, Romanian rock musician and bass player (b. 1954)
2005 – Errol Brathwaite, New Zealand author (b. 1924)
2005 – Gregg Hoffman, American film producer (b. 1963)
2005 – Gloria Lasso, French-Spanish singer (b. 1922)
2006 – James Kim, American television personality (b. 1971)
2006 – Ross A. McGinnis, American soldier (b. 1987)
2007 – Norval Morrisseau, Canadian artist (b. 1932)
2007 – Chip Reese, American professional poker player (b. 1951)
2007 – Pimp C, American rapper (b. 1973)
2009 – Eddie Fatu, Samoan-American professional wrestler (b. 1973)
2009 – Liam Clancy, Irish singer (b. 1935)
2011 – Hubert Sumlin, American blues guitarist (b. 1931)