On this day: 4 December

Selected events and births on 4 December, from Wikipedia’s “On this day”.

Events

• 1639 – Jeremiah Horrocks and William Crabtree made the first successful observation of a transit of Venus (example pictured) from Earth. Read more: Jeremiah Horrocks William Crabtree 1639 transit of Venus
• 1872 – The American brigantine Mary Celeste was found apparently abandoned under circumstances that remain unknown. Read more: Brigantine Mary Celeste
• 1905 – The Great Seimas of Vilnius met to discuss national concerns within Lithuania: they decided to demand wide political autonomy within the Russian Empire. Read more: Great Seimas of Vilnius Russian Empire
• 1909 – The Montreal Canadiens, the oldest professional ice hockey club in the world, were founded as a charter member of the National Hockey Association. Read more: Montreal Canadiens Ice hockey History of the Montreal Canadiens
• 1909 – The first Grey Cup, the championship game of the Canadian Football League, was held in Toronto. Read more: 1st Grey Cup Grey Cup Canadian Football League
• 1928 – Cosmo Gordon Lang was enthroned as the Archbishop of Canterbury, the first bachelor to be appointed in 150 years. Read more: Cosmo Gordon Lang Archbishop of Canterbury
• 1980 – The English rock group Led Zeppelin officially disbanded. Read more: Led Zeppelin
• 2006 – Six black teenagers assaulted a white student in Jena, Louisiana; the subsequent court cases became a cause célèbre for perceived racial injustice in the United States. Read more: Jena Six Jena, Louisiana Cause célèbre
• 2012 – "Il Canto degli Italiani" officially became the national anthem of Italy, 66 years after it was provisionally chosen following the birth of the Italian Republic. Read more: Canto degli italiani National anthem 1946 Italian institutional referendum

Born on this day

• 1955 – Philip Hammond, English businessman and politician, former Chancellor of the Exchequer Read more: Philip Hammond Chancellor of the Exchequer
• 1956 – Nia Griffith, Welsh educator and politician, former Shadow Secretary of State for Wales Read more: Nia Griffith Shadow Secretary of State for Wales
• 1961 – Naomi Robson, American-Australian television host[better source needed] Read more: Naomi Robson Wikipedia:Verifiability
• 1969 – Jay-Z, American rapper, producer, actor, and co-founder of Roc-A-Fella Records Read more: Jay-Z Roc-A-Fella Records
• 1992 – Robin Bruyère, Belgian politician Read more: Robin Bruyère
• 1994 – Gabriel Lundberg, Danish basketball player Read more: Gabriel Lundberg
• 1996 – Sebastián Vegas, Chilean footballer Read more: Sebastián Vegas
• 1999 – Kim Do-yeon, South Korean singer and actress Read more: Kim Do-yeon (singer)
• 1999 – Kang Mi-na, South Korean actress and singer Read more: Kang Mi-na
• 2002 – María Dueñas, Spanish violinist and composer Read more: María Dueñas (violinist)
• 2003 – Jackson Holliday, American baseball player Read more: Jackson Holliday
• 2003 – Kim Do-ah, South Korean singer and actress Read more: Kim Do-ah

Text from Wikipedia: Selected anniversaries / December 4 and the linked articles, via the Wikimedia “On this day” feed, under CC BY-SA 4.0. We leave out entries about wars, violence and disasters to keep this page family-friendly.