Friday, December 04th
The 338th day of 2009.
There are 27 days left in the year.
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Today's Highlights in History
On Dec. 4, 1945, the Senate approved U.S. participation in the United Nations. (Go to article.)
On Dec. 4, 1892, Francisco Franco, the Spanish dictator who overthrew the democratic republic and headed an authoritarian regime in Spain for 36 years, was born. Following his death on Nov. 20, 1975, his obituary appeared in The Times. (Go to obit. | Other Birthdays)
Editorial Cartoon of the Day
On December 4, 1880, Harper's Weekly featured a cartoon about New York Congressman Abram Hewitt and the presidential election of 1880. (See the cartoon and read an explanation.)
On this date in:
1783 Gen. George Washington said farewell to his officers at Fraunces Tavern in New York.
1816 James Monroe of Virginia was elected the fifth president of the United States.
1918 President Woodrow Wilson set sail for France to attend the Versailles peace conference.
1942 President Franklin D. Roosevelt ordered the dismantling of the Works Progress Administration, which had been created to provide jobs during the Depression.
1942 U.S. bombers struck the Italian mainland for the first time in World War II.
1978 Dianne Feinstein became San Francisco's first woman mayor when she was named to replace George Moscone, who had been assassinated.
1980 The rock group Led Zeppelin announced it was disbanding, after the death in September of drummer John Bonham.
1980 The bodies of four American nuns slain in El Salvador two days earlier were unearthed. (Five national guardsmen were later convicted of murder.)
1991 Associated Press correspondent Terry Anderson, the longest-held Western hostage in Lebanon, was released after nearly seven years in captivity.
1992 President George H.W. Bush ordered American troops to lead a mercy mission to Somalia, threatening military action against warlords and gangs who were blocking food for starving millions.
1993 Rock musician Frank Zappa died at age 52.
1995 The first NATO troops landed in the Balkans to begin setting up a peace mission.
2000 A Florida state judge refused to overturn Republican presidential candidate George W. Bush's certified victory in Florida, and the U.S. Supreme Court set aside a ruling that had allowed manual recounts.
2001 The United States froze the financial assets of organizations allegedly linked to the terrorist group Hamas.
2006 Lacking the Senate votes to keep his job, embattled U.N. Ambassador John Bolton offered his resignation to President George W. Bush, who accepted it.
Current Birthdays
Jay-Z turns 40 years old today.
AP Photo/Evan Agostini Rapper Jay-Z turns 40 years old today.
88 Deanna Durbin
Actress
76 Wink Martindale
Game show host
73 Freddy Cannon
Singer
72 Max Baer Jr.
Actor, producer
67 Gemma Jones
Actress
67 Bob Mosley
Rock musician (Moby Grape)
65 Chris Hillman
Rock singer, musician (The Byrds)
62 Terry Woods
Musician (The Pogues)
61 Johnny Lyon
Rock singer (Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes)
60 Jeff Bridges
Actor
58 Gary Rossington
Rock musician (Lynyrd Skynyrd)
58 Patricia Wettig
Actress
55 Tony Todd
Actor
54 Brian Prout
Country musician (Diamond Rio)
54 Cassandra Wilson
Jazz singer
50 Bob Griffin
Rock musician (The BoDeans)
47 Vinnie Dombroski
Rock singer (Sponge)
45 Chelsea Noble
Actress
45 Marisa Tomei
Actress
43 Fred Armisen
Actor, comedian ("Saturday Night Live")
39 Kevin Sussman
Actor ("Ugly Betty")
36 Tyra Banks
Model, TV host ("America's Next Top Model")
28 Lila McCann
Country singer
25 Lindsay Felton
Actress
22 Orlando Brown
Actor
Historic Birthdays
Francisco Franco
12/4/1892 - 11/20/1975
Spanish dictator
(Go to obit.)
67 John Cotton
12/4/1585 - 12/23/1652
American Puritan leader
85 Thomas Carlyle
12/4/1795 - 2/5/1881
English philosopher and historian
27 Crazy Horse
12/4/1849 - 9/5/1877
American Indian Chief
60 Lillian Russell
12/4/1861 - 6/6/1922
American singer and actress
78 Wassily Kandinsky
12/4/1866 - 12/13/1944
Russian abstract painter
50 Rainer Maria Rilke
12/4/1875 - 12/29/1926
German poet
94 Fung Yu-lan
12/4/1895 - 11/26/1990
Chinese philosopher
88 Alfred Hershey
12/4/1908 - 5/22/1997
American psychologist
75 Pappy Boyington
12/4/1912 - 1/11/1988
American flying ace
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SOURCE: The Associated Press
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