Welcome to Today In History for Thursday, December 4, 2008.

On this day in history ..

• 1110 - Syria harbor city Saida (Sidon) surrenders to Crusaders
• 1197 - Crusaders wound Rabbi Elezar ben Judah
• 1259 - Treaty of Paris: English king Henry III & French king Louis IX
• 1489 - Battle of Baza-Spanish army captures Baza from Moors
• 1534 - Turkish sultan Suleiman occupies Baghdad
• 1563 - Council of Trent holds last session, after 18 years
• 1619 - America's 1st Thanksgiving Day (Va)
• 1644 - 1st European peace congress opens in M�nster
• 1655 - Middelburg Neth forbids building of synagogue
• 1665 - Jean Racine's "Alexandre le Grand," premieres in Paris
• 1674 - Father Marquette builds 1st dwelling in what is now Chicago
• 1680 - Hen in Rome lays an egg imprinted with comet not seen until Dec 16th
• 1682 - 1st General Assembly in Pennsylvania (Chester)
• 1688 - General strategist John Churchill joins with Willem III
• 1691 - Emperor Leopold I takes control of Transsylvania
• 1691 - Spanish king Carlos II names Maximilian II viceroy of S Netherlands
• 1745 - Bonnie Prince Charles reaches Derby
• 1783 - Gen Washington bids officers farewell at Fraunce's Tavern, NYC
• 1791 - Britain's Observer, oldest Sunday newspaper in world, 1st published
• 1798 - Rebellious Flemish farmers occupy Hasselt
• 1812 - Peter Gaillard of Lancaster, Pa patents a horse-drawn mower
• 1816 - James Monroe (VA), elected 5th pres, defeating Federalist Rufus King
• 1829 - Britain abolished "suttee" in India (widow burning herself to death on her husband's funeral pyre
• 1832 - French army begins bombing citadel of Antwerp
• 1833 - American Anti-Slavery Society formed by Arthur Tappan in Phila
• 1836 - Whig party holds its 1st national convention, Harrisburg, Pa
• 1843 - Manila paper (made from sails, canvas & rope) patented, Mass
• 1843 - Robert Schumann's "Das Paradies und die Peri," premieres in Leipzig
• 1844 - James K Polk elected 11th president of US
• 1851 - Pres Louis Napolean Boaparte forces crush a coup d'etat in France
• 1863 - Storm flood ravages Nethe coastal provinces
• 1864 - Battle of Waynesborough (Brier Creek) GA
• 1864 - Romanian Jews are forbidden to practice law
• 1867 - Grange organized to protect farm interests
• 1875 - William Marcy "Boss" Tweed (NYC-Tammany Hall) escapes from jail
• 1889 - Stanley's expedition reaches Bagamoyo in Indian Ocean
• 1890 - Willem III, Dutch king, buried
• 1899 - 56th Congress (1899-1901) convenes
• 1899 - Webb Hayes son of pres Rutherford Hayes receives medal of honor
• 1901 - Anne Russell's "Girl & the judge," premieres in NYC
• 1905 - British government of Balfour resigns
• 1906 - Alpha Phi Alpha, 1st Black Greek Letter Fraternity, forms
• 1908 - Haiti's president-General Alexis Nord flees from military coup
• 1909 - 1st CFL Grey Cup: University of Toronto defeats Toronto Parkdale, 26-6
• 1914 - Walter Johnson accepts money from Federal League Chicago Whales Clark Griffith threatens to take Johnson to court
• 1915 - F F Fletcher is 1st admiral to receive Congressional Medal of Honor
• 1915 - Ku Klux Klan receives charter from Fulton County Ga
• 1915 - Panama Pacific International Exposition opens
• 1918 - Pres Wilson sails for Versailles Peace Conference in France, 1st chief executive to travel outside US while in office
• 1920 - 1st Pro football playoff game Buffalo-7, Canton-3 at Polo Grounds
• 1920 - 8th CFL Grey Cup: U of Toronto defeats Toronto Argonauts, 16-3
• 1922 - Lucille Atcherson, becomes 1st woman legation sect-US foreign service
• 1923 - Cecil B DeMille's 1st version of "Ten Commandments" premieres
• 1923 - WEAF radio begins broadcasting Eveready Hour (variety show)
• 1926 - 14th CFL Grey Cup: Ottawa Senators defeats U of Toronto, 10-7
• 1927 - Dmitri Shostakovitch' 2nd Symphony, premieres in Moscow
• 1927 - Duke Ellington opens at Cotton Club in Harlem
• 1927 - Pirates Paul Waner wins NL MVP
• 1928 - Walter Donaldson & Gus Kahn's musical "Whoopee," premieres in NYC
• 1930 - French govt of Tardieu falls
• 1930 - Vatican approves rhythm method for birth control
• 1931 - "Frankenstein" opens at Mayfair
• 1933 - FDR creates Federal Alcohol Control Administration
• 1933 - Jack Kirkland's "Tobacco Road," premieres in NYC
• 1935 - 1,200 at St Joseph's College (Phila) enroll in anticommunism class
• 1941 - Nazi ordinances places Jews of Poland outside protection of courts
• 1942 - 1st US citizenship granted an alien on foreign soil (James Hoey)
• 1942 - FDR orders dismantling of Works Progress Administration
• 1942 - US bombers struck Italian mainland for 1st time in WW II
• 1942 - Works Progress Administration liquidated
• 1943 - -Dec 6] 2nd conference of Ca�ro: FDR, Churchill & Turkish pres In�n�
• 1943 - Commissioner Landis announces any baseball club may sign Negroes
• 1943 - Yugoslavian resistance forms provisionary government under Dr Ribar
• 1944 - Germans destroy Rhine dikes, Betuwe flooded
• 1945 - 11th Heisman Trophy Award: Doc Blanchard, Army (FB)
• 1945 - Senate approves US participation in UN
• 1947 - USSR joins Intl Amateur Athletic Union
• 1948 - "Magdalena" closes at Ziegfeld Theater NYC after 48 performances
• 1948 - SS Kiangya hits mine in Whangpoo River China, sinks killing 2,750 die
• 1949 - Bob Gage ties NFL record of a 97 yard touchdown run
• 1951 - Copland/Robbins' "Pied Piper," premieres in NYC
• 1951 - Superheated gases roll down Mount Catarman (Philippines), kills 500
• 1952 - Killer fogs begin in London England, "Smog" becomes a word
• 1952 - Walter P Reuther chosen chairman of CIO
• 1954 - "Hit the Trail" closes at Mark Hellinger Theater NYC after 4 perfs
• 1954 - "On Your Toes" closes at 46th St Theater NYC after 64 performances
• 1955 - Mgr Alfrink installed as archbishop of Utrecht
• 1956 - 22nd Heisman Trophy Award: Paul Hornung, Notre Dame (QB)
• 1957 - 1st edition of "Chase's Annual Events" published
• 1957 - 2 commuter trains collide in heavy fog killing 92 (St John's England)
• 1958 - Dahomey (Benin), Ivory Coast become autonomous within Fr Community
• 1958 - Finnish govt of Fagerholm, resigns
• 1961 - Floyd Patterson KOs Tom McNeeley in 4 for heavyweight boxing title
• 1961 - Museum of Modern Art hangs Matisse's Le Bateau upside down for 47 days
• 1961 - Smallest NY Knick, 49th St MSG crowd-1,300 (snowstorm)
• 1961 - Tanganyika becomes 104th member of UN
• 1961 - WXGA TV channel 8 in Waycross, GA (PBS) begins broadcasting
• 1962 - US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site
• 1963 - Aldo Moro forms Italian govt
• 1963 - Pope Paul VI closes 2nd session of 2nd Vatican Council
• 1964 - Baseball approves a free-agent draft
• 1964 - Beatles release "Beatles For Sale" album
• 1964 - Commissioner's office given full powers in baseball disputes
• 1964 - Test Cricket debut of Ian Chappell, v Pakistan MCG, 11, 0-49, 0-31
• 1965 - "Roar of the Greasepaint" closes at Shubert NYC after 232 perfs
• 1965 - 2 passenger planes collide above Danbury, Conn, 4 die
• 1965 - 2nd NY Knick game postponed (due to death of opponent 76ers' owner)
• 1965 - Gemini 7 (Borman & Lovell) launched
• 1965 - SF Giant Masanori Murakami, 4-1 this year, does not renew his contract signing instead with the Nankai Hawks of Osaka for $40,000
• 1966 - KETS TV channel 2 in Little Rock, AR (PBS) begins broadcasting
• 1966 - Sandra Haynie wins LPGA Pensacola Ladies Golf Invitational
• 1970 - Unemployment in US increases to 5.8%
• 1973 - Pioneer 10 reaches Jupiter
• 1974 - Dutch DC-8 charter crashes in Sri Lanka killing 191 Moslem pilgrims
• 1974 - Jean-Paul Sartre visits RAF leader Andreas Baader in prison
• 1975 - 6 South Molukkans occupy Indonesian consulate in The Hague, 1 dead
• 1976 - Liz Taylor's 7th marriage (John Warner)
• 1977 - Hollis Stacy/Jerry Pate wins Pepsi-Cola Mixed Team Golf Championship
• 1977 - Jean-Bedel Bokassa, ruler of Central African Empire, crowns himself
• 1977 - NFL's 5,000th game, Cincinnati beats KC 27-7
• 1977 - Neil Simon's "Chapter Two," premieres in NYC
• 1978 - Dianne Feinstein is named SF 1st female mayor
• 1978 - Dutch War criminal Pieter Menten freed
• 1978 - Pioneer Venus 1 goes into orbit around Venus
• 1978 - War criminal Pieter Menten freed
• 1979 - Cleveland Cavaliers retire jersey # 7, Bingo Smith
• 1979 - Liza Minnelli's 3rd marriage (Mark Gero)
• 1980 - 2 months after death of drummer John Bonham, Led Zeppelin breaks up
• 1980 - Islanders end 15 game undefeated streak (13-0-2) (Col Rockies)
• 1981 - "Falcon Crest" premieres on CBS-TV
• 1981 - Pres Reagan allows CIA to engage in domestic counter-intelligence
• 1981 - Reagan Executive Order on Intelligence (No 12333)
• 1981 - According to South Africa, Ciskei gains independence Not recognized as an independent country outside South Africa
• 1982 - 48th Heisman Trophy Award: Herschel Walker, Georgia (RB)
• 1982 - China adopts its constitution
• 1982 - Police & racist demonstrators clash in Antwerp
• 1983 - "Amen Corner" closes at Nederlander Theater NYC after 83 performances
• 1983 - "Baby" opens at Barrymore Theater NYC for 241 performances
• 1983 - David Shire & R Maltby Jr's musical "Baby," premieres in NYC
• 1983 - NJ Devils 1st shut-out, beating Minnesota Detroit Red Wings 6-0
• 1983 - US jet fighters strike Syrian anti-aircraft positions in Lebanon
• 1984 - Hijackers commandeered a Kuwaiti airliner
• 1985 - "Les Miserables" opens at Palace Theatre, London
• 1985 - French President Mitterrand receives Polish leader Jaruzelski
• 1985 - Pres Reagan appoints Vice Adm John Poindexter as security adviser
• 1986 - NASA launches Fltsatcom-7
• 1986 - Neil Simon's "Broadway Bound," premieres in NYC
• 1987 - Karlstad skates world record 10 km (13:48.51)
• 1988 - Actor Gary Busey critically injured in motorcycle crash
• 1988 - Amy Benz/John Huston wins LPGA J C Penney Golf Classic
• 1988 - Orioles trade veteran 1B Eddie Murray to the Dodgers
• 1988 - USSR performs nuclear test at Novaya Zemlya USSR
• 1990 - Due to Persian Gulf crisis gas hits $1.60 per gallon price in NYC
• 1990 - Iraq announces it will release all 3,300 Soviet hostages
• 1991 - Judds final concert (Nashville)
• 1991 - Muslim Shites release last US hostage Terry Anderson (held 6� years)
• 1991 - Pan American World Airways ceased operations
• 1991 - Patricia Bowman testifies that William Kennedy Smith raped her
• 1993 - Dan Jansen skates world record 500m (35.92 sec)
• 1993 - Johann Koss skates world record 5K (6:35.53)
• 1994 - "Angels in America-Perestroika" closes at W Kerr NYC after 216 perfs
• 1994 - "Angels in America-Millennium Approach" closes at Kerr after 367 perfs
• 1994 - 83rd Davis Cup: Sweden beats Russia in Moscow (4-1)
• 1994 - Marta Figueras-Dottie/Brad Bryant wins LPGA J C Penney Golf Classic
• 1995 - Atherton (185*) bats for 643 minutes to save Johannesburg Test
• 1996 - 7th Billboard Music Awards
• 1996 - NASA's 1st Mars rover launched from Cape Canaveral
• 1996 - Orlando Magic tie NBA record of fewest ponts scored since inception of 24 second clock losing to Cleveland Cavalier, 84-57
• 1997 - "Diary of Anne Frank," opens at Music Box Theater NYC
• 1997 - NBA suspends Latrell Sprewell for 1 year for attacking his coach
• 9771 - Karel, the Great, becomes king of all France