Date·Lore

On This Day · The 338th day of the year

December 4

From 1259 to 2006, December 4 gathers 747 years of history. Most of the weight falls in the 20th century, where politics and nation-building recur.

♐ZodiacSagittarius ◈BirthstoneTurquoise ❀Birth flowerHolly

Sagittarius is the sign for December 4 — read more on the Sagittarius page, or see December's birthstone & birth flower.

Compiled & reviewed by · Last reviewed September 6, 2026

What happened on December 4?

December 4 is the 338th day of the year. It marks 10 notable events in history, dated between 1259 and 2006. Famous people born on December 4 include Fred Armisen, Francisco Franco and Mark Robson (film director).

Released on December 4

Movies, games, albums & shows

2025

  • Game Baseless
  • Game Metroid Prime 4: Beyond
  • Game Flotsam
  • Game Routine

2023

  • Game Picayune Dreams

2021

  • Game Icarus

Release data from TMDB & IGDB.

Events

10 notable moments
  1. 1259

    Louis IX of France

  2. 1865

    North Carolina

  3. 1893

    First Matabele War

  4. 1909

    Montreal Canadiens

  5. 1928

    Cosmo Gordon Lang

  6. 1939

    World War II

  7. 1978

    Assassinations of George Moscone and Harvey Milk

  8. 1982

    China

  9. 1986

    Port of Savannah

  10. 2006

    Jena Six

Famous birthday twins

Born on December 4

Fred Armisen

b. 1966

Francisco Franco

b. 1892

Mark Robson (film director)

b. 1913

Erwin von Witzleben

b. 1881

Horst Buchholz

b. 1933

Jay-Z

b. 1969

Franz Xavier Wernz

b. 1844

Deaths

  • 2012Vasily Belov
  • 1969Fred Hampton
  • 1798Luigi Galvani
  • 1679Thomas Hobbes
  • 1642Cardinal Richelieu
  • 1131Omar Khayyam

Holidays & observances

  • —Christian feast day: Ada
  • —Christian feast day: Anno II
  • —Christian feast day: Barbara, and its related observances: Barbórka, Miners' Day in Poland
  • —Christian feast day: Barbara, and its related observances: Eid il-Burbara, a holiday similar to Halloween in honor of Saint Barbara. (Russia, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine, Syria, Turkey)
  • —Christian feast day: Bernardo degli Uberti
  • —Christian feast day: Clement of Alexandria (Anglicanism, Eastern Catholicism)
  • —Christian feast day: Giovanni Calabria
  • —Christian feast day: John of Damascus

The factual record above — event titles, dates, names, and observances — is drawn from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike (CC BY-SA) license. DateLore adds curation, structure, and original editorial commentary. DateLore is not affiliated with the Wikimedia Foundation.

About the author

Roman Tailor compiles and reviews every date on DateLore. He's the writer and editor behind the site's editorial essays and the day-by-day almanac. Corrections and questions are welcome — read more about DateLore or get in touch.

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