December 4th, 2008

Today in History

1981:
South Africa grants "homeland" Ciskei independence (not recognized outside South Africa).

1942:
Holocaust: In Warsaw, two Christian women, Zofia Kossak and Wanda Filipowicz risk their lives by setting up the Council for the Assistance of the Jews.

1921:
The Virginia Rappe manslaughter trial against actor and film director Roscoe Arbuckle ends in a hung jury.

1906:
Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Inc., the first intercollegiate Greek-letter fraternity in the United States established for men of African descent, was founded at Cornell University.

1674:
Father Jacques Marquette founds a mission on the shores of Lake Michigan to minister to the Illinois Indians (the mission would later grow into the city of Chicago, Illinois).