December 4th, 2008

Today in History

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

1958:
Dahomey (present-day Benin) becomes a self-governing country within the French Community.

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.

1875:
Notorious New York City politician Boss Tweed escapes from prison and flees to Cuba, then Spain.

1619:
Thirty-eight colonists from Berkeley Parish in England disembark in Virginia and give thanks to God (this is considered to be the first Thanksgiving in the Americas).