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.

1943:
Great Depression ends in the United States: With unemployment figures falling fast due to World War II-related employment, US President Franklin D. Roosevelt closes the Works Progress Administration.

1918:
US President Woodrow Wilson sails for Versailles for the World War I peace talks, becoming the first US president to travel to Europe while in office.

1864:
At Waynesboro, Georgia, forces under Union General Judson Kilpatrick prevent troops led by Confederate General Joseph Wheeler from interfering with Union General William T. Sherman campaign of destroying a wide swath of the South on his march to the Gulf of Mexico (Union forces did suffer more than three times the casualties as the Confederates, however).