December 4th, 2008

Today in History

771:
Austrasian King Carloman dies, leaving his brother Charlemagne king of the now complete Frank kingdom.

1563:
The final session of the Council of Trent is held (it opened on December 13, 1545).

1967:
Vietnam War: US and South Vietnamese forces engage Viet Cong troops in the Mekong Delta (235 of the 300-strong Viet Cong battalion were killed).

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.

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).