Today is Wednesday, Dec. 4, the 339th day of 2024. There are 27 days left in the year.
Today in history:
On Dec. 4, 1991, Associated Press correspondent Terry Anderson was released after being held hostage by Hezbollah militants in Lebanon for nearly seven years.
Also on this date:
In 1783, Gen. George Washington bid farewell to his Continental Army officers at Fraunces Tavern in New York.
In 1956, Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis, and Carl Perkins, known as the “Million Dollar Quartet,” gathered for a legendary jam session at Sun Records in Memphis.
In 1964, police arrested around 800 students at the University of California, Berkeley, following a massive sit-in at the administration building.
In 1965, the United States launched Gemini 7 with Air Force Lt. Col. Frank Borman and Navy Cmdr. James A. Lovell aboard on a two-week mission, during which it rendezvoused with Gemini 6A within a foot of each other.
In 1969, Fred Hampton and Mark Clark of the Black Panther Party were shot and killed during a raid by Chicago police.
In 1997, the NBA suspended Golden State Warriors guard Latrell Sprewell for one year for attacking Warriors coach P.J. Carlesimo.
In 2016, a man armed with an assault rifle fired shots inside Comet Ping Pong in Washington, D.C., as part of an online conspiracy theory investigation; he was sentenced to four years in prison.
In 2018, people lined up to view the casket of former President George H.W. Bush in the Capitol Rotunda.
Today’s Birthdays:
- Game show host Wink Martindale is 91.
- Actor-producer Max Baer Jr. is 87.
- Actor Gemma Jones is 82.
- Actor Jeff Bridges is 75.
- Actor Patricia Wettig is 73.
- Jazz singer Cassandra Wilson is 69.
- Basketball Hall of Famer Bernard King is 68.
- Baseball Hall of Famer Lee Smith is 67.
- Olympic pole vault gold medalist Sergey Bubka is 61.
- Actor Marisa Tomei is 60.
- Actor-comedian Fred Armisen is 58.
- Rapper Jay-Z is 55.
- Actor-model Tyra Banks is 51.
- Football Hall of Famer Joe Thomas is 40.
- Musician Jelly Roll is 40.
