December 4 in history — What Happened Today in History

Pan American World Airways ceases its operations after 64 years.

The MV Amazon Venture oil tanker begins leaking oil while at the port of Savannah in the United States, resulting in an oil spill of approximately 500,000 US gallons (1,900,000 L).

Sri Lankan Civil War: Sri Lankan Army soldiers kill 107–150 civilians in Mannar.

US Navy aircraft from USS John F. Kennedy and USS Independence attack Syrian missile sites in Lebanon in response to an F-14 being fired on by an SA-7. One A-6 Intruder and A-7 Corsair are shot down. One American pilot is killed, one is rescued, and one is captured.

The China adopts its current constitution.

South Africa grants independence to the Ciskei "homeland" (not recognized by any government outside South Africa).

The Hastie fire in Hull kills three schoolboys and eventually leads police to arrest Bruce George Peter Lee.

Following the murder of Mayor George Moscone, Dianne Feinstein becomes San Francisco's first female mayor.

Jean-Bédel Bokassa, president of the Central African Republic, crowns himself Emperor Bokassa I of the Central African Empire.

Malaysian Airline System Flight 653 is hijacked and crashes in Tanjong Kupang, Johor, killing 100.

Martinair Flight 138 crashes into the Saptha Kanya mountain range in Maskeliya, Sri Lanka, killing 191.

The PNS Ghazi, a Pakistan Navy submarine, sinks during the course of the Indo-Pakistani Naval War of 1971.

During a concert by Frank Zappa and The Mothers of Invention at the Montreux Casino, an audience member fires a flare gun into the ceiling, causing a fire that destroys the venue. The incident served as the inspiration for Deep Purple's 1973 song Smoke on the Water.

Black Panther Party members Fred Hampton and Mark Clark are shot and killed during a raid by 14 Chicago police officers.

Launch of Gemini 7 with crew members Frank Borman and Jim Lovell. The Gemini 7 spacecraft was the passive target for the first crewed space rendezvous performed by the crew of Gemini 6A.

Free Speech Movement: Police arrest over 800 students at the University of California, Berkeley, following their takeover and sit-in at the administration building in protest of the UC Regents' decision to forbid protests on UC property.

The Million Dollar Quartet (Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins, and Johnny Cash) get together at Sun Studio for the first and last time.

Korean War: Jesse L. Brown (the 1st African-American Naval aviator) is killed in action during the Battle of Chosin Reservoir.

Korean War: Associated Press photographer Max Desfor photographs hundreds of Korean refugees crossing a downed bridge in the Taedong River: 1951 Pulitzer Prize winner Flight of Refugees Across Wrecked Bridge in Korea.

Sir Duncan George Stewart, governor of the Crown Colony of Sarawak, was fatally stabbed by a member of the Rukun 13.

Chinese Civil War: The SS Kiangya, carrying Nationalist refugees from Shanghai, explodes in the Huangpu River.

By a vote of 65–7, the United States Senate approves United States participation in the United Nations. (The UN had been established on October 24, 1945.)

World War II: In Yugoslavia, resistance leader Marshal Josip Broz Tito proclaims a provisional democratic Yugoslav government in-exile.

World War II: U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt closes down the Works Progress Administration, because of the high levels of wartime employment in the United States.

World War II: Carlson's patrol during the Guadalcanal campaign ends.

World War II: HMS Nelson is struck by a mine (laid by U-31) off the Scottish coast and is laid up for repairs until August 1940.

Cosmo Gordon Lang was enthroned as the Archbishop of Canterbury, the first bachelor to be appointed in 150 years.

Ukrainian War of Independence: The Polonsky conspiracy is initiated, with an attempt to assassinate the high command of the Revolutionary Insurgent Army of Ukraine.

Joe Musgrove, American baseball player

Blake Snell, American baseball player

Duje Dukan, Croatian basketball player

André Roberson, American basketball player

Max Holloway, American mixed martial artist

Reality Winner, American intelligence specialist convicted of espionage

Lukman Haruna, Nigerian footballer

Blake Leary, Australian rugby league player

Yeng Constantino, Filipina singer and songwriter

Orlando Brown, American actor and rapper

Kaija Udras, Estonian skier

Martell Webster, American basketball player

Andrew Brackman, American baseball player

Jeremy Thorpe, English lawyer and politician (born 1929)

Joana Raspall i Juanola, Spanish author and poet (born 1913)

Vasily Belov, Russian author, poet, and playwright (born 1932)

Jack Brooks, American colonel, lawyer, and politician (born 1922)

Miguel Calero, Colombian footballer and manager (born 1971)

Anthony Deane-Drummond, English general (born 1917)

Sonia Pierre, Haitian-Dominican activist (born 1965)

Sócrates, Brazilian footballer and manager (born 1954)

Hubert Sumlin, American singer and guitarist (born 1931)

King Curtis Iaukea, American wrestler (born 1937)

Liam Clancy, Irish singer, actor, and guitarist (born 1935)

Pimp C, American rapper (born 1973)

K. Ganeshalingam, Sri Lankan accountant and politician, Mayor of Colombo (born 1938)