Editing December 4 (section)

===1601–1900===
*[[1619]] &ndash; Thirty-eight [[colony|colonists]] arrive at [[Berkeley Hundred]], [[Colony of Virginia|Virginia]]. The group's charter proclaims that the day "be yearly and perpetually kept holy as a day of thanksgiving to Almighty God."
*[[1623]] &ndash; 50 Christians are executed in [[Edo (Tokyo)|Edo]], Japan, during the [[Great Martyrdom of Edo]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Cieslik |first=Hubert |date=1954 |title=The Great Martyrdom in Edo 1623. Its Causes, Course, Consequences |journal=[[Monumenta Nipponica]] |volume=10 |issue=1/2 |pages=1–44 |doi=10.2307/2382790 |issn=0027-0741 |jstor=2382790}}</ref>
*[[1676]] &ndash; The [[Battle of Lund]], becomes the bloodiest battle in Scandinavian history.
*[[1745]] &ndash; [[Charles Edward Stuart]]'s army reaches [[Derby]], its furthest point during the [[Jacobite rising of 1745|Second Jacobite Rising]].
*[[1783]] &ndash; At [[Fraunces Tavern]] in New York City, U.S. General [[George Washington]] [[Fraunces Tavern#Washington's farewell to his officers|bids farewell to his officers]].
*[[1786]] &ndash; [[Mission Santa Barbara]] is dedicated (on the feast day of [[Saint Barbara]]).
*[[1791]] &ndash; The first edition of ''[[The Observer]]'', the world's first Sunday newspaper, is published.
*[[1804]] &ndash; The [[United States House of Representatives]] [[Impeachment of Samuel Chase|adopts]] [[articles of impeachment]] against [[Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States|Supreme Court Justice]] [[Samuel Chase]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Hinds|first=Asher C.|title=Hinds' Precedents of the House of Representatives of the United States: Including References to Provisions of the Constitution, the Laws, and Decisions of the United States Senate. Volume III|location=Washington, D.C.|publisher=Government Printing Office|date=1907|oclc=2176404|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ma5CAQAAMAAJ|pages=718–719}}</ref>
*[[1808]] &ndash; [[Peninsular War|Napoleonic Wars]]: Under the orders by commander [[Tomás de Morla]], the city of [[Capitulation of Madrid (1808)|Madrid surrenders]] to French Emperor [[Napoleon Bonaparte|Napoleon I]] after a 4 day long siege.<ref name="Napoleonic Timeline 1808">{{cite web |title=Napoleonic Timeline 1808 |url=https://www.napoleon-empire.org/en/chronology/chronology-1808.php |website=Napoleon Empire.org}}</ref>
*[[1829]] &ndash; In the face of fierce local opposition, British [[Governor-General of India|Governor-General]] [[Lord William Bentinck]] issues a regulation declaring that anyone who abets [[Sati (practise)|sati]] in [[Bengal Presidency|Bengal]] is guilty of [[culpable homicide]].
*[[1861]] &ndash; [[American Civil War]]: The 109 [[Electoral College (Confederate States)|electors]] of the several states of the [[Confederate States of America]] unanimously [[1861 Confederate States presidential election|elect]] [[Jefferson Davis]] as [[President of the Confederate States of America|President]] and [[Alexander H. Stephens]] as [[Vice President of the Confederate States of America|Vice President]].
*[[1863]] &ndash; American Civil War: Confederate General [[James Longstreet]] lifts his unsuccessful [[Siege of Knoxville|siege]] of [[Knoxville, Tennessee]] after failing to capture the city.<ref>{{cite web|title=Battle of Knoxville|url=https://tennesseeencyclopedia.net/entries/battle-of-knoxville/|author=Groce, W. Todd|website=TennesseeEncyclopedia.net|publisher=Tennessee Historical Society|date=October 8, 2017|access-date=November 30, 2024}}</ref>
*[[1864]] &ndash; American Civil War: [[Sherman's March to the Sea]]: [[Union (American Civil War)|Union]] cavalry forces defeat Confederate cavalry in the [[Battle of Waynesboro, Georgia]], opening the way for General [[William Tecumseh Sherman|William T. Sherman]]'s army to approach the coast.
*[[1865]] &ndash; [[North Carolina]] ratifies [[13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution]], followed two days later by [[Georgia (U.S. state)|Georgia]], and [[Slavery in the United States|U.S. slaves]] were legally free within two weeks.
*[[1867]] &ndash; Former [[Minnesota]] farmer [[Oliver Hudson Kelley]] founds the Order of the Patrons of Husbandry (better known today as [[National Grange of the Order of Patrons of Husbandry|the Grange]]).
*[[1872]] &ndash; The American brigantine {{ship||Mary Celeste}} is discovered drifting in the Atlantic. Her crew is never found.<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Humphreys |first=Julian |title=Milestones |editor-last=Attar |editor-first=Rob |magazine=BBC History magazine |date=December 2012 |publisher=BBC |location=Northampton |pages=10–11}}</ref>
*[[1875]] &ndash; Notorious New York City politician [[Boss Tweed]] escapes from prison; he is later recaptured in Spain.
*[[1881]] &ndash; The first edition of the ''[[Los Angeles Times]]'' is published.
*[[1893]] &ndash; [[First Matabele War]]: A patrol of 34 [[British South Africa Company]] soldiers is [[Shangani Patrol|ambushed and annihilated]] by more than 3,000 [[Northern Ndebele people|Matabele]] warriors on the [[Shangani River]] in [[Matabeleland]].