Today is Tuesday, December 4th, the 338th day of the year. There are 27 days until the end of the year.
On this day:
In 1619, America's first Thanksgiving was celebrated in Virginia.
In 1812, the power mower was patented by Peter Galliard of Lancaster, Pennsylvania.
In 1918, President Woodrow Wilson became the first President to travel outside the U.S. while in office. He set sail for France to attend the Versailles Peace Conference.
In 1967, actor Bert Lahr died at the age of 72. He is best remembered for his role as the Cowardly Lion in the classic film "The Wizard of Oz."
In 1984, the National Geographic Society discovered a Bronze Age shipwreck off the southern coast of Turkey. The discovery dated back to when King Tutankhamen ruled Egypt.
In 1985, Dallas, Texas, became the largest city in the United Sates to pass no smoking laws for restaurants.
In 1988, actor Gary Busey was critically injured in a motorcycle accident.
In 1993, Rock and Roll Hall-of-Famer Frank Zappa died of prostate cancer at the age of 52.
In 1997, the NBA suspended All-Star Latrell Sprewell of the Golden State Warriors for one year for choking and threatening to kill his coach, P.J. Carlesimo, three days earlier. The suspension was later reduced and Sprewell was reinstated to the Warriors which had terminated his contract.
In 2015, actor Robert Loggia died after battling Alzheimer's Disease at 85. One of Loggia's most memorable scenes came in the movie "Big" where he performed a duet with Tom Hanks on a giant floor piano.
In 2017, The U.S. Supreme Court allowed President Trump's travel ban to go into effect. The executive order allowed Trump to restrict travel to the U.S. from six mostly-Muslim countries, as well as North Korea and Venezuela.