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Today in History: Born onDecember 4

1584

John Cotton, English-born Puritan clergyman (The Way of the Church of Christ in New England).

1795

Thomas Carlyle, Scottish historian and essayist (The French Revolution, Sartor Resartus).

1835

Samuel Butler, English writer and painter (Erewhon, The Way of All Flesh).

1861

Lillian Russell, singer and actress.

1865

Edith Cavell, English nurse who tended to friend and foe alike during World War I.

1866

Wassily Kandinsky, Russian-born painter.

1875

Rainer Maria Rilke, German poet.

1892

Francisco Franco, Spanish general and dictator who came to power as a result of the Spanish Civil War.

1924

Frank Press, geophysicist.

1937

Max Baer Jr., actor, screenwriter, director, producer; best know for his role as Jethro on The Beverly Hillbillies TV series

1940

Gary Gilmore, American murderer who demanded his death sentence be carried out; he was the first prisoner executed in the US following the Supreme Court's ruling on the death penalty in Gregg v. Georgia.

1944

Chris Hillman, singer, songwrier, musician; performed with the bands The Byrds, The Hillmen, The Flying Burrito Brothers, and Manassas.

1945

A. Scott Berg, Pulitzer Prize–winning biographer (Lindberg, 1998).

1949

Jeff Bridges, actor, producer; won Academy Award for Best Actor as Otis "Bad" Blake in Crazy Heart (2009).

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