1898 - Gaston de Chasseloup-Laubat sets the officially recognized land-speed record of 39.245 miles per hour (63.159 kilometers per hour) in Jeantaud electric car.
1958 – Niger becomes an autonomous state within the French Community on December 4, 1958, after the establishment of the Fifth French Republic. Following full independence on August 3, 1960, however, membership was allowed to lapse.
1995 - A Lockheed L-188 Electra of Congolese Trans Service Airlift airline crashes shortly after take-off from Jumba, Angola, killing 141 people, with 3 surviving the crash.
1996 – "Ebonics" is declared a language or dialect by the outgoing school board of Oakland, California, whose vote was overturned by the incoming board.
2002 – CaliforniaGovernorGray Davis announces that the state would face a record budget deficit of $35 billion, roughly double the figure reported during his reelection campaign one month earlier; the budget issue was used to support his 2003 recall from office.