From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
December 5 is the 339th day (340th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian calendar. There are 26 days remaining.
[edit] Events
- 63 BC - Cicero reads the last of his Catiline Orations.
- 663 - Fourth Council of Toledo.
- 771 - Charlemagne becomes the sole King of the Franks after the death of his brother Carloman.
- 1082 - Assassination of Ramon Berenguer II, Count of Barcelona.
- 1360 - Creation of the French Franc.
- 1408 - Emir Edigu of Golden Horde reaches Moscow.
- 1484 - Pope Innocent VIII issues the Summis desiderantes, a papal bull that deputizes Heinrich Kramer and Jacob Sprenger as inquisitors to root out alleged witchcraft in Germany and leads to one of the severest witchhunts in European history.
- 1492 - Christopher Columbus becomes the first European to set foot on the island of Hispaniola.
- 1496 - King Manuel I of Portugal issues a decrre of expulsion of "heretics" from the country.
- 1590 - Niccolò Sfondrati becomes Pope Gregory XIV.
- 1715 - Alexander Dalzeel, a Scottish privateer in French service, is executed in London, England.
- 1746 - Revolt in Genoa against the Spanish rule.
- 1757 - Seven Years' War: Battle of Leuthen - Frederick II of Prussia leads Prussian forces to a decisive victory over Austrian forces under Prince Charles Alexander of Lorraine.
- 1766 - In London, James Christie holds his first sale.
- 1775 – At Fort Ticonderoga, Henry Knox begins his historic transport of artillery to Cambridge, Massachusetts.
- 1776 - In the Apollo Room of the Raleigh Tavern in Williamsburg, Virginia, students from the College of William and Mary met for the first time founding Phi Beta Kappa, the first scholastic fraternity in the United States.
- 1815 - Foundation of Maceió in Brazil.
- 1830 - The premiere of Hector Berlioz's Symphonie Fantastique in Paris.
- 1831 - Former US President John Quincy Adams takes his seat in the House of Representatives.
- 1848 - California Gold Rush: In a message before the U.S. Congress, US President James K. Polk confirms that large amounts of gold had been discovered in California.
- 1865 - Chincha Islands War: Peru allies with Chile against Spain.
- 1892 - Sir John Thompson becomes the fourth Prime Minister of Canada.
- 1893 - First appearance of an electric car.
- 1914 - The Italian Parliament proclaims the neutrality of the country.
- 1926 - Sergei Eisenstein's Battleship Potemkin premieres.
- 1932 - German-born Swiss physicist Albert Einstein is granted an American visa.
- 1933 - Prohibition ends: Utah becomes the 36th U.S. state to ratify the Twenty-first Amendment to the United States Constitution, thus establishing the required 75% of states needed to enact the amendment (this overturned the 18th Amendment which had outlawed alcohol in the United States).
- 1934 - Abyssinia Crisis: Italian troops attack Wal Wal in Abyssinia, taking four days to capture the city.
- 1936 - The Soviet Union adopts a new constitution and the Kirghiz Soviet Socialist Republic is established as a full Union Republic of the USSR.
- 1941 - In Battle of Moscow Zhukov launched a massive Soviet counter-attack against the German army, with the biggest offensive launched against Army Group Centre.
- 1941 - Great Britain declares war to Finland, Hungary and Romania.
- 1941 - John Steinbeck's book Sea of Cortez is published.
- 1944 - Allied troops occupy Ravenna.
- 1945 - Flight 19 is lost in the Bermuda Triangle.
- 1952 - The Abbott and Costello Show debuts on American television.
- 1955 - The American Federation of Labor and the Congress of Industrial Organizations merge and form the AFL-CIO.
- 1955 - Martin Luther King, Jr. leads the Montgomery Bus Boycott.
- 1957 - Sukarno expels all Dutch people from Indonesia.
- 1958 - Subscriber Trunk Dialling (STD) is inaugurated in the UK by Queen Elizabeth II when she speaks to the Lord Provost in a call from Bristol to Edinburgh.
- 1958 - The Preston bypass, the UK's first stretch of motorway opens to traffic for the first time, now part of the M6 and M55 motorways.
- 1964 - Vietnam War: For his heroism in battle earlier in the year, Captain Roger Donlon is awarded the first Medal of Honor of the war.
- 1969 - Life Magazine reports the My Lai Massacre .
- 1970 - Premiere of Dario Fo's Morte accidentale di un anarchico.
- 1974 - Party Political Broadcast, the final episode of Monty Python's Flying Circus, is broadcast on BBC 2.
- 1976 - United Nations General Assembly adopts Pakistan resolution on security of non-Nuclear States.
- 1977 - Egypt breaks diplomatic relations with Syria, Libya, Algeria, Iraq and South Yemen. The move is in retaliation to the Declaration of Tripoli against Egypt.
- 1978 - The Soviet Union signs a 'friendship treaty' with the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan.
- 1979 - Sonia Johnson is formally excommunicated by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for her outspoken criticism of the church concerning the proposed Equal Rights Amendment to the Constitution of the United States.
- 1983 - Dissolution of the Military Joint in Argentina.
- 1989 - TGV Atlantique sets a new railways speed record with 482.4 km/h.
- 1992 - Kent Conrad of North Dakota resigns his seat in the United States Senate and is sworn into the other seat from North Dakota, becoming the only US Senator ever to have held two seats on the same day.
- 1993 - The mayor of Wien Helmut Zilk is wounded by a letter bomb.
- 1995 - Sri Lanka government announces the conquest of Tamil stronghold of Jaffna.
- 1997 - French far-right politician maintains that Nazis were a "Detail of history" during a press conference in Munich.
- 2003 - Suicide bombers kill at least 46 people in an attack on a train in southern Russia.
- 2005 - The Lake Tanganyika earthquake causes significant damage, mostly in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
- 2005 - The Civil Partnership Act comes into effect in the United Kingdom, and the first civil partnership is registered there.
[edit] Births
- 1377 - Jianwen Emperor of China (d. 1402)
- 1443 - Pope Julius II (d. 1513)
- 1495 - Nicolas Cleynaerts, Flemish grammarian (d. 1542)
- 1537 - Ashikaga Yoshiaki, Japanese shogun (d. 1597)
- 1539 - Fausto Paolo Sozzini, Italian theologian (d. 1604)
- 1547 - Ubbo Emmius, Dutch historian and geographer (d. 1625)
- 1595 - Henry Lawes, English composer (d. 1662)
- 1661 - Robert Harley, 1st Earl of Oxford and Mortimer, English statesman (d. 1724)
- 1687 - Francesco Geminiani, Italian violinist and composer (d. 1762)
- 1782 - Martin Van Buren, 8th President of the United States (d. 1862)
- 1803 - Fyodor Ivanovich Tyutchev, Russian poet (d. 1873)
- 1820 - Afanasy Fet, Russian poet (d. 1892)
- 1822 - Elizabeth Cary Agassiz, American college president (d. 1907)
- 1829 - Henri-Gustave Joly de Lotbinière, French Canadian politician (d. 1908)
- 1830 - Christina Rossetti, British poet (d. 1894)
- 1839 - George Armstrong Custer, American general (d. 1876)
- 1841 - Marcus Daly, American mining tycoon (d. 1900)
- 1855 - Clinton Hart Merriam, American ornithologist (d. 1942)
- 1859 - John Jellicoe, British admiral (d. 1935)
- 1863 - Paul Painlevé, French mathematician (d. 1933)
- 1867 - Józef Piłsudski, Polish revolutionary and statesman (d. 1935)
- 1868 - Arnold Sommerfeld, German physicist (d. 1951)
- 1869 - Ellis Parker Butler, American author (d. 1937)
- 1870 - Vítězslav Novák, Czech composer (d. 1949)
- 1871 - Bill Pickett, American rodeo performer (d. 1932)
- 1872 - Harry Nelson Pillsbury, American chess player (d. 1906)
- 1875 - Sir Arthur Currie, Canadian soldier (d. 1933)
- 1879 - Clyde Cessna, American airplane manufacturer (d. 1954)
- 1886 - Rose Wilder Lane, American writer and reporter (d. 1968)
- 1890 - David Bomberg, British painter (d. 1957)
- 1890 - Fritz Lang, Austrian-born film director (d. 1976)
- 1892 - Ferdinand Schörner, German field marshal (d. 1973)
- 1895 - Elbert Frank Cox, American mathematician (d. 1969)
- 1896 - Carl Ferdinand Cori, Austrian-born biochemist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1984)
- 1879 - Nunnally Johnson, American screenwriter and producer (d. 1977)
- 1898 - Grace Moore, American soprano (d. 1947}
- 1898 - Josh Malihabadi, Urdu poet of India and Pakistan (d. 1982)
- 1901 - Walt Disney, American animated film producer (d. 1966)
- 1901 - Milton H. Erickson, American psychiatrist (d. 1980)
- 1901 - Werner Heisenberg, German physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1976)
- 1902 - Strom Thurmond, American politician (d. 2003)
- 1903 - Johannes Heesters, Dutch singer and actor
- 1903 - Cecil Frank Powell, British physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1969)
- 1905 - Gus Mancuso, baseball player (d. 1984)
- 1906 - Otto Preminger, Austrian-born director, producer, and actor (d. 1986)
- 1907 - Giuseppe Occhialini, Italian physicist (d. 1993)
- 1910 - Abraham Polonsky, American screenwriter (d. 1999}
- 1911 - Władysław Szpilman, Polish pianist (d. 2000)
- 1914 - Hans Hellmut Kirst, German author (d. 1989)
- 1927 - Bhumibol Adulyadej, King of Thailand
- 1932 - Sheldon Lee Glashow, American physicist, Nobel Prize laureate
- 1932 - Little Richard (Richard Wayne Penniman), American singer and pianist
- 1934 - Joan Didion, American writer
- 1935 - Yury Vlasov, Soviet weightlifter
- 1935 - Calvin Trillin, American writer
- 1936 - James Lee Burke, American writer
- 1938 - J. J. Cale, American songwriter
- 1940 - Peter Pohl, Swedish writer
- 1943 - Eva Joly, Norwegian-born French magistrate
- 1944 - Jeroen Krabbé, Dutch actor
- 1945 - Serge Chapleau, Quebec caricaturist
- 1946 - José Carreras, Spanish tenor
- 1946 - Andy Kim, Canadian singer and songwriter
- 1947 - Jim Messina, American musician (Buffalo Springfield - Loggins and Messina)
- 1947 - Jim Plunkett, American football player
- 1947 - Bruce Golding, Jamaican Politian, Head of JLP
- 1949 - Ray Comfort, New Zealand evangelist
- 1950 - Camarón de la Isla, Spanish flamenco singer (d. 1992)
- 1950 - Osvaldo Golijov, Argentine-born composer
- 1951 - Anne-Mie van Kerckhoven, Belgian artist
- 1951 - Morgan Brittany, American actress
- 1953 - Larry Zbyszko, American professional wrestler
- 1956 - Brian Backer, American actor
- 1956 - Krystian Zimerman, Polish pianist
- 1957 - Art Monk, American football player
- 1958 - Dean Erickson, American actor
- 1960 - Jack Russell, American glam rock singer (Great White)
- 1962 - José Cura, Argentine tenor
- 1963 - Eddie 'the Eagle' Edwards, British skier
- 1965 - Johnny Rzeznik American singer (Goo Goo Dolls)
- 1966 - Patricia Kaas, French singer
- 1967 - Gary Allan, American singer
- 1968 - Margaret Cho, American comedian and actress
- 1968 - Lisa Marie, American model and actress
- 1969 - Lewis Gordon Pugh, British swimmer, polar explorer and motivational speaker
- 1969 - Morgan J. Freeman, American film director
- 1970 - Kevin Haller, National Hockey League defenseman
- 1972 - Angela Shelton, American actress & writer
- 1972 - Mike Mahoney, baseball player
- 1972 - Cliff Floyd, Major League Baseball player
- 1973 - Shalom Harlow, Model
- 1973 - Luboš Motl, Czech physicist
- 1975 - Ronnie O'Sullivan, British snooker player
- 1976 - Amy Acker, American actress
- 1978 - Olli Jokinen, Finnish ice hockey player
- 1979 - Matteo Ferrari, Italy footballer
- 1979 - Niklas Hagman, Finnish hockey player
- 1979 - Nick Stahl, American actor
- 1980 - Shizuka Ito, Japanese seiyū
- 1982 - Eddy Curry, American basketball player
- 1982 - Trai Essex, American football player
- 1984 - Chris Solinsky, American distance runner
- 1985 - Josh Smith, American basketball player
- 1985 - Frankie Muniz, American actor
- 1988 - Ross Bagley, American actor
[edit] Deaths
- 749 - Saint John of Damascus, theologian
- 1082 - Ramon Berenguer II, Count of Barcelona
- 1355 - John III, Duke of Brabant (b. 1300)
- 1560 - King Francis II of France (b. 1544)
- 1624 - Gaspard Bauhin, Swiss botanist (b. 1560)
- 1654 - Jean François Sarrazin, French writer
- 1663 - Severo Bonini, Italian composer (b. 1582)
- 1749 - Pierre Gaultier de Varennes et de la Vérendrye, New French explorer and trader (b. 1685)
- 1758 - Johann Friedrich Fasch, German composer (b. 1688)
- 1770 - James Stirling, Scottish mathematician (b. 1692)
- 1784 - Phillis Wheatley, British poet (b. 1753)
- 1791 - Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Austrian composer (b. 1756)
- 1819 - Friedrich Leopold Graf zu Stolberg, German poet (b. 1750)
- 1870 - Alexandre Dumas père, French writer (b. 1802)
- 1887 - Eliza Roxcy Snow, American poet (b. 1804)
- 1891 - Emperor Pedro II of Brazil (b. 1825)
- 1925 - Władysław Reymont, Polish writer and Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1867)
- 1926 - Claude Monet, French impressionist painter (b. 1840)
- 1931 - Vachel Lindsay, American poet (b. 1879)
- 1940 - Jan Kubelík, Austro-Hungarian-born Czechoslovak violinist (b. 1880)
- 1950 - Shri Aurobindo, Indian guru (b. 1872)
- 1951 - Shoeless Joe Jackson, American baseball player (b. 1889)
- 1951 - Abanindranath Tagore, Indian writer (b. 1871)
- 1963 - Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy, Prime Minister Pakistan (b. 1892)
- 1963 - Karl Amadeus Hartmann, German composer (b. 1905)
- 1963 - Sri Deep Narayan Mahaprabhuji, Indian Hindu mystic
- 1965 - Joseph Erlanger, American physiologist and Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1874)
- 1966 - Sylvère Maes, Belgian cyclist (b. 1909)
- 1968 - Fred Clark, American actor (b. 1914)
- 1984 - Adam Malik, Third Vice President of Indonesia (b. 1917)
- 1986 - Sir Edward Youde, Governor of Hong Kong (b. 1924)
- 1989 - Sir John Pritchard, British conductor (b. 1921)
- 1991 - Richard Speck, American mass murderer (b. 1941)
- 1993 - Doug Hopkins, American guitarist and songwriter (Gin Blossoms) (b. 1961)
- 2001 - Franco Rasetti, Italian physicist (b. 1901)
- 2002 - Roone Arledge, American sports broadcasting pioneer (b. 1931)
- 2002 - Ne Win, Burmese leader (b. 1911)
- 2005 - Frits Philips, Dutch industrialist and businessman from multinational Philips Electronics (b. 1905)
- 2005 - Kevin "Big Kev" Mc Quay, Australian businessman (b. 1949)
[edit] Holidays and observances
[edit] External links
December 4 - December 6 - November 5 - January 5 — listing of all days