Today's 5 December Major Events in History

Photo for the article Today's 5 December Major Events

Catiline Orations

63 BC Roman consul Cicero delivers the last of his famous Catiline Orations before the Senate on the fate of the Cataline conspirators

633 Visigothic King Sisenand convenes Fourth Council of Toledo at the church of Saint Leocadia in Toledo; all bishops of Hispania agree to establish seminaries in cathedral cities and implement educational standards

Charlemagne Rules Alone

771 Charlemagne becomes the sole King of the Franks after the death of his brother Carloman

1082 Ramon Berenguer II, Count of Barcelona is assassinated
1301 Pope Boniface VIII's decree Ausculta fili (only nominee)

1349 500 Jews of the Free Imperial City of Nuremberg are massacred during Black Death riots, part of a wave of pogroms across Western Europe

1360 The French Franc is created to pay the ransom of King John II of France, captured by the English during the Hundred Years War
1408 Emir Edigu of Golden Horde reaches Moscow
1456 Earthquake strikes Naples, killing an estimated 35,000 people

Columbus Sights Hispaniola

1492 Christopher Columbus is the first European to sight Hispaniola (modern Dominican Republic and Haiti)

1496 Jews are expelled from Portugal by order of King Manuel I
1590 Italian bishop Niccolo Sfondrati chosen as Pope Gregory XIV
1602 Giulio Caccini and Ottario Rinuccini's opera "Euridice" premieres at the Pitti Palace, in Florence, Grand Duchy of Tuscany

Shakespeare's First Folio Sold

1623 First copies purchased of William Shakespeare's First Folio, collecting his plays posthumously into one volume, bought by Edward Dering

Blackbeard Ransacks the Margaret

1717 English pirate Blackbeard ransacks the merchant sloop "Margaret" and keeps her captain, Henry Bostock, prisoner for 8 hours before releasing him. Bostock later provides the first record of Blackbeard's appearance and the source for his name

1741 Russian princess Elisabeth Petrovna seizes power from the infant Ivan VI, with the help of the military
1746 Revolt in Genoa against Spanish rule
1757 Battle of Leuthen: Prussian army beats an Austrian force
1766 Christie's, the world's largest auction house, holds its first sale in its permanent saleroom in Pall Mall, London
1776 First US academic honor society, Phi Beta Kappa, forms at William & Mary College in Williamsburg, Virginia

1798 Dutch troops occupy Hasselt

1813 City of Lübeck surrenders to anti-Napoleonic allied armies
1815 Foundation of Maceió in Brazil

Symphonie Fantastique

1830 Hector Berlioz's program symphony "Symphonie fantastique" premieres at the Paris Conservatoire

1831 Former US President John Q Adams takes his seat as a member of House of Representatives

1835 Assault on Mexican-held San Antonio by Texan rebels
1837 Hector Berlioz's "Requiem" premiere at Les Invalides, conducted by François Habeneck
1837 Uprising under William Lyon Mackenzie in Canada
1846 German-Swiss chemist Christian Freidrich Schoenbein obtains a patent for cellulose nitrate explosive

Jefferson Davis to Senate

1847 Jefferson Davis is appointed to fill vacant US Senate seat for Mississippi

1848 US President James K. Polk triggers the Gold Rush of 1849 by confirming a gold discovery in California

1854 Aaron Allen of Boston patents the folding theater chair

The Octaroon

1859 Dion Boucicault's stage melodrama "The Octaroon" opens at The Winter Garden Theatre, NYC

Battle of Coffeeville

1862 Battle of Coffeeville: Confederate forces halt Ulysses S. Grant's Mississippi invasion via Tennessee

1865 Chincha Islands War: Peru allies with Chile against Spain.
1868 1st American bicycle college opens (NY)
1872 The ship Mary Celeste is discovered mysteriously abandoned by her crew in the Atlantic Ocean
1876 Daniel Stillson of Massachusetts patents 1st practical pipe wrench
1876 Fire at Brooklyn Theater kills 295, trampled or burned to death
1879 First automatic telephone switching system is patented
1882 US Patent Office grants patent #268503 for the exclusive right to make, use, or sell "animal-shaped buildings" to James V. Lafferty of Philadelphia; three novelty elephants are built: Elephant Bazaar in South Atlantic City, New Jersey (1881); Light of Asia in South Cape May, New Jersey (1884); and Elephantine Colossus in Coney Island, New York (1885) [1]
1887 Stanley's expedition reaches plateau at Lake Albert Congo
1890 Hector Berlioz's opera "Les Troyens" premieres in Karlsruhe, Germany
1892 Anti-semite Hermann Ahlwardt elected to Germany's Reichstag

1893 Electric car built at the Dixon Carriage works in Toronto, could go 15 miles between charges
1894 Georges Feydeaus' comedic play "L'hôtel du libre échange" premieres in Paris

Emperor and Galilean

1896 Henrik Ibsen's play "Kejsor og Galileer" (Emperor and Galilean) premieres in Leipzig

1905 Henry Campbell-Bannermam (Lib) becomes UK Prime Minister
1908 The University of Pittsburgh is the first US college football team to use numerals on their uniform
1912 The Triple Alliance among Italy, Austria, and Germany (originally signed in 1882) is renewed for six years, beginning in 1914, a move inspired by instability in the Balkans
1914 The Italian Parliament proclaims the neutrality of the country
1917 Austro-German Forces launch an offensive against the Italians on the western end of their line, around Asiago
1918 Oil refinery on Curacao opens
1920 Dimitrios Rallis forms a government in Greece.
1920 Pro football playoff game Akron & Buffalo 0-0 tie, title undecided
1924 Hamilton Tiger Red Green scores 5 goals to beat Tor Maple Leafs 10-5

Chancellor Luther Resigns

1925 Hans Luther forced to resign as Chancellor and head of the German Weimar government

1928 England defeats Australia by record 675 runs at Brisbane
1928 Wilhelm Miklas elected president of Austria
1929 1st US nudist organization, the American League for Physical Culture in New York City

1933 Prohibition ends in the US at 5:32 PM EST when the 21st Amendment to the US Constitution is ratified, repealing the 18th Amendment
1935 First commercial hydroponics operation established (Montebello, California)
1935 National Council of Negro Women forms by Mary McLeod Bethune (NYC)
1936 Armenian SSR, Azerbaijan SSR, Georgian SSR, Kazakh SSR & Kirghiz SSR becomes constituent republics of Soviet Union
1941 "Sullivan's Travels", directed by Preston Sturges and starring Joel McCrea and Veronica Lake, is released
1941 Football Writers Association of America organized
1941 Patrick Hamilton's "Angel Street" premieres in NYC
1941 Sister Elizabeth Kenny new treatment for infantile paralysis approved
1941 Soviet anti-offensive in Moscow drives out Nazi army

1941 US aircraft carrier USS Lexington and five heavy cruisers leave Pearl Harbor

1942 Seyss-Inquart orders students in nazi-Germany to work
1942 West Indies chocolate/coffee drop above Netherland
1944 German troops steal all the silver coin in Utrecht
1945 Dutch Special Council of Annulment affirms death sentence of radio presenter Max Blokzijl for broadcasting Nazi propaganda
1945 Flight 19, the "Lost Squadron" of five torpedo bombers and 14 airmen, disappears east of Florida in the supposed Bermuda Triangle

Committee on Civil Rights

1946 US President Harry Truman creates Committee on Civil Rights by Exec Order #9808

1948 NY Giant Charley Conerly sets NFL record of 36 pass completions

1950 Sikkim becomes a protectorate of India
1952 Great Smog of London (England): Killer fog creeps in, as still winds and cold temperatures cause pollution fueled by coal smoke to stagnate; lasting 4 days, over 8,000 deaths attributed to conditions [1] [2]
1954 KTEW (now KJRH) TV channel 2 in Tulsa, OK (NBC) begins broadcasting
1955 American Federation of Labor (AFL) and the Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO) merge to form the AFL-CIO, with George Meany as President

Alabama Bus Boycott

1955 Historic bus boycott begins in Montgomery, Alabama by Rosa Parks and other civil rights activists

1955 Thornton Wilder's play "The Matchmaker" premieres on Broadway in NYC
1956 17-year-old British swimmer Judy Grinham and American Carin Cone both swim world record 1:12.9 in the women's 100m backstroke at the Melbourne Olympics; Grinham is awarded gold medal
1956 Danish yachtsman Paul Elvstrøm wins the Finn class gold medal at the Melbourne Olympics; his 2nd straight Finn gold and 3rd consecutive Olympic gold in sailing

Latynina Wins Gold

1956 Soviet artistic gymnast Larisa Latynina wins the women's vault and ties for gold in the floor exercise section at the Melbourne Olympics; later takes her gold total to four with team and individual all-around titles

1957 NYC is first US city to legislate against racial or religious discrimination in housing market (Fair Housing Practices Law)

1957 William Inge's "Dark at the Top of the Stairs" premieres in NYC
1958 MLB Philadelphia Phillies drop plans for NY sportscast as NEW York Yankees threaten to do same in Philadelphia

Subscriber Trunk Dialling

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. It is now part of the M6 and M55 motorways.
1958 WTOL TV channel 11 in Toledo, OH (CBS) begins broadcasting
1959 Future Pakistan cricket captain Intikhab Alam bowls Australian opener Colin McDonald with his first ball in Test cricket in drawn 3rd Test in Karachi
1960 Ghana drops diplomatic relations with Belgium
1964 Captain Roger Donlon is awarded the first Medal of Honor of the Vietnam War for successfully repelling a large Viet Cong attack
1965 Brunswick Records releases "My Generation", the debut album of British rock group The Who, in the UK and Australia

1968 Future Hockey Hall of Fame center Phil Esposito of the Boston Bruins scores 2 goals in his goaltender brother Tony's (also HOF) NHL debut for the Montreal Canadiens; 2-2 tie

Come and Get It

1969 Apple Records releases the single "Come and Get It" by the band Badfinger; track was written and produced by Paul McCartney for the dark comedy film "The Magic Christian" starring Peter Sellers and Ringo Starr

1969 Four-node ARPANET network is established between the University of California, Los Angeles, Stanford Research Institute, U.C. Santa Barbara, and the University of Utah
1969 US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site
1970 NFL Los Angeles Rams running back Willie Ellison sets NFL record of 247 yards rushing
1970 Premiere of Dario Fo's Morte accidentale di un anarchico
1970 Stanley Cup, Conn Smythe Trophy & Bill Masterson Trophy stolen from Hockey Hall of Fame
1971 Ian Dury performs his first gig with Kilburn and the High Roads at Croydon School of Art
1971 KCBJ (now KMIZ) TV channel 17 in Columbia, MO (ABC) 1st broadcast
1971 Libya nationalizes British Petroleum concession
1972 38th Heisman Trophy Award: Johnny Rodgers, Nebraska (FL)
1972 Australia Labour party wins parliamentary election
1972 Joseph A Walker's "River Niger" premieres in NYC

Band on the Run

1973 Apple Records releases Paul McCartney and Wings' album "Band on the Run" in the US, the commercial and critical pinnacle of his post-Beatles work, topping the charts in seven countries

1973 Chicago Cubs Ron Santo becomes 1st baseball player to invoke 10-5 rule and veto his trade (with the California Angels)
1974 1st World Football League Bowl, Birmingham Americans beat Florida
1974 Airport terminal roof in Tehran collapses killing 17

Monty Python's Flying Circus

1974 Final episode of Monty Python's Flying Circus airs on BBC TV

1974 NFL's Seattle Seahawks forms
1974 Oliver Tilden Triangle in the Bronx named
1975 NASA launches a pair of atmospheric probing satellites, dubbed Dual Air Density Explorers (DADE-A and DADE-B) from Vandenberg air base in California; they fil to get into orbit [1]
1977 Egypt breaks off diplomatic relations with Syria, Libya, Algeria, Iraq & South Yemen

Rose Highest Paid Player

1978 Baseball free agent Pete Rose signs a four-year, $3.2 million contract with the Philadelphia Phillies, becoming the highest-paid baseball player

1978 New York Islanders took 28 shots in 1 period vs Pittsburgh Penguins; Penguins' Ross Lonsberry failed on 7th penalty shot against Islanders
1978 Pioneer Venus 1 begins orbiting Venus

1980 Bank of Canada's Canadian Currency Museum opens
1981 47th Heisman Trophy Award: Marcus Allen, Southern Cal (RB)
1981 France performs nuclear test
1982 Dutch judoka Ingrid Berghmans retains judo's world championship
1982 Mel Gray ends NFL streak of 121 consecutive game receptions
1982 NFL Cleveland Browns' Brian Sipe sets club record with 33 pass completions
1982 Seattle Univ Baptist Ch declares sanctuary for Cen Am refugees
1982 USSR performs nuclear test at the Semipalatinsk Test Site in northeast Kazakhstan
1983 12 killed by a car bomb shattering 9-story building in west Beirut
1983 ICIMOD established and inaugurated with its headquarters in Kathmandu, Nepal, and legitimised through an Act of Parliament in Nepal in the same year.
1983 LA Dodger pitcher Steve Howe is suspended for 1 year for cocaine use
1984 French colonies killed 10 Kanaken in New Caledonia
1984 New York Yankees trade catcher Rick Cerone to Atlanta Braves for pitcher Brian Fisher
1984 Oakland Athletics trade outfielder Rickey Henderson and pitcher Bert Bradley to the New York Yankees for Tim Birtsas, Jay Howell, Stan Javier, Eric Plunk, and José Rijo.
1985 Dow Jones Industrial Average rose above 1,500 level for 1st time
1985 Great Britain performs nuclear test
1985 Sam Shepard's stage drama "A Lie of the Mind" opens off-Broadway at the Promenade Theatre, NYC
1987 53rd Heisman Trophy Award: Tim Brown, Notre Dame (WR)
1987 Schonbrunn skates world record 3 km ladies (4:16.76)

Jim Bakker Indicted

1988 Federal grand jury indicts The PTL Club founder and Christian evangelist Jim Bakker for fraud after he paid hush money to cover up an alleged rape

1988 Shuttle Atlantis launches world's 1st nuclear-war-fighting satellite
1989 France's TGV train reaches a world record speed of 482.4 km/h (299.75 mph)
1990 Blue Jays trade F McGriff & T Fernandez to SD for R Alomar & J Carter

Rushdie Appears in Public

1990 British Indian novelist Salman Rushdie appears in public for the first time in two years after Iran called for his assassination

1990 Former Noriega aide Luis del Cid pleads guilty
1990 Iraq announces willingness to speak with US about resolving the Persian Gulf crisis
1991 Charles Keating Jr (Lincoln Savings & Loan fraud), found guilty
1991 NY Daily News files for protection under chapter 11
1993 Astronauts begin repair of Hubble telescope in space
1993 Mayor of Vienna Helmut Zilk is injured by a letter bomb
1993 Rafael Caldera elected President of Venezuela
1995 Sri Lankan government announces the conquest of Tamil Tigers' Jaffna stronghold
1996 "Dreams & Nightmares" opens at Martin Beck Theater NYC
1996 Players union approves new collective bargaining agreement
1996 Portland's Jermaine O'Neal at 18 becomes the youngest NBA player
1997 First game at Washington Capitals' MCI Center
1997 Space Shuttle mission STS 87 (Columbia 24) lands back on Earth
2000 "O Brother, Where Art Thou" soundtrack to the film of the same name released

2003 Mexican singer Thalia the "Queen of Latin Pop" is awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in Los Angeles
2005 Civil Partnership Act comes into effect in the United Kingdom, allowing the country's first civil partnerships to be registered
2005 Lake Tanganyika earthquake causes significant damage, mostly in the Democratic Republic of the Congo

Audrey Hepburn's Famous Dress

2006 Audrey Hepburn's Givenchy little black dress from film "Breakfast at Tiffany's" is auctioned for charity for a record £467,200 ($923,187) at Christie's, London

2006 Greg Maddux signs a one-year deal with the San Diego Padres worth $10 million
2007 Westroads Mall massacre: A gunman opens fire with a semi-automatic rifle at an Omaha, Nebraska mall, killing eight people before taking his own life.

O. J. Simpson Sentenced

2008 Former NFL star O.J. Simpson is sentenced to 33 years in prison for kidnapping and armed robbery

Nicholas II Remains Identified

2008 Human remains previously found in 1991 are finally identified by Russian and American scientists as those of Tsar Nicholas II

2012 8 people are killed and 12 injured by a magnitude 5.6 earthquake in South Korea
2012 In his Autumn Statement, Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne cuts the UK growth forecast for 2013 to 1.2% from the 2% forecast in the budget
2013 52 people are killed and 167 are injured in a militant attack on a defense ministry compound in Sana'a, Yemen
2016 Malta becomes the 1st country in Europe to outlaw conversion therapy
2017 Artist Lubaina Himid wins Britain's Turner Prize as the oldest person at 63 and the first woman of color
2017 Austrian courts rule in favour of same-sex marriage from 2019
2017 Democratic representative John Conyers resigns from US Congress after allegations of sexual harassment
2017 Netflix fires actor Danny Masterson from "The Ranch" after allegations of rape filed against him by 3 women
2017 Online store Amazon begins operations in Australia
2017 Russia is banned from the next Winter Olympics in South Korea for state-sponsored doping

BTS Most Tweeted

2017 Twitter reveals K-pop boy band BTS were the most tweeted-about celebrities in 2017

2018 Arrest of Huawei Financial Officer Meng Wanzhou for possible violation of Iran sanctions in Canada
2018 CO2 emissions reach all-time high (up 2.7%) driven by coal use in China and consumption of oil, in Global Carbon Project report
2018 Letter by Albert Einstein from 1954 on the concept of religion sells for $2.9 million at Christie's in New York

George H. W. Bush Lies in State

2018 National day of mourning for former US President George H. W. Bush as he lies in state at the Capitol Rotunda, Washington

2018 US state funeral for former president George H. W. Bush, eulogy by George W. Bush, attended by President Donald Trump predecessors Barack Obama, Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter
2018 Wisconsin Republican senate passes bills restricting power of new Democratic governor Tony Evers
2019 National strike in France; more than 800,000 people in 100 cities protest against proposed pension reform
2019 Saudi state-owned oil company Saudi Aramco raises a record $25.6 billion in its first public share offering, makes it the world's most valuable company at $1.7 trillion

Articles of Impeachment

2019 Speaker of the US House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi, announces articles of impeachment against US President Donald Trump will be drawn up for abuse of power

2019 WHO says 142,000 people died of the measles around the world in 2018, nearly 20,000 more than in 2017
2020 Russia begins vaccinating people with its Sputnik V vaccine in Moscow, despite the vaccine not finishing clinical trials
2021 First known hippos test positive for COVID-19 at Antwerp Zoo in Belgium, with staff putting Imani (14) and Hermien (41) into isolation [1]

2022 Construction begins on the world's biggest radio telescope, the Square Kilometre Array (SKA), in South Africa and Australia, with a collection area of nearly 500,000 square meters, built to test Einstein's theories and search for extraterrestrial life [1]
2022 Fifteenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (COP15) opens in Montreal, Canada
2022 Iranian senior official confirms the country's Morality Police has been shut down in a concession to three months of nationwide protests, though may take on a different form [1]
2023 Sculptor Jesse Darling wins the Turner Prize for his sculptures made of everyday objects [1]
2024 Mathematicians solve a 122-year-old puzzle known as "Dudeney's dissection" on how to dissect an equilateral triangle into a square using the smallest number of pieces [1]