On this day in History - Dec. 5

• 0749 - Saint John of Damascus dies. Theologian.
• 1355 - John III, Duke of Brabant dies (b. 1300).
• 1377 - Jianwen Emperor of China was born (d. 1402)
• 1443 - Pope Julius II was born (d. 1513)
• 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 (now Haiti and the Dominican Republic).
• 1495 - Nicolas Cleynaerts was born (d. 1542). Flemish grammarian.
• 1537 - Ashikaga Yoshiaki was born (d. 1597). Japanese shogun.
• 1539 - Fausto Paolo Sozzini was born (d. 1604). Italian theologian.
• 1547 - Ubbo Emmius was born (d. 1625). Dutch historian and geographer.
• 1560 - Francis II of France dies and is succeeded by Charles IX of France.
• 1590 - Niccolò Sfondrati becomes Pope Gregory XIV.
• 1595 - Henry Lawes was born (d. 1662). English composer.
• 1624 - Gaspard Bauhin dies (b. 1560). Swiss botanist.
• 1654 - Jean François Sarrazin dies. French writer.
• 1661 - Robert Harley, 1st Earl of Oxford and Mortimer was born (d. 1724). English statesman.
• 1663 - Severo Bonini dies (b. 1582). Italian composer.
• 1687 - Francesco Geminiani was born (d. 1762). Italian violinist and composer.
• 1715 - Alexander Dalzeel, a Scottish privateer in French service, is executed in London, England.
• 1749 - Pierre Gaultier de Varennes et de la Vérendrye dies (b. 1685). New French explorer and trader.
• 1757 - In his greatest victory, Prussian King Frederick II (the Great) defeated the Austrians at Leuthen during the Seven Years' War.
• 1758 - Johann Friedrich Fasch dies (b. 1688). German composer.
• 1766 - In London, James Christie holds his first sale.
• 1770 - James Stirling dies (b. 1692). Scottish mathematician.
• 1776 - A group of undergraduates at the College of William and Mary at Williamsburg, Virginia organize an honor society called Phi Beta Kappa. The first of the "Greek letter" societies formed in the US, members met regularly to write, debate, and socialize. They adopted an oath of secrecy, a code of laws, Latin and Greek mottoes, and an elaborate initiation rite.
• 1782 - Martin Van Buren was born (d. 1862). 8th President of the United States
• 1784 - Phillis Wheatley dies in Boston. She was the first African American woman poet of note in the United States
• 1791 - Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart dies in Vienna, Austria (b. 1756). Austrian composer
• 1792 - George Washington was re-elected president; John Adams was re-elected vice president.
• 1803 - Fyodor Ivanovich Tyutchev was born (d. 1873). Russian poet.
• 1815 - Maceió Brazilian city is founded.
• 1819 - Friedrich Leopold Graf zu Stolberg dies (b. 1750). German poet.
• 1820 - Afanasy Fet was born (d. 1892). Russian poet.
• 1822 - Elizabeth Cary Agassiz was born (d. 1907). American president of Radcliffe College
• 1830 - Christina Rossetti was born (d. 1894). British poet.
• 1831 - Former US President John Quincy Adams takes his seat in the House of Representatives.
• 1839 - George Armstrong Custer was born (d. 1876). American general.
• 1841 - Marcus Daly was born (d. 1900). American mining tycoon.
• 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.
• 1855 - Clinton Hart Merriam was born (d. 1942). American ornithologist.
• 1859 - John Jellicoe was born (d. 1935). British admiral.
• 1863 - Paul Painlevé was born (d. 1933). French mathematician.
• 1867 - Józef Piłsudski was born (d. 1935). Polish revolutionary and statesman.
• 1868 - Arnold Sommerfeld was born (d. 1951). German physicist.
• 1869 - Ellis Parker Butler was born (d. 1937). American author.
• 1870 - Alexandre Dumas (père) dies. Writer
• 1870 - Vítězslav Novák was born (d. 1949). American composer.
• 1870 - Alexandre Dumas père dies (b. 1802). French writer.
• 1871 - Bill Pickett was born (d. 1932). American rodeo performer
• 1872 - Harry Nelson Pillsbury was born (d. 1906). American chess player.
• 1872 - Having left New York on Nov. 5, the brigantine Mary Celeste was found adrift off Portugal with everyone aboard mysteriously missing.
• 1875 - Sir Arthur Currie was born (d. 1933). Canadian soldier.
• 1879 - Clyde Cessna was born (d. 1954). American airplane manufacturer.
• 1886 - Rose Wilder Lane was born (d. 1968). American writer and reporter.
• 1887 - Eliza Roxcy Snow dies (b. 1804). American poet.
• 1890 - David Bomberg was born (d. 1957). British painter.
• 1890 - Fritz Lang was born (d. 1976). Film director.
• 1891 - Emperor Pedro II of Brazil dies (b. 1825)
• 1892 - Sir John Thompson becomes the fourth Prime Minister of Canada.
• 1892 - Ferdinand Schörner was born (d. 1973). German field marshal.
• 1895 - Elbert Frank Cox was born (d. 1969). American mathematicia.
• 1896 - Carl Ferdinand Cori was born (d. 1984). Austria-Hungarian-born American biochemist and Nobel Prize laureate.
• 1897 - Nunnally Johnson was born (d. 1977). American screenwriter and producer.
• 1898 - Grace Moore was born (d. 1947). American soprano.
• 1898 - Josh Malihabadi was born (d. 1982). Urdu poet of India and Pakistan.
• 1899 - Henry Tate dies. English industrialist and philanthrope.
• 1901 - Walt Disney was born in Chicago, [d. 1966] American cartoonist and film producer, started an entertainment empire with his creation of animated movies and world-renowned amusement parks.
• 1901 - Milton H. Erickson was born (d. 1980). American psychiatrist
• 1901 - Werner Heisenberg was born in Würzburg, Bavaria (d. 1976). German physicist and Nobel Prize laureate
• 1902 - Strom Thurmond was born (d. 2003). American politician
• 1903 - Johannes Heesters was born. Dutch singer and actor
• 1903 - Cecil Frank Powell was born (d. 1969). British physicist and Nobel Prize laureate.
• 1905 - Gus Mancuso was born (d. 1984). Baseball player.
• 1906 - Otto Preminger was born. American producer, director, and actor (He directed is first film The Great Love, in 1931 and a highly acclaimed play, Libel, in 1935; Anatomy of a Murder in 1959 and Exodus in 1960 ...).
• 1907 - Giuseppe Occhialini was born (d. 1993). Italian physicist.
• 1910 - Abraham Polonsky was born (d. 1999). American screenwriter.
• 1911 - Turks defeated by Italian forces at Tripoli.
• 1911 - Władysław Szpilman was born. Polish pianist .
• 1914 - Hans Hellmut Kirst was born (d. 1989). German author.
• 1917 - Sidónio Pais, embaixador de Portugal em Berlim de 1912 a 1916, na altura professor da escola de Guerra (Academia Militar), e major, chefiou uma revolução que o levará ao poder três dias depois. O movimento e a situação política que criou será conhecido pelo «Dezembrismo».
• 1925 - Władysław Reymont dies (b. 1867). Polish writer and Nobel Prize laureate
• 1926 - Claude Monet dies. French Impressionist painter
• 1926 - Sergei Eisenstein's Battleship Potemkin is premiered.
• 1927 - Bhumibol Adulyadej was born. King of Thailand
• 1930 - Raúl Brandão dies (b. 12 Mar 1867). Portuguese writer.
• 1931 - Vachel Lindsay dies (b. 1879). American poet.
• 1932 - Sheldon Lee Glashow was born. American physicist and Nobel Prize laureate
• 1932 - Little Richard (Richard Wayne Penniman) was born. American singer and pianist
• 1932 - German-born Swiss physicist Albert Einstein is granted an American visa, making it possible for him to travel to the United States..
• 1932 - The first Ford Model C and V-8 automobile was introduced on this day
• 1933 - The Twenty-first Amendment to the United States Constitution is ratified, repealing the 18th Amendment and bringing an end to the era of national prohibition of alcohol in America
• 1934 - Joan Didion was born. American novelist
• 1934 - Humberto de Campos dies in Rio de Janeiro (b. 25 Oct 1886 in Miritiba, today Humberto de Campos). Brazilian poet and writer.
• 1934 - Abyssinia Crisis: Italian troops attack Wal Wal in Abyssinia, taking four days to capture the city.
• 1935 - Calvin Trillin was born. American writer.
• 1936 - The Soviet Union adopts a new constitution.
• 1938 - J. J. Cale was born in Tusla, Oklahoma. American musician
• 1940 - Peter Pohl was born. Swedish writer
• 1940 - Jan Kubelík dies (b. 1880). Austro-Hungarian-born Czechoslovak violinist.
• 1941 - The nonfiction book Sea of Cortez by John Steinbeck is published (Steinbeck used knowledge gained writing this book to develop the marine biologist character Doc in Cannery Row).
• 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 - John Steinbeck's book Sea of Cortez is published (Steinbeck used knowledge gained writing this book to develop the marine biologist character Doc (see Ed Ricketts) in Cannery Row).
• 1943 - Eva Joly was born. Norwegian-born French magistrate.
• 1944 - Jeroen Krabbé was born. Dutch actor.
• 1945 - Flight 19, a United States Navy training flight was lost in the Bermuda Triangle.
• 1946 - José Carreras was born. Spanish tenor.
• 1946 - Andy Kim was born. Canadian singer and songwriter
• 1947 - American boxer Joe Louis defended his heavyweight title against challenger Jersey Joe Walcott in New York City.
• 1947 - Egberto Gismonti was born. Brazilian composer and musician
• 1947 - Jim Messina was born. American musician (Buffalo Springfield)
• 1947 - Jim Plunkett was born. American football player.
• 1949 - Ângela Rô Rô was born. Brazilian singer.
• 1949 - Ray Comfort was born. New Zealand evangelist
• 1949 - Soeiro Pereira Gomes dies (b. 1909). Portuguese neo-realist writer (Esteiros) and comunist militant.
• 1950 - Camarón de la Isla was born (d. 1992). Spanish flamenco singer.
• 1950 - Osvaldo Golijov was born. Argentine-born composer
• 1950 - Shri Aurobindo dies (b. 1872). Indian guru.
• 1951 - Anne-Mie van Kerckhoven was born. Belgian artist
• 1951 - Morgan Brittany was born. American actress
• 1951 - Abanindranath Tagore dies (b. 1871). Indian writer.
• 1951 - Shoeless Joe Jackson dies (b. 1889). American baseball player.
• 1952 - The Abbott and Costello Show debuts on America Television, starring comedians Bud Abbott and Lou Costello. They made only 52 episodes, but the show appeared in reruns for decades.
• 1953 - Larry Zbyszko was born. American professional wrestler
• 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, (5 Dec 1955 - 21 Dec 1956).
• 1956 - Brian Backer was born. American actor
• 1956 - Krystian Zimerman was born. Polish pianist.
• 1957 - Art Monk was born. American football player
• 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.
• 1958 - Dean Erickson was born. American actor.
• 1960 - Jack Russell was born. American singer (Great White (band))
• 1962 - José Cura was born. Argentine tenor.
• 1963 - Eddie 'the Eagle' Edwards was born. British skier.
• 1963 - Sri Deep Narayan Mahaprabhuji dies. Indian Hindu mystic.
• 1963 - Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy dies (b. 1892). Prime Minister Pakistan.
• 1963 - Karl Amadeus Hartmann dies (b. 1905). German composer.
• 1964 - Vietnam War: For his heroism in battle earlier in the year, Captain Roger Donlon of Saugerties, New York is awarded the first Medal of Honor of the war.
• 1965 - Johnny Rzeznik was born. American singer (Goo Goo Dolls).
• 1965 - Joseph Erlanger was born (d. 1874). American physiologist and Nobel Prize laureate.
• 1966 - Patricia Kaas was born. French singer.
• 1966 - Sylvère Maes dies (b. 1909). Belgian cyclist.
• 1967 - Gary Allan was born. American singer.
• 1968 - Margaret Cho was born. American comedian and actress.
• 1968 - Lisa Marie was born. American model and actress.
• 1968 - Fred Clark dies (b. 1914). American actor.
• 1969 - Lewis Gordon Pugh was born. British swimmer, polar explorer and motivational speaker
• 1969 - Morgan J. Freeman was born. American film director.
• 1970 - Kevin Haller was born. National Hockey League defenseman
• 1972 - Angela Shelton was born. American actress & writer
• 1972 - Mike Mahoney was born. Baseball player
• 1972 - Cliff Floyd was born. Major League Baseball player
• 1973 - Shalom Harlow was born. Model
• 1973 - Lubos Motl was born. Czech physicist
• 1974 - The last new episode of Monty Python's Flying Circus is broadcast on the BBC.
• 1975 - Ronnie O'Sullivan was born. British snooker player
• 1976 - United Nations General Assembly adopts Pakistan resolution on security of non-Nuclear States.
• 1976 - Amy Acker was born. American actress
• 1977 - Egypt severs ties with Arab hardliners President Anwar al-Sadat of Egypt breaks all relations with Syria, Libya, Algeria and South Yemen.
• 1978 - USSR and Afghanistan sign "friendship treaty"; In an effort to prop up an unpopular pro-Soviet regime in Afghanistan, the Soviet Union signs a "friendship treaty" with the Afghan government agreeing to provide economic and military assistance.
• 1978 - European Monetary System is created
• 1979 - Feminist Sonia Johnson was formally excommunicated by the Mormon Church because of her outspoken support for the proposed Equal Rights Amendment to the Constitution.
• 1979 - Matteo Ferrari was born. Italian football player.
• 1979 - Niklas Hagman was born. Finnish hockey player.
• 1979 - Nick Stahl was born. Actor.
• 1979 - Sonia Delaunay dies. French artist.
• 1982 - Eddy Curry was born. American basketball player
• 1982 - Trai Essex was born. American football player
• 1983 - Robert Aldrich dies (b. 9 Aug 1918). American film director.
• 1984 - Chris Solinsky was born. American distance runner.
• 1984 - Adam Malik was born (d. 1917). Third Vice President of Indonesia.
• 1985 - Josh Smith was born. American basketball player
• 1985 - Frankie Muniz was born. American actor.
• 1986 - Sir Edward Youde dies (b. 1924). Governor of Hong Kong.
• 1988 - Ross Bagley was born. American actor.
• 1989 - Sir John Pritchard dies (b. 1921). British conductor.
• 1989 - Maria Madalena de Azeredo Perdigão dies. Portuguese cultural animator.
• 1991 - Richard Speck who'd murdered eight student nurses in Chicago in 1966, died in prison a day short of his 50th birthday (b. 1941).
• 1992 - Aid agencies are stripped by gunmen in Somalia on eve of US troop arrival.
• 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 - Doug Hopkins dies (b. 1961). American guitarist and songwriter (Gin Blossoms)
• 1995 - Javier Salana, Spanish minister of Foreign Offices is elected UN general-secretary
• 1995 - Benfica is defeated by Bayen Munchen for Uefa Cup
• 2001 - Franco Rasetti dies (b. 1901). Italian physicist
• 2002 - At Sen. Strom Thurmond's 100th birthday celebration, Senate Republican leader Trent Lott praised Thurmond's 1948 segregationist presidential bid. Lott subsequently resigned his leadership position.
• 2002 - Roone Arledge dies (b. 1931)., American sports broadcasting pioneer.
• 2002 - Ne Win dies (b. 1911). Burmese leader.
• 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.
• 2005 - The trial of Saddam Hussein resumed in Baghdad.
• 2005 - The 2005 Southeast Asian Games end in Manila.
• 2005 - Frits Philips dies (b. 1905). Dutch industrialist and businessman from multinational Philips Electronics.
• 2005 - Edward L. Masry, the personal-injury lawyer portrayed by Albert Finney in the Oscar-winning movie "Erin Brockovich," died in Thousand Oaks, California, at age 73
• 2005 - Kevin "Big Kev" Mc Quay dies (b. 1949). Australian businessman.
• International Volunteer Day
• R.C. Saints - formerly: Saint Sabas
• Austria - Krampus
• Belgium, Czech Republic, the Netherlands and the UK - Saint Nicholas Eve (whom Dutch speakers call Sinterklaas, which became in other languages Santa Claus)
• Thailand - The King's Birthday, National Day, Father's Day
• Day of the Ninja