History of 5th December

63 BC - Cicero reads the last of his Catiline Orations.
663 - Fourth Council of Toledo takes place.
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 degree Ausculta fili (only nominee)
1349 - 500 Jews of Nuremberg massacre during Black Death riots
1360 - The French Franc is created.
1408 - Emir Edigu of Golden Horde reaches Moscow.
1448 - Bishop Jona of Moscow chosen as metropolitan of Kiev/Intoxication
1456 - Earthquake strikes Naples; about 35,000 die
1492 - Columbus discovers Hispaniola (El Espanola/Haiti)
1496 - Jews are expelled from Portugal by order of King Manuel I
1590 - Niccolo Sfondrati chosen Pope Gregory XIV
1602 - Giulio Caccini's "Euridice," premieres in Florence
1741 - -6] Russian princess Elisabeth Petrovna grabs powers
1746 - Revolt in Genoa against the Spanish rule.
1757 - Battle at Leuthen: Prussian army beats Austrians
1766 - London auctioneers Christie's hold their 1st sale
1775 - At Fort Ticonderoga, Henry Knox begins his historic transport of artillery to Cambridge, Massachusetts.
1776 - 1st US fraternity, Phi Beta Kappa (William & Mary College), forms
1792 - George Washington re-elected US pres
1798 - Govt troops occupy Hasselt
1804 - Thomas Jefferson re-elected US pres/George Clinton vice-pres
1813 - Lubeck surrenders to allied armies
1815 - Foundation of Maceió in Brazil.
1830 - Hector Berlioz' "Symphonique fantastique," premieres in Paris
1831 - Former Pres John Q Adams takes his seat as member of House of Reps
1832 - Andrew Jackson re-elected president of US
1837 - Hector Berlioz' "Requiem," premieres
1837 - Uprising under William Lyon Mackenzie in Canada
1846 - C F Schoenbein obtains patent for cellulose nitrate explosive
1847 - Jefferson Davis is elected to the US senate, his first political post.
1848 - Pres Polk triggers Gold Rush of '49, confirms Calif gold discovery
1854 - Aaron Allen of Boston patents folding theater chair
1859 - Dion Boucicault's "Octaroon," premieres in NYC
1861 - Gatling gun patented
1862 - Battle of Coffeeville, MS
1865 - Chincha Islands War: Peru allies with Chile against Spain.
1868 - 1st American bicycle college opens (NY)
1876 - Daniel Stillson (Mass) patents 1st practical pipe wrench
1876 - Fire at Brooklyn Theater kills 295, trampled or burned to death
1879 - 1st automatic telephone switching system patented
1881 - 47th Congress (1881-83) convenes
1887 - Stanley's expedition reaches plateau at Lake Albert Congo
1890 - Berlioz' opera "Les Troyens," premieres in Karlsruhe
1892 - Anti-semite Hermann Ahlwardt elected to Germany's Reichstag
1892 - Sir John Thompson becomes the fourth Prime Minister of Canada.
1893 - 1st electric car (built in Toronto) could go 15 miles between charges
1893 - First appearance of an electric car.
1894 - Georges Feydeaus' "L'hôtel du libre échange," premieres in Paris
1896 - Henrik Ibsen's "Kejsor og Galileer," premieres in Leipzig
1905 - Henry Campbell-Bannermam (Lib) becomes PM of England
1906 - British govt-Balfour resigns
1908 - 1st football uniform numerals used (University of Pittsburgh)
1914 - 6th CFL Grey Cup: Toronto Argonauts defeats U of Toronto, 14-2
1914 - The Italian Parliament proclaims the neutrality of the country.
1918 - Oil refinery on Curacao opens
1920 - Pro football playoff game Akron & Buffalo 0-0 tie, title undecided
1920 - Dimitrios Rallis forms a government in Greece.
1924 - Hamilton Tiger Red Green scores 5 goals to beat Tor Maple Leafs 10-5
1925 - 13th CFL Grey Cup: Ottawa Senators defeats Win Tammany Tigers, 24-1
1925 - German govt of Luther falls
1926 - Sergei Eisenstein's "Battleship Potemkin," debuts
1928 - England defeats Australia by record 675 runs at Brisbane
1928 - MW Miklas elected president of Austria
1929 - 1st US nudist organization (American League for Physical Culture, NYC)
1931 - CFL Grey Cup: Mtl AAA beats Regina, 22-0 at Montreal
1932 - German physicist Albert Einstein granted a visa
1933 - 21st Am ratified, 18th Amendment (Prohibition) repealed (5:32 PM EST)
1935 - 1st coml hydroponics operation established (Montebello Calif)
1935 - National Council of Negro Women forms by Mary McLeod Bethune (NYC)
1936 - 24th CFL Grey Cup: Sarnia Imperials defeats Ottawa Rough Riders, 26-20
1936 - Armenian SSR, Azerbaijan SSR, Georgian SSR, Kazakh SSR & Kirghiz SSR becomes constituent republics of Soviet Union
1941 - Football Writers Association of America organized
1941 - Patrick Hamilton's "Angel Street," premieres in NYC
1941 - Russian anti offensive in Moscow drives out nazi army
1941 - Sister Elizabeth Kenny new treatment for infantile paralysis approved
1941 - US aircraft carrier Lexington/5 heavy cruisers leave Pearl Harbor
1942 - CFL Grey Cup: Tor beats Win RCAF, 8 -5 at Toronto
1942 - Seyss-Inquart orders students in nazi-Germany to go work
1942 - West Indies chocolate/coffee drop above Netherland
1943 - NFL Phila Eagle-Pitts Steeler merger disolves
1944 - German troops rob all the silver coin in Utrecht
1945 - "Lost Squadron" crashes east of Florida (Bermuda Triangle)
1945 - Special Council of Annulment affirms death sentence of Max Blokzijl
1946 - Pres Truman creates Committee on Civil Rights by Exec Order #9808
1947 - Joe Louis beats Jersey Joe Walcott in 15 for heavyweight boxing title
1948 - NY Giant Charley Conerly sets NFL record of 36 pass completions
1949 - Ezzard Charles defeats Jersey Joe Walcott for heavyweight boxing title
1950 - Ezzard Charles KOs Nick Barone in 11 for heavyweight boxing title
1950 - Sikkim becomes a protectorate of India
1951 - "Dragnet" premieres
1952 - -8] worst smog in London ever, 4-8,000 die
1954 - KTEW (now KJRH) TV channel 2 in Tulsa, OK (NBC) begins broadcasting
1955 - AFL & CIO merge, with George Meany as president
1955 - Historic bus boycott begins in Montgomery Alabama by Rosa Parks
1955 - The American Federation of Labor and the Congress of Industrial Organizations merge and form the AFL-CIO.
1956 - Thornton Wilder's "Matchmaker," premieres in NYC
1957 - William Inge's "Dark at the Top of the Stairs," premieres in NYC
1957 - NYC is 1st city to legislate against racial or religious discrimination in housing market (Fair Housing Practices Law)

1957 - Sukarno expels all Dutch people from Indonesia.
1958 - Phils drop plans for NY sportcast as Yanks threat to do same in Phila
1958 - WTOL TV channel 11 in Toledo, OH (CBS) begins broadcasting
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.
1959 - Intikhab Alam bowls Colin McDonald with 1st ball in Tests
1960 - Ghana drops diplomatic relations with Belgium
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.
1966 - "I Do! I Do!" opens at 46th St Theater NYC for 561 performances
1967 - Beatles clothing store "Apple" on 94 Baker Street, London, opens
1967 - Benjamin Spock & Allen Ginsberg arrested protesting Vietnam war
1968 - Rolling Stones release "Beggar's Banquet" LP
1969 - US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site
1970 - LA Rams Willie Ellison sets NFL record of 247 yards rushing
1970 - Stanley Cup, Conn Smythe Trophy & Bill Masterson trophy stolen from NHL hall of fame
1970 - Premiere of Dario Fo's Morte accidentale di un anarchico.
1971 - KCBJ (now KMIZ) TV channel 17 in Columbia, MO (ABC) 1st broadcast
1972 - 38th Heisman Trophy Award: Johnny Rodgers, Nebraska (FL)
1972 - Australia Labour party wins parliamentary election
1972 - Joseph A Walkers "River Niger," premieres in NYC
1973 - Cubs' Ron Santo became 1st baseball player to veto his trade
1973 - Dodgers trade Willie Davis to Expos for relief pitcher Mike Marshall
1973 - Paul McCartney releases "Band on the Run" album
1974 - "Monty Python's Flying Circus" last shown on BBC
1974 - 1st Wash Cap penalty shot, Tom Williams unsuccessful vs Buff Sabres
1974 - 1st World Football League Bowl, Birmingham Americans beat Florida
1974 - Airport terminal roof collapses killing 17 (Teheran Iran)
1974 - Monty Python's final episode airs on BBC
1974 - NFL's Seattle Seahawks forms
1974 - Oliver Tilden Triangle in the Bronx named
1974 - Tom Williams is unsuccessful on Wash Capitals 1st NHL penalty shot
1975 - "Me & Bessie" closes at Ambassador Theater NYC after 453 performances
1975 - NASA launches space vehicle S-196, it failed
1976 - Buffalo Bill OJ Simpson rushes 203 yards
1977 - Egypt breaks dipl relations with Syria, Libya, Algeria, Iraq & S Yemen
1978 - EG decides establishes EMS, European Monetary System
1978 - Free agent Pete Rose signs 4-year, $32 million contract with Phillies
1978 - Phillies Pete Rose becomes highest paid baseball player
1978 - Pioneer Venus 1 begins orbiting Venus
1978 - Sam Shepard's "Buried Child," premieres in NYC
1978 - Islanders took 28 shots in 1 period vs Penguins Penguins' Ross Lonsberry failed on 7th penalty shot against Islanders
1979 - Ireland premier Jack Lynch resigns
1980 - Bank of Canada's Canadian Currency Museum opens
1981 - 47th Heisman Trophy Award: Marcus Allen, Southern Cal (RB)
1981 - 56th Australian Women Tennis: Navratilova beats Chris Evert (67 64 75)
1981 - France performs nuclear test
1982 - Cleve Browns' Brian Sipe sets club record with 33 pass completions
1982 - Herschel Walker of Georgia wins Heisman Trophy
1982 - Ingrid Berghmans (Neth) retains judo's world championship
1982 - Mel Gray ends NFL streak of 121 consecutive game receptions
1982 - Seattle Univ Baptist Ch declares sanctuary for Cen Am refugees
1982 - USSR performs nuclear test at Eastern Kazakh/Semipalitinsk USSR
1983 - 12 killed by a car bomb shattering 9-story building in west Beirut
1983 - LA Dodger pitcher Steve Howe is suspended for 1 year for cocaine use
1983 - ICIMOD established and inaugurated with its headquarters in Kathmandu, Nepal, and legitimised through an Act of Parliament in Nepal in the same year.
1984 - A's trade Rickey Henderson to Yankees for Jay Howell & Jose Rijo
1984 - French colonies killed 10 Kanaken in New Caledonia
1984 - Yankees trade catcher Rick Cerone to Braves for pitcher Brian Fisher
1985 - Dow Jones Industrial Average rose above 1,500 level for 1st time
1985 - Great Britain performs nuclear test
1985 - Sam Shepard's "Lie of the Mind," premieres in NYC
1987 - 53rd Heisman Trophy Award: Tim Brown, Notre Dame (WR)
1987 - David Boon's 5th Test Cricket century, 143 v NZ at Brisbane
1987 - Schonbrunn skates world record 3 km ladies (4:16.76)
1988 - NC fed grand jury indict PTL founder Jim Bakker on fraud & conspiracy
1988 - Shuttle Atlantis launches world's 1st nuclear-war-fighting satellite
1989 - France TGV train reaches world record speed of 482.4 kph
1990 - Blue Jays trade F McGriff & T Fernandez to SD for R Alomar & J Carter
1990 - Former Noriega aide Luis del Cid pleads guilty
1990 - Salman Rushdie, author, ordered to death by Iran for blasphemy, appears in public for 1st time in 2 years
1991 - "Catskills on Broadway" opens at Lunt-Fontanne NYC for 452 perfs
1991 - Charles Keating Jr (Lincoln Savings & Loan fraud), found guilty
1991 - NY Daily News files for protection under chapter 11
1993 - "Timon of Athens" closes at Lyceum Theater NYC after 37 performances
1993 - 82nd Davis Cup: Germany beats Australia in Dusseldorf (4-1)
1993 - Astronauts begin repair of Hubble telescope in space
1993 - Melissa Mcnamara/Mike Sopringer wins LPGA J C Penney Golf Classic
1993 - Newhart actor William Sanderson (47) weds Sharon Wix (39)
1993 - Rafael Caldera elected president of Venezuela
1993 - The mayor of Wien (Vienna), Helmut Zilk, is wounded by a letter bomb.
1995 - The Sri Lankan government announces the conquest of Tamil stronghold of Jaffna.
1996 - "Dreams & Nightmares," opens at Martin Beck Theater NYC
1996 - Players union approves new collective bargaining agreement
1996 - Portland's Jermaine O'Neal, 18, becomes youngest NBA player
1997 - 1st Game at Wash Capitals' MCI Center vs Fla Panthers
1997 - STS 87 (Columbia 24) lands
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.
2006 - Commodore Frank Bainimarama overthrows the government in Fiji.
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.
2008 - Human remains previously found in 1991 are finally identified by Russian and American scientists as those of Tsar Nicholas II.