What Happened on December 5
Important Events
- 771 Charlemagne becomes the sole King of the Franks after the death of his brother Carloman
- 1349 500 Jews of Nuremberg massacred during Black Death riots
- 1456 Earthquake strikes Naples; about 35,000 die
- 1848 US President James K. Polk triggers Gold Rush of 1849 by confirming a gold discovery in California
- 1933 Prohibition ends in the US when 21st Amendment to the US Constitution ratified, 18th Amendment repealed (5:32 PM EST)
- 1969 Four-node ARPANET network is established
Dec 5 in Film & TV
- 2001 "Ocean's Eleven" directed by Steven Soderbergh, starring George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Matt Damon and Julia Roberts premieres in Westwood, California
Dec 5 in Music
- 1973 Paul McCartney & Wings release album "Band on the Run" in the US
Dec 5 in Sport
- 2017 Russia is banned from the next Winter Olympics in South Korea over state-sponsored doping
Did You Know?
English pirate Blackbeard ransacks the merchant sloop "Margaret" and keeps her captain, Henry Bostock prisoner for 8 hours before releasing him. Bostock later provides 1st record of Blackbeard's appearance, and the source for his name
On December 5, 1717
Julius II
Martin Van Buren
George Armstrong Custer
Józef Piłsudski
Walt Disney
Bhumibol AdulyadejWould You Believe?
Flight 19 the "Lost Squadron" of 5 torpedo bombers and 14 airmen is lost east of Florida in the supposed Bermuda Triangle
On December 5, 1945
Famous Weddings
- 1926 Gangster Carlo Gambino (24) weds his first cousin Catherine Castellano
- 1932 "East of Eden" director Elia Kazan (23) weds playwright Molly Day Thatcher (25)
- 1943 Singer and actress Dinah Shore (27) weds actor George Montgomery (27)
Phillis Wheatley
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Alexandre Dumas
Claude Monet
Robert Watson-Watt
Nelson MandelaArticles, Photos and Quiz
Mozart, the Incomparable Musical Genius
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, a musical genius who composed over 600 works in his short lifetime, died mysteriously on this day and was buried unceremoniously.
December 5, 1791Weekly Quiz for December 2 - 8
What did FDR call Pearl Harbor in a speech to Congress a day after the attack? What was patented in the US in 1909 sparking the birth of the plastics industry?
December in History
How the First Sherlock Holmes Story was Sold for a Song
How did an English publisher most famous for giving the world Mrs Beeton’s Book of Household Management come to publish the first Sherlock Holmes story?
December 1, 1887Fish Dish Finishes Off a King
Doctors warned King Henry I against eating lampreys. But he enjoyed the slippery fish and happily devoured a plateful of them leading to his death on this day.
December 1, 1135'Infamy' as Japanese Attack Pearl Harbor
Japan launched its shock attack against the American Navy base at Pearl Harbor on this day – a date to “live in infamy,” according to the US President.
December 7, 1941Real-life Tragedy for Theatrical Family
On this day a tragedy engulfed one of Britain’s noted theatrical families of the early 20th century.
December 8, 1926
