TODAY’S HISTORY LESSON – DEC 5
1349 500 Jews of Nuremberg massacred during Black Death riots
1484 Pope Innocent VIII issues a bill deploring the spread of witchcraft and heresy in Germany.
1492 Columbus discovers Hispaniola (El Espanola/Haiti)
1776 Phi Beta Kappa is organized as the first American college Greek letter-fraternity, at William and Mary College, Williamsburg, Va.
1848 US President Polk triggers Gold Rush of 1849 by confirming gold discovery in California
1854 Aaron Allen of Boston patents folding theater chair
1861 In the U.S. Congress, petitions and bills calling for the abolition of slavery are introduced.
1904 The Japanese destroy a Russian fleet at Port Arthur in Korea.
1908 1st football uniform numerals used (University of Pittsburgh)
1921 The British empire reaches an accord with the Irish revolutionary group the Sinn Fein; Ireland is to become a free state.
1933 The 21st Amendment ends Prohibition in the United States, which had begun 13 years earlier.
1936 The New Constitution in the Soviet Union promises universal suffrage, but the Communist Party remains the only legal political party.
1945 Four TBM Avenger bombers disappear approximately 100 miles off the coast of Florida.
1955 The American Federation of Labor and the Congress of Industrial Organizations merged to form the AFL-CIO.
1969 Four-node ARPANET network is established
1977 Egypt breaks all relations with Arab countries
President Anwar al-Sadat broke all relations with Syria, Libya, Algeria, and South Yemen in response to these countries and the Palestinian Liberation Organization signing the Declaration of Tripoli. The declaration followed Sadat’s visit to Israel.
1978 The Soviet Union signs a 20-year friendship pact with Afghanistan.
1988 North Carolina federal grand jury indict PTL founder Jim Bakker on fraud & conspiracy
1991 Charles Keating Jr (Lincoln Savings & Loan fraud), found guilty
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.
2007 A gunman armed with a semi-automatic rifle kills 8 people at Westroads Mall, Omaha, Neb., before taking his own life.
** history.net, onthisday.com, infoplease.com, timeanddate.com, thepeoplehistory.com, on-this-day.com **
