What happened today in history
December
What happened on December 5
On December 5 history recorded 54 notable events. 160 people who left a mark were born on this day, and 106 died. Here is the full almanac.
- 54events
- 160births
- 106deaths
- 17observances
Highlights
Highlights
1456
The first of two major earthquakes struck the Kingdom of Naples, killing up to 70,000 people.
On December 5, 1456, the largest earthquake to occur on the Italian Peninsula in historical times struck the Kingdom of Naples. The earthquake had an estimated moment magnitude of Mw 7.19–7.4, and was centred near the town of Pontelandolfo in the present-day P
1484Pope Innocent VIII issued the papal bull Summis desiderantes affectibus, which gave the Dominican inquisitor Heinrich Kramer the explicit authority to prosecute witchcraft in Germany.
Pope Innocent VIII, born Giovanni Battista Cybo, was head of the Catholic Church and leader of the Papal States from 29 August 1484 to his death, in July 1492. Son of the viceroy of Naples, Cybo spent his early years at the Neapolitan court. He became a priest
1757Seven Years' War: Prussian troops under Frederick the Great defeated Austrian forces at the Battle of Leuthen (pictured).
The Seven Years' War, 1756 to 1763, was a global war fought by numerous great powers, primarily in Europe, with significant subsidiary campaigns in North America and the Indian subcontinent. The primary warring states were Great Britain and Prussia fighting ag
December 5
On this day
I century BC
- 63 BC
63 BCCicero gives the fourth and final of the Catiline Orations.
VII century
XI century
XV century
- 1408
1408Seeking to resubjugate Muscovy, Emir Edigu of the Golden Horde reaches Moscow, burning areas around the city but failing to take the city itself. - 1456
1456The first of two earthquakes measuring Mw 7.2 strikes Italy, causing extreme destruction and killing upwards of 70,000 people. - 1484
1484Pope Innocent VIII issues the Summis desiderantes affectibus, a papal bull that deputizes Heinrich Kramer and Jacob Sprenger as inquisitors to root out alleged witchcraft in Germany. - 1496
1496King Manuel I of Portugal issues a decree ordering the expulsion of Jews from the country.
XVI century
XVII century
XVIII century
- 1757
1757Seven Years' War: Battle of Leuthen: Frederick II of Prussia leads Prussian forces to a decisive victory over Austrian forces under Prince Charles Alexander of Lorraine. - 1766
1766In London, auctioneer James Christie holds his first sale. - 1770
177029th Regiment of Foot privates Hugh Montgomery and Matthew Kilroy are found guilty for the manslaughter of Crispus Attucks and Samuel Gray respectively in the Boston Massacre. - 1775
1775At Fort Ticonderoga, Henry Knox begins his historic transport of artillery to Cambridge, Massachusetts. - 1776
1776Phi Beta Kappa, the oldest academic honor society in the U.S., holds its first meeting at the College of William & Mary.
XIX century
- 1831
1831Former U.S. President John Quincy Adams takes his seat in the House of Representatives. - 1847
1847Jefferson Davis is elected to the U.S. Senate. - 1848
1848California Gold Rush: In a message to the United States Congress, U.S. President James K. Polk confirms that large amounts of gold had been discovered in California. - 1865
1865Chincha Islands War: Peru allies with Chile against Spain. - 1895
1895New Haven Symphony Orchestra of Connecticut performs its first concert.
XX century
- 1914
1914The Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition begins in an attempt to make the first land crossing of Antarctica. - 1919
1919Ukrainian War of Independence: The Polonsky conspiracy is suppressed and its participants are executed by the Kontrrazvedka. - 1921
1921The Football Association bans women's football in England from league grounds, a ban that stays in place for 50 years. - 1933
1933The Twenty-first Amendment to the United States Constitution is ratified, repealing Prohibition in the United States. - 1934
1934Abyssinia Crisis: Italian troops attack Wal Wal in Abyssinia, taking four days to capture the city. - 1935
1935Mary McLeod Bethune founds the National Council of Negro Women in New York City. - 1936
1936The Soviet Union adopts a new constitution and the Kirghiz Soviet Socialist Republic is established as a full Union Republic of the USSR. - 1941
1941World War II: In the Battle of Moscow, Georgy Zhukov launches a massive Soviet counter-attack against the German army. - 1941
1941World War II: Great Britain declares war on Finland, Hungary and Romania. - 1943
1943World War II: Allied air forces begin attacking Germany's secret weapons bases in Operation Crossbow. - 1945
1945Flight 19, a group of TBF Avengers, disappears in the Bermuda Triangle. - 1952
1952Beginning of the Great Smog in London. A cold fog combines with air pollution and brings the city to a standstill for four days. Later, a Ministry of Health report estimates 4,000 fatalities as a result of it. - 1955
1955The American Federation of Labor and the Congress of Industrial Organizations merge and form the AFL–CIO. - 1955
1955The Civil Rights Movement: the Montgomery bus boycott begins, led by E. D. Nixon and Rosa Parks. - 1958
1958Subscriber Trunk Dialling (STD) is inaugurated in the United Kingdom by Queen Elizabeth II when she speaks to the Lord Provost in a call from Bristol to Edinburgh. - 1958
1958The Preston By-pass, the UK's first stretch of motorway, opens to traffic for the first time. (It is now part of the M6 and M55 motorways.) - 1964
1964Vietnam War: For his heroism in battle earlier in the year, Captain Roger Donlon is awarded the first Medal of Honor of the war. - 1964
1964Lloyd J. Old discovers the first linkage between the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) and disease—mouse leukemia—opening the way for the recognition of the importance of the MHC in the immune response. - 1971
1971Battle of Gazipur: Pakistani forces are defeated as India cedes Gazipur to Bangladesh. - 1977
1977Egypt breaks diplomatic relations with Syria, Libya, Algeria, Iraq and South Yemen in retaliation to preventing President Anwar el-Sadat from pursuing negotiations with Israel at the Tripoli confer. - 1983
1983Dissolution of the Military Junta in Argentina. - 1991
1991Leonid Kravchuk is elected the first president of Ukraine. - 1994
1994The Budapest Memorandum is signed at the OSCE conference in Budapest, Hungary. - 1995
1995Sri Lankan Civil War: Sri Lanka's government announces the conquest of the Tamil stronghold of Jaffna. - 1995
1995Azerbaijan Airlines Flight A-56 crashes near Nakhchivan International Airport in Nakhchivan, Azerbaijan, killing 52 people.
XXI century
- 2001
2001Space Shuttle Endeavour launches on STS-108, carrying the Expedition 4 crew to the International Space Station. - 2005
2005The Civil Partnership Act comes into effect in the United Kingdom, and the first civil partnership is registered there. - 2005
2005The 6.8 Mw Lake Tanganyika earthquake shakes the eastern provinces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo with a maximum Mercalli intensity of X (Extreme), killing six people. - 2006
2006Commodore Frank Bainimarama overthrows the government in Fiji. - 2007
2007Westroads Mall shooting: Nineteen-year-old Robert A. Hawkins kills nine people, including himself, with a WASR-10 at a Von Maur department store in Omaha, Nebraska. - 2013
2013Militants attack a Defense Ministry compound in Sanaa, Yemen, killing at least 56 people and injuring 200 others. - 2014
2014Exploration Flight Test-1, the first flight test of Orion, is launched. - 2017
2017The International Olympic Committee bans Russia from competing at the 2018 Winter Olympics for doping at the 2014 Winter Olympics.
Best known
Born on December 5
Best known
Died on December 5
1244Joan, Countess of Flanders
Countess of Flanders and Hainaut from 1205 to 1244
1560Francis II of France
King of France from 1559 to 1560
1624Gaspard Bauhin
Swiss botanist
1749Pierre Gaultier de Varennes, sieur de La Vérendrye
18th-century French Canadian military officer, fur trader and explorer
1758Johann Friedrich Fasch
German violinist and composer
1784Phillis Wheatley
American writer (c. 1753–1784)
Holidays and observances
- Christian feast day: Clement of Alexandria (Episcopal Church)
- Christian feast day: Crispina of Numidia
- Christian feast day: Dalmatius of Pavia
- Christian feast day: John Almond
- Christian feast day: Justinian of Ramsey Island
- Christian feast day: Nicetius (Nizier)
- Christian feast day: Pelinus of Brindisi
- Christian feast day: Sabbas the Sanctified
- Christian feast day: December 5 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
- Children's Day (Suriname)
- Day of Military Honour - Battle of Moscow (Russia)
- Discovery Day (Haiti and Dominican Republic)
- International Volunteer Day for Economic and Social Development
- Klozum (Schiermonnikoog, Netherlands)
Frequently asked questions
What happened on December 5?
54 documented historical events happened on December 5, from antiquity to the present day. The best known is this: The first of two major earthquakes struck the Kingdom of Naples, killing up to 70,000 people. On the same day, in another year: Pope Innocent VIII issued the papal bull Summis desiderantes affectibus, which gave the Dominican inquisitor Heinrich Kramer the explicit authority to prosecute witchcraft in Germany. On Almanaccolo every event is listed in chronological order, grouped by century, and links to the Wikipedia article it comes from, so you can always read further or check the source. Alongside the events you find who was born and who died on this date, and which observances are celebrated around the world.
Who was born on December 5?
160 people with a Wikipedia article were born on December 5, including Anastasio Somoza Debayle, Bhumibol Adulyadej, W. D. Amaradeva. The list spans every era and every field — art, science, politics, sport, entertainment — ordered by year of birth, from the earliest to the most recent. The six featured people are those most has been written about: the ordering uses the length of their Wikipedia article as an indicator of prominence. For each one you find their occupation, year of birth and a link to the full biography.
Who died on December 5?
106 people with a Wikipedia article died on December 5, including Joan, Countess of Flanders, Francis II of France, Gaspard Bauhin. The list is in chronological order by year of death and spans all of documented history, from antiquity to the present day. For each person you find their occupation, the year and a link to the Wikipedia biography, where the full story and its sources can be read.
What is celebrated on December 5?
17 observances are celebrated on December 5 around the world: Christian feast day: Clement of Alexandria (Episcopal Church), Christian feast day: Crispina of Numidia, Christian feast day: Dalmatius of Pavia, Christian feast day: John Almond, Christian feast day: Justinian of Ramsey Island, Christian feast day: Nicetius (Nizier). The list gathers national holidays, international days and religious or civil observances falling on this date in different countries, as recorded on Wikipedia. Some are fixed and recur on the same day every year; others depend on the local calendar. Each links to the article explaining its origin and meaning.
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Source: Wikipedia · Calendar