December 5 in History

Historical Events on December 5

1492 Christopher Columbus becomes the first European to set foot on the island of Hispaniola (now Haiti and the Dominican Republic).

1831 Former U.S. President John Quincy Adams takes his seat in the House of Representatives.

1847 Jefferson Davis is elected to the U.S. Senate.

1848 California 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.

1941 World War II: Great Britain declares war on Finland, Hungary and Romania.

1943 World War II: Allied air forces begin attacking Germany's secret weapons bases in Operation Crossbow.

1964 Lloyd J. Old discovered 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.

1983 Dissolution of the Military Junta in Argentina.

2006 Commodore Frank Bainimarama overthrows the government in Fiji.

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Famous Birthdays on December 5

1902 Strom Thurmond

1932 Little Richard

1969 Sajid Javid

1975 Ronnie O'Sullivan

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Famous Deaths on December 5

1891 Pedro II of Brazil

2007 Karlheinz Stockhausen

2013 Nelson Mandela

2016 Jayalalithaa

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