December 5 facts for kids

December 5 is the 339th day of the year (340th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar; 26 days remain until the end of the year.

December 5th is a day filled with many interesting events throughout history, from ancient times to modern days. It's a day when important leaders were born and famous artists passed away. Let's explore some of the key moments that happened on this date!

Historical Events on December 5th

Ancient Times and Middle Ages (Before 1600)

• 63 BC – The Roman speaker Cicero gave his final big speech against a man named Catiline.
• 633 – An important meeting of church leaders, called the Fourth Council of Toledo, began.
• 1033 – A huge earthquake hit the Middle East, causing a tsunami and destroying many cities.
• 1082 – Ramon Berenguer II, a count from Barcelona, was likely killed by his own brother.
• 1408 – A Mongol leader named Edigu tried to take over Moscow but failed, only burning areas around the city.
• 1456 – A powerful earthquake in Italy caused a lot of damage and sadly killed many people.
• 1484 – Pope Innocent VIII issued a special order to find and stop alleged witchcraft in Germany.
• 1496 – The King of Portugal, Manuel I, ordered all Jewish people to leave the country.
• 1560 – Thirteen-year-old Charles IX of France became the King of France, with his mother, Catherine de' Medici, helping him rule.
• 1578 – The famous explorer Sir Francis Drake sailed through the Strait of Magellan and then raided the city of Valparaiso.

From the 1600s to the 1900s

• 1649 – The town of Raahe in Finland was founded by Count Per Brahe the Younger.
• 1757 – In the Seven Years' War, Frederick II of Prussia led his army to a big win against the Austrian forces in the Battle of Leuthen.
• 1766 – The first sale by the famous auction house Christie's was held in London.
• 1770 – Two British soldiers were found guilty of killing people during the Boston Massacre.
• 1775 – During the American Revolutionary War, Henry Knox started moving heavy cannons from Fort Ticonderoga to help the American army.
• 1776 – Phi Beta Kappa, the oldest academic honor society in the U.S., had its first meeting.
• 1831 – Former U.S. President John Quincy Adams started serving in the United States House of Representatives.
• 1847 – Jefferson Davis was chosen to be a U.S. Senator.
• 1848 – President James K. Polk officially announced to Congress that a lot of gold had been found in California, starting the California Gold Rush.
• 1865 – Peru joined forces with Chile against Spain in the Chincha Islands War.
• 1895 – The New Haven Symphony Orchestra played its first concert in Connecticut.

Modern History (1901–Present)

• 1914 – The Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition began, aiming to be the first to cross Antarctica by land.
• 1919 – A plot against the Ukrainian government, known as the Polonsky conspiracy, was stopped.
• 1921 – The Football Association in England banned women's football in England from playing in league stadiums for 50 years.
• 1933 – The Twenty-first Amendment to the United States Constitution was approved, ending the ban on alcohol.
• 1934 – Italian troops attacked Wal Wal in Abyssinia, taking the city after four days.
• 1935 – Mary McLeod Bethune started the National Council of Negro Women in New York City.
• 1936 – The Soviet Union adopted a new constitution, and the Kirghiz Soviet Socialist Republic was formed.
• 1941 – During World War II, Soviet forces launched a big counter-attack against the German army in the Battle of Moscow.
• 1941 – Great Britain declared war on Finland, Hungary, and Romania.
• 1943 – Allied air forces began attacking Germany's secret weapons bases in Operation Crossbow.
• 1945 – Flight 19, a group of planes, mysteriously disappeared in the Bermuda Triangle.
• 1952 – The Great Smog of London began. A thick, polluted fog covered London for four days, causing many health problems and deaths.
• 1955 – Two large labor unions in the U.S., the American Federation of Labor and the Congress of Industrial Organizations, merged to form the AFL–CIO.
• 1955 – E. D. Nixon and Rosa Parks started the Montgomery Bus Boycott, a major event in the American Civil Rights Movement.
• 1958 – Queen Elizabeth II made the first direct long-distance phone call in the UK, from Bristol to Edinburgh.
• 1958 – The Preston By-pass, the UK's first stretch of motorway, opened to traffic.
• 1964 – During the Vietnam War, Captain Roger Donlon received the first Medal of Honor of the war for his bravery.
• 1964 – Scientist Lloyd J. Old found the first link between a specific gene group and disease, which was a big step in understanding the immune system.
• 1971 – Pakistani forces were defeated, and India gave Gazipur to Bangladesh.
• 1977 – Egypt ended its diplomatic relations with several other countries in the Middle East.
• 1983 – The military government in Argentina was dissolved.
• 1991 – Leonid Kravchuk was elected the first president of Ukraine.
• 1995 – The government of Sri Lanka announced they had taken control of the Tamil stronghold of Jaffna.
• 1995 – Azerbaijan Airlines Flight A-56 crashed near Nakhchivan, killing 52 people.
• 2005 – The Civil Partnership Act 2004 came into effect in the United Kingdom, allowing same-sex couples to register their partnerships.
• 2005 – A strong earthquake hit the eastern parts of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, killing six people.
• 2006 – Commodore Frank Bainimarama took over the government in Fiji.
• 2014 – Exploration Flight Test-1, the first test flight of the Orion spacecraft, was launched.
• 2017 – The International Olympic Committee banned Russia from the 2018 Winter Olympics because of doping violations.

Famous Births on December 5th

People Born Before 1900

• 1443 – Pope Julius II, an important Pope who supported arts and architecture.
• 1596 – Henry Lawes, an English composer.
• 1782 – Martin Van Buren, who became the 8th President of the United States.
• 1830 – Christina Rossetti, a famous English poet.
• 1839 – George Armstrong Custer, an American general.
• 1867 – Józef Piłsudski, a Polish field marshal and politician who became the Prime Minister of Poland.
• 1868 – Arnold Sommerfeld, a German physicist.
• 1879 – Clyde Cessna, an American pilot and businessman who founded the Cessna Aircraft Corporation.
• 1890 – Fritz Lang, an Austrian-American director and producer.
• 1896 – Carl Ferdinand Cori, a Czech-American biochemist who won a Nobel Prize.

People Born After 1900

• 1901 – Walt Disney, the American animator, director, and producer who co-founded The Walt Disney Company.
• 1901 – Werner Heisenberg, a German physicist who won a Nobel Prize.
• 1902 – Strom Thurmond, an American politician who was the Governor of South Carolina.
• 1903 – Johannes Heesters, a Dutch-German actor and singer.
• 1903 – C. F. Powell, an English-Italian physicist who won a Nobel Prize.
• 1905 – Otto Preminger, an Austrian-American director and producer.
• 1916 – Hilary Koprowski, a Polish-American scientist who created the first effective live polio vaccine.
• 1927 – Bhumibol Adulyadej, the King of Thailand.
• 1932 – Sheldon Glashow, an American physicist who won a Nobel Prize.
• 1932 – Little Richard, a famous American singer-songwriter and pianist.
• 1934 – Joan Didion, an American novelist and screenwriter.
• 1946 – José Carreras, a famous Spanish opera singer.
• 1947 – Jim Plunkett, an American football player.
• 1968 – Margaret Cho, an American comedian and actress.
• 1969 – Sajid Javid, a British politician.
• 1975 – Ronnie O'Sullivan, a famous English snooker player.
• 1975 – Paula Patton, an American actress.
• 1985 – Frankie Muniz, an American actor and race car driver.
• 1995 – Anthony Martial, a French footballer.
• 1995 – Kaetlyn Osmond, a Canadian figure skater.
• 1998 – Conan Gray, an American singer-songwriter.

Notable Deaths on December 5th

People Who Passed Away Before 1900

• 63 BC – Publius Cornelius Lentulus Sura, a Roman politician.
• 902 – Ealhswith, the wife of Alfred the Great, King of Wessex.
• 1082 – Ramon Berenguer II, Count of Barcelona.
• 1560 – Francis II of France, a young king of France.
• 1791 – Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, one of the most famous Austrian composers and musicians of all time.
• 1870 – Alexandre Dumas, a French novelist and playwright, known for books like The Three Musketeers.
• 1891 – Pedro II of Brazil, the last Emperor of Brazil.

People Who Passed Away After 1900

• 1925 – Władysław Reymont, a Polish novelist who won a Nobel Prize in Literature.
• 1926 – Claude Monet, a very famous French painter known for his Impressionist art.
• 1940 – Jan Kubelík, a Czech violinist and composer.
• 1951 – Shoeless Joe Jackson, an American baseball player.
• 1955 – Glenn L. Martin, an American pilot and businessman who founded the Glenn L. Martin Company, an aircraft manufacturer.
• 1965 – Joseph Erlanger, an American scientist who won a Nobel Prize for his work on nerves.
• 1969 – Claude Dornier, a German engineer who founded an aircraft company.
• 1969 – Princess Alice of Battenberg, the mother of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh.
• 1973 – Robert Watson-Watt, a Scottish engineer who invented the radar.
• 1977 – Aleksandr Vasilevsky, a Russian marshal and politician.
• 1983 – Robert Aldrich, an American director and producer.
• 1995 – Charles Evans, an English mountaineer and surgeon.
• 2001 – Franco Rasetti, an Italian-American physicist.
• 2002 – Ne Win, a Burmese general and politician who was the President of Burma.
• 2007 – Karlheinz Stockhausen, a German composer.
• 2012 – Dave Brubeck, a famous American jazz pianist and composer.
• 2012 – Oscar Niemeyer, a Brazilian architect who designed many famous buildings.
• 2013 – Nelson Mandela, a South African lawyer and politician who was the first President of South Africa and won the Nobel Peace Prize.
• 2014 – Queen Fabiola of Belgium, the Queen of Belgium.
• 2017 – Michael I of Romania, the last king of Romania.
• 2020 – Peter Alliss, an English professional golfer.
• 2021 – Bob Dole, an American politician.
• 2022 – Kirstie Alley, an American actress.
• 2023 – Norman Lear, an American screenwriter and producer.

Holidays and Celebrations

• International Volunteer Day for Economic and Social Development is celebrated worldwide.
• World Soil Day focuses on the importance of healthy soil.
• In Thailand, it's the King Bhumibol Adulyadej Memorial Birthday.
• Children's Day is celebrated in Suriname.
• Discovery Day is a holiday in Haiti and the Dominican Republic.
• Many European countries celebrate Saint Nicholas' Eve, like Belgium, the Netherlands, and Germany.
  • In Austria, some celebrate Krampusnacht.
• Day of Military Honour - Battle of Moscow is observed in Russia.
• Klozum is a special celebration on the island of Schiermonnikoog in the Netherlands.

See also

In Spanish: 5 de diciembre para niños