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).

1757 Seven 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.

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

1936 The Soviet Union adopts a new constitution and the Kirghiz Soviet Socialist Republic is established as a full Union Republic of the USSR.

1941 World War II: In the Battle of Moscow, Georgy Zhukov launches a massive Soviet counter-attack against the German army.

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

1964 Vietnam War: For his heroism in battle earlier in the year, Captain Roger Donlon is awarded the first Medal of Honor of the war.

1977 Egypt breaks diplomatic relations with Syria, Libya, Algeria, Iraq and South Yemen. The move is in retaliation for the Declaration of Tripoli against Egypt.

1995 Sri Lankan Civil War: Sri Lanka's government announces the conquest of the Tamil stronghold of Jaffna.

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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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