This Day in History: December 05, 2024
-
1776
The first scholastic fraternity in America, Phi Beta Kappa, was organized at the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Va.
-
1791
Composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart died in Vienna, Austria, at age 35.
-
1848
President Polk triggered the Gold Rush of 1848 by confirming that gold had been discovered in California.
-
1872
Having left New York on Nov. 5, the brigantine Mary Celeste was found adrift off Portugal with everyone aboard mysteriously missing.
-
1933
The 21st Amendment to the Constitution, repealing prohibition, was ratified.
-
1955
The American Federation of Labor and the Congress of Industrial Organizations merged to form the AFL-CIO.
-
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.
-
2004
Hamid Karzai was sworn in as Afghanistan's first popularly elected president.
-
2009
An Italian jury convicts Amanda Knox, an American student, of murdering her former roommate, English student Meredith Kercher, in 2007.
