http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history
Dec 5, 1945: Aircraft squadron lost in the Bermuda Triangle
At 2:10 p.m., five U.S. Navy Avenger torpedo-bombers comprising Flight 19 take off from the Ft. Lauderdale Naval Air Station in Florida on a routine three-hour training mission. Flight 19 was scheduled to take them due east for 120 miles, north for 73 miles, and then back over a final 120-mile leg that would return them to the naval base. They never returned.
Two hours after the flight began, the leader of the squadron, who had been flying in the area for more than six months, reported that his compass and back-up compass had failed and that his position was unknown. The other planes experienced similar instrument malfunctions. Radio facilities on land were contacted to find the location of the lost squadron, but none were successful. After two more hours of confused messages from the fliers, a distorted radio transmission from the squadron leader was heard at 6:20 p.m., apparently calling for his men to prepare to ditch their aircraft simultaneously because of lack of fuel.
By this time, several land radar stations finally determined that Flight 19 was somewhere north of the Bahamas and east of the Florida coast, and at 7:27 p.m. a search and rescue Mariner aircraft took off with a 13-man crew. Three minutes later, the Mariner aircraft radioed to its home base that its mission was underway. The Mariner was never heard from again. Later, there was a report from a tanker cruising off the coast of Florida of a visible explosion seen at 7:50 p.m.
The disappearance of the 14 men of Flight 19 and the 13 men of the Mariner led to one of the largest air and seas searches to that date, and hundreds of ships and aircraft combed thousands of square miles of the Atlantic Ocean, the Gulf of Mexico, and remote locations within the interior of Florida. No trace of the bodies or aircraft was ever found.
Although naval officials maintained that the remains of the six aircraft and 27 men were not found because stormy weather destroyed the evidence, the story of the "Lost Squadron" helped cement the legend of the Bermuda Triangle, an area of the Atlantic Ocean where ships and aircraft are said to disappear without a trace. The Bermuda Triangle is said to stretch from the southern U.S. coast across to Bermuda and down to the Atlantic coast of Cuba and Santo Domingo.
Dec 5, 1933: Prohibition ends
The 21st Amendment to the U.S. Constitution is ratified, repealing the 18th Amendment and bringing an end to the era of national prohibition of alcohol in America. At 5:32 p.m. EST, Utah became the 36th state to ratify the amendment, achieving the requisite three-fourths majority of states' approval. Pennsylvania and Ohio had ratified it earlier in the day.
The movement for the prohibition of alcohol began in the early 19th century, when Americans concerned about the adverse effects of drinking began forming temperance societies. By the late 19th century, these groups had become a powerful political force, campaigning on the state level and calling for national liquor abstinence. Several states outlawed the manufacture or sale of alcohol within their own borders. In December 1917, the 18th Amendment, prohibiting the "manufacture, sale, or transportation of intoxicating liquors for beverage purposes," was passed by Congress and sent to the states for ratification. On January 29, 1919, the 18th Amendment achieved the necessary three-fourths majority of state ratification. Prohibition essentially began in June of that year, but the amendment did not officially take effect until January 29, 1920.
In the meantime, Congress passed the Volstead Act on October 28, 1919, over President Woodrow Wilson's veto. The Volstead Act provided for the enforcement of Prohibition, including the creation of a special Prohibition unit of the Treasury Department. In its first six months, the unit destroyed thousands of illicit stills run by bootleggers. However, federal agents and police did little more than slow the flow of booze, and organized crime flourished in America. Large-scale bootleggers like Al Capone of Chicago built criminal empires out of illegal distribution efforts, and federal and state governments lost billions in tax revenue. In most urban areas, the individual consumption of alcohol was largely tolerated and drinkers gathered at "speakeasies," the Prohibition-era term for saloons.
Prohibition, failing fully to enforce sobriety and costing billions, rapidly lost popular support in the early 1930s. In 1933, the 21st Amendment to the Constitution was passed and ratified, ending national Prohibition. After the repeal of the 18th Amendment, some states continued Prohibition by maintaining statewide temperance laws. Mississippi, the last dry state in the Union, ended Prohibition in 1966.
Here's a more detailed look at events that transpired on this date throughout history:
63 BC - Cicero reads the last of his Catiline Orations.
663 - Fourth Council of Toledo takes place.
771 - Charlemagne becomes the sole King of the Franks after
the death of his brother Carloman.
1082 - Ramon Berenguer II, Count of Barcelona is
assassinated.
1301 - Pope Boniface VIII's degree Ausculta fili (only
nominee)
1349 - 500 Jews of Nuremberg massacre during Black Death
riots
1360 - The French Franc is created.
1408 - Emir Edigu of Golden Horde reaches Moscow.
1448 - Bishop Jona of Moscow chosen as metropolitan of
Kiev/Intoxication
1456 - Earthquake strikes Naples; about 35,000 die
1492 - Columbus discovers Hispaniola (El Espanola/Haiti)
1496 - Jews are expelled from Portugal by order of King
Manuel I
1590 - Niccolo Sfondrati chosen as Pope Gregory XIV
1602 - Giulio Caccini's "Euridice," premieres in
Florence
1741 - -6] Russian princess Elisabeth Petrovna grabs powers
1746 - Revolt in Genoa against Spanish rule.
1757 - Battle of Leuthen: Prussian army beats Austrians
1766 - London auctioneers Christie's hold their first sale
1775 - At Fort Ticonderoga, Henry Knox begins his historic
transport of artillery to Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Explorer of the New World Christopher ColumbusExplorer of
the New World Christopher Columbus 1776 - 1st US fraternity, Phi Beta Kappa
(William & Mary College), forms
1792 - George Washington re-elected as US president
1798 - Dutch troops occupy Hasselt
1804 - Thomas Jefferson re-elected US pres/George Clinton
vice-pres
1813 - Lübeck surrenders to allied armies
1815 - Foundation of Maceió in Brazil.
1830 - Hector Berlioz' "Symphonique Fantastique"
premieres in Paris
1831 - Former US President John Q Adams takes his seat as a
member of House of Representatives
1832 - Andrew Jackson re-elected President of US
1835 - - 10th: Assault on Mexican-held San Antonio by Texan
rebels
1837 - Hector Berlioz' "Requiem" premieres
1837 - Uprising under William Lyon Mackenzie in Canada
1846 - C F Schoenbein obtains patent for cellulose nitrate
explosive
1847 - Jefferson Davis is elected to the US senate, his
first political post.
1848 - Pres Polk triggers Gold Rush of 1849, confirms
California gold discovery
US President & General Andrew JacksonUS President &
General Andrew Jackson 1854 - Aaron Allen of Boston patents folding theater
chair
1859 - Dion Boucicault's "Octaroon" premieres in
NYC
1862 - Battle of Coffeeville, MS
1865 - Chincha Islands War: Peru allies with Chile against
Spain.
1868 - 1st American bicycle college opens (NY)
1876 - Daniel Stillson (Mass) patents 1st practical pipe
wrench
1876 - Fire at Brooklyn Theater kills 295, trampled or
burned to death
1879 - 1st automatic telephone switching system patented
1881 - 47th Congress (1881-83) convenes
1887 - Stanley's expedition reaches plateau at Lake Albert
Congo
1890 - Berlioz' opera "Les Troyens" premieres in
Karlsruhe
1892 - Anti-semite Hermann Ahlwardt elected to Germany's
Reichstag
1892 - Sir John Thompson becomes the fourth Prime Minister
of Canada.
1893 - 1st electric car (built in Toronto) could go 15 miles
between charges
1894 - Georges Feydeaus' "L'hôtel du libre
échange" premieres in Paris
1896 - Henrik Ibsen's "Kejsor og Galileer" premieres
in Leipzig
1905 - Henry Campbell-Bannermam (Lib) becomes UK PM
1906 - British government of Balfour resigns
1908 - 1st US football uniform numerals used (University of
Pittsburgh)
1914 - 6th CFL Grey Cup: Toronto Argonauts defeats U of
Toronto, 14-2
1914 - The Italian Parliament proclaims the neutrality of
the country.
1918 - Oil refinery on Curacao opens
1920 - Pro football playoff game Akron & Buffalo 0-0
tie, title undecided
1920 - Dimitrios Rallis forms a government in Greece.
1924 - Hamilton Tiger Red Green scores 5 goals to beat Tor
Maple Leafs 10-5
1925 - 13th CFL Grey Cup: Ottawa Senators defeats Win
Tammany Tigers, 24-1
1925 - German government of Luther falls
1926 - Sergei Eisenstein's "Battleship Potemkin"
debuts
1928 - England defeats Australia by record 675 runs at
Brisbane
1928 - MW Miklas elected president of Austria
1929 - 1st US nudist organization (American League for
Physical Culture, NYC)
1931 - CFL Grey Cup: Mtl AAA beats Regina, 22-0 at Montreal
Theoretical Physicist Albert EinsteinTheoretical Physicist
Albert Einstein 1932 - German physicist Albert Einstein granted a visa to enter
America
1933 - 21st Am ratified, 18th Amendment (Prohibition)
repealed (5:32 PM EST)
1935 - 1st coml hydroponics operation established
(Montebello California)
1935 - National Council of Negro Women forms by Mary McLeod
Bethune (NYC)
1936 - 24th CFL Grey Cup: Sarnia Imperials defeats Ottawa
Rough Riders, 26-20
1936 - Armenian SSR, Azerbaijan SSR, Georgian SSR, Kazakh
SSR & Kirghiz SSR becomes constituent republics of Soviet Union
1941 - Football Writers Association of America organized
1941 - Patrick Hamilton's "Angel Street" premieres
in NYC
1941 - Russian anti offensive in Moscow drives out nazi army
1941 - Sister Elizabeth Kenny new treatment for infantile
paralysis approved
1941 - US aircraft carrier Lexington and 5 heavy cruisers
leave Pearl Harbor
1942 - CFL Grey Cup: Tor beats Win RCAF, 8 -5 at Toronto
1942 - Seyss-Inquart orders students in nazi-Germany to work
1942 - West Indies chocolate/coffee drop above Netherland
1943 - NFL Phila Eagle-Pitts Steeler merger disolves
1944 - German troops steal all the silver coin in Utrecht
1945 - "Lost Squadron" crashes east of Florida
(Bermuda Triangle)
1945 - Special Council of Annulment affirms death sentence
of Max Blokzijl
33rd US President Harry Truman33rd US President Harry Truman
1946 - Pres Harry Truman creates Committee on Civil Rights by Exec Order #9808
1947 - Joe Louis beats Jersey Joe Walcott in 15 for
heavyweight boxing title
1948 - NY Giant Charley Conerly sets NFL record of 36 pass
completions
1949 - Ezzard Charles defeats Jersey Joe Walcott for
heavyweight boxing title
1950 - Ezzard Charles KOs Nick Barone in 11 for heavyweight
boxing title
1950 - Sikkim becomes a protectorate of India
1951 - "Dragnet" premieres
1952 - -8] worst smog in London ever, 4-8,000 die
1954 - KTEW (now KJRH) TV channel 2 in Tulsa, OK (NBC)
begins broadcasting
1955 - AFL & CIO merge, with George Meany as president
1955 - Historic bus boycott begins in Montgomery Alabama by
Rosa Parks
1955 - The American Federation of Labor and the Congress of
Industrial Organizations merge and form the AFL-CIO.
1956 - Thornton Wilder's "Matchmaker" premieres in
NYC
1957 - William Inge's "Dark at the Top of the
Stairs" premieres in NYC
1957 - NYC is 1st city to legislate against racial or
religious discrimination in housing market (Fair Housing Practices Law)
Civil Rights Activist Rosa Lee ParksCivil Rights Activist
Rosa Lee Parks 1957 - Sukarno expels all Dutch people from Indonesia.
1958 - Phils drop plans for NY sportcast as Yanks threat to
do same in Phila
1958 - WTOL TV channel 11 in Toledo, OH (CBS) begins
broadcasting
1958 - Subscriber Trunk Dialling (STD) is inaugurated in the
UK by Queen Elizabeth II when she speaks to the Lord Provost in a call from
Bristol to Edinburgh.
1958 - The Preston bypass, the UK's first stretch of
motorway, opens to traffic for the first time. It is now part of the M6 and M55
motorways.
1959 - Intikhab Alam bowls Colin McDonald with 1st ball in
Tests
1960 - Ghana drops diplomatic relations with Belgium
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.
1966 - "I Do! I Do!" opens at 46th St Theater NYC
for 561 performances
1967 - Beatles clothing store "Apple" on 94 Baker
Street, London, opens
1967 - Benjamin Spock & Allen Ginsberg arrested
protesting against Vietnam war
1968 - Rolling Stones release "Beggar's Banquet" LP
1969 - US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site
1970 - LA Rams Willie Ellison sets NFL record of 247 yards
rushing
1970 - Stanley Cup, Conn Smythe Trophy & Bill Masterson
trophy stolen from NHL hall of fame
Pediatrician Benjamin SpockPediatrician Benjamin Spock 1970
- Premiere of Dario Fo's Morte accidentale di un anarchico.
1971 - KCBJ (now KMIZ) TV channel 17 in Columbia, MO (ABC)
1st broadcast
1972 - 38th Heisman Trophy Award: Johnny Rodgers, Nebraska
(FL)
1972 - Australia Labour party wins parliamentary election
1972 - Joseph A Walker's "River Niger" premieres
in NYC
1973 - Cubs' Ron Santo became 1st baseball player to veto
his trade
1973 - Dodgers trade Willie Davis to Expos for relief
pitcher Mike Marshall
1973 - Paul McCartney releases album "Band on the
Run" album
1974 - 1st Wash Cap penalty shot, Tom Williams unsuccessful
vs Buff Sabres
1974 - 1st World Football League Bowl, Birmingham Americans
beat Florida
1974 - Airport terminal roof collapses killing 17 (Teheran
Iran)
1974 - Monty Python's Flying Circus final episode airs on
BBC
1974 - NFL's Seattle Seahawks forms
1974 - Oliver Tilden Triangle in the Bronx named
1974 - Tom Williams is unsuccessful on Wash Capitals 1st NHL
penalty shot
Musician & member of the Beatles Paul McCartneyMusician
& member of the Beatles Paul McCartney 1974 - Birmingham Americans defeat
the Florida Blazers 22-21 in the WFL's World Bowl
1975 - "Me & Bessie" closes at Ambassador
Theater NYC after 453 performances
1975 - NASA launches space vehicle S-196, it failed
1976 - Buffalo Bill OJ Simpson rushes 203 yards
1977 - Egypt breaks dipl relations with Syria, Libya,
Algeria, Iraq & S Yemen
1978 - EG decides establishes EMS, European Monetary System
1978 - Free agent Pete Rose signs 4-year, $32 million
contract with Phillies
1978 - Phillies Pete Rose becomes highest paid baseball
player
1978 - Pioneer Venus 1 begins orbiting Venus
1978 - Sam Shepard's "Buried Child" premieres in
NYC
1978 - Islanders took 28 shots in 1 period vs Penguins
Penguins' Ross Lonsberry failed on 7th penalty shot against Islanders
1979 - Ireland premier Jack Lynch resigns
1980 - Bank of Canada's Canadian Currency Museum opens
1981 - 47th Heisman Trophy Award: Marcus Allen, Southern Cal
(RB)
1981 - 56th Australian Women Tennis: Navratilova beats Chris
Evert (67 64 75)
NFL Running Back and Convicted Criminal OJ SimpsonNFL
Running Back and Convicted Criminal OJ Simpson 1981 - France performs nuclear
test
1982 - Cleveland Browns' Brian Sipe sets club record with 33
pass completions
1982 - Herschel Walker of Georgia wins Heisman Trophy
1982 - Ingrid Berghmans (Neth) retains judo's world
championship
1982 - Mel Gray ends NFL streak of 121 consecutive game
receptions
1982 - Seattle Univ Baptist Ch declares sanctuary for Cen Am
refugees
1982 - USSR performs nuclear test at Eastern
Kazakh/Semipalitinsk USSR
1983 - 12 killed by a car bomb shattering 9-story building
in west Beirut
1983 - LA Dodger pitcher Steve Howe is suspended for 1 year
for cocaine use
1983 - ICIMOD established and inaugurated with its
headquarters in Kathmandu, Nepal, and legitimised through an Act of Parliament
in Nepal in the same year.
1984 - A's trade Rickey Henderson to Yankees for Jay Howell
& Jose Rijo
1984 - French colonies killed 10 Kanaken in New Caledonia
1984 - Yankees trade catcher Rick Cerone to Braves for
pitcher Brian Fisher
1985 - Dow Jones Industrial Average rose above 1,500 level
for 1st time
1985 - Great Britain performs nuclear test
1985 - Sam Shepard's "Lie of the Mind" premieres
in NYC
1987 - 53rd Heisman Trophy Award: Tim Brown, Notre Dame (WR)
1987 - David Boon's 5th Test Cricket century, 143 v NZ at
Brisbane
1987 - Schonbrunn skates world record 3 km ladies (4:16.76)
1988 - NC federal grand jury indict PTL founder Jim Bakker
on fraud & conspiracy
1988 - Shuttle Atlantis launches world's 1st
nuclear-war-fighting satellite
1989 - France TGV train reaches world record speed of 482.4
kph
1990 - Blue Jays trade F McGriff & T Fernandez to SD for
R Alomar & J Carter
1990 - Former Noriega aide Luis del Cid pleads guilty
1990 - Salman Rushdie, author, ordered to death by Iran for
blasphemy, appears in public for 1st time in 2 years
1991 - "Catskills on Broadway" opens at
Lunt-Fontanne NYC for 452 perfs
1991 - Charles Keating Jr (Lincoln Savings & Loan
fraud), found guilty
1991 - NY Daily News files for protection under chapter 11
1993 - "Timon of Athens" closes at Lyceum Theater
NYC after 37 performances
1993 - 82nd Davis Cup: Germany beats Australia in Dusseldorf
(4-1)
1993 - Astronauts begin repair of Hubble telescope in space
1993 - Melissa Mcnamara/Mike Sopringer wins LPGA J C Penney
Golf Classic
1993 - Rafael Caldera elected president of Venezuela
1993 - The mayor of Wien (Vienna), Helmut Zilk, is wounded
by a letter bomb.
1995 - The Sri Lankan government announces the conquest of
Tamil stronghold of Jaffna.
1996 - "Dreams & Nightmares," opens at Martin
Beck Theater NYC
1996 - Players union approves new collective bargaining
agreement
1996 - Portland's Jermaine O'Neal, 18, becomes youngest NBA
player
1997 - 1st Game at Wash Capitals' MCI Center vs Fla Panthers
1997 - STS 87 (Columbia 24) lands
2005 - The Lake Tanganyika earthquake causes significant damage,
mostly in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
2005 - The Civil Partnership Act comes into effect in the
United Kingdom, and the first civil partnership is registered there.
2006 - Commodore Frank Bainimarama overthrows the government
in Fiji.
2007 - Westroads Mall massacre: A gunman opens fire with a
semi-automatic rifle at an Omaha, Nebraska mall, killing eight people before
taking his own life.
Absolute monarch Nicholas IIAbsolute monarch Nicholas II
2008 - Human remains previously found in 1991 are finally identified by Russian
and American scientists as those of Tsar Nicholas II.
2008 - OJ Simpson is sentenced to 33 years in prison for
kidnapping and armed robbery
2012 - 8 people are killed and 12 injured by a magnitude 5.6
earthquake in South Korea
1492 - Christopher Columbus discovered Hispaniola (now Haiti). 1560 - Charles IX succeeded as King of France on the death of Francis II. 1766 - James Christie, founder of the famous auctioneers, held his first sale in London. 1776 - In Williamsburg, VA, at the College of William and Mary the first scholastic fraternity in America, Phi Beta Kappa, was organized. 1782 - The first native U.S. president, Martin Van Buren, was born in Kinderhook, NY. 1792 - The trial of France's King Louis XVI began. 1797 - Napoleon Bonaparte arrived in Paris to command forces for the invasion of England. 1812 - Napoleon Bonaparte left his army as they were retreating from Russia. 1839 - General George Armstrong Custer was born in New Rumley, OH. 1848 - U.S. President Polk triggered the Gold Rush of '49 by confirming the fact that gold had been discovered in California. 1876 - The Stillson wrench was patented by D.C. Stillson. The device was the first practical pipe wrench. 1901 - Movie producer Walt Disney was born in Chicago. He created his first Mickey Mouse cartoon at the age of 27. Disney movies, music and books 1904 - The Russian fleet was destroyed by the Japanese at Port Arthur, during the Russo-Japanese War. 1908 - At the University of Pittsburgh, numerals were first used on football uniforms worn by college football players. 1913 - Britain outlawed the sending of arms to Ireland. 1932 - German physicist Albert Einstein was granted a visa making it possible for him to travel to the U.S. 1933 - Prohibition came to an end when Utah became the 36th state to ratify the 21st Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. 1934 - Fighting broke out between Italian and Ethiopian troops on the Somalian border. 1934 - The Soviet Union executed 66 people charged with plotting against Joseph Stalin's government. 1935 - In Montebello, CA, the first commercial hydrophonics operation was established. 1936 - The Soviet Union adopted a new Constitution under a Supreme Council. 1944 - During World War II, Allied troops took Ravenna, Italy. 1945 - The so-called "Lost Squadron" disappeared. The five U.S. Navy Avenger bombers carrying 14 Navy flyers began a training mission at the Ft. Lauderdale Naval Air Station. They were never heard from again. 1951 - The first push button-controlled garage opened in Washington, DC. 1955 - The American Federation of Labor and the Congress of Industrial Organizations merged to form the AFL-CIO. 1956 - British and French forces began a withdrawal from Egypt during the Suez War. 1958 - Britain's first motorway, the Preston by-pass, was opened by Prime Minister Macmillan. 1961 - United Nations forces launched an attack in Katanga, the Congo, near Elizabethville. 1962 - The U.S. and the Soviet Union agreed to cooperate in the peaceful uses of outer space. 1971 - The Soviet Union, at United Nations Security Council, vetoed a resolution calling for a cease-fire in hostilities between India and Pakistan over Kashmir. 1976 - Jacques Chirac re-founded the Gaullist party as the RPR (Rassemblement pour la République). 1977 - Egypt broke diplomatic relations with Syria, Libya, Algeria, Iraq and South Yemen due to peaceful relations with Israel. 1978 - The American space probe Pioneer Venus I, orbiting Venus, began beaming back its first information and picture of the planet. 1979 - Sonia Johnson was formally excommunicated by the Mormon Church due to her outspoken support for the proposed Equal Rights Amendment to the Constitution. 1983 - In west Beirut, Lebanon, more than a dozen people were killed when a car bomb shattered a nine-story apartment building. 1983 - The video arcade game "NFL Football" was unveiled in Chicago. It was the first video arcade game to be licensed by the National Football League. 1984 - Iran's official news agency quoted the hijackers of a Kuwaiti jetliner parked at Tehran airport as saying they would blow up the plane unless Kuwait released 14 imprisoned extremists. 1985 - The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose above 1,500 for the first time. 1986 - The Soviet Union said it would continue to abide by the SALT II treaty limits on nuclear weapons. This was despite the decision by the U.S. to exceed them. 1988 - Jim Bakker and former aide Richard Dortch were indicted by a federal grand jury in North Carolina on fraud and conspiracy charges. 1989 - Israeli soldiers killed five heavily armed Arab guerrillas who crossed the border from Egypt. The guerrillas were allegedly going to launch a terrorist attack commemorating the anniversary of the Palestinian uprising. 1989 - East Germany's former leaders were placed under house arrest. 1992 - Russian President Boris Yeltsin kept the power to appoint Cabinet ministers, defeating a constitutional amendment that would have put his team of reformers under the control of Russia's Congress. 1998 - James P. Hoffa became the head of the Teamsters union, 23 years after his father was the head. His father disappeared and was presumed dead. 2001 - In Germany, Afghan leaders signed a pact to create a temporary administration for post-Taliban Afghanistan. Two women were included in the cabinet structure. Hamid Karzai and his Cabinet were planned to take over power in Afghanistan on December 22. 2008 - The iTunes Music Store reached 300 million applications downloaded.
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.
The following links are to web sites that were used to complete this blog entry:
http://www.historyorb.com/today/events.php
http://on-this-day.com/onthisday/thedays/alldays/dec05.htm
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history
http://www.infoplease.com/dayinhistory
