This Day in History – December 5, 2011

1492 – Christopher Columbus becomes the first European to set foot on the island of Hispaniola, now Haiti and the Dominican Republic. 1766 – In London, James Christie holds his first sale. 1776 – At The College of William and Mary, Phi Beta Kappa is founded and becomes the first American College Fraternity. 1792 – George Washington re-elected US President, John Adams Vice-President 1804 – Thomas Jefferson re-elected US President,George Clinton Vice-President 1831 – Former US President John Quincy Adams takes his seat in the House of Representatives. 1832 – Andrew Jackson re-elected President of US, Martin Van Buren Vice-President 1847 – Jefferson Davis is elected to the US senate, his first political post. 1861 – Gatling gun patented 1862 – Battle of Coffeeville MS 1879 – 1st automatic telephone switching system patented 1881 – 47th Congress (1881-83) convenes 1893 – 1st electric car (built in Toronto) could go 15 miles between charges 1908 – 1st football uniform numerals used (University of Pittsburgh) 1929 – 1st US nudist organization (American League for Physical Culture, New York NY) 1932 – German-born Swiss physicist Albert Einstein is granted an American visa. 1933 – Prohibition in the United States ends 1941 – Football Writers Association of America organized 1945 – Flight 19 is lost in the Bermuda Triangle. 1952 – London smog of 1952 – worst smog in London ever, 4,000+ die 1957 – NYC becomes 1st city to legislate against racial or religious discrimination in housing market (Fair Housing Practices Law) 1967 – Beatles clothing store “Apple” on 94 Baker Street, London, opens 1969 – US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site 1974 – “Monty Python’s Flying Circus” final episode airs on BBC 1974 – NFL’s Seattle Seahawks forms 1978 – Free agent Pete Rose signs 4-year, $32 million contract with Phillies becoming highest paid baseball player in history 1988 – North Carolina federal grand jury indict PTL founder Jim Bakker on fraud & conspiracy 1988 – Shuttle Atlantis launches world’s 1st nuclear-war-fighting satellite (Star Wars Program) 1991 – Charles Keating Jr (Lincoln Savings & Loan fraud), found guilty 1991 – New York Daily News files for protection under chapter 11]]]]> ]]>