This Day in History – 5th December

Hello there! Thank you for wanting to know more than you did yesterday. We have compiled a list of important and interesting events which happened on 5th December from all across the world. Happy reading! 

• 1901 Happy Birthday Walt Disney: Creator of Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck, Walter Elias Disney was born in Chicago, Illinois. He co-founded Walt Disney Productions with his brother Roy. It is now one of the best-known motion-picture production companies in the world. He won 22 Academy Awards during his lifetime, and was the founder of theme parks Disneyland and Walt Disney World.

• 1945 Aircraft squadron disappears in the Bermuda Triangle: The Bermuda Triangle is an area of the Atlantic Ocean where ships and aircraft are said to disappear without a trace. Flight 19 comprised of five U.S. Navy Avenger torpedo-bombers. They took off from the Ft. Lauderdale Naval Air Station in Florida on a routine three-hour training mission but never returned. Various attempts at communication and a sighted explosion led to one of the largest air and seas searches to that date. No trace of the bodies or aircraft was ever found.

• 1950 Sikkim became a protectorate of India: Before Sikkim became a state in 1975, it was ruled by the Chogyals of the Namgyal dynasty of Tibetan descent. Its first political parties began forming after independence. Then in 1950 the Indo-Sikkimese Treaty made Sikkim an Indian protectorate. India assumed responsibility for its external relations, defense, and strategic communications. Not long after that, the people overthrew the Chogyal and Sikkim became a part of India through a referendum. 

• 1955 The Montgomery Bus Boycott began: The Boycott took place from December 5, 1955, to December 20, 1956. It’s regarded as the first large-scale U.S. demonstration against segregation. It began when Rosa Parks was arrested and fined for refusing to yield her bus seat to a white man. Black leaders also formed the Montgomery Improvement Association and elected Martin Luther King Jr. as their president. The boycott ended when Montgomery’s buses were integrated on December 21, 1956. It had lasted 381 days.

• 1985 Happy Birthday Shikhar Dhawan: Shikhar Dhawan shot to fame after an unprecedented run in the 2004 U-19 World Cup, where he scored 505 runs garnished with 3 hundreds. In 2016, he became the fastest Indian to reach 3,000 ODI runs. On 14 June 2018, against Afghanistan, Dhawan also became the first Indian batsman to score a century before lunch on day one of a Test.
• 1990 Salman Rushdie appeared in public after 2 years: British Indian novelist Salman Rushdie appeared in public for the first time in 2 years after The Satanic Verses controversy. The controversial novel was partly inspired by the life of Muhammad. Many Muslims accused Rushdie of blasphemy. In 1989 the Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini of Iran issued a fatwa ordering Muslims to kill Rushdie. The British government put Rushdie under police protection.
• 1999 Yukta Mookhey crowned Miss World on 5th December: Yukta Inderlal Mookhey is an Indian actress, civic activist and the winner of Miss World 1999. She is the fourth Indian woman to win Miss World. She was previously crowned as Femina Miss India World in 1999. She is a former model, and has also worked in Hindi films.
• 2001 ‘Ocean’s Eleven’ premiered in Westwood: Directed by Steven Soderbergh, Ocean’s Eleven was the fifth highest-grossing film of 2001, starring George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Matt Damon and Julia Roberts.
• 2002 ‘The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers’ premiered in New York: Peter Jackson’s second LOTR movie was the highest-grossing film of 2002. It is considered a landmark in fantasy film-making. It was nominated for six awards at the 75th Academy Awards and was the winner for Best Visual Effects and Best Sound Editing.

• 2008 OJ Simpson sentenced to 33 years in prison: Former NFL star OJ Simpson was sentenced to 33 years in prison for kidnapping and armed robbery. He had been previously acquitted of murdering his wife and her friend in what is hailed as ‘The Trial of the Century.’
• 2013 Nelson Mandela died at 95 on 5th December: “I have fought against white domination, and I have fought against black domination. I have cherished the ideal of a democratic and free society in which all persons live together in harmony and with equal opportunities. It is an ideal which I hope to live for and to achieve. But if needs be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die.” Mandela was a symbol of integrity and reconciliation not only for South Africa, but for the world. He was South Africa’s first democratically elected President and passed away at 95 after struggling with health issues. The funeral and burial cap took place over 10 days of national mourning.