Today is Wednesday, December 5, the 340th day of 2012. There are 26 days left in the year.
1456 ― Earthquake strikes Naples; about 35,000 die
1492 ― Columbus discovers Hispaniola (El Espanola/Haiti)
1792 ― George Washington re-elected U.S. president, John Adams, vice-president
1830 ― Hector Berlioz' "Symphonique fantastique" premieres in Paris
1879 ― First automatic telephone switching system patented
1893 ― First electric car (built in Toronto) could go 15 miles between charges
1929 ― First U.S. nudist organization (American League for Physical Culture, New York, N.Y.)
1932 ― German physicist Albert Einstein granted a visa
1978 ― Pioneer Venus 1 begins orbiting Venus
1978 ― European Union establishes EMS, European Monetary System