12 / 5 History Vault
Discover public domain milestones, art masterworks, and wisdom quotes. (13)
Famous Pioneer Born on 12/5
Born under Sagittarius (♐ Sagittarius), possessing unique vision and inspiration.
"We should consider every day lost on which we have not danced at least once."
—— Sagittarius Pioneer
Sunflowers
Sunflowers is a world-class museum collection item preserved at National Gallery, London.
Vincent van Gogh (Oil on canvas)
Historical Milestone of 12/5
On this day in history (12/5), significant global milestones and breakthroughs were recorded across science, culture, and human society.
The "Great Smog of London" (pictured) began and lasted for five days, causing 12,000 deaths and leading to the Clean Air Act 1956.
The Great Smog was a severe air pollution event that affected London, England, in December 1952. A period of unusually cold weather, combined with an anticyclone and windless conditions, collected airborne pollutants—mostly arising from the use of coal—to form a thick layer of smog over the city. It lasted from Friday, 5 December to Tuesday, 9 December 1952, then dispersed quickly when the weather changed.
Britain's first motorway, the Preston Bypass, opened to the public.
A controlled-access highway is a type of highway that has been designed for high-speed vehicular traffic, with all traffic flow—ingress and egress—regulated. Common English terms are freeway, motorway, and expressway. Other similar terms include throughway or thruway and parkway. Some of these may be limited-access highways, although this term can also refer to a class of highways with somewhat less isolation from other traffic.
The "glasnost meeting" took place in Moscow, becoming the first demonstration in the Soviet Union after World War II and marking the beginning of the civil rights movement in the country.
The glasnost meeting, also known as the glasnost rally, was the first spontaneous public political demonstration in the Soviet Union after the Second World War. It took place in Moscow on 5 December 1965 as a response to the trial of writers Andrei Sinyavsky and Yuli Daniel. The demonstration is considered to mark the beginning of a movement for civil rights in the Soviet Union.
Gough Whitlam took office as the 21st Prime Minister of Australia and formed a duumvirate with his deputy Lance Barnard, ending 23 years of Liberal–Country Party government.
Edward Gough Whitlam was the 21st prime minister of Australia, serving from December 1972 to November 1975. To date the longest-serving federal leader of the Australian Labor Party (ALP), he was notable for being the head of a reformist and socially progressive government that ended with his controversial dismissal by the then governor-general of Australia, Sir John Kerr, at the climax of the 1975 constitutional crisis. Whitlam remains the only Australian prime minister to have been removed from office by a governor-general.
Conan_Gray Born
Conan Lee Gray is an American singer, songwriter and former YouTuber. He was born in Lemon Grove, California, and raised in Georgetown, Texas, where he began uploading vlogs, covers, and original songs to YouTube as a teenager. In 2018, Gray signed a record deal with Republic Records, which released his debut EP, Sunset Season (2018).
「Conan Lee Gray is an American singer, songwriter and former YouTuber. He was born in ...」
—— Conan_Gray
Soobin_(singer) Born
Choi Soo-bin, known mononymously as Soobin, is a South Korean singer and songwriter. He is the leader of the South Korean boy band Tomorrow X Together, formed by Big Hit Entertainment in 2019.
「Choi Soo-bin, known mononymously as Soobin, is a South Korean singer and songwriter. ...」
—— Soobin_(singer)
A gunman killed nine people at a shopping mall in Omaha, Nebraska.
On December 5, 2007, 19-year-old Robert Arthur Hawkins fatally shot eight people and injured four others in a Von Maur department store at Westroads Mall in Omaha, Nebraska, before committing suicide. It was the deadliest mass murder in Nebraska since the rampage of Charles Starkweather in 1958.
Westroads Mall shooting: Nineteen-year-old Robert A. Hawkins kills nine people, including himself, with a WASR-10 at a Von Maur department store in Omaha, Nebraska.
On December 5, 2007, 19-year-old Robert Arthur Hawkins fatally shot eight people and injured four others in a Von Maur department store at Westroads Mall in Omaha, Nebraska, before committing suicide. It was the deadliest mass murder in Nebraska since the rampage of Charles Starkweather in 1958.
Westroads_Mall_shooting
Ediz_Gürel Born
Ediz Gürel is a Turkish chess player who received the FIDE title of Grandmaster (GM) in 2024.
「Ediz Gürel is a Turkish chess player who received the FIDE title of Grandmaster (GM) ...」
—— Ediz_Gürel
Owen_Cooper Born
Owen Patrick Cooper is an English actor. He is best known for his debut role as a teenage murder suspect in the Netflix miniseries Adolescence (2025). For his performance, he became the youngest male actor to win an Actor Award and Primetime Emmy Award, as well as the youngest male actor to win the supporting actor BAFTA TV Award and Golden Globe Award for a series, miniseries, or television film.
「Owen Patrick Cooper is an English actor. He is best known for his debut role as a tee...」
—— Owen_Cooper
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