Tidbits of History, December 5

December 5 is:
Repeal (of Prohibition) Day

National Sacher Torte Day It consists of two layers of dense chocolate cake with apricot preserves between the layers, chocolate icing, and whipped cream. This cake is the pride of Vienna.

Comfort Food Day

Bathtub Party Day

International Ninja Day

London auctioneers Christie’s held their first sale December 5, 1766.

Publication of Federalist Paper #17: The Insufficiency of the Present Confederation to Preserve the Union written by Alexander Hamilton in 1787. Hamilton addresses the issue of possible encroachment by the federal government on the powers of the states. He says that the states have more direct power over the citizens, especially in criminal and civil justice and that the nature of man dictates that citizens will be more attached to their own state governments than to a federal government.

Birthday of Martin Van Buren (December 5, 1782), eighth President of the United States.
The term “O.K.” was popularized because Van Buren was from Kinderhook, New York, sometimes referred to as “Old Kinderhook” in speeches and print. O.K. Clubs formed to support Van Buren’s campaign. “O.K.” later came to mean all right.

Points of Interest:

• Van Buren was the first president born a citizen of the United States.
• Van Buren was the only president who spoke English as a second language.
• His autobiography does not mention his wife once. A gentleman of that day would not shame a lady by public references
• Van Buren took $100,000, the sum of his salary as president over four years, in a lump sum at the end of his term.
• Martin Van Buren said that the two happiest days of his life were his entrance into the office of President and his surrender of the office.
• Van Buren made three unsuccessful bids for reelection.
• It has been reported that Van Buren enjoyed the night life and was known to imbibe, often staying up until the wee hours of the morning. As a result, he was not easy to rouse out of bed. This presented a problem when Van Buren was Vice President. He once lay in bed so late that he could not reach the Senate by noon in order to call that body to order.
• Van Buren was only about five foot six inches tall and very fussy about his appearance.

California Gold Rush of 1849: In a message to the U.S. Congress in 1848, U.S. President James K. Polk confirmed that large amounts of gold had been discovered in California, leading to the Gold Rush of 1849.

1872 – The crewless American ship Mary Celeste was found by the British brig Dei Gratia. The ship had been abandoned for nine days but was only slightly damaged. None of those on board were ever seen or heard from again.

Birthday of Walt Disney, (Dec. 5, 1901), the pioneer of animated cartoon films and founder of the Disney theme parks.

Prohibition in the United States ended in 1933: Utah becomes the 36th U.S. state to ratify the Twenty-first Amendment to the United States Constitution, thus establishing the required 75% of states needed to enact the amendment. (This overturned the 18th Amendment which had made the manufacture, sale, or transportation of alcohol illegal in the United States.)

TV series “Dragnet” premiered in 1951. Starred Jack Webb as Sgt. Joe Friday and Harry Morgan as Officer Bill Gannon.

On December 5, 2008, human remains previously found in 1991 were finally identified by Russian and American scientists as those of Tsar Nicholas II (Nikolai Alexandrovich Romanov) who had been executed along with his entire family on 17 July 1918. Pictured (left to right): Olga, Maria, Nicholas II, Alexandra Fyodorovna, Anastasia, Alexei, and Tatiana.