December fifth

Today's Highlight in History:
On December fifth, 1933, national Prohibition came to an end as Utah became the 36th state to ratify the 21st Amendment to the Constitution, repealing the 18th Amendment.

On this date:
In 1776, the first scholastic fraternity in America, Phi Beta Kappa, was organized at the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia.

In 1782, the first native US president, Martin Van Buren, was born in Kinderhook, New York.

In 1791, composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart died in Vienna, Austria, at age 35.

In 1792, George Washington was re-elected president; John Adams was re-elected vice president.

In 1848, President Polk triggered the Gold Rush of '49 by confirming that gold had been discovered in California.

In 1901, movie producer Walt Disney was born in Chicago.

In 1932, German physicist Albert Einstein was granted a visa, making it possible for him to travel to the United States.

In 1955, the American Federation of Labor and the Congress of Industrial Organizations merged to form the AFL-CIO under its first president, George Meany.

In 1978, the American space probe "Pioneer Venus One," orbiting Venus, began beaming back its first information and picture of the planet.

In 1979, feminist Sonia Johnson was formally excommunicated by the Mormon Church because of her outspoken support for the proposed Equal Rights Amendment to the Constitution.

Ten years ago: East Germany's former leaders, including ousted Communist Party chief Erich Honecker, were placed under house arrest.

Five years ago: Jubilant Republicans chose Newt Gingrich to be the first GOP speaker of the House in four decades. President Clinton, on a whirlwind visit to the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Budapest, Hungary, urged European leaders to "prevent future Bosnias."

One year ago: James P. Hoffa claimed the Teamsters presidency after challenger Tom Leedham conceded defeat in the union's presidential election. Former Senator Albert Gore Sr., father of the vice president, died at his home in Carthage, Tennessee; he was 90.

"Neither a lofty degree of intelligence nor imagination nor both together go to the making of genius. Love, love, love, that is the soul of genius."

-- Attributed to Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791).