December 5th, 2008

Today in History

1934:
Italian troops attack Wal Wal in Ethiopia (it took four days to capture the city).

1964:
Vietnam War: For his heroism in battle earlier in the year, Captain Roger Donlon of Saugerties, New York is awarded the first Medal of Honor of the war.

1484:
Pope Innocent VIII writes a Papal Bull that sets the inquisition into full swing and leads to the deaths hundreds of thousands of people accused of being witches

1848:
California gold rush: In a message before the U.S. Congress, US President James K. Polk confirms that large amounts of gold had been discovered in California.

1926:
Sergei Eisenstein's "Battleship Potemkin," debuts