December 5th, 2008

Today in History

1979:
Sonia Johnson is formally excommunicated by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for her outspoken criticism of the church concerning the proposed Equal Rights Amendment to the Constitution of the United States.

1974:
The last new episode of Monty Python's Flying Circus is broadcast on the BBC.

1955:
The trade unions American Federation of Labor and the Congress of Industrial Organizations decide to merge and form the AFL-CIO.

1941:
The nonfiction book Sea of Cortez by John Steinbeck is published (Steinbeck used knowledge gained writing this book to develop the marine biologist character Doc in Cannery Row).

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