Today in history—December 5

1760: Christies, the famous London auction house, holds its first sale.

1776: The first U.S. fraternity, Phi Beta Kappa, is organized at William & Mary.

1848: The California Gold Rush officially begins, as President Polk confirms that gold has been discovered in the California Territory.

1861: Richard Gatling patents the first machine gun, known as the “Gatling gun.”  The U.S. Army, about to launch the greatest war in the nation’s history, can’t imagine what use it might be to anyone.

1955: Rosa Parks triggers the bus boycott in Montgomery, Alabama.  The same day, the American Federation of Labor and the Congress of Industrial Organizations merge into the new AFL-CIO, with George Meany as president.

1963: Herbert Lehman dies. A partner in (and son of a founder of) of Lehman Brothers, he was responsible for floating $5 billion in securities before the 1929 stock market crash and later served four terms as Democratic governor of New York.

1967: A milestone in rock music marketing, as the Beatles open their “Apple” clothing store on London’s Baker Street.

1978: Pete Rose of the Philadelphia Phillies becomes the highest paid baseball player. He is subsequently banned from baseball for betting on games.

1984: The Dow Jones Industrial Index crosses the 1,500 mark for the first time.

1991: The New York Daily News files for protection under Chapter 11 of the U.S. bankruptcy law.

1993: The first repair call in outer space, as U.S. astronauts begin work on fixing the Hubble space telescope.