​Add these to the This Week in History section of your composition book:

• Dec. 4, 1996 – The unmanned space vehicle Mars Pathfinder is launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida, in order to explore the surface of Mars

• Dec. 5, 1848 – U.S. President James K. Polk confirms the discovery of gold in California, helping to spark the Gold Rush

• Dec. 5, 1952 – A lethal smog begins blanketing London, causing thousands of deaths and prompting the passage of the Clean Air Act

• Dec. 6, 1907 – An explosion in a coal mine in Monongah, West Virginia kills more than 350 people

• Dec. 7, 1787 – Delaware becomes the first state to ratify the U.S. Constitution