May 5
Appearance
May 5is the 125th day of the year (126th inleap years) in theGregorian calendar.There are 240 days remaining until the end of the year.
Events
[change|change source]Up to 1900
[change|change source]- 553– TheSecond Council of Constantinoplebegins.
- 1215- Rebel barons renounce (withdraw) theirallegianceto KingJohn of England,as part of a chain of events leading to the signing ofMagna Carta.
- 1260–Kublai Khanbecomes ruler of theMongol Empire.
- 1494–Christopher Columbuslands on the island ofJamaicaand claims it for Spain.
- 1640– KingCharles I of Englanddissolves theShort Parliament.
- 1668- PortuguesegalleySantissimo Sacramentostrikes a reef off the coast ofSalvador,NortheastBrazil,and sinks. Out of the over 1,000 people on board, only 70 survive the disaster.
- 1762–RussiaandPrussiasign theTreaty of St. Petersburg.
- 1789– InFrance,theEstates-Generalconvenes for the first time in 150 years.
- 1809–Mary Kiesbecomes the first woman awarded aU.S.patent,for a technique ofweavingstrawwithsilkandthread.
- 1809– TheSwisscantonofAargaudenies citizenship toJews.
- 1821-Napoleon Bonapartedies aged 51 on the South AtlanticislandofSaint Helena.It takes several weeks for the news to reachEurope,due to the remoteness of theisland.
- 1821- The first edition of the British dailynewspaperThe Guardianis published.
- 1835– InBelgium,the first railway incontinental Europeopens betweenBrusselsandMechelen.
- 1842– The GreatFireofHamburgstarts. It is brought under control onMay 8.
- 1860-Giuseppe Garibaldisets sail fromGenoa,leading the expedition of the Thousand to conquer theKingdomof the TwoSicilies,eventually leading to the creating of theKingdomofItaly.
- 1862–Cinco de MayoinMexico:Troops led byIgnacio Zaragozahalt aFrenchinvasionin theBattle of Puebla.
- 1864–American Civil War:TheBattle of the Wildernessbegins inSpotsylvania County, Virginia.
- 1865– InNorth Bend, Ohio(a suburb ofCincinnati), the firsttrain robberyin theUnited Statestakes place.
- 1866- FirstMemorial Daycommemoration inWaterloo,New York.
- 1877–Indian Wars:Sitting Bullleads his band ofLakotaintoCanadato avoid harassment by theUnited States ArmyunderColonelNelson Miles.
- 1885–George Eastmanis granted a USpatentfor rolling film.
- 1886– TheBay View Tragedyoccurs, militia fire upon a crowd of protesters inMilwaukee, Wisconsinkilling seven.
- 1891– TheMusic HallinNew York(now known asCarnegie Hall) has its grand opening and first public performance, withPyotr Ilyich Tchaikovskyas the guest conductor.
1901 – 2000
[change|change source]- 1902– Commonwealth Public Service Act creates theAustralian Public Service.
- 1904–Pitchingagainst thePhiladelphia Athleticsat theHuntington Avenue Grounds,Cy Youngof theBoston Americansthrew the firstperfect gamein the modern era ofbaseball.
- 1905- Thetrialin theStratton brotherscase begins inLondon.It is the first time thatfingerprintevidence is used to get a conviction formurder.
- 1916–American marinesinvade theDominican Republic.
- 1920-Sacco and Vanzetticase:USauthorities arrestNicola SaccoandBartolomeo Vanzettifor allegedrobberyandmurder.
- 1925–Scopes Trial:John T. Scopesis served an arrest warrant for teachingevolutionin violation of theButler Act.
- 1925–Afrikaansestablished as an official language in South Africa.
- 1936–Italiantroops occupyAddis Ababa,Ethiopia.
- 1940–World War II:InLondon,aNorwegiangovernment-in-exileis formed.
- 1941–EmperorHaile Selassiereturns toAddis Ababa,Ethiopia;this date has been since commemorated asLiberation Day,or Patriots' Victory Day.
- 1944-World War II:German troops execute 216civiliansin thevillageof Kleinoura,Greece.
- 1945– World War II:Germantroops in theNetherlandsandDenmarkcapitulate toCanadianandBritishforces, liberating these countries fromNazioccupation.
- 1945– World War II:Pragueuprising against theNazis.
- 1945– World War II:Mauthausen concentration campis liberated.
- 1945– World War II:Admiral Karl Dönitz,leader of Germany after Hitler's death, orders allU-boatsto cease offensive operations and return to their bases.
- 1946- TheInternational Military Tribunal for the Far Eastbegins inTokyo,with 28Japanesemilitaryandgovernmentofficials accused of war crimes and crimes against humanity.
- 1949– TheCouncil of EuropeinStrasbourgis founded through theTreaty of Londonas the first European institution working forEuropean integration.Since 1964, May 5 has been designatedEurope Dayby theCouncil of Europeand is celebrated since then to commemorate its founding on 5 May 1949.
- 1950–Bhumibol Adulyadejis crowned as KingRama IX of Thailand.
- 1955–West Germanygains fullsovereignty.
- 1961–Mercury program:Mercury-Redstone 3–Alan Shepardbecomes the firstAmericanto travel intospace,making a sub-orbital flight of 15 minutes.
- 1964– 5 May is declaredEuropeDayon the 25th anniversary of theCouncil of Europe.
- 1967– The first all-British spacesatellite,Ariel 3is launched from theUnited States.
- 1972-AlitaliaFlight 112 crashes into Mount Longa nearPalermo,Sicily,killing all 115 people on board.
- 1973-Secretariatwins theKentucky Derbyin record time.
- 1977- The first interview betweenDavid FrostandRichard Nixonis broadcast.
- 1980–Operation Nimrod:TheSpecial Air Servicestorm theIranianembassyinLondonafter a six-day siege.
- 1980–Constantine Karamanlisis elected for the first time asPresidentofGreece.
- 1984- InLuxembourg,theHerreyswin theEurovision Song ContestforSwedenwith the songDiggi-Loo, Diggi Ley.
- 1987–Iran-Contra affair:Start ofCongressionaltelevised hearings.
- 1991– Ariotbreaks out in theMt. Pleasantsection ofWashington, DCafter aSalvadoranman is shot by police.
- 1992– The27th Amendmentto the U.S. Constitution is ratified.
- 1994- The Signing of theBishkekProtocol betweenArmeniaandAzerbaijaneffectively freezes theNagorno-Karabakhconflict.
- 1999-IndonesiaandPortugalreach an agreement on ending the war inEast Timor.They also agree to giveEast Timorareferendumon independence later in the year.
From 2001
[change|change source]- 2002–Jacques Chiracis elected to a second term asPresident of France,defeating far-right candidateJean-Marie Le Penin the second round of the Presidential Election.
- 2004-Pablo Picasso's paintingBoy With a Pipeis sold atauctionfor 104.2 millionUSDollars.
- 2005– TheUnited Kingdom general electiontakes place, in whichTony Blair'sLabour Partyis re-elected for a third, consecutive term.
- 2006– The government ofSudansigned an accord with theSudan Liberation Army(SLA).
- 2007–Kenya AirwaysFlight KQ 507crashes inCameroon.
- 2010– InGreece,widespread protests occur in the wake of thedebtcrisis.
- 2010–NigerianPresidentUmaru Musa Yar'Aduadies after a long illness. Caretaker PresidentGoodluck Jonathansucceeds him.
- 2011– The election to theScottish Parliamenttakes place, with theScottish National Party,underAlex Salmond,getting an overall majority, taking 69 of the 129 seats.
- 2018-NASAlaunches its InSight probe toMars.
- 2019-Presidentialelections:Stevo Pendarovskiis electedPresidentofNorth Macedonia,whileLaurentino Cortizois electedPresidentofPanama.
- 2019-Bruneiabandons its policy of making gay sex punishable by death.
- 2019-Aeroflot Flight 1492bursts intoflameson its return toMoscowSheremetyevo Airport, killing 41 out of the 78 people on board.
- 2019- A tanker explosion nearNiamey,Niger,kills 58 people.
Births
[change|change source]Up to 1900
[change|change source]- 867–Emperor UdaofJapan(d.931)
- 1210– KingAfonso III of Portugal(d.1279)
- 1352–Rupert I, King of Germany(d.1410)
- 1479–Guru Amar Das,3rdSikhGuru(d.1574)
- 1546–Thomas Cecil, 1st Earl of Exeter,English politician (d.1623)
- 1747–Leopold II, Holy Roman Emperor(d.1792)
- 1810-Lorenzo Salvi,Italiantenor(d.1879)
- 1813–Soren Kierkegaard,Danishphilosopher(d.1855)
- 1818–Karl Marx,GermanCommunistphilosopher (d.1883)
- 1819-Stanislaw Moniuszko,Polishcomposer,conductorandteacher(d.1872)
- 1826–Eugenie de Montijo,Empress ofFrance(d.1920)
- 1828-Robert von Puttkamer,Prussianstatesman(d.1900)
- 1830-John Patterson Stetson,Americanhatmanufacturer (d.1906)
- 1833-Ferdinand von Richthofen,Germangeographer(d.1905)
- 1834-Viktor Hartmann,Russianarchitectand painter (d.1873)
- 1846–Henryk Sienkiewicz,Polish writer (d.1917)
- 1846-Lars Magnus Ericsson,Swedishinventor(d.1926)
- 1864–Nellie Bly,American journalist (d.1922)
- 1869-Hans Pfilzner,German composer (d.1949)
- 1877–Georgi Sedov,Russian naval officer and polar explorer (d.1914)
- 1882–Douglas Mawson,Australian Antarctic explorer (d.1958)
- 1882–Sylvia Pankhurst,British activist (d.1960)
- 1883–Archibald Wavell, 1st Earl Wavell,British field marshal and Viceroy of India (d.1950)
- 1883-Agustin Barrios,Paraguayanguitaristandcomposer(d.1944)
- 1883-Rudolf Spielmann,Austrianchessplayer (d.1932)
- 1887–Geoffrey Fisher,Archbishop of Canterbury(d.1972)
- 1887-Marvyn S. Bennion,Americancaptain(d.1941)
- 1890-Christopher Morley,American writer (d.1957)
- 1894–August Dvorak,American inventor (d.1975)
- 1899-Freeman Fisher Gosden,Americancomedianandactor(d.1982)
1901 – 1950
[change|change source]- 1901–Blind Willie McTell,American singer (d.1959)
- 1907-Iryna Vilde,Ukrainianwriter(d.1982)
- 1908-Kurt Böhme,Germanbass(d.1989)
- 1911–Andor Lilienthal,Hungarianchessplayer (d.2010)
- 1911-Gilles Grangier,Frenchdirectorandscreenwriter(d.1996)
- 1914–Tyrone Power,American actor (d.1958)
- 1915–Alice Faye,American actress and singer (d.1998)
- 1916-Zail Singh,7thPresident of India(d.1994)
- 1917-Pío Leyva,Cubansinger(d.2006)
- 1917-Lennie Merullo,Americanbaseballplayer (d.2015)
- 1919–Georgios Papadopoulos,Greek military leader (d.1999)
- 1921–Arthur Leonard Schawlow,Americanphysicist(d.1999)
- 1922-Monica Lewis,American actress (d.2015)
- 1923-Sergey Akhromeyev,Marshal of theSoviet Union(d.1991)
- 1925-Leo Ryan,American politician (d.1978)
- 1927-Charles Rosen,Americanpianistand music writer (d.2012)
- 1928-Richard Schaal,Americanactor(d.2014)
- 1930–Ezzatollah Sahabi,Iranian politician (d.2011)
- 1931-Greg,Belgian cartoonist (d.1999)
- 1932-Stan Goldberg,Americancomicwriter(d.2014)
- 1933-Igor Kashkarov,Soviethigh jumper
- 1934-Ace Cannon,Americansaxophonist
- 1934-Henri Konan Bédié,formerPresidentofIvory Coast
- 1935-Shih Chi-yang,Taiwanese politician (d.2019)
- 1937–Tran Duc Luong,formerPresidentofVietnam
- 1937–Delia Derbyshire,English composer (d.2001)
- 1939-Ray Gosling,English broadcaster, journalist and activist (d.2013)
- 1940–Lance Henriksen,American actor and painter
- 1941–Alexander Ragulin,Russianice hockeyplayer (d.2004)
- 1942-Marc Alaimo,American actor
- 1942–Tammy Wynette,American musician (d.1998)
- 1943–Michael Palin,British actor, comedian, writer and TV presenter
- 1943-Ignacio Ramonet,Spanishjournalistandwriter
- 1944–Bo Larsson,Swedishfootballer
- 1944–John Rhys-Davies,British actor
- 1944–Roger Rees,British actor (d.2015)
- 1945-Kurt Loder,American journalist, critic, writer and columnist
- 1946-Beth Carvalho,Brazilian samba singer (d.2019)
- 1947–Malam Bacai Sanhá,PresidentofGuinea-Bissau(d.2012)
- 1948–Bill Ward,British musician
- 1950–Morton Rhue,American writer
1951 – 1975
[change|change source]- 1952-Willem Witteveen,Dutch legal scholar and politician (d.2014)
- 1952-Ed Lee,American politician,MayorofSan Francisco(d.2017)
- 1953-Dieter Zetschke,Germanbusinessman
- 1955-Lisa Jane Persky,American actress
- 1957–Richard E. Grant,British actor
- 1959–Ian McCulloch,British singer
- 1959–Brian Williams,American news anchor
- 1960-Jorge Quiroga,formerPresidentofBolivia
- 1961-Mike J. Dunleavy,American politician,Governor of Alaska
- 1962-Nicolas Vanier,Senegalesewriter,exploreranddirector
- 1963-Simon Rimmer,English chef
- 1964-Heike Henkel,German high jumper
- 1964-Don Payne,Americanscreenwriterandproducer(d.2013)
- 1966-Shawn Drover,Canadian musician
- 1966-Sergei Stanishev,46thPrime MinisterofBulgaria
- 1966-Josh Weinstein,American writer
- 1967-Takehito Koyasu,Japanese voice actor
- 1969-Olav Sepp,Estonianchessplayer
- 1972-Zigmund Palffy,Slovakianice hockeyplayer
- 1972–James Cracknell,British rower
- 1972–Brad Bombadir,Canadianice hockeyplayer
- 1972-Devin Townsend,Canadian musician
- 1975-Meb Keflezighi,Eritrean-born American runner
From 1976
[change|change source]- 1976–Juan Pablo Sorín,Argentinefootballer
- 1976–Sage Stallone,American actor (d.2012)
- 1977–Jessica Schwarz,German actress
- 1978–John Wilshere,Papua New Guinearugby league player
- 1978–Santiago Cabrera,Chileanactor
- 1979–Vince Grella,Australian footballer
- 1980–Yossi Benayoun,Israelifootballer
- 1981–Danielle Fishel,American actress
- 1981–Craig David,British singer
- 1982–Jay Bothroyd,English footballer
- 1982–Sándor Torghelle,Hungarian footballer
- 1983–Henry Cavill,Jerseyactor
- 1984–Wade McNeil,Canadiansinger-songwriterandproducer
- 1985–Shoko Nakagawa,Japanese actress, illustrator and singer
- 1985–Tsapo Masilela,South Africanfootballer
- 1985–Emanuele Giaccherini,Italianfootballer
- 1987–Graham Dorrans,Scottishfootballer
- 1988–Adele,Englishsinger-songwriter
- 1988–Brooke Hogan,American singer and television personality
- 1988–Skye Sweetnam,Canadiansinger-songwriterandactress
- 1989–Chris Brown,American singer and actor
- 1990–Sophie Wells,Englishpara-equestrian
- 1991–Shubha Phutela,Indian actress (d.2012)
- 1991–Robin de Kruijf,Dutchvolleyballplayer
- 1992–Yosuke Mikami,Japanese footballer
- 1992–Taisuke Miyazaki,Japanese footballer
- 1993–Francine Niyonsaba,Burundianmiddle-distance runner
- 1998–Menna Fitzpatrick,British Paralympicskier
- 1999–Nathan Chen,American figure skater
Deaths
[change|change source]Up to 1900
[change|change source]- 200–Sun Ce,Chinese warlord (b.175)
- 311–Gallerius,Roman Emperor (b.260)
- 984-Gerberga of Saxony(b.913)
- 1028–Alfonso V of Castile(b.994)
- 1194–Casimir II of Poland(b.1138)
- 1219–Leo II, King of Armenia(b.1150)
- 1257–Haakon the Young,Junior King ofNorway(b.1232)
- 1306-Constantine Palaiologus,Byzantine prince and general (b.1261)
- 1309–Charles II of Naples(b.1254)
- 1525–Frederick Augustus I of Saxony(b.1463)
- 1604-Claudio Merulo,Italian composer (b.1533)
- 1700-Angelo Italia,SicilianBaroquearchitect(b.1628)
- 1705–Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor(b.1640)
- 1731-Daniel Defoe,English writer (b.1660)
- 1808-Pierre Jean George Cabanis,Frenchphysiologistandphilosopher(b.1757)
- 1821–Napoleon,Frenchgeneraland laterEmperorof France (b.1769)
- 1827-Frederick Augustus I of Saxony(b.1750)
- 1855-Seabury Ford,20thGovernorofOhio(b.1801)
- 1859–Peter Gustav Dirichlet,Germanmathematician(b.1805)
- 1865–Ben Hall,Australianbushrangershot dead by the police (b.1837)
- 1881-Ansel Briggs,1stGovernorofIowa(b.1806)
- 1883-Eva Gonzales,French painter (b.1847)
- 1892–August Wilhelm von Hofmann,German chemist (b.1818)
- 1896-Silas Adams,Americanlawyerandpolitician(b.1839)
- 1900–Ivan Aivazovsky,Russian painter (b.1817)
1901 – 2000
[change|change source]- 1916–John MacBride,Irish Nationalist (b.1865)
- 1921–Alfred Hermann Fried,Austrian writer and pacifist (b.1864)
- 1925-Tome Jose de Barros Queiros,Portuguese politician (b.1872)
- 1931-Glen Kidston,English pilot and racing driver (b.1899)
- 1941-Natalie of Serbia(b.1859)
- 1944–Bertha Benz,German automobile pioneer (b.1849)
- 1945–Peter Van Pels,Dutch-Jewish refugee (b.1926)
- 1959–Carlos Saavedra Lamas,Argentine politician (b.1878)
- 1962-Ernest Tyldesley,Englishcricketer(b.1889)
- 1977–Ludwig Erhard,Chancellor of Germany(b.1897)
- 1981–Bobby Sands,Northern Irish activist and hunger striker (b.1954)
- 1992–Jean-Claude Pascal,French comedian and singer (b.1927)
- 1995–Mikhail Botvinnik,Russianchessplayer (b.1911)
- 1999-Candy Candido,American radio performer,bassplayer, singer, animator and voice actor (b.1913)
From 2001
[change|change source]- 2002–Hugo Banzer,PresidentofBolivia(b.1926)
- 2003–Walter Sisulu,South African activist (b.1912)
- 2004–Ritsuko Okazaki,Japanese singer-songwriter (b.1959)
- 2005–Edgar Ponce,Mexican actor and dancer (b.1974)
- 2007–Theodore Maiman,American physicist (b.1927)
- 2008–Irv Robbins,Canadian-American entrepreneur (b.1917)
- 2010–Giulietta Simionato,Italian mezzo-soprano(b.1910)
- 2010–Umaru Musa Yar'Adua,PresidentofNigeria(b.1951)
- 2011–Claude Choules,English-AustralianWorld War Iveteran (b.1901)
- 2011–Arthur Laurents,Americanplaywright(b.1917)
- 2012-Count Carl Johan Bernadotte of Wisborg,Swedish royal, uncle ofCarl XVI Gustaf of SwedenandMargrethe II of Denmark(b.1916)
- 2013-Sarah Kirsch,German poet (b.1935)
- 2014-Eduardo Mac Entyre,Argentineartist(b.1929)
- 2014-Billy Frank, Jr.,Americanactivist(b.1931)
- 2014-Butler Derrick,Americanpolitician(b.1936)
- 2015-Hans Jansen,Dutchpolitician(b.1942)
- 2015-Oscar Holderer,Germanrocketscientist(b.1919)
- 2015-Craig Gruber,Americanmusician(b.1951)
- 2015-Brian Sedgemore,Britishpolitician(b.1937)
- 2015-Jon Castañares,Spanish economist and politician (b.1925)
- 2016-Sylvia Kauders,American actress (b.1921)
- 2016-Siné,French cartoonist (b.1928)
- 2016-Isao Tomita,Japanese musician and composer (b.1932)
- 2017-Buhe,Chinese politician (b.1926)
- 2017-Benny Elon,Israeli politician (b.1954)
- 2017-Corinne Erhel,French politician (b.1967)
- 2017-Amancio Escapa Aparicio,Spanish-Dominicanprelate (b.1938)
- 2017-Almir Guineto,Braziliansinger-songwriter(b.1946)
- 2017-Adolph Kiefer,American swimmer (b.1918)
- 2017-Leila Seth,Indian judge (b.1930)
- 2017-Ely Ould Mohamed Vall,PresidentofMauritania(b.1953)
- 2018-Michele Castoro,Italian Roman Catholic prelate (b.1952)
- 2018-Wilson Frost,American politician (b.1925)
- 2018-Ermanno Olmi,Italian film director and screenwriter (b.1931)
- 2018-Klaus Dede,German writer and journalist (b.1935)
- 2018-Stanley Falkow,Americanmicrobiologist(b.1934)
- 2018-José María Iñigo,Spanish journalist and commentator (b.1942)
- 2018-Boyan Petrov,Bulgarian zoologist and mountaineer (b.1973)
- 2019-Barbara Perry,American actress (b.1921)
- 2019-Shih Chi-yang,Taiwanese politician (b.1935)
- 2019-Norma Miller,American dancer andchoreographer(b.1919)
Observances
[change|change source]- Cinco de Mayo(MexicoandUnited States)
- Liberation Day (DenmarkandNetherlands)
- Children's Day(Japan)
- Children's Day (South Korea)
- Coronation Day (Thailand)
- Patriots' Victory Day (Ethiopia)
- Martyrs' Day (Albania)
- ConstitutionDay (Kyrgyzstan)
- Lusophone Culture Day inPortuguese-speaking countries
- EuropeDay