May 5 is the 125th day of the year (126th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 240 days remaining until the end of the year.
Events
- 553 – The Second Council of Constantinople begins.
- 1215 – Rebel barons renounce their allegiance to King John of England — part of a chain of events leading to the signing of the Magna Carta.
- 1260 – Kublai Khan becomes ruler of the Mongol Empire.
- 1494 – Christopher Columbus lands on the island of Jamaica and claims it for Spain.
- 1640 – King Charles I of England dissolves the Short Parliament.
- 1762 – Russia and Prussia sign the Treaty of St. Petersburg.
- 1789 – In France, the Estates-General convenes for the first time since 1614.
- 1809 – Mary Kies becomes the first woman awarded a U.S. patent, for a technique of weaving straw with silk and thread.
- 1809 – The Swiss canton of Aargau denies citizenship to Jews.
- 1811 – In the second day of fighting at the Peninsular War Battle of Fuentes de Onoro the French army, under Marshall Massena, drive in the Duke of Wellington's overextended right flank, but French frontal assaults fail to take the town of Fuentes de Onoro and the Anglo-Portuguese army holds the field at the end of the day.
- 1821 – Emperor Napoleon I dies in exile on the island of Saint Helena in the South Atlantic Ocean.
- 1835 – In Belgium, the first railway in continental Europe opens between Brussels and Mechelen.
- 1860 – Giuseppe Garibaldi sets sail from Genoa, leading the expedition of the Thousand to conquer the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies and giving birth to the Kingdom of Italy.
- 1862 – Cinco de Mayo: troops led by Ignacio Zaragoza halt a French invasion in the Battle of Puebla in Mexico.
- 1864 – American Civil War: The Battle of the Wilderness begins in Spotsylvania County, Virginia.
- 1865 – In North Bend, Ohio (a suburb of Cincinnati, Ohio), the first train robbery in the United States takes place.
- 1866 – Memorial Day first celebrated in United States at Waterloo, New York.
- 1877 – Indian Wars: Sitting Bull leads his band of Lakota into Canada to avoid harassment by the United States Army under Colonel Nelson Miles.
- 1886 – The Bay View Tragedy: A militia fires into a crowd of protesters in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, killing seven.
- 1891 – The Music Hall in New York City (later known as Carnegie Hall) has its grand opening and first public performance, with Tchaikovsky as the guest conductor.
- 1904 – Pitching against the Philadelphia Athletics at the Huntington Avenue Grounds, Cy Young of the Boston Americans throws the first perfect game in the modern era of baseball.
- 1905 – The trial in the Stratton Brothers case begins in London, England; it marks the first time that fingerprint evidence is used to gain a conviction for murder.
- 1920 – Authorities arrest Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti for alleged robbery and murder.
- 1925 – Scopes Trial: serving of an arrest warrant on John T. Scopes for teaching evolution in violation of the Butler Act.
- 1925 – The government of South Africa declares Afrikaans an official language.
- 1934 – The first Three Stooges short, Woman Haters, is released.
- 1936 – Italian troops occupy Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
- 1940 – World War II: Norwegian refugees form a government-in-exile in London
- 1940 – World War II: Norwegian Campaign – Norwegian squads in Hegra Fortress and Vinjesvingen capitulate to the Nazis after all other Norwegian forces in southern Norway had laid down their arms.
- 1941 – Emperor Haile Selassie returns to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia; the country commemorates the date as Liberation Day or Patriots' Victory Day.
- 1944 – German troops execute 216 civilians in the village of Kleisoura in Greece
- 1945 – World War II: Canadian and UK troops liberate the Netherlands and Denmark from Nazi occupation when Wehrmacht troops capitulate.
- 1945 – World War II: The Prague Uprising begins as an attempt by the Czech resistance to free the city from Nazi occupation.
- 1946 – The International Military Tribunal for the Far East begins in Tokyo with twenty-eight Japanese military and government officials accused of war crimes and crimes against humanity.
- 1949 – The Treaty of London establishes the Council of Europe in Strasbourg as the first European institution working for European integration.
- 1950 – Bhumibol Adulyadej crowns himself King Rama IX of Thailand.
- 1955 – West Germany gains full sovereignty.
- 1961 – The Mercury program: Mercury-Redstone 3 – Alan Shepard becomes the first American to travel into outer space, on a sub-orbital flight.
- 1964 – The Council of Europe declares May 5 as Europe Day.
- 1972 – Alitalia Flight 112 crashes into Mount Longa near Palermo, Sicily, killing all 115 aboard, making it the deadliest single-aircraft disaster in Italy.
- 1973 – Secretariat (horse) wins the 1973 Kentucky Derby in 1:59 2/5, a still standing record.
- 1980 – Operation Nimrod: The British Special Air Service storms the Iranian embassy in London after a six-day siege.
- 1981 – Bobby Sands dies in the Long Kesh prison hospital after 66 days of hunger-striking, aged 27.
- 1987 – Iran-Contra affair: start of Congressional televised hearings in the United States of America
- 1991 – A riot breaks out in the Mt. Pleasant section of Washington, D.C. after police shoot a Salvadoran man.
- 1994 – The signing of the Bishkek Protocol between Armenia and Azerbaijan effectively freezes the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.
- 1994 – American teenager Michael P. Fay is caned in Singapore for theft and vandalism, a punishment that many in the United States deemed to be excessive for a teenager committing a non-violent crime. However, significant numbers of Americans were also in favor of it.
- 2006 – The government of Sudan signs an accord with the Sudan Liberation Army.
- 2007 – All 114 aboard Kenya Airways Flight 507 die when the pilots lose control of the plane and it crashes in Douala, Cameroon.
- 2010 – Mass protests in Greece erupt in response to austerity measures imposed by the government as a result of the Greek debt crisis.
Births
- 867 – Emperor Uda of Japan (d. 931)
- 1210 – Afonso III of Portugal (d. 1279)
- 1479 – Guru Amar Das, third Sikh Guru (d. 1574)
- 1546 – Thomas Cecil, 1st Earl of Exeter, English politician (d. 1623)
- 1684 – Françoise Charlotte d'Aubigné, French wife of Adrien Maurice de Noailles (d. 1739)
- 1747 – Leopold II, Holy Roman Emperor (d. 1792)
- 1749 – Jean-Frédéric Edelmann, French composer (d. 1794)
- 1764 – Robert Craufurd, English general (d. 1812)
- 1800 – Louis Christophe François Hachette, French publisher (d. 1864)
- 1813 – Søren Kierkegaard, Danish philosopher (d. 1855)
- 1818 – Karl Marx, German philosopher (d. 1883)
- 1826 – Eugénie de Montijo of France, wife of Napoleon III (d. 1920)
- 1830 – John Batterson Stetson, American hat manufacturer, invented the cowboy hat and founded the John B. Stetson Company (d. 1906)
- 1832 – Hubert Howe Bancroft, American historian and publisher (d. 1918)
- 1833 – Ferdinand von Richthofen, German geographer (d. 1905)
- 1834 – Viktor Hartmann, Russian architect and painter (d. 1873)
- 1846 – Henryk Sienkiewicz, Polish author, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1916)
- 1864 – Nellie Bly, American journalist and writer (d. 1922)
- 1866 – Thomas B. Thrige, Danish industrialist (d. 1938)
- 1869 – Hans Pfitzner, German composer (d. 1949)
- 1869 – Fabian de la Rosa, Filipino painter (d. 1937)
- 1883 – Archibald Wavell, 1st Earl Wavell, English general (d. 1950)
- 1883 – Agustín Barrios, Paraguayan guitarist and composer (d. 1944)
- 1887 – Mervyn S. Bennion, American captain (d. 1941)
- 1887 – Geoffrey Fisher, Archbishop of Canterbury (d. 1972)
- 1889 – Herbie Taylor, South African cricketer (d. 1973)
- 1890 – Christopher Morley, American writer (d. 1957)
- 1899 – Freeman Gosden, American radio comedian (d. 1982)
- 1901 – Blind Willie McTell, American singer and guitarist (d. 1959)
- 1903 – James Beard, American chef and author (d. 1985)
- 1906 – Charles Exbrayat, French novelist (d. 1989)
- 1908 – Kurt Böhme, German bass (d. 1989)
- 1909 – Miklós Radnóti, Hungarian poet (d. 1944)
- 1911 – Gilles Grangier, French director (d. 1996)
- 1911 – Andor Lilienthal, Hungarian chess player (d. 2010)
- 1914 – Tyrone Power, American actor (d. 1958)
- 1915 – Alice Faye, American actress (d. 1998)
- 1919 – Georgios Papadopoulos, Greek dictator (d. 1999)
- 1921 – Arthur Leonard Schawlow, American physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1999)
- 1923 – Richard Wollheim, English philosopher (d. 2003)
- 1925 – Leo Ryan, American politician (d. 1978)
- 1927 – Pat Carroll, American actress
- 1927 – Sylvia Fedoruk, Canadian scientist and politician
- 1928 – Nora Denney, American actress (d. 2005)
- 1929 – Ilene Woods, American actress (d. 2010)
- 1931 – Michel Regnier, Belgian comic-book writer (d. 1999)
- 1932 – Will Hutchins, American actor
- 1934 – Ace Cannon, American tenor and saxophonist
- 1934 – Johnnie Taylor, American singer (d. 2000)
- 1935 – Douglas Marland, American actor and writer (d. 1993)
- 1935 – Bernard Pivot, French journalist and television host
- 1935 – Robert Rehme, American film producer
- 1936 – Patrick Gowers, English composer
- 1936 – Ervin Lázár, Hungarian writer (d. 2006)
- 1937 – Delia Derbyshire, English composer (d. 2001)
- 1938 – Michael Murphy, American actor
- 1939 – Cesare Fiorio, Italian sporting director
- 1940 – Lasse Åberg, Swedish actor, musician, and director
- 1940 – Lance Henriksen, American actor and painter
- 1940 – Michael Lindsay-Hogg, American director
- 1941 – Alexander Ragulin, Russian ice hockey player (d. 2004)
- 1942 – Marc Alaimo, American actor
- 1942 – István Bujtor, Hungarian actor (d. 2009)
- 1942 – Tammy Wynette, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1998)
- 1943 – Michael Palin, English writer, actor, and comedian
- 1943 – Ignacio Ramonet, Spanish journalist and writer
- 1944 – Bo Larsson, Swedish footballer
- 1944 – John Rhys-Davies, English-Welsh actor
- 1944 – Roger Rees, Welsh-American actor
- 1945 – Kurt Loder, American journalist, critic, author, and columnist
- 1948 – Bill Ward, English musician and songwriter (Black Sabbath and Mythology)
- 1951 – Rudolf Finsterer, German rugby player and coach
- 1952 – Campbell McComas, Australian comedian, writer, and actor (d. 2005)
- 1954 – Dave Spector, American commentator and author
- 1955 – Melinda Culea, American actress
- 1955 – Lisa Jane Persky, American actress
- 1956 – Robert Marien, Québécois actor and singer
- 1957 – Richard E. Grant, English actor
- 1957 – Peter Howitt, English actor and director
- 1958 – Ron Arad, Israeli aircraft navigator (missing in action since 1986)
- 1958 – Robert DiPierdomenico, Australian footballer
- 1959 – Ian McCulloch, English singer and guitarist (Echo & the Bunnymen, Electrafixion, and Crucial Three)
- 1959 – Brian Williams, American news anchor
- 1960 – Jeremy Wade, English Biologist and extreme angler
- 1961 – Hiroshi Hase, Japanese wrestler and politician
- 1962 – Jenifer McKitrick, American songwriter
- 1962 – Nicolas Vanier, French adventurist, writer, and director
- 1963 – Heidi Kozak, American actress
- 1963 – James LaBrie, Canadian singer and musician (Dream Theater, Winter Rose, Explorers Club, and MullMuzzler)
- 1963 – Simon Rimmer, English chef
- 1963 – Scott Westerfeld, American author
- 1964 – John Lee, Korean-American football player
- 1965 – Glenn Seton, Australian race car driver
- 1966 – Shawn Drover, Canadian musician (Megadeth and Eidolon)
- 1966 – Josh Weinstein, American writer
- 1967 – Takehito Koyasu, Japanese voice actor
- 1967 – Maro Mavri, Greek model and actress
- 1967 – Charles Nagy, American baseball player
- 1967 – Alexis Sinduhije, Burundian journalist and politician
- 1970 – Soheil Ayari, French race car driver
- 1970 – Kyan Douglas, American grooming expert and author
- 1970 – LaPhonso Ellis, American basketball player
- 1970 – Todd Newton, American game-show host
- 1971 – Harold Miner, American basketball player
- 1971 – John Owen-Jones, Welsh actor and singer
- 1971 – Mike Redmond, American baseball player
- 1972 – Brad Bombardir, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1972 – James Cracknell, English rower
- 1972 – Žigmund Pálffy, Slovak ice hockey player
- 1972 – Mikael Renberg, Swedish ice hockey player
- 1972 – Devin Townsend, Canadian singer-songwriter, musician, and producer (Strapping Young Lad and Front Line Assembly)
- 1973 – Casino Versus Japan, American composer
- 1973 – Tina Yothers, American actress
- 1974 – Seiji Ara, Japanese race car driver
- 1976 – Dieter Brummer, Australian actor
- 1976 – Jean-François Dumoulin, Canadian race car driver
- 1976 – Anastasios Pantos, Greek footballer
- 1976 – Juan Pablo Sorín, Argentine footballer
- 1976 – Sage Stallone, American actor, director, screenwriter, and producer (d. 2012)
- 1977 – Choi Kang-hee, South Korean actress
- 1978 – Santiago Cabrera, Chilean actor
- 1978 – Bruno Cheyrou, French footballer
- 1978 – Morgan Pehme, American director, writer, and producer
- 1978 – John Wilshere, Guinean rugby player
- 1979 – Vincent Kartheiser, American actor
- 1980 – Yossi Benayoun, Israeli footballer
- 1980 – Hank Green, American web developer, writer, and businessman
- 1980 – DerMarr Johnson, American basketball player
- 1981 – Marcelle Bittar, Brazilian model
- 1981 – Craig David, English singer-songwriter
- 1981 – Chris Duncan, American baseball player
- 1981 – Danielle Fishel, American actress
- 1981 – Chris Wilson, American drummer (Good Charlotte and The Summer Obsession)
- 1982 – Jay Bothroyd, English footballer
- 1982 – Wouter D'Haene, Belgian sprinter
- 1982 – Randall Gay, American football player
- 1983 – Henry Cavill, English actor
- 1983 – Annie Villeneuve, Canadian singer-songwriter
- 1983 – Scott Ware, American football player
- 1984 – Wade MacNeil, Canadian singer-songwriter and guitarist (Alexisonfire, Gallows, and Black Lungs)
- 1985 – Shoko Nakagawa, Japanese model, actress, singer, and illustrator
- 1985 – Emanuele Giaccherini, Italian footballer
- 1985 – Tsepo Masilela, South African footballer
- 1985 – Marcos Rogério, Brazilian footballer
- 1985 – Terrence Wheatley, American football player
- 1987 – Jessie Cave, English actress
- 1987 – Marija Šestić, Bosnian singer
- 1988 – Adele, English singer-songwriter and musician
- 1988 – Jessica Dubroff, American pilot trainee (d. 1996)
- 1988 – Brooke Hogan, American singer, model, and actress
- 1988 – Skye Sweetnam, Canadian singer-songwriter and actress
- 1989 – Chris Brown, American singer-songwriter, dancer, and actor
- 1989 – Larissa Wilson, English actress
- 1990 – Song Jieun, South Korean singer, dancer, and actress (Secret)
- 1991 – Xenofon Fetsis, Greek footballer
- 1992 – Yosuke Mikami, Japanese footballer
- 1992 – Taisuke Miyazaki, Japanese footballer
- 1999 – Nathan Chen, American figure skater
Deaths
- 200 – Sun Ce, Chinese warlord of the Han Dynasty (b. 175)
- 311 – Galerius, Roman emperor (b. 260)
- 984 – Gerberga of Saxony (b. 913)
- 1028 – Alfonso V of León (b. 994)
- 1194 – Casimir II the Just (b. 1138)
- 1219 – Leo II, King of Armenia (b. 1150)
- 1309 – Charles II of Naples (b. 1254)
- 1426 – Ephraim of Nea Makri, Greek Orthodox saint (b. 1384)
- 1525 – Frederick III, Elector of Saxony (b. 1463)
- 1586 – Henry Sidney, Irish lord, Lord Deputy of Ireland (b. 1529)
- 1604 – Claudio Merulo, Italian composer (b. 1533)
- 1671 – Edward Montagu, 2nd Earl of Manchester, English politician (b. 1602)
- 1672 – Samuel Cooper, English painter (b. 1609)
- 1705 – Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor (b. 1640)
- 1760 – Laurence Shirley, 4th Earl Ferrers (b. 1720)
- 1766 – Jean Astruc, French physician and scholar (b. 1684)
- 1808 – Pierre Jean George Cabanis, French physiologist (b. 1757)
- 1811 – Robert Mylne, Scottish architect (b. 1734)
- 1821 – Napoleon, French military and political leader (b. 1769)
- 1827 – Frederick Augustus I of Saxony (b. 1750)
- 1833 – Sophia Campbell, Australian artist (b. 1777)
- 1855 – Sir Robert Inglis, 2nd Baronet, English politician (b. 1786)
- 1859 – Johann Peter Gustav Lejeune Dirichlet, German mathematician (b. 1805)
- 1860 – John Charles Prince, Canadian bishop (b. 1804)
- 1892 – August Wilhelm von Hofmann, German chemist (b. 1818)
- 1896 – Silas Adams, American lawyer and politician (b. 1839)
- 1900 – Ivan Aivazovsky, Russian painter (b. 1817)
- 1916 – John MacBride, Irish Nationalist and member of the Easter Rising (b. 1865)
- 1921 – Alfred Hermann Fried, Austrian writer and pacifist, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize (b. 1864)
- 1931 – Glen Kidston, English aviator and race car driver (b. 1899)
- 1941 – Natalie of Serbia (b. 1859)
- 1942 – Qemal Stafa, Albanian politician (b. 1920)
- 1944 – Bertha Benz German wife of Karl Benz, and the first person to drive an automobile over a long distance
- 1945 – Peter Van Pels, Dutch holocaust victim (b. 1926)
- 1947 – Ty LaForest, Canadian baseball player (b. 1917)
- 1959 – Carlos Saavedra Lamas, Argentine politician, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize (b. 1878)
- 1962 – Ernest Tyldesley, English cricketer (b. 1889)
- 1965 – Nikos Gounaris, Greek tenor (b. 1915)
- 1965 – John Waters, American screenwriter and film director (b. 1893)
- 1971 – Violet Jessop, Argentinean ocean liner stewardess and nurse (b. 1887)
- 1977 – Ludwig Erhard, German politician, Chancellor of Germany (b. 1897)
- 1981 – Bobby Sands, Irish activist (b. 1954)
- 1983 – Horst Schumann, German nazi physician (b. 1901)
- 1985 – Donald Bailey, English civil engineer, invented the Bailey bridge (b. 1901)
- 1988 – Michael Shaara, American author (b. 1928)
- 1992 – Jean-Claude Pascal, French comedian and singer (b. 1927)
- 1994 – Mario Quintana, Brazilian poet (b. 1906)
- 1995 – Mikhail Botvinnik, Russian chess player (b. 1911)
- 1996 – Acharya Kuber Nath Rai Indian Writer (b.1933)
- 1997 – Walter Gotell, German actor (b. 1924)
- 1999 – Vasilis Diamantopoulos, Greek actor (b. 1920)
- 2000 – Gino Bartali, Italian cyclist (b. 1914)
- 2000 – Bill Musselman, American basketball coach (b. 1940)
- 2001 – Clifton Hillegass, American writer and publisher (b. 1918)
- 2001 – Raymond Kessler, American wrestler
- 2002 – Hugo Banzer, Bolivian dictator (b. 1926)
- 2002 – Paul Wilbur Klipsch, American engineer (b. 1904)
- 2002 – George Sidney, American director (b. 1916)
- 2003 – Sam Bockarie, African commander (b. 1964)
- 2003 – Walter Sisulu, South African activist (b. 1912)
- 2004 – Ritsuko Okazaki, Japanese singer-songwriter (Melocure) (b. 1959)
- 2005 – Elisabeth Fraser, American actress (b. 1920)
- 2005 – Edgar Ponce, Mexican actor and dancer (b. 1974)
- 2006 – Naushad Ali, Indian composer (b. 1919)
- 2007 – Theodore Maiman, American physicist, created the first working laser (b. 1927)
- 2008 – Irv Robbins, Canadian-American businessman, co-founder of Baskin-Robbins (b. 1917)
- 2008 – Jerry Wallace, American singer (b. 1928)
- 2010 – Umaru Musa Yar'Adua, Nigerian politician, 12th president of Nigeria (b. 1951)
- 2010 – Giulietta Simionato, Italian mezzo-soprano (b. 1910)
- 2011 – Yosef Merimovich, Israeli footballer and manager (b. 1924)
- 2011 – Claude Choules, English-Australian navy officer (b. 1901)
- 2012 – Surendranath, Indian cricketer (b. 1937)
- 2012 – Count Carl Johan Bernadotte of Wisborg (b. 1916)
- 2012 – James R. Browning, American judge (b. 1918)
- 2012 – Aatos Erkko, Finnish journalist (b. 1932)
- 2012 – George Knobel, Dutch football manager (b. 1922)
- 2012 – Roy Padayachie, South African politician (b. 1950)
Holidays and observances
External links
Months and days of the year
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