From The UCSC Wikipedia Trust Project
May 5 is the 125th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (126th in leap years). There are 240 days remaining.
The Northern Hemisphere is considered halfway through spring on May 5, since there are usually 92 days in that season of the year.
Events
- 1260 - Kublai Khan becomes ruler of the Mongol Empire.
- 1640 - King Charles I of England disbands the Short Parliament.
- 1646 - King Charles I of England and Scotland surrenders to the Scottish Presbyterian Army at Newark.
- 1762 - Russia and Prussia sign the Treaty of St. Petersburg.
- 1789 - In France, the Estates-General convenes for the first time in 150 years.
- 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.
- 1835 - In Belgium, the first railway in continental Europe opens between Brussels and Mechelen.
- 1862 - Cinco de Mayo in Mexico: Troops led by Ignacio Zaragoza halt a French invasion in the Battle of Puebla.
- 1864 - American Civil War: The Battle of the Wilderness begins in Spotsylvania County, Virginia.
- 1865 - In North Bend, Ohio (a suburb of Cincinnati), the first train robbery in the United States takes place.
- 1877 - Indian Wars: Sitting Bull leads his band of Lakota into Canada to avoid harassment by the United States Army under Colonel Nelson Miles.
- 1891 - The Music Hall in New York (now known as Carnegie Hall) has its grand opening and first public performance, with Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky as the guest conductor.
- 1893 - Panic of 1893: Crash on the New York Stock Exchange starts a depression.
- 1902 - Commonwealth Public Service Act creates Australian Public Service.
- 1904 - Pitching against the Philadelphia Athletics at the Huntington Avenue Grounds, Cy Young of the Boston Americans threw the first perfect game in the modern era of baseball.
- 1916 - American marines invade the Dominican Republic.
- 1925 - Scopes Trial: John T. Scopes is served an arrest warrant for teaching evolution in violation of the Butler Act.
- 1925 - Afrikaans established as an official language in South Africa.
- 1936 - Italian troops occupy Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
- 1940 - World War II: In London, a Norwegian government-in-exile is formed.
- 1941 - Emperor Haile Selassie returns to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia; this date has been since commemorated as Liberation Day.
- 1944 - Mohandas Gandhi is freed from prison.
- 1945 - World War II:
- 1949 - The Council of Europe is formed.
- 1950 - Bhumibol Adulyadej is crowned as King Rama IX of Thailand.
- 1954 - A coup d'état carries General Alfredo Stroessner to power in Paraguay.
- 1955 - West Germany gains full sovereignty.
- 1961 - Mercury program: Mercury-Redstone 3 – Alan Shepard becomes the first American to travel into space, making a sub-orbital flight of 15 minutes.
- 1980 - Operation Nimrod: The Special Air Service storm the Iranian embassy in London after a six day siege.
- 1987 - Iran-Contra affair: Start of Congressional televised hearings.
- 1991 - A riot breaks out in the Mt. Pleasant section of Washington, DC after a Salvadoran man is shot by police.
- 1992 - Wolfenstein 3D is released, the first-ever first-person shooter computer game.
- 1995 - I sudden Hailstorm strikes Fort Worth, Texas, bringing with it baseball sized hail stones. Many people attending the annual Mayfest celebration were injured by the hailstones, as well as by broken glass when the windows of the vehicles they were seeking shelter in, were shattered by the hail stones. While noone was killed by the hailstones, several people were killed by high waters.
- 2002 - The World Wrestling Federation changes its name to World Wrestling Entertainment due to a lawsuit from the World Wildlife Fund.
- 2005 - The United Kingdom general election takes place, in which Tony Blair's Labour Party is re-elected for a third, consecutive term.
- 2006 - The government of Sudan signed an accord with the Sudan Liberation Army (SLA).
Births
- 867 - Uda, Emperor of Japan (d. 931)
- 1210 - King Afonso III of Portugal (d. 1279)
- 1546 - Thomas Cecil, 1st Earl of Exeter, English politician (d. 1623)
- 1747 - Leopold II, Holy Roman Emperor (d. 1792)
- 1764 - Robert Craufurd, British general (d. 1812)
- 1813 - Søren Kierkegaard, Danish philosopher (d. 1855)
- 1818 - Karl Marx, German political philosopher (d. 1883)
- 1826 - Empress Eugenie of France, wife of Napoleon III (d. 1920)
- 1832 - H.H. 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)
- 1865 - Elizabeth Jane Cochran, American journalist and writer (d. 1922)
- 1866 - Thomas B. Thrige, Danish industrialist (d. 1938)
- 1869 - Hans Pfitzner, Russian-born composer (d. 1949)
- 1883 - Archibald Wavell, British general (d. 1950)
- 1887 - Geoffrey Fisher, Archbishop of Canterbury (d. 1972)
- 1890 - Christopher Morley, American writer (d. 1957)
- 1899 - Freeman Gosden, American radio comedian (Amos-Amos 'n' Andy) (d. 1982)
- 1901 - Blind Willie McTell, American singer (d. 1959)
- 1903 - James Beard, American chef and cookbook writer (d. 1985)
- 1908 - Kurt Böhme, German bass (d. 1989)
- 1914 - Tyrone Power, American actor (d. 1958)
- 1915 - Alice Faye, American actress (d. 1998)
- 1916 - Zail Singh, President of India (d. 1994)
- 1921 - Arthur Leonard Schawlow, American physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1999)
- 1923 - Richard Wollheim, British philosopher (d. 2003)
- 1925 - Leo Ryan, United States Congressman, (d. 1978)
- 1926 - Ann B. Davis, American actress
- 1935 - Douglas Marland, American television writer (d. 1993)
- 1936 - Patrick Gowers, British composer
- 1941 - Alexander Ragulin, Russian hockey player (d. 2004)
- 1942 - Marc Alaimo, American actor
- 1942 - Tammy Wynette, American musician (d. 1998)
- 1943 - Raphael, Spanish singer
- 1943 - Michael Palin, British writer, actor, and comedian
- 1944 - Roger Rees, Welsh actor
- 1944 - John Rhys-Davies, Welsh actor
- 1948 - Bill Ward, British drummer (Black Sabbath)
- 1952 - Campbell McComas, Australian impersonator and broadcaster (d. 2005)
- 1954 - Dave Spector, American television personality and commentator
- 1957 - Richard E. Grant, British actor
- 1958 - Ron Arad, Israeli aircraft navigator missing in action.
- 1959 - Ian McCulloch, English singer of Echo & the Bunnymen
- 1959 - Brian Phelps, American disk jockey and actor
- 1961 - Hiroshi Hase, Japanese professional wrestler and politician
- 1963 - James LaBrie, Canadian singer (Dream Theater)
- 1966 - Shawn Drover, Canadian drummer (Megadeth)
- 1967 - Takehito Koyasu, Japanese seiyu (voice actor)
- 1970 - Kyan Douglas, American TV-personality
- 1970 - Juan Acevedo, baseball player
- 1970 - Will Arnett, Canadian-American actor
- 1970 - Soheil Ayari, French racer
- 1971 - David Reilly, American singer (God Lives Underwater) (d. 2005)
- 1972 - Devin Townsend, Canadian musician (Strapping Young Lad)
- 1972 - James Cracknell, British rowing champion, double Olymipic gold medalist
- 1976 - Juan Pablo Sorín, Argentine footballer
- 1976 - Isabel Sabine, British Upholsterer and Salad Muncher
- 1976 - Chad Patton, American wrestling referee
- 1978 - Santiago Cabrera, Chilean actor
- 1979 - Vincent Kartheiser, American actor
- 1979 - Bipasha Basu, Indian actress and supermodel
- 1981 - Craig David, British singer
- 1981 - Danielle Fishel, American actress
- 1981 - Marcelle Bittar, Brazilian supermodel
- 1981 - Chris Duncan, baseball player
- 1982 - Jay Bothroyd, English footballer
- 1983 - Henry Cavill, English actor
- 1983 - Scott Ware, American footballer
- 1984 - Wade MacNeil, Canadian guitarist (Alexisonfire)
- 1985 - David Nugent, English footballer
- 1985 - P.J. Tucker, American basketball player
- 1985 - Shōko Nakagawa, Japanese actress, illustrator and singer.
- 1987 - John Gotti Agnello, son of columnist and author Victoria Gotti and grandson of mobster John Gotti
- 1988 - Jessica Dubroff, American aviator (d. 1996)
- 1988 - Brooke Hogan, American singer
- 1988 - Skye Sweetnam, Canadian singer and songwriter
- 1989 - Chris Brown, American singer
Deaths
- 200 - Sun Ce, warlord of the Han Dynasty (b. 175)
- 311 - Galerius, Roman Emperor
- 1028 - King Alfonso V of Castile, León, and Galicia
- 1192 - Duke Ottokar IV of Styria (b. 1163)
- 1194 - King Casimir II of Poland (b. 1138)
- 1219 - King Leo II of Armenia (b. 1150)
- 1309 - King Charles II of Naples
- 1525 - Frederick III of Saxony (b. 1463)
- 1586 - Henry Sidney, 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, English murderer (hanged) (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 I of France (b. 1769)
- 1827 - Frederick Augustus I of Saxony (b. 1750)
- 1855 - Sir Robert Inglis, Bt, English politician (b. 1786)
- 1859 - Peter Gustav Dirichlet, German mathematician (b. 1805)
- 1900 - Ivan Aivazovsky, Russian painter (b. 1817)
- 1921 - Alfred Hermann Fried, Austrian writer and pacifist, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize (b. 1864)
- 1941 - Natalija Obrenović, Queen of Serbia (b. 1859)
- 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)
- 1971 - Violet Jessop, Titanic survivor (b. 1887)
- 1977 - Ludwig Erhard, a German politician (CDU) and Chancellor of Germany from 1963 until 1966 (b. 1897)
- 1981 - Bobby Sands, Irish activist (b. 1954)
- 1985 - Sir Donald Bailey, British civil engineer (b. 1901)
- 1988 - Michael Shaara, American author (b. 1928)
- 1992 - Jean-Claude Pascal, French singer (b.1927)
- 1995 - Mikhail Botvinnik, Russian chess player (b. 1911)
- 1997 - Walter Gotell, German actor (b. 1924)
- 2000 - Gino Bartali, Italian cyclist (b. 1914)
- 2001 - Cliff Hillegass, American writer and publisher
- 2001 - Raymond Kessler, American midget wrestler
- 2003 - Walter Sisulu, South African activist (b. 1912)
- 2004 - Ritsuko Okazaki, Japanese singer-songwriter (b. 1959)
- 2006 - Naushad Ali, Indian composer (b. 1919)
Holidays and observances