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(Redirected from 5 May)

The Northern Hemisphere is considered halfway through spring on this day, since there are usually 92 days in that season of the year.

Contents

Events

Births

Deaths

Holidays and observances

External links

Events

★ 553 - The Second Council of Constantinople begins.

★ 1260 - Kublai Khan becomes ruler of the Mongol Empire.

★ 1494 - Christopher Columbus discovers the island of Jamaica and claims it for Spain.

★ 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.

★ 1886 - The Bay View Tragedy occurs, militia fire upon a crowd of protesters in Milwaukee, Wisconsin killing seven.

★ 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:

★
★ German troops in the Netherlands and Denmark capitulate to Canadian and British forces, liberating these countries from Nazi occupation.

★
★ Prague uprising against the Nazis.

★
★ Mauthausen concentration camp is liberated.

★
★ Admiral Karl Dönitz, leader of Germany after Hitler's death, orders all U-boats to cease offensive operations and return to their bases.

★ 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.

★ 1980 - Constantine Karamanlis is elected for the first time President of Greece.

★ 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 - The 27th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution is ratified.

★ 1992 - Wolfenstein 3D is released, the first-ever first-person shooter computer game.

★ 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).

★ 2007 - Kenya Airways Flight KQ 507 crashes in Cameroon.

★ 2007 - Republic Protests in Turkey

Births

★ 867 - Uda, Emperor of Japan (d. 931)

★ 1210 - King 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)

★ 1747 - Leopold II, Holy Roman Emperor (d. 1792)

★ 1764 - Robert Craufurd, British general (d. 1812)

★ 1800 - Louis Christophe François Hachette, French publisher (d. 1864)

★ 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)

★ 1830 - John Batterson Stetson, American hat manufacturer (d. 1906)

★ 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 - Nellie Bly, 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)

★ 1919 - Georgios Papadopoulos, Greek dictator (d. 1999)

★ 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

★ 1931 - Greg, Belgian comic-book writer (Achille Talon) (d, 1999)

★ 1935 - Douglas Marland, American television writer (d. 1993)

★ 1935 - Bernard Pivot, French journalist and television host

★ 1935 - Robert Rehme, American film producer

★ 1936 - Patrick Gowers, British composer

★ 1937 - Johnnie Taylor, American singer (d. 2000)

★ 1939 - Cesare Fiorio, Italian sporting director of various Formula One teams

★ 1940 - Lance Henriksen, American actor and painter

★ 1940 - Michael Lindsay-Hogg, American film director

★ 1941 - Alexander Ragulin, Russian hockey player (d. 2004)

★ 1942 - Marc Alaimo, American actor

★ 1942 - Tammy Wynette, American musician (d. 1998)

★ 1943 - Michael Palin, British writer, actor, and comedian

★ 1944 - John Rhys-Davies, Welsh actor

★ 1944 - Bo Larsson, Swedish soccer player

★ 1944 - Jean-Pierre Léaud, French actor

★ 1945 - Raphael Martos, Spanish singer

★ 1948 - Bill Ward, British drummer (Black Sabbath)

★ 1952 - Campbell McComas, Australian impersonator and broadcaster (d. 2005)

★ 1954 - Dave Spector, American television personality and commentator

★ 1955 - Melinda Culea, American actress

★ 1956 - Robert Marien, Quebec actor, singer and songwriter

★ 1957 - Richard E. Grant, British actor

★ 1957 - Peter Howitt, British actor and film director

★ 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

★ 1959 - Brian Williams, American news anchor

★ 1961 - Hiroshi Hase, Japanese professional wrestler and politician

★ 1962 - Jenifer McKitrick, American songwriter

★ 1963 - Heidi Kozak, American actress

★ 1963 - James LaBrie, Canadian singer (Dream Theater)

★ 1965 - Glenn Seton, Australian racing driver

★ 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 - Mike Dirnt, American musician (Green Day)

★ 1972 - James Cracknell, British rowing champion, double Olympic gold medalist

★ 1973 - Muhsin Muhammad, American football player

★ 1976 - Juan Pablo Sorín, Argentine footballer

★ 1976 - Anastasios Pantos, Greek footballer

★ 1977 - Choi Kang-hee, South Korean actress

★ 1978 - Santiago Cabrera, Chilean actor

★ 1979 - Vincent Kartheiser, American actor

★ 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

★ 1982 - Edyta Sliwinska, Polish ballroom dancer

★ 1983 - Henry Cavill, English actor

★ 1983 - Scott Ware, American footballer

★ 1984 - Wade MacNeil, Canadian guitarist (Alexisonfire)

★ 1985 - P. J. Tucker, American basketball player

★ 1985 - Shōko Nakagawa, Japanese actress, illustrator and singer

★ 1987 - Marija Šestić, Bosnian singer

★ 1988 - Jessica Dubroff, American aviator (d. 1996)

★ 1988 - Brooke Hogan, American singer

★ 1988 - Skye Sweetnam, Canadian singer and songwriter

★ 1989 - Chris Brown, American singer and dancer

Deaths

★ 200 - Sun Ce, warlord of the Han Dynasty (b. 175)

★ 311 - Galerius, Roman Emperor

★ 984 - Gerberga of Saxony, Queen of Western Francia

★ 1028 - King Alfonso V of Castile, León, and Galicia

★ 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)

★ 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)

★ 1921 - Alfred Hermann Fried, Austrian writer and pacifist, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize (b. 1864)

★ 1931 - Glen Kidston, British aviator and racing driver (b. 1899)

★ 1941 - Natalija Obrenović, Queen of Serbia (b. 1859)

★ 1942 - Qemal Stafa, Albanian politician (b. 1920)

★ 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, German politician (CDU) and Chancellor of Germany from 1963 until 1966 (b. 1897)

★ 1981 - Bobby Sands, Irish activist (b. 1954)

★ 1983 - Horst Schumann, Nazi physician (b. 1901)

★ 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 - Clifton Hillegass, American writer and publisher

★ 2001 - Raymond Kessler, American midget wrestler

★ 2002 - George Sidney, American film director (b. 1916)

★ 2002 - Hugo Banzer, Bolivian dictator (b. 1926)

★ 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

★ Mexico and the United States: Cinco de Mayo (1862).

★ International Midwives Day.

★ International Totse Day.

★ Council of Europe: Europe Day.

★ CPLP - Community of Portuguese-speaking countries: Day of the Lusophone.

★ Albania: Martyrs' Day (Albania).

★ Denmark: Liberation Day (1945).

★ Ethiopia: Liberation Day (1941).

★ Guyana: Indian Immigration Day (1838).

★ Hong Kong, Macau, South Korea and Taiwan (2006): Buddha's Birthday.

★ Japan: Tango no Sekku (Boy's Day) or Kodomo no hi (Children's Day).

★ The Netherlands: Liberation Day (1945).

★ Northern Territory, Australia: May Day.

★ South Korea: Children's Day.
===Liturgical feast days ===
in the Roman Catholic Church:

★ Ascension Day in Western Christianity (2005).

★ Saint Angelus of Jerusalem (d. 1222)

★ Saint Aventinus (d. 1189)

★ Saint Gerontius (d. 472)

★ Saint Godehart (d. 1038)

★ Saint Nicetius

★ Saint Hilary of Arles (d. 449)

★ Saint Pius V (1505-1572)

★ Saint Jutta of Kulmsee, aka Saint Jutta of Sangerhausen or Saint Judith of Prussia (d. 1260)

★ Blessed Aleidis

★ Blessed Edmund Ignatius Rice
Orthodox Christian saints:

★ Adrian of Monzensk

★ Great Martyr Irene

★ Martyrs Neophytos, Gaius and Gaianus

★ Euthymios the Wonderworker

★ Barlaam of Serpukhov

★ Martin and Heraclius of Illyria

★ Eulogios the Confessor

★ New Martyr Ephraim of Nea Makri

External links

★ BBC: On This Day

★

★ On This Day in Canada
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