May 5
May 5 is the 125th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (126th in leap years ). There are 240 days remaining.
There are usually 92 days in Spring . We are considered halfway through Spring on May 5.
Events
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 - Peace treaty between Russia and Prussia .
1789 - In France , the Estates-General convenes for the first time in 150 years.
1809 - Mary Kies becomes the first woman awarded a US patent , for a technique of weaving straw with silk and thread .
1809 - The Swiss canton of Aargau denies citizenship to Jews .
1814 - British-American War (War of 1812) : The British attack Fort Ontario at Oswego, New York .
1835 - In Belgium , the first railway in continental Europe opens between Brussels and Mechelen .
1862 - French-Mexican War : The Mexican army defeats the French army in the Battle of Puebla (on May 9 this day was made into the Cinco de mayo holiday).
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 Tchaikovsky as the guest conductor.
1892 - The U.S. Congress passes the Geary Chinese Exclusion Act : All Chinese in the United States must register or risk deportation.
1893 - Panic of 1893 : Crash on the New York Stock Exchange starts a depression .
1912 - The 1912 Summer Olympics open in Stockholm , Sweden .
1916 - American marines invade the Dominican Republic .
1922 - In The Bronx , construction begins on Yankee Stadium .
1925 - Scopes Trial : Dayton, Tennessee biology teacher John Scopes is arrested for teaching Charles Darwin 's Theory of Evolution .
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 .
1943 - The film curator of the Library of Congress , Howard Walls , announces that about 5,000 films will be preserved in the library.
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 - General Alfredo Stroessner takes power in Paraguay by coup .
1955 - West Germany gains full sovereignty.
1961 - Mercury program : Mercury 3 - Alan Shepard becomes the first American to travel into space , making a sub-orbital flight of 15 minutes.
1978 - Pete Rose of the Cincinnati Reds hits his 3000th major league hit.
1980 - Operation Nimrod : The Special Air Service storm the Iranian embassy in London after a six day siege.
1984 - In Luxembourg , Herreys win the twenty-ninth Eurovision Song Contest for Sweden singing "Diggi-loo, diggi-ley".
1986 - The TV series The Love Boat 1987 - Iran-Contra affair : Start of Congressional televised hearings.
1990 - Capital punishment : Jesse Tafero is executed in Florida after three electric chair malfunctions cause flames to shoot from his head .
1990 - In Zagreb , Yugoslavia (now Croatia ), Toto Cutugno wins the thirty-fifth Eurovision Song Contest for Italy singing "Insieme: 1992" (Together: 1992).
1992 - The Twenty-seventh Amendment to the United States Constitution receives its 38th ratification by the Alabama Legislature and therefore becomes law.
1992 - Wolfenstein 3D is released, the first-ever first-person shooter computer game.
1993 - Actor Keanu Reeves is arrested for the charge of drunk driving in Los Angeles, California .
1994 - American Michael P. Fay is caned in Singapore as punishment for spray-painting two cars.
1995 - British film producer Ray Santilli unveils his "alien autopsy" footage to a group of UFO researchers. The film is widely regarded as a hoax.
2000 - Conjunction of all traditional planets (Mercury , Venus , Mars , Jupiter , Saturn , Moon and Sun ).
2001 - Chandra Levy 's parents report her missing to Washington, DC police.
2002 - The first "Free Comic Book Day" promotional event to promote popular interest in the medium in North America ; timed to coincide with the premiere of the film, Spider-Man 2005 - General Election in Britain to be held. (BBC News)
Births
1210 - King Afonso III of Portugal (d. 1279 )
1747 - Leopold II, Holy Roman Emperor (d. 1792 )
1813 - Søren Kierkegaard , philosopher (d. 1855 )
1818 - Karl Marx , political philosopher (d. 1883 )
1826 - Empress Eugenie of France, empress as wife of Napoleon III (d. 1920 )
1832 - H.H. Bancroft , historian and publisher
1833 - Ferdinand von Richthofen , geographer (d. 1905 )
1846 - Henryk Sienkiewicz , author, recipient of the Nobel Prize in literature 1905 (d. 1916 )
1865 - Elizabeth Jane Cochran ("Nellie Bly"), journalist, writer (d. 1922 )
1869 - Hans Pfitzner , composer (d. 1949 )
1887 - Geoffrey Fisher , Archbishop of Canterbury (d. 1972 )
1883 - Archibald Wavell , World War II general (d. 1950 )
1890 - Christopher Morley , writer (d. 1957 )
1901 - Blind Willie McTell , blues singer (d. 1959 )
1903 - James Beard , chef , cookbook writer (d. 1985 )
1908 - Kurt Böhme , German bass (d. 1989 )
1914 - Tyrone Power , actor (d. 1958 )
1915 - Alice Faye , actress (d. 1998 )
1926 - Ann B. Davis , actress, The Brady Bunch 1935 - Douglas Marland , soap opera writer (As the World Turns 1993 )
1940 - Michael Lindsay-Hogg , director
1941 - Alexander Ragulin , ice hockey player (d. 2004 )
1943 - Michael Palin , British writer, actor and comedian ("Monty Python ")
1944 - Roger Rees , actor
1944 - John Rhys-Davies , actor
1957 - Richard E. Grant , actor
1987 - Raimundo J. Barros Navarrete , film director
1989 - Robert Lucas Christian , Famous Architect
Deaths
1028 - Alfonso V , king of León and Galicia
1192 - Duke Ottokar IV of Styria , last independent ruler of Styria , which is henceforth under common rule with Austria
1194 - King Casimir II of Poland (b. 1138 )
1309 - King Charles II of Naples , king of Naples (b. c. 1248 )
1525 - Frederick III of Saxony (b. 1463 )
1705 - Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor (b. 1640 )
1766 - Jean Astruc , French physician and scholar (b. 1684 )
1807 - P. D. Q. Bach , fictitious composer (b. 1742 )
1811 - Robert Mylne , architect (b. 1734 )
1821 - Napoleon Bonaparte , ruler of France (1799 -1815 ) (b. 1769 )
1827 - Frederick Augustus I of Saxony (b. 1750 )
1855 - Sir Robert Inglis, Bt , English politician (b. 1786 )
1859 - Peter Dirichlet , mathematician
1981 - Bobby Sands , Provisional IRA activist (b. 1954 )
1985 - Sir Donald Bailey , civil engineer invented the Bailey Bridge (b. 1901 )
1988 - Michael Shaara , author (b. 1928 )
1995 - Mikhail Botvinnik , world chess champion (b. 1911 )
1992 - Jean-Claude Pascal , French singer, Eurovision Song Contest winner (b.1927 )
1997 - Walter Gotell , actor (b. 1924 )
2001 - Cliff Hillegass , creator of Cliffs Notes
2003 - Walter Sisulu , anti-apartheid activist (b. 1912 )
2004 - Catherine Craig , Methane Overdose
Holidays and observances
External links
May 4 - May 6 - April 5 - June 5 -- listing of all days
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