Famous Events For May 5 – Today In History

May 5: Today in History – Historical Events

Early Centuries – May 5 Historic Events – Before the 1700s

1. 5th May 1430: Germany expelled Jed Jews from Speyer on this day.
2. 5th May 1494: Christopher Columbus, during his second voyage of the western hemisphere sighted and landed in Jamaica today and named the Island and named the Island Santa Gloria.
3. 5th May 1646: The King of England, King Charles I surrendered today in Scotland.

19th Century – May 5 This Day That Year – The 1800s

4. 5th May 1809: Mary Kies got a patent for the weaving of straw. She was the first woman in the US to be issued a patent.
5. 5th May 1809: Jews of Canton Aargau, Switzerland were denied citizenship.
6. 5th May 1814: The British today launched an attack on Fort Ontario in Oswego, New York.
7. 5th May 1816: The American Bible Society was organized on this day.
8. 5th May 1834: In Belgium today, the first mainland railway line was opened.
9. 5th May 1842: The medieval of Hamburg in Germany was virtually leveled today in a fire that raged for over 100 hours in Hamburg.
10. 5th May 1847: In Philadelphia, the American Medical Association was organized today.
11. 5th May 1854: James Plumridge, the British commodore today attacked Finnish settlements along the Gulf of Bothnia, killed civilians, and destroyed British-owned goods.
12. 5th May 1855: Castle Clinton was regained by NYC, to be used for immigration.

13. 5th May 1862: The French troops sent by Napoleon III were defeated by a Mexican force loyal to Benito Juarez at the Battle of Pueblo.
14. 5th May 1864: Five days of fighting began at Rocky Face Ridge during the Atlanta Campaign.
15. 5th May 1864: Grants army advanced Richmond, Vancouver in the battle of wilderness. Forest fires broke out killing many wounded soldiers.
16. 5th May 1864: A battle took place between Confederate and Union ships at the mouth of Roanoke.
17. 5th May 1865: The first US train robbery took place in North Bend Ohio.
18. 5th May 1874: The child labor law was today passed by the Dutch 2nd Chamber.
19. 5th May 1877: Chief of Lakota Sioux, Sitting Bull led his band into Canada today to avoid harassment from the US army under Colonel Nelson Miles.
20. 5th May 1879: In the case of Reynolds Vs United States, the power of states to restrict polygamy was supported by the US Supreme Court.
21. 5th May 1881: There was anti-Jewish rioting in Kiev Ukraine.
22. 5th May 1886: There was a bomb explosion today, the fourth day of the worker’s strike in Chicago Illinois.

23. 5th May 1891: The Carnegie Hall, which was then known as the “Music Hall” was opened today and Tchaikovsky was the guest conductor.
24. 5th May 1892: The United States Congress today passed the Geary Chinese Exclusion Act. According to the act the Chinese in the United States are required to register and carry an identification card or face deportation.
25. 5th May 1893: Panic struck the New York Stock Exchange as the stock prices crashed.

20th Century – Important Events On This Day May 5th – The 1900s

26. 5th May 1900: On this day the “Billboard” began its weekly publication.
27. 5th May 1904: The American League’s first perfect game was pitched by Denton True Young of the Boston Red Sox.
28. 5th May 1905: The first issue of the newspaper “Chicago Defender” was published today by Robert S Abbot.
29. 5th May 1908: The Great White Fleet arrived today in San Francisco.

30. 5th May 1912: Today marks the beginning of the publication of the Soviet Communist Party newspaper “Pravda”.
31. 5th May 1915: British schooner Earl of Lathom was today captured and sunk by German U-20.
32. 5th May 1916: The Dominican Republic was today invaded by the US Marines. They stayed till 1924.
33. 5th May 1917: Eugene Jacques Bullard today earned the Flying Certificate with the French Air Service. He became the first African-American aviator to do so.
34. 5th May 1920: The German-Latvian peace treaty was signed today.
35. 5th May 1920: Kiev was today occupied by the Polish forces.
36. 5th May 1920: The Communist Labor Party was declared illegal today by US President Woodrow Williams.
37. 5th May 1921: This day marks the publication of “Brighton Gazette” a miniature newspaper 10 X 13 cms.

38. 5th May 1922: In the Bronx, the construction of the Yankee Stadium began today.
39. 5th May 1924: The Twentse textile strike was today terminated by the Unions.
40. 5th May 1925: In Tennessee, John T Scopes was arrested for teaching evolution.
41. 5th May 1925: In South Africa “Afrikaans” was established as the official language today.
42. 5th May 1926: Sinclair Lewis who was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for his work “Arrowsmith”, refused to accept the prize.
43. 5th May 1927: The first symphony of Dmitri Shostakovich premiered in Berlin today.
44. 5th May 1930: Amy Johnson today took off from England to Australia. She was the first woman to fly solo from England to Australia.
45. 5th May 1932: A peace treaty was today signed by Japan and China.
46. 5th May 1935: American track and field athlete Jesse Ovens today set a long jump record of 26 ft 8 in.
47. 5th May 1936: The screw-on bottle cap with a pour lip was today patented by Edward Ravenscroft.
48. 5th May 1936: In Ethiopia, Italian troops occupied Addis Ababa today.
49. 5th May 1939: There were flash floods in Northeast Kentucky which killed about 75 people.
50. 5th May 1940: Norwegian government-in-exile formed in London today.

51. 5th May 1941: Two Fokker employees fled the Nazi-occupied Netherlands to England today.
52. 5th May 1941: “Channel No 5” the first modern perfume was released today.
53. 5th May 1941: Emperor Hail Selassie of Ethiopia today returned to Addis Ababa.
54. 5th May 1942: The US began the sale of sugar under the rationing program during World War II.
55. 5th May 1943: The Postal Zone System was today established by US Postmaster General Frank C Walker.
56. 5th May 1944: Spiritual leader and pacifist Mahatma Gandhi was released from prison today.
57. 5th May 1944: In Crimea, the Soviets launched an offensive against Sebastopol.
58. 5th May 1945: The day marks the liberation of Denmark and Netherlands from Nazi control.
59. 5th May 1945: In Prague, there was an uprising against the occupying SS troops.
60. 5th May 1945: Admiral Karl Donitz who became leader of Germany after Hitler’s death ordered all U-boats to cease offensive and return to base.
61. 5th May 1947: Flooding in Mississippi Valley caused damage of $850 M besides taking 16 lives.
62. 5th May 1947: Robert Penn Warren was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for “All the Kings Men”.
63. 5th May 1949: The Council of Europe was formed today.

64. 5th May 1950: In a crowning ceremony in the Royal Palace in Bangkok, Bhumibol Adulyadej was today crowned as King Rama IX of Thailand.
65. 5th May 1955: The Indian Parliament today accepted Hindu divorce.
66. 5th May 1955: West Germany was today granted full sovereignty by its three occupying powers.
67. 5th May 1955: The US today performed a nuclear test at its Nevada Test Site.
68. 5th May 1956: The first world championship in Judo was held in Tokyo, Japan today.
69. 5th May 1957: Adolf Scharf was today elected as President of Austria.
70. 5th May 1958: The US today performed an atmospheric nuclear test at Enwetak.
71. 5th May 1961: Today Alan Shepard, aboard Freedom 7, became the first American in Space.
72. 5th May 1964: In Canada, separatists rioted in Quebec.
73. 5th May 1965: Today marks the arrival of 1st large-scale US Army ground units in Vietnam.
74. 5th May 1969: Novelist Norman Mailer was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for his work “Armies of the Night”.

75. 5th May 1970: The US today performed a nuclear test at its Nevada Test Site.
76. 5th May 1972: A DC-8 aircraft of Alitalia crashed west of Palermo Sicily killing 115 people.
77. 5th May 1975: This year’s Pulitzer Prize was awarded to Michael Shaara for “Killer Angles”.
78. 5th May 1976: There was a train collision in Schiedam in the Netherlands. 24 people were killed in the collision.
79. 5th May 1979: Masterpiece Radio began broadcasting today.
80. 5th May 1980: In Greece, Constantine Karamanils was today elected for the first time as that country’s President.
81. 5th May 1983: The US performed a nuclear test at its Nevada Test Site.
82. 5th May 1987: France conducted a nuclear test at Muruora Island today.
83. 5th May 1987: Congress today began the Iran-Contra hearing.
84. 5th May 1991: After a Salvadoran man was shot dead by the police a riot broke out in the Mt Pleasant section of Washington DC.

21st Century – May 5 This Day In History – The 2000s

85. 5th May 2000: Today there will be a conjunction of planets Sun, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, and Moon.
86. 5th May 2003: A Pakistan Foreign Ministry spokesperson today said that Pakistan would get rid of its nuclear arsenal if India did as well.
87. 5th May 2004: Missiles were fired from Israeli warplanes on suspected hideouts of guerillas in South Lebanon.
88. 5th May 2005: In a cold storage warehouse in Zhengzhou China, shelves stacked high with garlic collapsed, killing 15 workers.
89. 5th May 2005: British Prime Minister David Cameroon-led Labor Party was re-elected for a third consecutive term in the general elections in the U.K.
90. 5th May 2005: The Bush administration today opened up 58.5 million acres of land for possible commercial utilization by setting aside the rule of 33% of national forests from roads. This however was reversed by a federal judge in San Francisco in 2009.
91. 5th May 2006: The government of Sudan today signed an accord with the Sudan Liberation Army.
92. 5th May 2007: Flight KQ 507 of Kenya Airways crashed in Cameroon today.
93. 5th May 2012: Flash floods in Nepal killed 17 people. 47 people have gone missing.

94. 5th May 2012: For the first time since 1970, Japan shuts down its nuclear reactors, leaving the country without nuclear power.
95. 5th May 2013: A limousine caught fire in Hayward California, killing five people.
96. 5th May 2013: A church was attacked in Njilan in Nigeria killing 10 people.
97. 5th May 2014: To improve the China-Africa strategic partnership, China today announced that it would upgrade Ethiopia’s infrastructure.
98. 5th May 2015: The oldest known prehistoric bird, “Archaeornithura meemannae”, was discovered today.
99. 5th May 2015: The Discovery of EGS-zs8-1, the oldest galaxy known to man was announced by scientists today.
100. 5th May 2016: A state of emergency was declared in the Canadian state of Alberta when a wildfire spread across Fort McMurray. The evacuation of 80,000 people continues.

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