May 5 is the 125th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (126th in leap years). There are 240 days remaining.
Events:
- 1494 - Christopher Columbus discovers Jamaica.
- 1762 - Peace treaty between Russia and Prussia.
- 1789 - The French States General convenes for the first time since 1614.
- 1809 - Mary Kies is the first woman to be awarded a patent.
- 1809 - The Swiss canton of Aargau denies Jews citizenship.
- 1835 - In Belgium a railway is opened between Brussels and Mechelen. It is the first railway in continental Europe.
- 1847 - The American Medical Association is founded.
- 1862 - Mexican army defeated the French army in the Battle of Puebla.
- 1865 - First train robbery in the United States.
- 1874 - Child Labor law passed in the Netherlands.
- 1891 - The Music Hall (now known as Carnegie Hall has its grand opening and first public performance
- 1892 - The US Congress passes the Geary Chinese Exclusion Act: All Chinese in the US must register, if not they risk deportation.
- 1893 - Crash on the New York stock exchange (Panic of 1893).
- 1912 - Russian Communist newspaper Pravda first published.
- 1912 - Start of the Olympic Games of Stockholm.
- 1916 - American marines invade the Dominican Republic.
- 1920 - Polish troops occupy Kiev.
- 1925 - Dayton Tennessee biology teacher John Scopes is arrested for teaching Charles Darwin's Theory of Evolution.
- 1936 - Italian troops occupy Addis Abeba (Ethiopia).
- 1940 - In London, a Norwegian government in exile is formed.
- 1941 - Emperor Haile Selassie returns to Addis Abeba.
- 1943 - Postmaster General Frank C. Walker invents the Postal Zone System.
- 1944 - Gandhi freed from prison.
- 1945 - German troops in the Netherlands and Denmark capitulate.
- 1945 - Concentration camp Mauthausen liberated.
- 1949 - Council of Europe is formed.
- 1955 - West Germany gains full sovereignty.
- 1956 - World Championships Judo are first held.
- 1961 - Alan Shepard is the first American in space. He makes a space flight of 15 minutes, making less than one complete orbit.
- 1979 - Voyager 1 passes Jupiter.
- 1980 - British police storm the Iranian embassy in London after a time of siege.
- 1987 - Start of the congressional hearings in the Iran-Contra affair.
- 1994 - American Michael Fay is caned in Singapore.
- 2000 - Conjunction of all traditional planets (Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Moon and Sun).
Births:
- 1813 - Søren Kierkegaard, philosopher
- 1818 - Karl Marx, philosopher
- 1832 - H.H. Bancroft, historian and publisher
- 1901 - Blind Willie McTell, blues singer
- 1940 - Eric Burdon, rock singer (Animals)
- 1942 - Tammy Wynette, country singer
- 1943 - Michael Palin, comedian (Monty Python)
Deaths:
- 1028 - Alfonso V, king of Leon and Galicia (999-1028) (battle)
- 1194 - Kazimierz II, grand-duke of Poland (1177-1194)
- 1309 - Charles II, king of Naples (1285-1309)
- 1525 - Frederick III, ruler of Saxony (1486-1525)
- 1705 - Leopold I, emperor of the Holy Roman Empire
- 1786 - Pedro III, king of Portugal
- 1821 - Napoleon Bonaparte, emperor of France (1799-1815)
- 1827 - Fredeerick Augustus I, king of Saxony (1806-1827)
- 1859 - Peter Dirichlet, mathematician
- 1981 - Bobby Sands, IRA activist (hunger strike)
- 1995 - Mikhail Botvinnik, world chess champion
Holidays:
- Denmark: Liberation Day (1945)
- The Netherlands: May 5, Liberation day (1945)
- Ethiopia: Liberation Day (1941)
- Japan: Children's Day
- Mexico: Cinco de Mayo (1862)
See Also: January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December
May 4 - May 6 - April 5 - June 5 - more historical anniversaries