5th May In History

May 5 is the 125th day of the year (126th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar; 240 days remain until the end of the year.

So, What happened on 5th May in history

What happened on this day in history (5th May): Karl Marx, Michael Palin was born, Napoleon and Mikhail Botvinnik died, Kublai Khan became ruler of the Mongol Empire, US preformed several nuclear tests in different years on this day and more.

It may not mean much to you right now, but by the end of this article, you will learn that May 5 holds a significant place in history.

Dive in to know what happened on this day (May 5) in sports, politics and art, along with famous birthdays and deaths in world history.

Early Events

In 553 – The Second Council of Constantinople begins.
In 1260 – Kublai Khan, grandson of Genghis Khan, becomes ruler of the Mongol Empire.
In 1430 – Jews are expelled from Speyer, Germany.
In 1494 – On his second voyage to the New World, Christopher Columbus sights Jamaica, landing at Discovery Bay and declares Jamaica the property of the Spanish crown.
In 1646 – King Charles I surrenders in Scotland.
In 1762 – Russia and Prussia sign the Treaty of St. Petersburg.
In 1809 – Mary Kies becomes the first woman awarded a U.S. patent, for a technique of weaving straw with silk and thread.
In 1821 – Emperor Napoleon dies in exile on the island of Saint Helena in the South Atlantic Ocean.
In 1835 – The first railway in continental Europe opens between Brussels and Mechelen.
In 1866 – Memorial Day first celebrated in United States at Waterloo, New York.

Relatively New Events On This Day

In 1904, Pitching against the Philadelphia Athletics at the Huntington Avenue Grounds, Cy Young of the Boston Americans throws the first perfect game in the modern era of baseball.
In 1905, The trial in the Stratton Brothers case begins in London, England; it marks the first time that fingerprint evidence is used to gain a conviction for murder.
In 1912, Soviet Communist Party newspaper Pravda begins publishing.
In 1920, US President Woodrow Wilson makes Communist Labor Party illegal.
In 1921, Perfume Chanel No. 5 released by fashion designer Coco Chanel.
In 1925, Afrikaans is established as an official language in South Africa.
In 1925, Dayton teacher John T. Scopes arrested for teaching evolution in Tennessee.
In 1930, Australian cricket batting prodigy Don Bradman scores an unbeaten 185 in a tour match for Australia v Leicestershire at Aylestone Road, Leicester.
In 1943, Postmaster General Frank C Walker invents Postal Zone System.
In 1944, Mahatma Gandhi freed from prison.
In 1945, Mauthausen Concentration camp in Austria liberated by US forces from 41st Reconnaissance Squadron.
In 1945, Netherlands & Denmark liberated from Nazi control.
In 1945, World War II: Admiral Karl Dönitz, leader of Germany after Hitler’s death, orders all U-boats to cease offensive operations and return to their bases.
In 1950, Bhumibol Adulyadej crowned King Rama IX of Thailand in the Royal Palace in Bangkok.
In 1955, Indian parliament accepts Hindu divorce.
In 1955, West Germany is granted full sovereignty by its three occupying powers.
In 1961, Alan Shepard becomes 1st American in space (aboard Freedom 7).
In 1970, US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site.
In 1987, France performs nuclear test at Mururoa atoll.
In 2005, Tony Blair’s Labour Party is re-elected for a third consecutive term in UK general election.
In 2012, Japan shuts down its nuclear reactors leaving the country without nuclear power for the first time since 1970.
In 2015, Scientists announce the discovery of the oldest & most distant galaxy known to man, EGS-zs8-1.
In 2018, Electric cigarette explodes killing a man in St. Petersburg, Florida, first death from a vaping product.
In 2021, Evidence of Africa’s earliest burial, a three-year-old boy, 78,000 years ago, in a cave in Kenya published.
In 2022, Karine Jean-Pierre appointed White House Press Secretary to President Joe Biden, first Black and out LGBTQ person in the role.

Sports Events On This Day

In 1930,Australian cricket batting prodigy Don Bradman scores an unbeaten 185 in a tour match for Australia v Leicestershire at Aylestone Road, Leicester.
In 1989, Mike Tyson gets 2nd speeding ticket for drag racing in Albany, New York.
In 2007, 133rd Kentucky Derby: Calvin Borel aboard 9-2 favourite Street Sense wins on his home track in front of special guest, Queen Elizabeth II.

Water Sort Puzzle – Brain Game

Art and Culture Events – What Happened on 5th May

In 1999, 34th Academy of Country Music Awards: Garth Brooks, Faith Hill & Tim McGraw win.
In 2018, Childish Gambino [Donald Glover] releases the music video to new single “This is America” to wide acclaim.

Famous Birthdays On 5th May

Sr No	Birth Year	Personality
1	1988	Adele, English singer-songwriter, musician
2	1943	Michael Palin, English actor, screenwriter
3	1830	John Batterson Stetson, American businessman, founded the John B. Stetson Company
4	1818	Karl Marx, German philosopher
5	1813	Søren Kierkegaard, Danish philosopher, author

Notable Deaths On 5th May

Sr No	Death Year	Personality
1	2013	Greg Quill, Australian/Canadian singer-songwriter, journalist
2	2000	Gino Bartali, Italian cyclist
3	1995	Mikhail Botvinnik, Russian chess player
4	1977	Ludwig Erhard, Ludwig Erhard
5	1821	Napoleon, Corsican/French military officer, political leader