What are the important events that happened on May 5? Here are historical events, facts, and some myths about this day.
May 5: Facts & Myths About This Day
May 5 is the 126th day of the year 2024 in the Gregorian calendar. There are 240 days remaining until the end of this year. The day of the week is Sunday.
Under the Julian calendar, this day is April 22, 2024 – a Sunday. Both day of the week are the same but did you notice the difference with the Gregorian calendar?
When this day started, 1,714,867,200 seconds has elapsed since midnight of January 1, 1970 – the Unix epoch.
Strange as it may, if we name this day after a polygon then it will be called ‘hectaicosahexagon’ day.
Taurus is the zodiac sign of a person born on this day. Emerald is the modern birthstone for this month. Sapphire is the mystical birthstone from Tibetan origin that dates back over a thousand years.
According to the lunisolar Chinese calendar, there are 269 days remaining before the start of the next Chinese New Year.
The ancient Maya civilization believes that the end of the world will happen on December 21, 2012. There are now 4,153 days since this fabled cataclysmic event.
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May 5 Historical Events
- 553 –The Second Council of Constantinople begins.
- 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.
- 1864 –American Civil War: The Battle of the Wilderness begins in Spotsylvania County, Virginia.
- 1925 –Scopes Trial: serving of an arrest warrant on John T. Scopes for teaching evolution in violation of the Butler Act.
- 1940 –World War II: Norwegian Campaign – Norwegian squads in Hegra Fortress and Vinjesvingen capitulate to the Nazis after all other Norwegian forces in southern Norway had laid down their arms.
- 1955 –West Germany gains full sovereignty.
- 1961 –The Mercury program: Mercury-Redstone 3 – Alan Shepard becomes the first American to travel into outer space, making a sub-orbital flight of 15 minutes.
- 1972 –Alitalia Flight 112 crashes into Mount Longa near Palermo, Sicily, killing all 115 aboard, making it the deadliest single-aircraft disaster in Italy.
- 1991 –A riot breaks out in the Mt. Pleasant section of Washington, D.C. after police shoot a Salvadoran man.
Who were born on May 5?
- 1800 –Louis Christophe François Hachette, French publisher (d. 1864)
- 1883 –Archibald Wavell, British general (d. 1950)
- 1915 –Alice Faye, American actress (d. 1998)
- 1925 –Leo Ryan, United States Congressman (d. 1978)
- 1952 –Campbell McComas, Australian impersonator and broadcaster (d. 2005)
- 1961 –Hiroshi Hase, Japanese professional wrestler and politician
- 1967 –Maro Mavri, Greek fashion-model and actress
- 1970 –Kyan Douglas, American TV-personality
- 1983 –Henry Cavill, Jersey actor
- 1985 –Emanuele Giaccherini, Italian footballer
Who died on May 5?
- 1525 –Frederick III of Saxony (b. 1463)
- 1705 –Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor (b. 1640)
- 1808 –Pierre Jean George Cabanis, French physiologist (b. 1757)
- 1855 –Sir Robert Inglis, Bt, English politician (b. 1786)
- 1931 –Glen Kidston, British aviator and racing driver (b. 1899)
- 1947 –Ty LaForest, Canadian baseball player (b. 1917)
- 1983 –Horst Schumann, Nazi physician (b. 1901)
- 1997 –Walter Gotell, German actor (b. 1924)
- 2000 –Bill Musselman, American basketball head coach (b. 1940)
- 2001 –Clifton Hillegass, American writer and publisher (b. 1918)
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