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 125^th day of the year 2025 in the Gregorian calendar. There are 240 days remaining until the end of this year. The day of the week is Monday.

Under the Julian calendar, this day is April 22, 2025 – a Monday. Both day of the week are the same but did you notice the difference with the Gregorian calendar?

When this day started, 29,106,720 minutes 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 ‘hectaicosapentagon’ 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 288 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 4,518 days since this fabled cataclysmic event.

May 5 Historical Events

• 1789 –
  In France, the Estates-General convenes for the first time since 1614.
• 1864 –
  American Civil War: The Battle of the Wilderness begins in Spotsylvania County, Virginia.
• 1865 –
  In North Bend, Ohio (a suburb of Cincinnati, Ohio), the first train robbery in the United States takes place.
• 1891 –
  The Music Hall in New York City (later known as Carnegie Hall) has its grand opening and first public performance, with Tchaikovsky as the guest conductor.
• 1925 –
  The government of South Africa declares Afrikaans an official language
• 1941 –
  Emperor Haile Selassie returns to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia; the country commemorates the date as Liberation Day or Patriots’ Victory Day.
• 1949 –
  The Treaty of London establishes the Council of Europe in Strasbourg as the first European institution working for European integration.
• 1950 –
  Bhumibol Adulyadej crowns himself King Rama IX of Thailand.
• 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.
• 2010 –
  Mass protests in Greece erupt in response to austerity measures imposed by the government as a result of the Greek debt crisis.

Who were born on May 5?

• 1903 –
  James Beard, American chef and cookbook writer (d. 1985)
• 1927 –
  Pat Carroll, American actress
• 1937 –
  Delia Derbyshire, British electronic music composer (d. 2001)
• 1940 –
  Lasse Åberg, Swedish artist, actor and musician
• 1944 –
  Roger Rees, Welsh-American actor
• 1972 –
  Žigmund Pálffy, Slovak ice-hockey player
• 1973 –
  Casino Versus Japan, American composer
• 1973 –
  Tina Yothers, American actress
• 1981 –
  Marcelle Bittar, Brazilian model
• 1999 –
  Nathan Chen, American figure skater

Who died on May 5?

• 1604 –
  Claudio Merulo, Italian composer (b. 1533)
• 1671 –
  Edward Montagu, 2nd Earl of Manchester, English politician (b. 1602)
• 1833 –
  Sophia Campbell, Australian artist (b. 1777)
• 1921 –
  Alfred Hermann Fried, Austrian writer and pacifist, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize (b. 1864)
• 1947 –
  Ty LaForest, Canadian baseball player (b. 1917)
• 1981 –
  Bobby Sands, Irish activist (b. 1954)
• 1988 –
  Michael Shaara, American author (b. 1928)
• 2000 –
  Bill Musselman, American basketball head coach (b. 1940)
• 2002 –
  Paul Klipsch, American engineer, noted for his loudspeaker designs (b. 1904)
• 2003 –
  Sam Bockarie, RUF Rebel commander (b. 1964)