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 125th day of the year 2021 in the Gregorian calendar. There are 240 days remaining until the end of this year. The day of the week is Wednesday.
Under the Julian calendar, this day is April 22, 2021 – a Wednesday. Both day of the week are the same but did you notice the difference with the Gregorian calendar?
When this day started, 450,048 hours 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.
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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 272 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 3,057 days since this fabled cataclysmic event.
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May 5 Historical Events
- 1494 –Christopher Columbus lands on the island of Jamaica and claims it for Spain.
- 1762 –Russia and Prussia sign the Treaty of St. Petersburg.
- 1809 –The Swiss canton of Aargau denies citizenship to Jews.
- 1835 –In Belgium, the first railway in continental Europe opens between Brussels and Mechelen.
- 1862 –Cinco de Mayo: troops led by Ignacio Zaragoza halt a French invasion in the Battle of Puebla in Mexico.
- 1864 –American Civil War: The Battle of the Wilderness begins in Spotsylvania County, Virginia.
- 1944 –German troops execute 216 civilians in the village of Kleisoura in Greece
- 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.
- 1972 –Alitalia Flight 112 crashes into Mount Longa near Palermo, Sicily, killing all 115 aboard, making it the deadliest single-aircraft disaster in Italy.
Who were born on May 5?
- 1546 –Thomas Cecil, 1st Earl of Exeter, English politician (d. 1623)
- 1747 –Leopold II, Holy Roman Emperor (d. 1792)
- 1939 –Cesare Fiorio, Italian sporting director of various Formula One teams
- 1940 –Lance Henriksen, American actor and painter
- 1959 –Johann Gajda, German footballer
- 1970 –Kyan Douglas, American TV-personality
- 1973 –Tina Yothers, American actress
- 1982 –Randall Gay, American football player
- 1983 –Scott Ware, American football player
- 1991 –Xenofon Fetsis, Greek footballer
Who died on May 5?
- 200 –Sun Ce, warlord of the Han Dynasty (b. 175)
- 1194 –King Casimir II of Poland (b. 1138)
- 1525 –Frederick III of Saxony (b. 1463)
- 1811 –Robert Mylne, Scottish architect (b. 1734)
- 1833 –Sophia Campbell, Australian artist (b. 1777)
- 1962 –Ernest Tyldesley, English cricketer (b. 1889)
- 1985 –Sir Donald Bailey, British civil engineer (b. 1901)
- 2002 –George Sidney, American film director (b. 1916)
- 2006 –Naushad Ali, Indian composer (b. 1919)
- 2011 –Claude Choules, last surviving World War I veteran (b. 1901)
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