Special Days in History - May 5th Anniversaries

Find Out What Happened Today - 5th May - Over the Centuries

May 4, 2009 Christine Fadhley

Birthday, Anniversary, Special Occasion? Discover what momentous occasions also took place on this day in history.

Is this a birthday or anniversary? Congratulations on sharing this day with a whole host of famous personalities from the past and present.

Birthdays on May 5th

For example, Karl Marx was born in 1818 in Trier, Prussia, and went on to become possibly Germany's foremost philosopher who was the founder of communism. He wrote his famous book The Communist Manifesto while living in London, Other historical personalities born on May 5th include:

• Empress Eugenie of France, wife of Napoleon III, born 1818
• Nelly Bly, American author and journalist, born 1826
• Archibald Wavell, British General famous in 1st World War, 1883
• Charles Bender only American Indian in baseball's Hall of Fame, also 1883
• Geoffrey Fisher, Archbishop of Canterbury, born 1887
• Blind Willie McTell, American Folk Singer, born 1901
• Tyrone Power, American Actor born 1914
• Georgiu Papadopoulos, Greek dictator, born 1918
• Tammy Wynette, American Folk Musician, born 1942
• Michael Palin, British comedian and broadcaster, 1943

People Who Died on 5th May in History

• 311 Gaius Galerius emperor of Rome, died at approximate age of 50
• 1028 Alfonso V King of Le¢n/Galicia (999-1028), died in battle
• 1971 Alice Tissot actress (Italian Straw Hat), dies age 81 and
• also 1971, Petro Scaglione Italian procureur-general, was assassinated by the Mafia

Significant Events that Occurred on May 5th Throughout History

• In 1215 the rebellious barons of England told King John, on this day, that they were renouncing their allegience to him. This led to the signing of the Magna Carta. A few years later, in 1260, the prospects for world peace and harmony were dealt a blow when Kublai Kahn became leader of the Mongol Empire.
• In 1809 several decades before feminism, Mary Kies became the first American woman to receive a patent for her technique of weaving straw with silk and thread. In 1864 the American Civil War Battle of the Wilderness started in Spotsylvania County, Virginia and later in the 19th Century, in 1877 Chief Sitting Bull led his Lacota tribe into Canada.
• In 1921 Chanel No. 5 Perfume is born, named after Coco Chanel, the famous fashion designer. On this day in 1945 the Nazis capitulated in the Netherlands and Denmark, and the Prague uprising against German occupation in Czechoslovakia began.
• Voyager 1 passes by Saturn in 1979
• France performs nuclear test at Muruora Island in 1987

Anniversaries Celebrated on May 5th Throughout the World

• May 5th is International Midwives day - let's say a big Thank you to all of the midwives. It is also Liberation Day in Denmark & the Netherlands, Palestinian Feast of St. George and in South Korea and Japan it is Children's Day,
• In the Catholic church it is day day on which certain Saints are remembered, including St. Angelus of Jerusalem and St. Hilary of Arles.

Events in More Recent History

• In 1961 Commander Alan Shepherd returned from space, splashing down in his Mercury 3 capsule, the first American astronaut.
• In 2005 the New Labor Party under Tony Blair succeeded in getting elected for the third time in the UK
• In 1989 the first hole was punched through the Iron Curtain in Hungary. Bela Arpad, the local commander at the border made a decision not to fire on people who had decided to cross the border without a permit. "I considered myself to be a soldier and as such I was not going to fire on innocent children, women and old men. They were not the enemy".
• On 5th May 2002 the French President Jacques Chirac was re-elected in a victory over extreme-right leader Jean-Marie Le Pen. .

Whatever you are doing or celebrating on May the 5th, make it a memorable one. It is the 124th day of the year, which means there are 240 days left.

Reference:

BBC Radio 4

The copyright of the article Special Days in History - May 5th Anniversaries in Historical Resources is owned by Christine Fadhley. Permission to republish Special Days in History - May 5th Anniversaries in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.

5th May, This Day in History

Karl Marx, German Political Philosopher