# On this day: May 5

May 5 is the 125th day of the year (126th in leap years), with 240 days left until the end of the year.

## May 5 in one line

Headline entries for May 5, from Wikipedia: in 2023, The World Health Organization declared the end of COVID-19 as a global health emergency; born 1818: Karl Marx, German philosopher, sociologist, and journalist (died 1883); died 1821: Napoleon, French general and emperor (born 1769). In 2026 it is a Tuesday, in 2027 a Wednesday.

## Events on May 5

- 1215 Rebel barons renounce their allegiance to King John of England — part of a chain of events leading to the signing of the Magna Carta. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magna_Carta)
- 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. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christopher_Columbus)
- 1646 First English Civil War: Charles I surrendered himself to Scottish Covenanter leader David Leslie near Newark, England. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_English_Civil_War%2C_1646)
- 1654 Cromwell's Act of Grace, which pardoned the people of Scotland for any crimes committed during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms, was proclaimed in Edinburgh. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cromwell's_Act_of_Grace)
- 1821 Emperor Napoleon dies in exile on the island of Saint Helena in the South Atlantic Ocean. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Helena)
- 1821 The first edition of The Manchester Guardian, now The Guardian, is published. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Guardian)
- 1860 Led by Italian general Giuseppe Garibaldi, the volunteer Expedition of the Thousand set sail from Genoa on a campaign to conquer the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, a crucial event of the unification of Italy. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Expedition_of_the_Thousand)
- 1864 American Civil War: Union Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant's Overland Campaign in Virginia began with the inconclusive Battle of the Wilderness in Spotsylvania County. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_the_Wilderness)
- 1891 Carnegie Hall in New York City, built by the philanthropist Andrew Carnegie, officially opened with a concert conducted by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carnegie_Hall)
- 1904 Pitching for the Boston Americans, Cy Young threw the first perfect game in modern professional baseball. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cy_Young)
- 1912 The first issue of the Bolshevik newspaper Pravda is published. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pravda)
- 1936 Second Italo-Ethiopian War: Italian troops captured the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa unopposed. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/March_of_the_Iron_Will)
- 1940 World War II: A squad of 250 Norwegian volunteers defending Hegra Fortress surrendered to a superior Nazi force after a 25-day siege. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Hegra_Fortress)
- 1945 World War II: American and German troops fought side-by-side at the Battle for Castle Itter, defending a prison against Waffen-SS forces. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Castle_Itter)
- 1945 World War II: The citizens of Prague spontaneously rose up against the city's German occupiers. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prague_uprising)
- 1945 The Mauthausen and Gusen concentration camps were liberated by the United States Army. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gusen_concentration_camp)
- 1960 The Netherlands Carillon was inaugurated in Arlington, Virginia, on the 15th anniversary of Dutch Liberation Day. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Netherlands_Carillon)
- 1961 Project Mercury: American astronaut Alan Shepard made a sub-orbital spaceflight on board Freedom 7, becoming the second person to travel into outer space. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alan_Shepard)
- 1980 The British Special Air Service recaptured the Iranian embassy in London following a six-day siege after Iranian Arab separatists had seized it. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iranian_Embassy_siege)
- 1981 After a 66-day hunger strike, Irish republican Bobby Sands died of starvation in HM Prison Maze. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bobby_Sands)
- 1991 Riots broke out in Washington, D.C., after a rookie police officer shot a Salvadoran man in the chest. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1991_Washington%2C_D.C.%2C_riot)
- 1992 The Twenty-seventh Amendment to the United States Constitution was ratified, 202 years after it was first proposed. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twenty-seventh_Amendment_to_the_United_States_Constitution)
- 1994 American teenager Michael P. Fay was caned in Singapore for theft and vandalism, a punishment that the United States deemed to be excessive for a teenager committing a non-violent crime. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caning_of_Michael_Fay)
- 2007 Kenya Airways Flight 507 crashed immediately after takeoff from Douala International Airport in Cameroon, resulting in the deaths of all 114 people aboard. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kenya_Airways_Flight_507)
- 2020 Philippine broadcast network ABS-CBN was forced to go off-air by the National Telecommunications Commission after Congress failed to renew its franchise granted in 1995. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shutdown_of_ABS-CBN_broadcasting)
- 2023 The World Health Organization declared the end of COVID-19 as a global health emergency. [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/COVID-19_pandemic)

## Born on May 5

- 1210 Afonso III of Portugal (died 1279) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Afonso_III_of_Portugal)
- 1747 Leopold II, Holy Roman Emperor (died 1792) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leopold_II%2C_Holy_Roman_Emperor)
- 1813 Søren Kierkegaard, Danish philosopher and author (died 1855) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/S%C3%B8ren_Kierkegaard)
- 1818 Karl Marx, German philosopher, sociologist, and journalist (died 1883) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karl_Marx)
- 1826 Eugénie de Montijo, French wife of Napoleon III (died 1920) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eug%C3%A9nie_de_Montijo)
- 1846 Henryk Sienkiewicz, Polish journalist and author, Nobel Prize laureate (died 1916) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henryk_Sienkiewicz)
- 1864 Nellie Bly, American journalist and author (died 1922) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nellie_Bly)
- 1883 Archibald Wavell, 1st Earl Wavell, English general and politician, 43rd Governor-General of India (died 1950) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Archibald_Wavell%2C_1st_Earl_Wavell)
- 1914 Tyrone Power, American actor (died 1958) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tyrone_Power)
- 1916 Zail Singh, Indian politician, 7th President of India (died 1994) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zail_Singh)
- 1919 Georgios Papadopoulos, Greek colonel and politician, Prime Minister of Greece (died 1999) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georgios_Papadopoulos)
- 1921 Arthur Leonard Schawlow, American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (died 1999) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arthur_Leonard_Schawlow)
- 1943 Michael Palin, English actor and screenwriter [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Palin)
- 1944 John Rhys-Davies, Welsh actor and screenwriter [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Rhys-Davies)
- 1980 Yossi Benayoun, Israeli footballer [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yossi_Benayoun)
- 1981 Craig David, English singer-songwriter, musician and producer [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Craig_David)
- 1983 Henry Cavill, English actor [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Cavill)
- 1988 Adele, English singer-songwriter [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adele)
- 1991 Raúl Jiménez, Mexican footballer [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ra%C3%BAl_Jim%C3%A9nez)
- 1998 Aryna Sabalenka, Belarusian tennis player [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aryna_Sabalenka)
- 1999 Justin Kluivert, Dutch footballer [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Justin_Kluivert)
- 2003 Carlos Alcaraz, Spanish tennis player [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carlos_Alcaraz)

## Died on May 5

- 1705 Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor (born 1640) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leopold_I%2C_Holy_Roman_Emperor)
- 1821 Napoleon, French general and emperor (born 1769) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Napoleon)
- 1827 Frederick Augustus I of Saxony (born 1750) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frederick_Augustus_I_of_Saxony)
- 1859 Peter Gustav Lejeune Dirichlet, German mathematician and academic (born 1805) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Gustav_Lejeune_Dirichlet)
- 1902 Bret Harte, American short story writer and poet (born 1836) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bret_Harte)
- 1921 Alfred Hermann Fried, Austrian journalist and publicist, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1864) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfred_Hermann_Fried)
- 1959 Carlos Saavedra Lamas, Argentinian academic and politician, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1878) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carlos_Saavedra_Lamas)
- 1977 Ludwig Erhard, German economist and politician, Chancellor of Germany (born 1897) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ludwig_Erhard)
- 1981 Bobby Sands, PIRA volunteer, died on hunger strike (born 1954) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bobby_Sands)
- 1995 Mikhail Botvinnik, Russian chess player and coach (born 1911) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mikhail_Botvinnik)
- 2000 Gino Bartali, Italian cyclist (born 1914) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gino_Bartali)
- 2010 Umaru Musa Yar'Adua, Nigerian academic and politician, 13th President of Nigeria (born 1951) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Umaru_Musa_Yar'Adua)
- 2024 César Luis Menotti, Argentine footballer and manager (born 1938) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C%C3%A9sar_Luis_Menotti)
- 2024 Bernard Hill, English actor (born 1944) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bernard_Hill)

## Holidays and observances

- Children's Day (Japan, South Korea) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Children's_Day)
- Christian feast day: Angelus of Jerusalem [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angelus_of_Jerusalem)
- Christian feast day: Aventinus of Tours [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aventinus_of_Tours)
- Christian feast day: Blessed Caterina Cittadini [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caterina_Cittadini)
- Christian feast day: Blessed Edmund Ignatius Rice [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edmund_Ignatius_Rice)
- Christian feast day: Frederick the Wise (Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frederick_III_of_Saxony)
- Christian feast day: Gotthard of Hildesheim [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gotthard_of_Hildesheim)
- Christian feast day: Blessed Grzegorz Bolesław Frąckowiak [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grzegorz_Boles%C5%82aw_Fr%C4%85ckowiak)
- Christian feast day: Hilary of Arles [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hilary_of_Arles)
- Christian feast day: Jutta of Kulmsee [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jutta_of_Kulmsee)
- Christian feast day: Stanisław Kazimierczyk [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stanis%C5%82aw_Kazimierczyk)
- Christian feast day: May 5 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/May_5_(Eastern_Orthodox_liturgics))
- Cinco de Mayo (Mexico, United States) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cinco_de_Mayo)
- Constitution Day (Kyrgyzstan) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constitution_Day)
- Europe Day (Council of Europe) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Europe_Day)
- Feast of al-Khadr or Saint George (Palestinian) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_George)
- Indian Arrival Day (Guyana) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_Arrival_Day)
- International Midwives' Day (International) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Day_of_the_Midwife)
- Liberation Day (Denmark, Netherlands) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liberation_Day_(Netherlands))
- Lusophone Culture Day (Community of Portuguese Language Countries) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Community_of_Portuguese_Language_Countries)
- World Portuguese Language Day (International) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Portuguese_Language_Day)
- Martyrs' Day (Albania) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martyrs'_Day_(Albania))
- Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women Awareness Day (Canada and United States) [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Missing_and_Murdered_Indigenous_Women)
- National Cartoonist Day [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Cartoonist_Day)

## Sources

- [Wikipedia — “May 5”](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/May_5) — events, births, deaths and observances (text under CC BY-SA 4.0) (checked 2026-10-15)
- [Wikipedia — “Selected anniversaries/May 5”](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Selected_anniversaries/May_5) — the anniversaries editors chose for the date and the article each one is about (checked 2026-10-15)
- [Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org/) — in how many language editions each entry's own article exists, used to fill the lists (CC0) (checked 2026-10-15)
- [vacanza/holidays (open-source holiday rules, MIT licence)](https://github.com/vacanza/holidays) — holiday rules used to build the lists (checked 2026-10-15)

The events, births, deaths and observances above are from the English Wikipedia article [“May 5”](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/May_5) and the articles it links to ([authors and history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/May_5?action=history)), retrieved 2026-10-15 through the Wikimedia “On this day” feed. They are licensed under [CC BY-SA 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/); this selection is shared under the same licence. Every anniversary that Wikipedia's editors selected for May 5 stays on the list; the remaining places, up to 26 events, 22 births and 14 deaths, go to the entries whose own article — about the event itself, or else the person or thing it is about — appears in the most language editions (counted from Wikidata); an article about a person or thing, which covers far more than one day, counts half. An entry with no article of its own counts, also at half, by the least covered article it links, and one that links only places counts for nothing. Each list runs by year, and the wording is unchanged apart from removing references to pictures, audio and video.

## May 5 in the calendar

| Year | Weekday | ISO week | Moon (UTC) |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 2026 | Tuesday | 2026-W19 | 🌖 Waning Gibbous |
| 2027 | Wednesday | 2027-W18 | 🌘 Waning Crescent |
| 2028 | Friday | 2028-W18 | 🌔 Waxing Gibbous |
| 2029 | Saturday | 2029-W18 | 🌗 Last Quarter |
| 2030 | Sunday | 2030-W18 | 🌒 Waxing Crescent |

Moon phases are for the day in UTC; at the edges of a phase your local date can differ.

## Public holidays on May 5

- [🇨🇳 China](https://whathappen.today/holidays/china/): Day off (worked on Saturday 9 May instead) (day off in lieu) (2026)
- [🇯🇵 Japan](https://whathappen.today/holidays/japan/): Children's Day (2026 and 2027)
- [🇰🇷 South Korea](https://whathappen.today/holidays/south-korea/): Children's Day (2026 and 2027)

[Today's holidays in 28 countries →](https://whathappen.today/holidays/)

## Nearby dates

[← May 4](https://whathappen.today/on-this-day/may-4/) · [May 6 →](https://whathappen.today/on-this-day/may-6/)

[All 366 days](https://whathappen.today/on-this-day/)

Last updated: 15 October 2026

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Web page: https://whathappen.today/on-this-day/may-5/