April 5th in History

Douglas MacArthur wading ashore on Leyte, Philippines
Today in History
- The Republic of Novgorod defeats the Livonian branch of the Teutonic Knights in the Battle of the Ice (Ледовое побоище) (1242)
- Pocahontas marries English colonist John Rolfe (1614)
- Copyright law begins in the United Kingdom (1710)
- Jacob Roggeveen becomes the first European to find Easter Island (1722)
- George Washington vetoes a bill for the first time in US history (1792)
- The American Birth Control League, later named Planned Parenthood, is founded (1922)
- Prohibition in Finland ends (1932)
- North Korea launches the satellite 광명성 2호 (Kwangmyŏngsŏng-2), resulting in condemnation by the UN Security Council (2009)
Birthdays
- Thomas Hobbes, philosopher (1588)
- Elihu Yale, university namesake (1649)
- Sir Thomas Hardy, Admiral Nelson’s flag captain (1769)
- Joseph Lister, pioneer of antiseptic surgery and Listerine namesake (1827)
- Algernon Swinburne, poet (1837)
- Robert Smalls, slave who commandeered a Confederate transport to sail himself, family and crew to freedom, later a member of the US House of Representatives from South Carolina (1939)
- Booker T. Washington, author and educator (1856)
- Walter Huston, actor (1883)
- Spencer Tracy, actor (1900)
- Melvyn Douglas, actor (1901)
- Bette Davis, actress (1908)
- Ernestine Gilbreth Carey, co-author of Cheaper by the Dozen (1908)
- Albert (Cubby) Broccoli, producer (1909)
- Gregory Peck, actor (1916)
- Robert Bloch, author (1917)
- Arthur Hailey, author (1920)
- Christopher Hewett, played Mr. Belvedere (1922)
- Gale Storm, actress and singer (1922)
- Nguyễn Văn Thiệu, last president of South Vietnam (1923)
- Roger Corman, director and producer (1926)
- Frank Gorshin, actor, impressionist, and The Riddler (1933)
- Colin Powell, US general and politician (1937)
- Michael Moriarty, actor (1941)
- Max Gail, actor (1943)
- Dean Kamen, inventor (1951)
- 鳥山 明 (Akira Toriyama), manga artist (1955)
- Paula Cole, singer-songwriter (1968)
- Krista Allen, actress (1971)
Deaths
- Georges Danton, French revolutionary (1794)
- Douglas MacArthur, US general (1964)*
- Brian Donlevy, actor (1972)
- 蔣介石 (Chiang Kai-shek), Republic of China leader (1975)
- Howard Hughes, pilot, engineer, director, recluse (1976)
- Abe Fortas, Supreme Court justice (1982)
- John Tower, US senator (1991)
- Sam Walton, businessman (1992)
- Kurt Cobain, singer-songwriter and guitarist (1994)
- Allen Ginsberg, poet (1997)
- Lee Petty, race car driver (2000)
- Saul Bellow, author (2005)
- Dale Messick, creator of Brenda Starr (2005)
- Debralee Scott, actress (2005)
- Gene Pitney, singer-songwriter (2006)
- Charlton Heston, actor (2008)
* Douglas MacArthur is the lead character in my alternate history novel (with Douglas Niles), MacArthur’s War.
Holidays and Celebrations
- Arbor Day (South Korea)
- Cold Food Festival (Hanshi Festival, 寒食節) (China), also known as Hanshik (한식) in Korea and similar to Tết Hàn Thực (third day of the third lunar month) in Vietnam
- International Day of the Seal
- National Raisin and Spice Bar Day (US food holidays)
- Ougadie (Mauritius)
- Sunning of the Buddha (Tibet)
- Tomb Sweeping Day (Taiwan)
Informal and made-up holidays include Accelerate ACL Awareness Among Young Women Day, German-American Day, “Go for Broke” Day, Lady Luck Day, Mother-in-Law’s Day, National Birding Day, National Love Our Children Day, National Read a Road Map Day, Stop the Clocks Day, and Tangible Karma Day.
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April 5 is the 95th day of the year (96th in leap years). There are 270 days remaining until the end of the year.