May 5th in History

Michael Dobson | May 5

 Today in History

  • Kublai Khan (忽必烈) takes the throne (1260)
  • The Short Parliament is dissolved by Charles I (1640)
  • The first US patent is awarded to a woman, Mary Kies (1809)
  • Troops led by Ignacio Zaragoza halt a French invasion at the Battle of Puebla; the event is celebrated in Mexico as Cinco de Mayo (1862)
  • Carnegie Hall in New York (originally the Music Hall) opens with a performance by guest conductor Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1891)
  • Sacco and Vanzetti are arrested (1920)
  • John Scopes is arrested for teaching evolution in Tennessee (1925)
  • The first Three Stooges film is released (1934)
  • Alan Shepard becomes the first American to travel into outer space (1961)
  • Secretariat wins the Kentucky Derby, setting a record time of 1:59 2/5 (1973)
  • The first Frost/Nixon interview is broadcast (1980)

Births

  • Søren Kierkegaard, philosopher (1813)
  • Karl Marx, political philosopher (1819)
  • Nellie Bly, journalist (1864)
  • Archibald Wavell, 1st Earl Wavell, field marshal and governor-general (1883)
  • Christopher Morley, author (1890)
  • Blind Willie McTell, singer-songwriter (1901)
  • James Beard, chef (1903)
  • Tyrone Power, actor (1914)
  • Georgios Papadopoulos (Γεώργιος Παπαδόπουλος), Greek president (1919)
  • Ann B. Davis, actress (1925)
  • Tammy Wynette, singer-songwriter (1942)
  • Michael Palin, comedian, member of Monty Python (1943)
  • John Rhys-Davies, actor (1944)
  • Kurt Loder, journalist and television personality (1945)
  • Brian Williams, television anchorman (1959)
  • Tina Yothers, actress (1973)
  • Adele, singer-songwriter (1988)

Deaths

  • Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor (1705)
  • Napoléon Bonaparte, Emperor of the French (1821)
  • John Waters, director (1965)
  • Bobby Sands, Irish revolutionary and hunger striker (1981)
  • Michael Shaara, author (1988)
  • Paul Klipsch, audio engineer (2002)
  • Walter Sisulu, anti-apartheid activist (2003)
  • Irv Robbins, ice cream magnate, co-founder of Baskin-Robbins (2008)

Holidays and Celebrations

  • Children’s Day (Japan, South Korea)
  • Cinco de Mayo (Mexico and the United States)
  • Constitution Day (Kyrgyzstan)
  • Coronation Day, commemorates the coronation of King Bhumibol Adulyadej in 1950. (Thailand)
  • Europe Day (Council of Europe)
  • Feast of al-Khadr or St. George (Palestinian Territories)
  • Indian Arrival Day (Guyana)
  • International Midwives’ Day (International)
  • Liberation Day (Denmark, the Netherlands)
  • Lusophone Culture Day (Community of Portuguese Language Countries)
  • Martyrs’ Day (Albania)
  • Patriots’ Victory Day (Ethiopia)
  • Senior Citizens Day (Palau)
Informal and made-up holidays include Cartoonists Day, Childhood Stroke Awareness Day, Totally Chipotle Day, and Revenge of the Fifth Day (sequel to May the Fourth Be With You Day, which was yesterday).