February 5 facts for kids

February 5 is the 36th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar; 329 days remain until the end of the year (330 in leap years).

February 5th is a day filled with many important events throughout history, from ancient times to the modern era. It's a day when leaders rose, new inventions changed the world, and significant moments in science, politics, and culture took place. Let's explore some of the key events and notable people born or who passed away on this date.

Historical Events on February 5

Ancient Times and Early History

• 2 BC – Caesar Augustus, a powerful Roman leader, was given the special title pater patriae by the Roman Senate. This means "Father of the Country."
• 62 AD – A strong earthquake shook the city of Pompeii in Italy. This was years before the famous volcanic eruption.
• 756 – On the Chinese New Year, a general named An Lushan declared himself Emperor of China. He started a short-lived kingdom called Yan.
• 1576 – During the French Wars of Religion, Henry of Navarre decided to leave the Catholic faith at Tours. He then rejoined the Protestant forces.
• 1597 – In Japan, a group of early Japanese Christians, known as Kakure Kirishitan, were put to death. The new government saw them as a threat to society.

From the 1600s to the 1900s

• 1783 – A series of powerful earthquakes began in Calabria, Italy.
• 1810 – The Peninsular War saw the start of the Siege of Cádiz. This was a long military blockade.
• 1818 – Jean-Baptiste Bernadotte became the king of both Sweden and Norway. He was known as Charles XIV John.
• 1852 – The New Hermitage Museum in Saint Petersburg, Russia, opened to the public. It is one of the world's largest and oldest museums.
• 1859 – Alexandru Ioan Cuza, who was already the Prince of Moldavia, was also chosen as the prince of Wallachia. This joined the two regions into the United Principalities. This step helped create the modern country of Romania.
• 1869 – The largest alluvial gold nugget ever found was discovered. It was called the "Welcome Stranger" and was found in Moliagul, Australia.
• 1885 – King Leopold II of Belgium took control of the Congo. He made it his personal territory.

Modern Events (1901-Present)

• 1901 – J. P. Morgan created U.S. Steel in New Jersey. This company became a giant in the steel industry.
• 1907 – A Belgian scientist named Leo Baekeland announced his invention of Bakelite. This was the world's first fully synthetic plastic.
• 1913 – Two Greek military pilots, Michael Moutoussis and Aristeidis Moraitinis, made history. They flew the first ever naval air mission in a Farman MF.7 hydroplane.
• 1917 – Mexico adopted its current constitution. It set up a federal republic with separate government branches.
• 1918 – Stephen W. Thompson shot down a German airplane. This was the first time the U.S. military achieved an aerial victory.
• 1919 – Famous actors Charlie Chaplin, Mary Pickford, and Douglas Fairbanks, along with director D. W. Griffith, started their own movie studio called United Artists.
• 1924 – The Royal Greenwich Observatory began broadcasting the hourly time signals. These are known as the Greenwich Time Signal.
• 1933 – A mutiny happened on the Royal Netherlands Navy warship HNLMS De Zeven Provinciën. It occurred off the coast of Sumatra.
• 1945 – During World War II, General Douglas MacArthur returned to Manila in the Philippines.
• 1958 – A hydrogen bomb called the Tybee Bomb was lost by the US Air Force. It disappeared off the coast of Savannah, Georgia, and was never found.
• 1962 – French President Charles de Gaulle called for Algeria to become independent.
• 1971 – Astronauts landed on the Moon as part of the Apollo 14 mission.
• 1985 – The mayors of Rome and Carthage signed a friendship treaty. This officially ended the Third Punic War, which had lasted for 2,131 years!
• 1997 – Three major banks in Switzerland announced a $71 million fund. This fund was created to help Holocaust survivors and their families.
• 2008 – A large tornado outbreak hit the Southern United States, causing many deaths.
• 2019 – Pope Francis became the first Pope to visit and perform a papal mass in the Arabian Peninsula. This happened during his visit to Abu Dhabi.
• 2020 – United States President Donald Trump was found not guilty by the United States Senate in his first impeachment trial.

Famous Birthdays on February 5

Born Before the 1900s

• 1438 – Philip II, a duke of Savoy.
• 1505 – Aegidius Tschudi, a Swiss statesman and historian.
• 1519 – René of Châlon, a prince of Orange.
• 1788 – Robert Peel, an English politician who became Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.
• 1804 – Johan Ludvig Runeberg, a Finnish poet.
• 1840 – John Boyd Dunlop, a Scottish businessman who co-founded Dunlop Rubber.
• 1840 – Hiram Maxim, an American engineer who invented the Maxim gun.
• 1878 – André Citroën, a French engineer and businessman who founded the car company Citroën.
• 1900 – Adlai Stevenson II, an American politician and diplomat.

Born in the 1900s and Beyond

• 1906 – John Carradine, a well-known American actor.
• 1914 – William S. Burroughs, an American novelist and writer.
• 1914 – Alan Lloyd Hodgkin, an English physiologist who won a Nobel Prize.
• 1915 – Robert Hofstadter, an American physicist who won a Nobel Prize.
• 1919 – Red Buttons, an American actor.
• 1934 – Hank Aaron, a legendary American baseball player.
• 1934 – Don Cherry, a Canadian ice hockey player and sportscaster.
• 1940 – H. R. Giger, a Swiss artist known for his unique designs.
• 1942 – Roger Staubach, an American football player.
• 1943 – Nolan Bushnell, an American engineer who founded Atari, Inc..
• 1946 – Charlotte Rampling, an English actress.
• 1948 – Sven-Göran Eriksson, a Swedish football manager.
• 1948 – Barbara Hershey, an American actress.
• 1956 – David Wiesner, an American author and illustrator.
• 1959 – Jennifer Granholm, a Canadian-American lawyer and politician.
• 1962 – Jennifer Jason Leigh, an American actress.
• 1964 – Laura Linney, an American actress.
• 1964 – Duff McKagan, an American musician, famous as the bass player for Guns N' Roses.
• 1965 – Gheorghe Hagi, a famous Romanian footballer.
• 1969 – Bobby Brown, an American singer.
• 1969 & Michael Sheen, a Welsh actor.
• 1972 – Queen Mary of Denmark.
• 1975 – Giovanni van Bronckhorst, a Dutch footballer.
• 1976 – Abhishek Bachchan, an Indian actor.
• 1977 – Ben Ainslie, an English sailor.
• 1985 – Cristiano Ronaldo, a world-famous Portuguese footballer.
• 1986 – Kevin Gates, an American rapper and singer.
• 1987 – Darren Criss, an American actor and singer.
• 1992 – Neymar, a famous Brazilian footballer.
• 2016 – Jigme Namgyel Wangchuck, a prince of Bhutan.

Notable Deaths on February 5

Passed Away Before the 1900s

• 523 – Avitus of Vienne, a Gallo-Roman bishop.
• 1015 – Adelaide, a German abbess and saint.
• 1661 – Shunzhi, an emperor of the Qing Dynasty in China.
• 1705 – Philipp Spener, a German theologian.
• 1790 – William Cullen, a Scottish physician and chemist.
• 1818 – Charles XIII, the king of Sweden.
• 1881 – Thomas Carlyle, a Scottish philosopher and historian.

Passed Away in the 1900s and Beyond

• 1922 – Slavoljub Eduard Penkala, a Croatian engineer who invented the mechanical pencil.
• 1937 – Lou Andreas-Salomé, a Russian-German psychoanalyst and author.
• 1941 – Banjo Paterson, a famous Australian journalist and poet.
• 1967 – Leon Leonwood Bean, an American businessman who founded L.L.Bean.
• 1969 – Thelma Ritter, an American actress.
• 1972 – Marianne Moore, an American poet.
• 1981 – Ella Grasso, an American politician and the 83rd Governor of Connecticut.
• 1993 – Joseph L. Mankiewicz, an American film director and producer.
• 1999 – Wassily Leontief, a Russian-American economist who won a Nobel Prize.
• 2005 – Gnassingbé Eyadéma, a Togolese general and President of Togo.
• 2008 – Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, an Indian guru who started Transcendental Meditation.
• 2011 – Brian Jacques, an English author known for his Redwall series.
• 2015 – Val Logsdon Fitch, an American physicist who won a Nobel Prize.
• 2020 – Kirk Douglas, a legendary American actor.
• 2021 – Christopher Plummer, a Canadian actor.
• 2023 – Pervez Musharraf, a Pakistani military officer and President of Pakistan.
• 2024 – Toby Keith, an American country singer.

Holidays and Observances

• Christian feast day:
  • Adelaide of Vilich
  • Agatha of Sicily
  • Avitus of Vienne
  • Bertulf (Bertoul) of Renty
  • Ingenuinus (Jenewein)
  • Roger Williams, Anne Hutchinson (Episcopal Church (United States))
  • 26 Martyrs of Japan (in Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and Anglican Church in Japan)
  • February 5 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
• Kashmir Solidarity Day (Pakistan)

See also

In Spanish: 5 de febrero para niños