May 5 facts for kids

May 5 is the 125th day of the year (126th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar; 240 days remain until the end of the year.

May 5th is a special day around the world, filled with many important events and the birthdays of famous people. From ancient councils to modern space travel, this date has seen history being made. It's also a day for celebrations and remembering important moments in different countries.

Historic Events on May 5

Early History (Before 1600)

• 553 – The Second Council of Constantinople began. This was an important meeting for the Christian Church.
• 1215 – Powerful barons in England stopped supporting King John. This event helped lead to the signing of the Magna Carta, a document that limited the king's power.
• 1260 – Kublai Khan became the leader of the huge Mongol Empire.
• 1494 – On his second trip to the New World, Christopher Columbus saw Jamaica. He landed there and claimed it for Spain.

Later History (1601–1900)

• 1609 – A Japanese lord, Shimazu Tadatsune, successfully invaded the Ryūkyū Kingdom in Okinawa.
• 1640 – King Charles I of England closed down a meeting of Parliament called the Short Parliament.
• 1654 – An act called Cromwell's Act of Grace was announced in Edinburgh. It aimed to make peace with the Scottish people.
• 1762 – Russia and Prussia signed the Treaty of St. Petersburg, ending a conflict between them.
• 1789 – In France, the Estates-General met for the first time since 1614. This meeting was a big step towards the French Revolution.
• 1809 – Mary Dixon Kies became the first woman in the U.S. to get a patent. Her patent was for a new way to weave straw with silk and thread.
• 1821 – Emperor Napoleon passed away while in exile on the island of Saint Helena.
• 1821 – The first edition of The Manchester Guardian, now known as The Guardian newspaper, was published.
• 1835 – The very first railway in mainland Europe opened. It connected Brussels and Mechelen in Belgium.
• 1862 – Cinco de Mayo: Mexican troops, led by Ignacio Zaragoza, stopped a French invasion in the Battle of Puebla in Mexico. This day is still celebrated.
• 1864 – American Civil War: The Battle of the Wilderness began in Spotsylvania County.
• 1865 – American Civil War: The government of the Confederate states was officially declared dissolved.
• 1866 – Memorial Day was first celebrated in the United States in Waterloo, New York.
• 1877 – American Indian Wars: Sitting Bull led his group of Lakota into Canada to avoid the United States Army.
• 1886 – Workers marching for an Eight-hour day in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, were shot at by the Wisconsin National Guardsmen.
• 1887 – The Peruvian Academy of Language was founded to promote the Spanish language in Peru.
• 1891 – The Music Hall in New York City, later known as Carnegie Hall, had its grand opening. The famous composer Tchaikovsky was a guest conductor.

Modern Era (1901–Present)

• 1904 – Baseball legend Cy Young threw the first perfect game in modern baseball history. He was pitching for the Boston Americans.
• 1905 – A trial began in London where fingerprint evidence was used for the first time to convict someone of murder.
• 1912 – The first issue of the Bolshevik newspaper Pravda was published.
• 1930 – A major earthquake in southern Burma killed many people in Yangon and Bago.
• 1936 – Italian troops took control of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
• 1940 – World War II: Norwegian forces in Hegra Fortress and Vinjesvingen surrendered to German forces.
• 1941 – Emperor Haile Selassie returned to Addis Ababa, marking Liberation Day for Ethiopia.
• 1945 – World War II: The Prague uprising began as Czech resistance fighters tried to free their city from German control.
• 1945 – World War II: A Japanese balloon bomb killed six people near Bly, Oregon.
• 1945 – World War II: The Battle of Castle Itter took place. It was one of the few times in the war where American and German troops fought together.
• 1946 – The International Military Tribunal for the Far East began in Tokyo. Japanese officials were accused of war crimes.
• 1955 – The General Treaty came into effect. This treaty recognized West Germany as a sovereign nation.
• 1961 – Project Mercury: Alan Shepard became the first American to travel into outer space.
• 1964 – The Council of Europe declared May 5th as Europe Day.
• 1972 – Alitalia Flight 112 crashed in Sicily, killing all 115 people on board.
• 1973 – Secretariat won the 1973 Kentucky Derby in record time, which is still unbeaten.
• 1980 – British Special Air Service troops stormed the Iranian embassy in London, ending a six-day siege.
• 1987 – Iran–Contra affair: Televised hearings began in the United States Congress about this political scandal.
• 1991 – A riot broke out in the Mt. Pleasant section of Washington, D.C., after police shot a Salvadoran man.
• 1994 – The Bishkek Protocol was signed, which helped to stop the fighting in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.
• 1994 – American teenager Michael P. Fay was caned in Singapore for theft and vandalism.
• 2006 – The government of Sudan signed a peace agreement with the Sudan Liberation Army.
• 2007 – Kenya Airways Flight 507 crashed after takeoff in Cameroon, killing all 114 people on board.
• 2010 – Large protests happened in Greece because of government spending cuts during the Greek government-debt crisis.
• 2023 – The World Health Organization announced that the COVID-19 pandemic was no longer a global health emergency.

Famous Birthdays on May 5

• 1813 – Søren Kierkegaard, a famous Danish philosopher.
• 1818 – Karl Marx, a German philosopher and writer.
• 1826 – Eugénie de Montijo, the wife of Napoleon III of France.
• 1864 – Nellie Bly, an American journalist known for her investigative reporting.
• 1882 – Sylvia Pankhurst, an English leader in the women's right to vote movement.
• 1914 – Tyrone Power, a popular American actor.
• 1915 – Alice Faye, an American actress and singer.
• 1916 – Zail Singh, who became the 7th President of India.
• 1943 – Michael Palin, an English actor and writer, famous from Monty Python.
• 1944 – John Rhys-Davies, a Welsh actor known for roles in The Lord of the Rings.
• 1957 – Richard E. Grant, a Swazi-English actor.
• 1981 – Craig David, an English singer-songwriter.
• 1983 – Henry Cavill, an English actor known for playing Superman.
• 1988 – Adele, a very famous English singer-songwriter.
• 1999 – Nathan Chen, an American figure skater and Olympic champion.
• 2003 – Carlos Alcaraz, a Spanish tennis player who became a world champion.

Notable People Who Passed Away on May 5

• 1821 – Napoleon, the famous French general and emperor.
• 1892 – August Wilhelm von Hofmann, an important German chemist.
• 1921 – Alfred Hermann Fried, an Austrian journalist who won the Nobel Peace Prize.
• 1959 – Carlos Saavedra Lamas, an Argentinian who won the Nobel Peace Prize.
• 2007 – Theodore Harold Maiman, an American physicist who created the laser.
• 2008 – Irv Robbins, who co-founded the famous ice cream company Baskin-Robbins.
• 2010 – Umaru Musa Yar'Adua, who was the 13th President of Nigeria.

Special Days and Celebrations

• Children's Day (Japan, South Korea)
• Cinco de Mayo (Mexico, United States)
• Constitution Day (Kyrgyzstan)
• Europe Day (Council of Europe)
• Indian Arrival Day (Guyana)
• International Midwives' Day (International)
• Liberation Day (Denmark, Netherlands)
• Lusophone Culture Day (for countries that speak Portuguese)
• Martyrs' Day (Albania)
• National Cartoonist Day
• Patriots' Victory Day (Ethiopia)
• Revenge of the Fifth (a fun day related to Star Wars Day)
• Senior Citizens Day (Palau)
• Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women Awareness Day (Canada and United States)

See also

In Spanish: 5 de mayo para niños