1494 Christopher Columbus landed in Jamaica on May 5, 1494 and claimed it for Spain. The adventurer named the island St Iago (St James). The indigenous Arawak people called the island Xaymaca (meaning Land of Wood and Water, or Land of Springs) from which the name Jamaica derives.
1652 In June 1642, the 35-year-old pamphleteer and poet John Milton paid a visit to the manor house at Forest Hill, Oxfordshire, and returned with a pretty 16-year-old bride, Mary Powell They had four children: Anne, Mary, John, and Deborah. Mary died on May 5, 1652 from complications following Deborah's birth three days earlier. Her death affected Milton deeply, as evidenced by his 23rd sonnet.
1654 Oliver Cromwell's Act of Grace, which pardoned the people of Scotland for any crimes they may have committed during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms, was proclaimed at the Mercat Cross in Edinburgh on May 5, 1654. The Act was not without conditions, as it required the Scots to recognize the authority of the English Parliament and to pay compensation to any English soldiers or civilians who had suffered losses during the conflict.
1760 Laurence Shirley, 4th Earl Ferrers, was the last peer to be hanged on May 5, 1760, after being convicted of murdering his steward, John Johnson. He killed his servant after being given bad oysters. Ferrers was the first felon to be killed by the ‘hangman’s drop’ technique of execution — where the condemned dies instantly from a broken neck rather than being slowly throttled.
1809 Mary Kies was the first woman to be issued a US patent. She was granted on May 5, 1809 a patent for the rights to a technique for weaving straw with silk and thread to make bonnets, which was a significant innovation in the millinery industry at the time. Kies' patent was signed by President James Madison himself,
1816 John Keats was introduced to the literature of Edmund Spenser by the headmaster's son at Clarkes. Spenser's works, particularly The Faerie Queene, was to prove a turning point in Keats' development as a poet; it was to inspire Keats to write his first poem, "Imitation of Spenser" in 1814, when he was 19. On May 5, 1816 the radical Leigh Hunt’s liberal journal The Examiner published Keats' sonnet "O Solitude" in his magazine. It was the first appearance in print of Keats's poetry.
1818 Karl Marx was born into a progressive middle class Jewish family on May 5, 1818 at Bruckenstrausse 10, Trier, Prussia, (now Germany). The Marx household hosted many visiting intellectuals and artists during Karl's early life. In 1830 Karl Marx started attending Trier High School. His senior thesis, which anticipated his later development of a social analysis of religion, was a treatise entitled Religion: The Glue That Binds Society Together, for which he won a prize.
1821 In February 1821, Napoleon's health began to deteriorate rapidly and he reconciled with the Catholic Church. He died of stomach cancer on May 5, 1821 after confession, Extreme Unction and Viaticum in the presence of Father Ange Vignali. Napoleon's last words were, "France, l'armée, tête d'armée, Joséphine" ("France, army, head of the army, Joséphine").
1821 Beethoven's 3rd Symphony was originally called Bonaparte as tribute to Napoleon, the First Consul. When Napoleon proclaimed himself Emperor in 1804, the disillusioned Beethoven tore up the pages of his score in a rage, stamped on it and changed it to Eroica (meaning heroic). When informed of the death of Napoleon on May 5, 1821, Beethoven said, "I wrote the music for this sad event seventeen years ago", referring to the funereal second movement.
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| Old map of Jamaica |
1652 In June 1642, the 35-year-old pamphleteer and poet John Milton paid a visit to the manor house at Forest Hill, Oxfordshire, and returned with a pretty 16-year-old bride, Mary Powell They had four children: Anne, Mary, John, and Deborah. Mary died on May 5, 1652 from complications following Deborah's birth three days earlier. Her death affected Milton deeply, as evidenced by his 23rd sonnet.
1654 Oliver Cromwell's Act of Grace, which pardoned the people of Scotland for any crimes they may have committed during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms, was proclaimed at the Mercat Cross in Edinburgh on May 5, 1654. The Act was not without conditions, as it required the Scots to recognize the authority of the English Parliament and to pay compensation to any English soldiers or civilians who had suffered losses during the conflict.
1760 Laurence Shirley, 4th Earl Ferrers, was the last peer to be hanged on May 5, 1760, after being convicted of murdering his steward, John Johnson. He killed his servant after being given bad oysters. Ferrers was the first felon to be killed by the ‘hangman’s drop’ technique of execution — where the condemned dies instantly from a broken neck rather than being slowly throttled.
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| 18th century illustration of Lord Ferrers shooting his steward |
1809 Mary Kies was the first woman to be issued a US patent. She was granted on May 5, 1809 a patent for the rights to a technique for weaving straw with silk and thread to make bonnets, which was a significant innovation in the millinery industry at the time. Kies' patent was signed by President James Madison himself,
1816 John Keats was introduced to the literature of Edmund Spenser by the headmaster's son at Clarkes. Spenser's works, particularly The Faerie Queene, was to prove a turning point in Keats' development as a poet; it was to inspire Keats to write his first poem, "Imitation of Spenser" in 1814, when he was 19. On May 5, 1816 the radical Leigh Hunt’s liberal journal The Examiner published Keats' sonnet "O Solitude" in his magazine. It was the first appearance in print of Keats's poetry.
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| Portrait of John Keats by William Hilton. |
1818 Karl Marx was born into a progressive middle class Jewish family on May 5, 1818 at Bruckenstrausse 10, Trier, Prussia, (now Germany). The Marx household hosted many visiting intellectuals and artists during Karl's early life. In 1830 Karl Marx started attending Trier High School. His senior thesis, which anticipated his later development of a social analysis of religion, was a treatise entitled Religion: The Glue That Binds Society Together, for which he won a prize.
1821 In February 1821, Napoleon's health began to deteriorate rapidly and he reconciled with the Catholic Church. He died of stomach cancer on May 5, 1821 after confession, Extreme Unction and Viaticum in the presence of Father Ange Vignali. Napoleon's last words were, "France, l'armée, tête d'armée, Joséphine" ("France, army, head of the army, Joséphine").
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| Napoleon on his death bed, by Horace Vernet, 1826 |
1821 Beethoven's 3rd Symphony was originally called Bonaparte as tribute to Napoleon, the First Consul. When Napoleon proclaimed himself Emperor in 1804, the disillusioned Beethoven tore up the pages of his score in a rage, stamped on it and changed it to Eroica (meaning heroic). When informed of the death of Napoleon on May 5, 1821, Beethoven said, "I wrote the music for this sad event seventeen years ago", referring to the funereal second movement.
1830 John Batterson Stetson was born into a family of New Jersey hatters on May 5, 1830, the 8th of 12 children. Stetson was diagnosed with tuberculosis and he left New Jersey to explore the American West. In 1865 he designed The Boss of the Plains, a lightweight all-weather hat for the demands of the American West. Stetson's cowboy hat was later renamed "Stetson" after the maker. The Stetson soon became the most well-known headgear in the West.
1835 The first railway in continental Europe opened on May 5, 1835 between Brussels and Mechelen in Belgium. The rapid expansion of the Belgian railways in the 1830s was one of the factors allowing Belgium to recover from an economic recession which it had experienced since the revolution and served as a major force in the Belgian Industrial Revolution.
1868 When Memorial Day was originally created, it was actually called Decoration Day. On May 5, 1868, three years after the Civil War ended, Major. General John A. Logan, the head of the Grand Army of the Republic, an organization of Union veterans, called for the creation of Decoration Day as a nationwide decorating of the graves of those who died in the war with flowers.
1904 Pitching against the Philadelphia Athletics at Boston's Huntington Avenue Grounds Cy Young of the Boston Americans threw the first perfect game in the modern era of baseball. In front of 10,267 fans the pitcher retired all 27 batters he faced on Thursday, May 5, 1904.
1835 The first railway in continental Europe opened on May 5, 1835 between Brussels and Mechelen in Belgium. The rapid expansion of the Belgian railways in the 1830s was one of the factors allowing Belgium to recover from an economic recession which it had experienced since the revolution and served as a major force in the Belgian Industrial Revolution.
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| Painting of the opening of the Brussels-Mechelen railway on 5 May 1835 |
1862 In the early 1860s Mexico was occupied by France, which established the Second Mexican Empire under the rule of the Habsburg Archduke Ferdinand Maximilian of Austria with support from the Roman Catholic clergy and the conservadores. Troops led by Ignacio Zaragoza halted a French invasion of Mexico in the Battle of Puebla on May 5, 1862. The celebration of Cinco de Mayo held every May 5 commemorates Mexico's victory over its French occupiers at the Battle of Puebla.
1868 When Memorial Day was originally created, it was actually called Decoration Day. On May 5, 1868, three years after the Civil War ended, Major. General John A. Logan, the head of the Grand Army of the Republic, an organization of Union veterans, called for the creation of Decoration Day as a nationwide decorating of the graves of those who died in the war with flowers.
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| The Tomb of the Unknowns located in Arlington National Cemetery |
1904 Pitching against the Philadelphia Athletics at Boston's Huntington Avenue Grounds Cy Young of the Boston Americans threw the first perfect game in the modern era of baseball. In front of 10,267 fans the pitcher retired all 27 batters he faced on Thursday, May 5, 1904.
1912 After losing her first husband, Robert, to malaria, Aimee Semple joined her mother Minnie working with the Salvation Army. While in New York City, she met Harold McPherson, an accountant. They were married on May 5, 1912, moved to Providence, Rhode Island and had a son, Rolf Potter Kennedy McPherson, in March 1913. By 1915 Aimee Semple McPherson was working as an evangelist. Harold, wanting a life that was more stable and predicable, divorced her in 1921.
1912 Pravda was founded in Moscow by a wealthy railway engineer, V. A. Kozhevnikov in the early 20th century. The paper was moved to Vienna in 1909, where Russian exile Leon Trotsky, took over its editorship. In 1912, the Communist party under the leadership of Vladimir Lenin decided to make Pravda its official mouthpiece. The newspaper was shifted from Vienna to St. Petersburg and the first issue under Lenin's leadership was published on May 5, 1912, the anniversary of Karl Marx's birth.
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| Vladimir Lenin reading Pravda |
1921 When Coco Chanel commissioned French Ernest Beaux to make some perfumes, he presented with small glass vials containing sample scent compositions numbered 1 to 5 and 20 to 24 for her assessment. It was bottle No.5 that was to Chanel's liking and became the chosen formula. Coco Chanel launched her famous perfume Chanel No. 5 in Paris on May 5, 1921. Chanel No. 5 was the first perfume ever to be named after its designer.
1941 In 1935 Italy attacked Ethiopia. The country's emperor, Haile Selassie, was forced to flee the country, with the Italian troops entering Addis Ababa to proclaim an empire by May 1936, making Ethiopia part of Italian East Africa. Haile Selassie returned from exile in 1941. On May 5, Selassie and an army of Ethiopian Free Forces entered Addis Ababa. Ethiopia commemorates the date as Liberation Day or Patriots' Victory Day.
1945 Five days after Hitler's suicide, on May 5, 1945, American and German soldiers fought together against the Nazi SS to free prominent French prisoners of war from Itter Castle. It is believed to be the only World War II battle in which Americans and Germans fought together as allies.
1948 In the past, Children's Day in Japan was celebrated on two separate days: Girls' Day on March 3rd: and Boys' Day on May 5th. In 1948, the Japanese government changed May 5th to Children's Day (Kodomo no Hi) to be a more inclusive celebration for all children.. However, some traditions from Boys' Day are still observed on May 5th.
1961 Rear Admiral Alan Shepard became the first American to travel into outer space, when on May 5, 1961, the astronaut piloted the Mercury-Redstone 3 spacecraft on a sub-orbital flight. The flight reached an altitude of 116 statute miles and lasted just over 15 minutes. Shepard's flight was a major achievement for the United States and helped to boost morale during the Cold War.
1973 Secretariat's performance in the 1973 Kentucky Derby is considered one of the greatest in horse racing history. He not only won the race but set a record time of 1 minute 59.4 seconds, which still stands as the fastest time ever recorded in the Kentucky Derby. He also set a record for the last quarter mile, running it in just 23 seconds. Secretariat went on to win the Triple Crown that year, cementing his place in racing history as one of the all-time greats.
1978 Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield first met in a Junior High gym class at Merrick Avenue Middle School in New York. The two were both lagging behind while running, which caused the gym teacher to yell at them. From there, the two became best friends. On May 5, 1978, with a $12,000 investment Ben and Jerry opened their first ice cream parlor in a renovated gas station in downtown Burlington, Vermont.
1981 Bobby Sands was the leader of The Irish Hunger Strike in 1981, in which Irish republican prisoners protested against the removal of Special Category Status. Bobby Sands was elected Member of Parliament during the strike as an Anti H-Block candidate, gaining it huge media interest from around the world. The strike ended after ten prisoners had starved themselves to death—including Sands on May 5, 1981, his funeral was attended by 100,000 people.
1988 The singer Adele was born on May 5, 1988 in Tottenham, London. Her first public singing performance was in a school presentation where she sang "Rise" by Gabrielle. When she got her first record deal, Adele made just one change to her smoking habit: she moved from roll-up cigarettes to Marlboro Lights. One of the executive producers told Adele to lose weight. But she replied: "I write music for ears; not eyes."
2022 The world auction record for cars was set on May 5, 2022 when a 1955 Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR Uhlenhaut Coupé was sold by RM Sotheby’s to an unknown collector for US$142,000,000 at the Mercedes-Benz Museum.
2023 Scott Enloe reeled in a monster lake trout on May 5, 2023, at Blue Mesa Reservoir in Colorado! This whopper weighed a staggering 73.29 pounds, making it the biggest trout ever caught. Imagine a fish nearly as long as you are tall (47 inches) and wider around (37 inches)! Believe it or not, that's how big this fish was. Scott was lucky to have his son, Hunter, there to help land this giant. After a thrilling fight, they carefully measured and weighed the fish before releasing it back into the water.
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