November 5

June 5

663 The Daming Palace, located northeast of present-day Xi'an, Shaanxi Province, China, became the government seat and royal residence of the Tang Empire on June 5, 663 AD during Emperor Gaozong's reign. It served as the imperial residence of the Tang emperors for more than 220 years.


754 Saint Boniface was commissioned by Pope Gregory II in 719 to evangelize Germany. Through his efforts to reorganize and regulate the church of the Franks, Boniface helped shape Western Christianity, and many of the dioceses he proposed remain until today. He was killed on June 5, 754 by pagan Saxons and laid to rest in the Church of our Saviour in the monastery at Fulda. Unable to accommodate the constant strain of pilgrims the Ratgar Basilica was built to accommodate his tomb.

1660 Sarah Jennings, later Sarah Churchill, Duchess of Marlborough, was born on June 5, 1660. Sarah was a confidante of the future Queen Anne who created Marlborough a duke on her accession to the throne. In later life  the Duke of Marlborough was undermined by political intrigue and he fell heavily from royal favor reputedly because his wife’s constant bad temper became too much for even the devoted Queen Anne. When Sarah Jennings died in 1744, she left a fortune of £3 million.

Sarah Churchill, Duchess of Marlborough

1661 On June 5, 1661 Isaac Newton was admitted as a student at Trinity College, Cambridge, where his uncle William Ayscough had studied. At that time the college's teachings were based on those of Aristotle, but Newton preferred to read the more advanced ideas of men such as Copernicus, Descartes, Galileo and Kepler. Newton obtained his B.A. degree in August 1665, and received his Master of Arts Degree three years later.

1718 British furniture maker Thomas Chippendale was born at Otley, West Riding of Yorkshire on June 5, 1718. He was the only child of a joiner John Chippendale, and his first wife Mary (née Drake). Chippendale was famous for his graceful Neoclassical furniture, especially cabinets and chairs and his self-promotional zeal ensured they became a by-word for elegance among England's 18th-century elite. However his lack of business acumen saw him die like a pauper.

1764 Wolfgang Mozart and his older sister Nannerl, a singer and harpsichord player, toured Europe 1762 to 1765. 8-year-old Mozart and his sister appeared before the English public for the first time in the Spring Garden Rooms, London on June 5, 1764. Mozart astonished the London general public with his playing of the harpsichord with a handkerchief covering the keys. Some members of the Royal Society thought his playing was too good for a child and suspected him of being a dwarf.

The Mozart family on tour:Watercolor by Carmontelle, ca. 1763

1806 The Kingdom of Holland was formed by Napoleon on June 5, 1806 in order to better control the Netherlands with the name of the leading province, Holland, being taken for the whole country.  Napoléon's brother Louis Bonaparte was installed as a puppet king. Four years later, Napoleon annexed the Kingdom of Holland as part of the First French Empire. The Netherlands remained part of the French Empire until  1813, when Napoleon was defeated in the Battle of Leipzig.

1837 The city of Houston was founded in 1836 on land near the banks of Buffalo Bayou (now known as Allen's Landing) by Augustus Chapman Allen and John Kirby Allen. It was incorporated as a city on June 5, 1837. The city was named after General Sam Houston, who fought for Texas freedom. His victory at the Battle of San Jacinto in 1836 secured the independence of Texas from Mexico

Artist's depiction of the former Capitol building in Houston

1849 Denmark became a constitutional monarchy on June 5, 1849 when it adopted a constitution which took away powers from the King and gave rights to ordinary Danish people. June 5 is now a holiday in Denmark, called "Constitution Day".

1851 The original inspiration for Uncle Tom's Cabin came to Harriet Beecher Stowe from reading a pamphlet written by the runaway slave, Josiah Henson, describing the ignominy of a runaway slave's life.  Uncle Tom's Cabin was first published in installments in The National Era beginning on June 5, 1851, and it was published in book form early the following year,  The book did much to stir up anti slavery feelings and hatred in the northern USA for the way of life in the South.

Uncle Tom's Cabin, CLEVELAND, OHIO: JEWETT, PROCTOR & WORTHINGTON edition

1869 One of first devices that cleaned carpets before the vacuum cleaner was invented in a Chicago basement in 1869 by Ives W. McGaffey. A wood and canvas contraption, the "sweeping machine" required the user to crank a handle while pushing it along the floor as it sucked up dust. McGaffey obtained a patent for the machine on June 5, 1869, calling it the Whirlwind.

1909 The Indianapolis Motor Speedway, a raceway in Speedway, Indiana, first opened with balloon races on June 5, 1909. The speedway was started by local businessmen, including Henry Ford, as a testing facility for Indiana's growing motor industry. The idea was that occasional races at the track would pit automobiles from different manufacturers against each other. After seeing what these cars could do, the hope was that spectators would head down to the showrooms to get a closer look.


1918 Charles Lindbergh graduated from Little Falls Senior High School (where his mother taught) on June 5, 1918. He enrolled in the College of Engineering at the University of Wisconsin–Madison in late 1920, but dropped out in the middle of his sophomore year and enrolled as a student at the Nebraska Aircraft Corporation's flying school in Lincoln.

1941 Kaiser Wilhelm II died of pneumonia in Doorn on June 5, 1941 with the German occupiers on guard at the gates of his estate. He is buried in Huis Doorn, Doorn, Netherlands. Hitler granted him a small military funeral but allowed only a few lower-grade officers to attend. Wilhelm's wish that no swastikas be displayed during the service was not heeded.


1944 Several days of bad weather had made aircraft reconnaissance impossible for the Allies planned landing in Normandy on June 5, 1944. Capt. James Martin Stag, President Eisenhower's Chief Meteorologist forecast a break in the weather for June 6th when the seas were calmer. Stag's defiant decision to delay D-Day from June 5th to June 6th was dubbed "The most important weather forecast of all time".

1955 Dr. Martin Luther King received his Ph.D. in Systematic theology from Boston University on June 5, 1955, with a dissertation on "A Comparison of the Conceptions of God in the Thinking of Paul Tillich and Henry Nelson Wieman". He had been appointed pastor of the Dexter Avenue Baptist Church in Montgomery, Alabama, the previous year. In 1960 King was appointed pastor of Ebenezer Baptist Church, the church where he was baptized and his father Martin Luther King, Sr. once led.

1964 David Bowie's first ever release was "Liza Jane"/"Louie Louie Go Home" on June 5, 1964, under the name of Davie Jones with The King-Bees. Despite promoting the single on Juke Box Jury, Ready Steady Go! and The Beat Room the single failed to chart. He later changed his name to Bowie to avoid confusion with Monkee Davy Jones.


1975 On June 5, 1975, the UK held its first referendum on the question of whether the country should continue to be a member of the European Economic Community. The electorate voted by a majority of more than two to one (17,378,581 votes to 8,470,073) to stay in.

1975 The Suez Canal, which had been closed following the Six Day War in June 1967, was reopened on June 5, 1975. The canal remained shut for nearly eight years due to the presence of sunken ships and other obstacles, along with the geopolitical tensions in the region. The reopening marked a significant event in global trade and maritime navigation.

1982 The first World Rubik Cube championship was held in Budapest on June 5, 1982. Nineteen National Champions took part. Minh Thai, the US Champion, won by solving the Cube in 22.95 seconds. The world record for solving the Rubik's Cube, in competitive conditions, has grown progressively lower.  The current record now stands at 3.47 seconds. It was set by Yusheng Du of China at the Wuhu Open event on November 24, 2018.

First Rubik's Cube World Championship,  Stamp of Hungary, 1982

2004 In November 1994 Ronald Reagan published a letter to the U.S. people announcing his diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease. It is not known how many of his infamous verbal mishaps when he was president were early signs of the condition. Reagan died on June 5, 2004 at his Bel Air, Los Angeles home from pneumonia after a ten year battle with Alzheimer's disease. He was 93 years old.

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