What happened on April 5? There are more than 262 events that were made this day in history. Here are the important historical events, facts, and some myths about this day.
Interesting Facts & Myths About April 5
April 5 is the 96th day of the year 2024. There are 270 days remaining until the end of this year. The day of the week is Friday. This day falls under the 14th week of the year 2024.
On this day in Caneadea, New York 14717 sunrise occured at 06:45 AM and sunset occured at 07:44 PM (local time).
The zodiac sign of a person born on this day is Aries. The modern birthstone for this month is Diamond while the mystical birthstone is Opal.
According to the Chinese calendar, there are 299 days remaining before the start of the next Chinese New Year (January 29, 2025).
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Historical Events For April 5
- 1242During a battle on the ice of Lake Peipus, Russian forces, led by Alexander Nevsky, rebuff an invasion attempt by the Teutonic Knights.
- 1566Two-hundred Dutch noblemen, led by Hendrik van Brederode, force themselves into the presence of Margaret of Parma and present the Petition of Compromise, denouncing the Spanish Inquisition in the Netherlands. The Inquisition is suspended and a delegation is sent to Spain to petition Philip II.
- 1609Daimyo (Lord) of the Satsuma Domain in southern Kyūshū, Japan, completes his successful invasion of the Ryūkyū Kingdom in Okinawa.
- 1614In Virginia, Native American Pocahontas marries English colonist John Rolfe.
- 1621The Mayflower sets sail from Plymouth, Massachusetts on a return trip to Great Britain.
- 1722The Dutch explorer Jacob Roggeveen discovers Easter Island.
- 1792U.S. President George Washington exercises his authority to veto a bill, the first time this power is used in the United States.
- 1804High Possil Meteorite: The first recorded meteorite in Scotland falls in Possil.
- 1818In the Battle of Maipú, Chile’s independence movement – led by Bernardo O'Higgins and José de San Martín – win a decisive victory over Spain, leaving 2,000 Spaniards and 1,000 Chilean patriots dead.
- 1862American Civil War: The Battle of Yorktown begins.
- 1874Birkenhead Park, the first civic public park, is opened in Birkenhead.
- 1879Chile declares war on Bolivia and Peru, starting the War of the Pacific.
- 1900Archaeologists in Knossos, Crete, discover a large cache of clay tablets with hieroglyphic writing in a script they call Linear B.
- 1904The first international rugby league match is played between England and an Other Nationalities team (Welsh & Scottish players) in Central Park, Wigan, England.
- 1922The American Birth Control League, forerunner of Planned Parenthood, is incorporated.
- 1923Firestone Tire and Rubber Company begins production of balloon-tires.
- 1932Alcohol prohibition in Finland ends. Alcohol sales begin in Alko liquor stores.
- 1932Dominion of Newfoundland: 10,000 rioters seize the Colonial Building leading to the end of self-government.
- 1933U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt signs two executive orders: 6101 to establish the Civilian Conservation Corps, and 6102 “forbidding the Hoarding of Gold Coin, Gold Bullion, and Gold Certificates” by U.S. citizens.
- 1936Tupelo-Gainesville tornado outbreak: An F5 tornado kills 233 in Tupelo, Mississippi.
- 1942World War II: The Imperial Japanese Navy launches a carrier-based air attack on Colombo, Ceylon during the Indian Ocean Raid. Port and civilian facilities are damaged and the Royal Navy cruisers HMS Cornwall and HMS Dorsetshire are sunk southwest of the island.
- 1943World War II: American bomber aircraft accidentally cause more than 900 civilian deaths, including 209 children, and 1300 wounded among the civilian population of the Belgian town of Mortsel. The target is the Erla factory one kilometer from the residential area hit.
- 1944World War II: 270 inhabitants of the Greek town of Kleisoura are executed by the Germans.
- 1945Cold War: Yugoslav leader Josip “Tito” Broz signs an agreement with the Soviet Union to allow “temporary entry of Soviet troops into Yugoslav territory”.
- 1946Soviet troops leave the island of Bornholm, Denmark after an 11 month occupation.
- 1949A fire in a hospital in Effingham, Illinois, kills 77 people and leads to nationwide fire code improvements in the United States.
- 1949Fireside Theater debuts on television.
- 1951Ethel and Julius Rosenberg are sentenced to death for performing espionage for the Soviet Union.
- 1955Winston Churchill resigns as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom amid indications of failing health.
- 1956Fidel Castro declares himself at war with the President of Cuba.
- 1956In Sri Lanka, the Mahajana Eksath Peramuna win the general elections in a landslide and S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike is sworn in as the Prime Minister.
- 1957In India, Communists win the first elections in united Kerala and E.M.S. Namboodiripad is sworn in as the first chief minister.
- 1958Ripple Rock, an underwater threat to navigation in the Seymour Narrows in Canada is destroyed in one of the largest non-nuclear controlled explosions of the time.
- 1969Vietnam War: Massive antiwar demonstrations occur in many U.S. cities.
- 1971In Sri Lanka, Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna launches insurrection against the United Front government of Sirimavo Bandaranaike.
- 1976In the People’s Republic of China, the April Fifth Movement leads to the Tiananmen incident.
- 1986Three people are killed in the bombing of the La Belle Discothèque in West Berlin, Germany.
- 1991An ASA EMB 120 crashes in Brunswick, Georgia, killing all 23 aboard.
- 1992Alberto Fujimori, president of Peru, dissolves the Peruvian congress by military force.
- 1992The Siege of Sarajevo begins when Serb paramilitaries murder peace protesters Suada Dilberovic and Olga Sučić on the Vrbanja Bridge.
- 1998In Japan, the Akashi-Kaikyo Bridge linking Shikoku with Honshū and costing about $3.8 billion USD, opens to traffic, becoming the largest suspension bridge in the world.
- 1999Two Libyans suspected of bringing down Pan Am flight 103 in 1988 are handed over for eventual trial in the Netherlands.
- 2007Georgia establishes a Provisional Administrative Entity in the disputed region of South Ossetia.
- 2009North Korea launches its controversial Kwangmyŏngsŏng-2 rocket. The satellite passed over mainland Japan, which prompted an immediate reaction from the United Nations Security Council, as well as participating states of Six-party talks.
- 2010Twenty-nine coal miners are killed in an explosion at the Upper Big Branch Mine in West Virginia.
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Who Were Born On April 5?
- 1288Emperor Go-Fushimi of Japan (d. 1336)
- 1472Bianca Maria Sforza, wife of Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor (d. 1510)
- 1523Blaise de Vigenère, French cryptographer (d. 1596)
- 1588Thomas Hobbes, English philosopher (d. 1679)
- 1604Charles IV, Duke of Lorraine (d. 1675)
- 1622Vincenzo Viviani, Italian mathematician (d. 1703)
- 1649Elihu Yale, American benefactor of Yale University (d. 1721)
- 1692Adrienne Lecouvreur, French actress (d. 1730)
- 1719Axel von Fersen the Elder, Swedish statesman and soldier; father of Axel von Fersen the Younger (d. 1794)
- 1732Jean-Honoré Fragonard, French artist (d. 1806)
- 1752Sébastien Érard, French musical instruments maker (d. 1831)
- 1769Sir Thomas Hardy, 1st Baronet Royal Navy Vice-Admiral and First Lord of the Admiralty (d. 1839)
- 1784Louis Spohr, German composer and violinist (d. 1859)
- 1816Samuel Freeman Miller, U.S. Supreme Court Justice (d. 1890)
- 1827Joseph Lister, English surgeon and pioneer of antiseptic surgery (d. 1912)
- 1832Jules Ferry, French statesman (d. 1893)
- 1837Algernon Charles Swinburne, English poet (d. 1909)
- 1840Ghazaros Aghayan, Armenian writer, educator, folklorist, historian, linguist and public figure (d. 1911)
- 1856Booker T. Washington, American educator (d. 1915)
- 1857Alexander of Battenberg, Prince of Bulgaria (d. 1893)
- 1863Princess Victoria of Hesse and by Rhine (d. 1950)
- 1869Albert Roussel, French composer (d. 1937)
- 1869Sergei Chaplygin, Russian physicist and engineer (d. 1942)
- 1871Mirko Seljan, Croatian explorer (d. 1912)
- 1872Samuel Cate Prescott, American food scientist and microbiologist (d. 1962)
- 1875Mistinguett, French vaudeville performer (d. 1956)
- 1893Clas Thunberg, Finnish speed skater (d. 1973)
- 1899Alfred Blalock, American surgeon (d. 1964)
- 1900Spencer Tracy, American actor (d. 1967)
- 1901Melvyn Douglas, American actor (d. 1981)
- 1906Lord Buckley, American monologist (d. 1960)
- 1908Bette Davis, American actress (d. 1989)
- 1908Herbert von Karajan, Austrian conductor (d. 1989)
- 1908Jagjivan Ram, Indian politician (d. 1986)
- 1909Albert R. Broccoli, American film producer (d. 1996)
- 1912István Örkény, Hungarian author (d. 1979)
- 1912John Le Mesurier, British actor (d. 1983)
- 1916Albert Henry Ottenweller, American bishop
- 1916Gregory Peck, American actor (d. 2003)
- 1917Robert Bloch, American author (d. 1994)
- 1920Arthur Hailey, Anglo-Canadian author (d. 2004)
- 1920Barend Biesheuvel, Dutch politician, Prime Minister of the Netherlands from 1971 until 1973 (d. 2001)
- 1920Rafique Zakaria, Indian author (d. 2005)
- 1922Christopher Hewett, British actor (d. 2001)
- 1922Gale Storm, American singer and actress (My Little Margie) (d. 2009)
- 1922Tom Finney, English footballer
- 1923Michael V. Gazzo, American actor (d. 1995)
- 1923Nguyễn Văn Thiệu, President of South Vietnam (d. 2001)
- 1926Roger Corman, American film director
- 1928Tony Williams, American singer (The Platters) (d. 1992)
- 1929Hugo Claus, Belgian writer (d. 2008)
- 1929Ivar Giaever, Norwegian physicist, Nobel laureate
- 1929Joe Meek, English record producer (d. 1967)
- 1929Nigel Hawthorne, English actor (d. 2001)
- 1932Billy Bland, American singer and songwriter
- 1933Barbara Holland, American writer (d. 2010)
- 1933Frank Gorshin, American actor (d. 2005)
- 1933Larry Felser, American sports columnist
- 1934Roman Herzog, German politician
- 1934Stanley Turrentine, American jazz saxophonist (d. 2000)
- 1935Peter Grant, British music manager (d. 1995)
- 1936John Kelly, Irish republican politician (d. 2007)
- 1937Allan R. Thieme, American inventor
- 1937Colin Powell, U.S. Army General, 12th Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff; and 65th Secretary of State
- 1938Colin Bland, South African cricketer
- 1939Crispian St. Peters, English singer (d. 2010)
- 1939Ronald White, American singer and songwriter (d. 1995)
- 1941Dave Swarbrick, English folk musician
- 1941Michael Moriarty, American actor
- 1942Peter Greenaway, Welsh film director
- 1943Max Gail, American actor
- 1944Pedro Rossello, Puerto Rican politician
- 1945Tommy Smith, English footballer
- 1946Björn Granath, Swedish actor
- 1946Jane Asher, British actress
- 1947Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, 14th President of the Philippines
- 1948Dave Holland, British musician (Judas Priest)
- 1948Les Binks, British musician, former drummer for Judas Priest
- 1949John Berg, American actor (d. 2007)
- 1949Judith Resnik, American astronaut (d. 1986)
- 1950Agnetha Fältskog, Swedish singer (ABBA)
- 1950Miki Manojlović, Serbian actor
- 1951Bernie Ward, former American radio personality and convicted sex offender
- 1951Dean Kamen, American inventor
- 1952Mitch Pileggi, American actor
- 1954Peter Case, American musician (The Nerves)
- 1954Stan Ridgway, American musician (Wall of Voodoo)
- 1955Akira Toriyama, Japanese manga artist
- 1955Charlotte de Turckheim, French actress
- 1955Janice Long, English broadcaster
- 1956Anthony Horowitz, English Author
- 1956Diamond Dallas Page, American professional wrestler
- 1958Johan Kriek, South African/American tennis player
- 1960Asteris Koutoulas, Greek/German event and music producer, filmmaker and author
- 1961Jim LeRoy, American airshow pilot (d. 2007)
- 1961Lisa Zane, American actress
- 1962Lana Clarkson, American actress (d. 2003)
- 1964Christopher “Kid” Reid, American rapper (Kid 'n Play)
- 1964Marius Lăcătuş, Romanian footballer
- 1964Princess Erika, French singer
- 1964Steve Beaton, English darts player
- 1965Cris Carpenter, American baseball player
- 1966Mike McCready, American musician (Pearl Jam)
- 1967Anu Garg, Indian/American author and speaker
- 1967Gary Gait, Canadian lacrosse player
- 1968Paula Cole, American musician
- 1970Miho Hatori, Japanese singer and songwriter (Cibo Matto)
- 1970Thea Gill, Canadian actress
- 1971Dong Abay, Filipino musician and singer-songwriter
- 1972Krista Allen, American actress
- 1972Pat Green, American singer and songwriter
- 1972Paul Okon, Australian footballer
- 1972Tom Coronel, Dutch racing driver
- 1972Yasuhiro Takemoto, Japanese animator and director
- 1973Élodie Bouchez, French actress
- 1973Pharrell, American music producer (The Neptunes)
- 1973Tony Banks, American football player
- 1974Sahaj Ticotin, American musician/producer (Ra)
- 1974Uhm Tae Woong, South Korean actor
- 1975John Hartson, Welsh footballer
- 1975Shammond Williams, American basketball player
- 1976Fernando Morientes, Spanish footballer
- 1976Kim Collins, Nevisian sprinter
- 1976Ross Gload, American baseball player
- 1976Ryan Drese, American baseball player
- 1976Simone Inzaghi, Italian footballer
- 1978Franziska van Almsick, German swimmer
- 1978Stephen Jackson, American basketball player
- 1979Timo Hildebrand, German footballer
- 1980Lee Jae Won, South Korean actor, singer, and rapper
- 1980Matt Bonner, American basketball player
- 1981Jorge de la Rosa, Mexican baseball player
- 1981Michael A. Monsoor, American soldier (d. 2006)
- 1982Alexandre Prémat, French racing driver
- 1982Hayley Atwell, English actress
- 1982Kelly Pavlik, American boxer
- 1982Lacey Duvalle, American pornographic actress
- 1982Matt Pickens, American footballer
- 1982Thomas Hitzlsperger, German footballer
- 1983Jorge Andrés Martínez, Uruguayan footballer
- 1984Shin Min-a, South Korean model and actress
- 1988Alex Valentini, Italian footballer
- 1988Christopher Papamichalopoulos, Cypriot skier
- 1990Haruma Miura, Japanese actor
- 1990Sophia Papamichalopoulou, Cypriot skier
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Who Died On April 5?
- 582Eutychius, Patriarch of Constantinople (b. c. 512)
- 1168Robert de Beaumont, 2nd Earl of Leicester (b. 1104)
- 1419Vincent Ferrer, Spanish missionary and saint (b. 1350)
- 1605Adam Loftus, English Protestant archbishop in Ireland (b. c. 1513)
- 1617Alonso Lobo, Spanish composer (b. 1555)
- 1673François Caron, French explorer (b. 1600)
- 1676John Winthrop, the Younger, American politician (b. 1606)
- 1693Anne, Duchess of Montpensier, French writer (b. 1627)
- 1695George Savile, 1st Marquess of Halifax, English writer (b. 1633)
- 1697King Charles XI of Sweden (b. 1655)
- 1717Jean Jouvenet, French painter (b. 1647)
- 1735Samuel Wesley, English poet (b. 1662)
- 1735William Derham, English minister and writer (b. 1657)
- 1765Edward Young, English poet (b. 1683)
- 1794Camille Desmoulins, French journalist and politician (b. 1760)
- 1794Georges Danton, French Revolutionary leader (b. 1759)
- 1834Richard Goodwin Keats, Royal Navy admiral (b. 1757)
- 1864Alaric Alexander Watts, English poet and journalist (b. 1797)
- 1900Joseph Louis François Bertrand, French mathematician (b. 1822)
- 1923George Herbert, 5th Earl of Carnarvon, English financier (b. 1866)
- 1928Roy Kilner, English cricketer (b. 1890)
- 1932Phar Lap, Australian Racehorse (b. 1926)
- 1941Sir Nigel Gresley, Steam locomotive engineer (b. 1876)
- 1943Aleš Hrdlička, Czech anthropologist (b. 1869)
- 1945Huldreich Georg Früh, Swiss composer (b. 1903)
- 1945Karl Otto Koch, German SS-officer (b. 1897)
- 1946Vincent Youmans, American songwriter (b. 1898)
- 1952Charles Collett, GWR chief mechanical engineer (b. 1871)
- 1964Douglas MacArthur, American general (b. 1880)
- 1967Hermann Joseph Muller, American geneticist, Nobel laureate (b. 1890)
- 1967Mischa Elman, Ukrainian violinist (b. 1891)
- 1969Ain-Ervin Mere, Estonian Nazi (b. 1903)
- 1969Shelby Storck, American television producer (b. 1917)
- 1970Alfred Henry Sturtevant, American geneticist (b. 1891)
- 1972Brian Donlevy, American actor (b. 1901)
- 1972Isabel Jewell, American actress (b. 1907)
- 1973John Coleman, Australian rules footballer (b. 1928)
- 1974A. Y. Jackson, Canadian painter (b. 1882)
- 1975Chiang Kai-shek, 1st President of the Republic of China (b. 1887)
- 1976Howard Hughes, American aviator (b. 1905)
- 1976Wilder Penfield, Canadian surgeon (b. 1891)
- 1979Eugène Gabritschevsky, Russian biologist and artist (b. 1893)
- 1981Bob Hite, American singer (Canned Heat) (b. 1945)
- 1982Abe Fortas, U.S. Supreme Court Justice (b. 1910)
- 1983Danny Rapp, American musician (Danny & the Juniors) (b. 1941)
- 1987Jan Lindblad, Swedish naturalist, writer, photographer (b. 1932)
- 1989María Cristina Gómez, Salvadoran Teacher (b. 1938)
- 1991John Tower, American politician (b. 1925)
- 1991Sonny Carter, American astronaut (b. 1947)
- 1992Sam Walton, American retailer (b. 1918)
- 1993Divya Bharti, Indian Bollywood actress (b. 1974)
- 1994Kurt Cobain, musician (Nirvana) (b. 1967)
- 1997Allen Ginsberg, American poet (b. 1926)
- 1998Cozy Powell, British musician (b. 1947)
- 1999Paul David, French-Canadian cardiologist (b. 1919)
- 2000Lee Petty, American race car driver (b. 1914)
- 2001Brother Theodore, German comedian (b. 1906)
- 2002Layne Staley, American musician (Alice in Chains) (b. 1967)
- 2004Heiner Zieschang, German mathematician (b. 1936)
- 2004Sławomir Rawicz, Polish soldier (b. 1915)
- 2005Dale Messick, American comic strip artist (b. 1906)
- 2005Debralee Scott, American actress (b. 1953)
- 2005John Sichel, British film and television director (b. 1937)
- 2005Saul Bellow, Canadian born writer, Nobel laureate (b. 1915)
- 2006Gene Pitney, American singer (b. 1941)
- 2007Darryl Stingley, American football player (b. 1951)
- 2007Leela Majumdar, Bengali writer (b. 1908)
- 2007Maria Gripe, Swedish writer (b. 1923)
- 2007Mark St. John, American musician (Kiss) (b. 1956)
- 2007Poornachandra Tejaswi, Kannada writer (b. 1938)
- 2008Charlton Heston, American actor (b. 1923)
- 2009Constantine Papadakis, Greek-American businessman (b. 1946)
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