What happened on February 5? There are more than 273 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 February 5
February 5 is the 36th day of the year 2024. There are 330 days remaining until the end of this year. The day of the week is Monday. This day falls under the 6th week of the year 2024.
On this day in Peru, Maine 04290 sunrise occured at 06:54 AM and sunset occured at 04:57 PM (local time).
The zodiac sign of a person born on this day is Aquarius. The modern birthstone for this month is Amethyst while the mystical birthstone is Bloodstone.
According to the Chinese calendar, there are 5 days remaining before the start of the next Chinese New Year (February 10, 2024).
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Historical Events For February 5
- 62Earthquake in Pompeii, Italy.
- 1576Henry of Navarre abjures Catholicism at Tours and rejoins the Protestant forces in the French Wars of Religion.
- 1597A group of early Japanese Christians are killed by the new government of Japan for being seen as a threat to Japanese society.
- 1631Roger Williams emigrates to Boston.
- 1778South Carolina becomes the first state to ratify the Articles of Confederation.
- 1782Spanish defeat British forces and capture Minorca.
- 1783In Calabria a sequence of strong earthquakes begins.
- 1810Peninsular War: Siege of Cádiz begins.
- 1818Jean-Baptiste Bernadotte ascends to the thrones of Sweden and Norway.
- 1852The Hermitage Museum in Saint Petersburg, Russia, one of the largest and oldest museums in the world, opens to the public.
- 1859Wallachia and Moldavia are united under Alexander John Cuza as the United Principalities, an autonomous region within the Ottoman Empire, which ushered the birth of the modern Romanian state.
- 1869The largest alluvial gold nugget in history, called the “Welcome Stranger”, is found in Moliagul, Victoria, Australia.
- 1885King Leopold II of Belgium establishes the Congo as a personal possession.
- 1900The United States and the United Kingdom sign a treaty for the Panama Canal
- 1913Greek military aviators, Michael Moutoussis and Aristeidis Moraitinis perform the first naval air mission in history, with a Farman MF.7 hydroplane.
- 1917The Congress of the United States passes the Immigration Act of 1917 over President Woodrow Wilson’s veto. Also known as the Asiatic Barred Zone Act, it forbade immigration from nearly all of south and southeast Asia.
- 1917The current constitution of Mexico is adopted, establishing a federal republic with powers separated into independent executive, legislative, and judicial branches.
- 1918SS Tuscania (1914) is torpedoed off the coast of Ireland; it is the first ship carrying American troops to Europe to be torpedoed and sunk.
- 1918Stephen W. Thompson shoots down a German airplane. It is the first aerial victory by the U.S. military.
- 1919Charlie Chaplin, Mary Pickford, Douglas Fairbanks, and D.W. Griffith launch United Artists.
- 1924New Year’s Day in Chinese calendar. Start of the year of the Wood Rat in Chinese astrology.
- 1924The Royal Greenwich Observatory begins broadcasting the hourly time signals known as the Greenwich Time Signal or the “BBC pips”.
- 1937President Franklin D. Roosevelt proposes a plan to enlarge the Supreme Court of the United States.
- 1939Generalísimo Francisco Franco becomes the 68th “Caudillo de España”, or Leader of Spain.
- 1941World War II: Allied forces begin the Battle of Keren to capture Keren, Eritrea.
- 1945World War II: General Douglas MacArthur returns to Manila.
- 1946The Chondoist Chongu Party is founded in North Korea.
- 1958A hydrogen bomb known as the Tybee Bomb is lost by the US Air Force off the coast of Savannah, Georgia, never to be recovered.
- 1958Gamel Abdel Nasser is nominated to be the first president of the United Arab Republic.
- 1962French President Charles De Gaulle calls for Algeria to be granted independence.
- 1963The European Court of Justice’s ruling in Van Gend en Loos v Nederlandse Administratie der Belastingen establishes the principle of direct effect, one of the most important, if not the most important, decisions in the development of European Union law.
- 1971Astronauts land on the moon in the Apollo 14 mission.
- 1972Bob Douglas becomes the first African American elected to the Basketball Hall of Fame.
- 1976The 1976 swine flu outbreak begins at Fort Dix, NJ.
- 1982Ugo Vetere, then the mayor of Rome, and Chedli Klibi, then the mayor of Carthage meet in Tunis to sign a treaty of friendship officially ending the Third Punic War which lasted 2,131 years.
- 1988Manuel Noriega is indicted on drug smuggling and money laundering charges.
- 1994Byron De La Beckwith is convicted of the 1963 murder of civil rights leader Medgar Evers.
- 1994During the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina more than 60 people are killed and some 200 wounded as a mortar shell slams into a downtown marketplace in Sarajevo.
- 1997The so-called Big Three banks in Switzerland announce the creation of a $71 million fund to aid Holocaust survivors and their families.
- 2000Russian forces massacre at least 60 civilians in the Novye Aldi suburb of Grozny, Chechnya.
- 2004Rebels from the Revolutionary Artibonite Resistance Front capture the city of Gonaïves, starting the 2004 Haiti rebellion.
- 2004Twenty-three Chinese people drown when a group of 35 cockle-pickers are trapped by rising tides in Morecambe Bay, England. Twenty-one bodies are recovered.
- 2008A major tornado outbreak across the Southern United States leaves 57 dead, the most since the May 31, 1985 outbreak that killed 88.
- 2009The United States Navy guided missile cruiser USS Port Royal runs aground off Oahu, Hawaii, damaging the ship as well as a coral reef.
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Who Were Born On February 5?
- 976Emperor Sanjō, of Japan (d. 1017)
- 1505Aegidius Tschudi, Swiss historian (d. 1572)
- 1519René of Châlon, (d. 1544)
- 1534Giovanni de' Bardi, Italian writer (d. 1612)
- 1589Esteban Manuel de Villegas, Spanish poet (d. 1669)
- 1608Gaspar Schott, German mathematician (d. 1666)
- 1626Marie de Rabutin-Chantal, marquise de Sévigné, French author (d. 1696)
- 1650Anne-Jules, French general (d. 1708)
- 1703Gilbert Tennent, Irish-born religious leader (d. 1764)
- 1725James Otis, American lawyer and patriot (d. 1783)
- 1744John Jeffries, Physician, Surgeon, Balloonist (d. 1819)
- 1784Nancy Hanks Lincoln, mother of Abraham Lincoln (d. 1818)
- 1788Robert Peel, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (d. 1850)
- 1795Wilhelm Karl Ritter von Haidinger, Austrian mineralogist (d. 1871)
- 1804Johan Ludvig Runeberg, Finnish poet (d. 1877)
- 1808Carl Spitzweg, German painter (d. 1885)
- 1810Ole Bull, Norwegian violinist (d. 1880)
- 1837Dwight L. Moody, American evangelist (d. 1899)
- 1840Hiram Stevens Maxim, American inventor (Maxim gun) (d. 1916)
- 1840John Boyd Dunlop, Scottish inventor (d. 1921)
- 1848Belle Starr, American outlaw (d. 1889)
- 1848Ignacio Carrera Pinto, Chilean war hero (d. 1882)
- 1848Joris-Karl Huysmans, French author (d. 1907)
- 1878André Citroën, French automobile pioneer (d. 1935)
- 1880Gabriel Voisin, French aviation pioneer (d. 1973)
- 1889Ernest Tyldesley, English cricketer (d. 1962)
- 1900Adlai Stevenson, American politician, 31st Governor of Illinois (d. 1965)
- 1903Joan Whitney Payson, American heiress (d. 1975)
- 1906John Carradine, American actor (d. 1988)
- 1907Pierre Pflimlin, French Politician (d. 2000)
- 1908Bob Dunn (musician), pioneer Western swing musician (d. 1971)
- 1908Daisy and Violet Hilton, British conjoined twins (d. 1969)
- 1908Peg Entwistle, English actress (d. 1932)
- 1909Grażyna Bacewicz, Polish composer and violinist (d. 1969)
- 1910Charles Leblond, Canadian cell biologist (d. 2007)
- 1910Francisco Varallo, Argentine footballer (d. 2010)
- 1911Jussi Björling, Swedish tenor (d. 1960)
- 1914Alan Lloyd Hodgkin, Nobel Prize Laureate (d. 1998)
- 1914William S. Burroughs, American author (d. 1997)
- 1915Robert Hofstadter, Nobel Prize Laureate (d. 1990)
- 1917Isuzu Yamada, Japanese actress
- 1919Andreas Papandreou, Greek politician, Prime Minister of Greece (d. 1996)
- 1919Red Buttons, American actor (d. 2006)
- 1919Tim Holt, American actor (d. 1973)
- 1920Frank Muir, British comedian (d. 1998)
- 1921John Pritchard, British conductor (d. 1989)
- 1922Alain de Changy, Belgian racing driver (d. 1994)
- 1923Claude King, American musician
- 1923Fatmawati, Indonesian First Lady
- 1927Ruth Fertel, American entrepreneur (d. 2002)
- 1928Andrew Greeley, American priest and novelist
- 1929Al Worthington, American baseball player
- 1929Fred Sinowatz, Austrian politician (d. 2008)
- 1929Luc Ferrari, French composer (d. 2005)
- 1930John A. Gambling, American radio show host (d. 2004)
- 1932Cesare Maldini, Italian footballer and manager
- 1933Jörn Donner, Finnish writer/director
- 1934Don Cherry, Canadian ice hockey commentator
- 1934Hank Aaron. American baseball player
- 1935Alex Harvey, Scottish rock musician (d. 1982)
- 1936K. S. Nissar Ahmed, Kannada Poet
- 1937Gaston Roelants, Belgian athlete
- 1937Stuart Damon, American actor
- 1937Wang Xuan, Chinese scientist (d. 2006)
- 1939Jane Bryant Quinn, American journalist
- 1940Dick Warlock, Canadian actor and stuntman
- 1940H.R. Giger, Swiss artist
- 1941David Selby, American actor
- 1941Kaspar Villiger, Swiss Federal Councilor
- 1941Stephen J. Cannell. American television producer and writer (d. 2010)
- 1942Cory Wells, American singer (Three Dog Night)
- 1942James B. Cobb, Jr., American guitarist (Classics IV)
- 1942Roger Staubach, American football player
- 1943Craig Morton, American football player
- 1943Michael Mann, American film director
- 1943Nolan Bushnell, American video game pioneer
- 1944Al Kooper, American musician
- 1944Tamanoumi Masahiro, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 51st Yokozuna (d. 1971)
- 1946Charlotte Rampling, British actress
- 1947Darrell Waltrip, American race car driver
- 1948Barbara Hershey, American actress
- 1948Christopher Guest, American film actor and director
- 1948Errol Morris, American film director
- 1948Sven-Göran Eriksson, Swedish football manager
- 1949Yvon Vallières, French-Canadian politician
- 1950Jonathan Freeman, American actor
- 1951Russell Grant, British astrologer
- 1952Daniel Balavoine, French singer and songwriter (d. 1986)
- 1953John Beilein, American basketball coach
- 1953Loretta Tofani, American journalist
- 1953Takashi Ishikawa, Japanese sumo and professional wrestler
- 1954Cliff Martinez, American musician
- 1955Mike Heath, American baseball player
- 1956Betty Ong, Flight attendant of American Airlines Flight 11 on September 11, 2001 (d. 2001)
- 1956Hector Rebaque, Mexican racing driver
- 1959Jennifer Granholm American politician, 47th Governor of Michigan
- 1960Aris Christofellis, Greek countertenor
- 1961Savvas Kofidis, Greek footballer and manager
- 1962Jennifer Jason Leigh, American actress
- 1963Steven Shainberg, American film director
- 1964Alexia, Cypriot singer
- 1964Duff McKagan, American musician (Guns N' Roses)
- 1964Laura Linney, American actress
- 1965Andreas Vogler, German footballer
- 1965Gheorghe Hagi, Romanian footballer
- 1965Keith Moseley, American musician (The String Cheese Incident)
- 1966Apostolos Nanos, Greek archer
- 1966Rok Petrovič, Slovenian skier (d. 1993)
- 1967Chris Parnell, American actor
- 1967Frederick Pitcher, Nauruan politician
- 1968Eyþór Guðjónsson, Icelandic actor
- 1968Nir Kabaretti, Israeli conductor
- 1968Qasim Melho, Syrian actor
- 1968Roberto Alomar, Puerto Rican baseball player
- 1969Bobby Brown, American singer
- 1969Michael Sheen, Welsh actor
- 1971Sara Evans, American singer
- 1972Koriki Chōshū, Japanese comedian
- 1972Mary, Crown Princess of Denmark
- 1973Richard Matvichuk, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1973Trijntje Oosterhuis, Dutch singer
- 1975Adam Carson, American musician (AFI)
- 1975Giovanni van Bronckhorst, Dutch footballer
- 1976Abhishek Bachchan, Indian actor
- 1976Brian Moorman, American football player
- 1976John Aloisi, Australian soccer player
- 1976Tony Jaa, Thai actor
- 1977Adam Everett, American baseball player
- 1977Ahmad Merritt, American football player
- 1977Ben Ainslie, British sailor
- 1978Brian Russell, American football player
- 1978Shawn Reaves, American actor
- 1980Brad Fitzpatrick, American programmer
- 1980Jo Swinson, British politician
- 1980Prince Peter, American-born Yugoslav royalty
- 1980Robin Vik, Czech tennis player
- 1980Stefano Di Fiordo, Italian footballer
- 1981Loukas Vyntra, Greek football player
- 1981Nora Zehetner, American actress
- 1982Aidin Nikkhah Bahrami, Iranian basketball player (d. 2007)
- 1982Dionysis Makris, Greek singer
- 1982Kevin Everett, American football player
- 1982Marc Kennedy, Canadian Curler
- 1982Rodrigo Palacio, Argentine footballer
- 1982Tomáš Kopecký, Slovak ice hockey player
- 1982Wheesung, Korean R&B singer
- 1984Carlos Tévez, Argentinine footballer
- 1984Nate Salley, American football player
- 1985Cristiano Ronaldo, Portuguese footballer
- 1985Crystal Hunt, American actress
- 1985Laurence Maroney, American football player
- 1985Lindsey Cardinale, American singer
- 1986Ashley Simmons, American professional wrestler
- 1986Billy Sharp, English footballer
- 1986Carlos Villanueva, Chilean footballer
- 1986Manuel Fernandes, Portuguese footballer
- 1986Reed Sorenson, American racecar driver
- 1986Vedran Ćorluka, Croatian football player
- 1987Darren Criss, American actor, singer
- 1987Linus Omark, Swedish ice hockey player
- 1988Johnathan Haggerty, American football player
- 1988Kevin J. Maclean, Scottish singer-songwriter
- 1989Cristine Reyes, Filipino actress
- 1989Jeremy Sumpter, American actor
- 1990Marvin Knoll, German footballer
- 1991Alba Riquelme, Paraguayan model
- 1992Neymar, Brazilian footballer
- 1994Saki Nakajima, Japanese singer
- 2002Davis Cleveland, American actor
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Who Died On February 5?
- 995William IV, Duke of Aquitaine (b. 937)
- 1520Sten Sture the Younger, regent of Sweden (b. 1493)
- 1574Nicolaas Kruik, Dutch cartographer (b. 1678)
- 1578Giambattista Moroni, Italian painter (b. c.1520-24)
- 1705Philipp Jakob Spener, German theologian (b. 1635)
- 1766Leopold Josef Graf Daun, Austrian field marshal (b. 1705)
- 1775Eusebius Amort, German Catholic theologian (b. 1692)
- 1790William Cullen, Scottish physician and chemist (b. 1710)
- 1807Pasquale Paoli, Corsican patriot and military leader (b. 1725)
- 1881Thomas Carlyle, Scottish writer and historian (b. 1795)
- 1882Adolfo Rivadeneyra, Spanish traveler, writer and diplomat (b. 1841)
- 1892Emilie Flygare-Carlén, Swedish novelist (b. 1807)
- 1915Ross Barnes, baseball player (b. 1850)
- 1917Jaber II Al-Sabah, Emir of Kuwait (b. 1860)
- 1922Christiaan De Wet, South African general (b. 1854)
- 1922Slavoljub Eduard Penkala, Croatian inventor (b. 1871)
- 1927Inayat Khan, Indian sufi (b. 1882)
- 1933Josiah Thomas, Australian politician (b. 1863)
- 1937Lou Andreas-Salome, Russian-born writer (b. 1861)
- 1938Hans Litten, German jurist (b. 1903)
- 1941Banjo Paterson, Australian poet, author of “Walzing Matilda” (b. 1864)
- 1946George Arliss, English actor (b. 1868)
- 1948Johannes Blaskowitz, German general (b. 1883)
- 1952Adela Verne, English pianist (b. 1877)
- 1957Sami Ibrahim Haddad, Lebanese surgeon (b. 1890)
- 1962Jacques Ibert, French composer (b. 1890)
- 1967Leon Leonwood Bean, American department store founder (b. 1872)
- 1967Violeta Parra, Chilean folklorist and visual artist (b. 1917)
- 1969Thelma Ritter, American actress (b. 1905)
- 1970Rudy York, American baseball player (b. 1913)
- 1972Marianne Moore, American poet (b. 1887)
- 1976Rudy Pompilli, American musician (Bill Haley and His Comets) (b. 1926)
- 1977Oskar Klein, Swedish physicist (b. 1894)
- 1981Ella Grasso, Governor of Connecticut (b. 1919)
- 1984Rodolfo Guzmán Huerta, Mexican wrestler and film actor (b. 1917)
- 1985Georges-Émile Lapalme, French-Canadian politician (b. 1907)
- 1987William Collier, American film and stage actor (b. 1902)
- 1991Dean Jagger, American actor (b. 1903)
- 1992Miguel Rolando Covian, Brazilian physiologist (b. 1913)
- 1993Joseph L. Mankiewicz, American writer, producer, and director (b. 1909)
- 1993Marcel Léger, Quebec politician (b. 1930)
- 1993Seán Flanagan, Irish Gaelic footballer and politician (b. 1922)
- 1993Tip Tipping, British actor and stuntman (parachuting accident) (b. 1958)
- 1995Doug McClure, American actor (b. 1935)
- 1997Pamela Harriman, English-born American diplomat (b. 1920)
- 1998Tim Kelly, American musician (b. 1963)
- 1999Wassily Leontief, Russian economist, Nobel Prize Laureate (b. 1906)
- 2000Claude Autant-Lara, French film director (b. 1901)
- 2003Helge Boes, American Central Intelligence Agency officer (b. 1970)
- 2004John Hench, American animator (b. 1908)
- 2005Gnassingbe Eyadema, President of Togo (b. 1937)
- 2006Franklin Cover, American actor (b. 1928)
- 2006Norma Candal, Puerto Rican actress and comedian (b. 1930)
- 2007Alfred Worm, Austrian investigative journalist (b. 1945)
- 2007Fred Ball, American movie studio executive, actor, and the brother of comedienne Lucille Ball (b. 1915)
- 2007Leo T. McCarthy, American politician and 43rd Lieutenant Governor of California (1983–1995) (b. 1930)
- 2008Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, Indian guru, founder of Transcendental Meditation (b. c. 1917)
- 2010Brendan Burke, Gay rights activist, son of Toronto Maple Leafs GM Brian Burke (b. 1988)
- 2010Harry Schwarz, South African lawyer, politician and diplomat, leader of the anti-apartheid movement (b. 1924)
- 2011Brian Jacques, English author, author of the Redwall series (b. 1939)
- 2011Peggy Rea, American actress
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