On this day in history

April 5

28 births · 18 deaths · 5 events

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Anniversary highlights

Event anniversary

147

War of the Pacific

147 years ago

Born this day

1588

Thomas Hobbes

Died aged 91

Photo (modified): John Michael Wright · Public domain

Oldest record

784th

Battle of the Ice

event anniversary

Famous births28

1568 · 458 yrs

Urban VIII

Pope Urban VIII (Latin: Urbanus VIII; Italian: Urbano VIII; baptised 5 April 1568 – 29 July 1644), born Maffeo Vincenzo Barberini, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 6 August 1623 to his death, in July 1644.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

ReligionDied aged 76

View profile Photo (modified): Pietro da Cortona · Public domain

1588 · 438 yrs

Thomas Hobbes

Thomas Hobbes ( HOBZ; 5 April 1588 – 4 December 1679) was an English philosopher and political theorist, best known for his 1651 book Leviathan, in which he expounds an influential formulation of social contract theory. He is considered to be one of the founders of modern political philosophy.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

PhilosophyDied aged 91

View profile Photo (modified): John Michael Wright · Public domain

1684 · 342 yrs

Catherine I of Russia

Catherine I (born Marta Helena Skowrońska; Russian: Екатерина Алексеевна Михайлова; 15 April 1684 - 17 May 1727) was Empress of Russia from 8 February 1725 until her death in 1727.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

RoyaltyDied aged 43

View profile Photo (modified): Jean-Marc Nattier · Public domain

1732 · 294 yrs

Jean-Honoré Fragonard

Jean-Honoré Fragonard (French:; 5 April 1732 – 22 August 1806) was a French painter and printmaker whose late Rococo manner was distinguished by remarkable facility, exuberance, and hedonism.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

ArtDied aged 74

View profile Photo (modified): Jean-Honoré Fragonard · Public domain

1804 · 222 yrs

Matthias Jacob Schleiden

Matthias Jakob Schleiden (German:; 5 April 1804 – 23 June 1881) was a German botanist and co-founder of cell theory, along with Theodor Schwann and Rudolf Virchow. He published some poems and non-scientific work under the pseudonym Ernst.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

PhilosophyDied aged 77

View profile Photo (modified): Unknown author · Public domain

1827 · 199 yrs

Joseph Lister

Joseph Lister, 1st Baron Lister (5 April 1827 – 10 February 1912) was an English surgeon, medical scientist, experimental pathologist and pioneer of antiseptic surgery and preventive healthcare.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

PoliticsDied aged 84

View profile Photo (modified): Unknown author · CC BY 4.0

1837 · 189 yrs

Algernon Charles Swinburne

Algernon Charles Swinburne (5 April 1837 – 10 April 1909) was an English poet, playwright, novelist, and critic. He was a major contributor to the Pre-Raphaelite movement in poetry, along with Dante Gabriel Rossetti and William Morris.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

LiteratureDied aged 72

View profile Photo (modified): Elliott & Fry · Public domain

1856 · 170 yrs

Booker T. Washington

Booker Taliaferro Washington (April 5, 1856 – November 14, 1915) was an American educator, author, and orator. Between 1890 and 1915, Washington was the primary leader in the African-American community and of the contemporary Black elite.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

LiteratureDied aged 59

View profile Photo (modified): Frances Benjamin Johnston · Public domain

1900 · 126 yrs

Spencer Tracy

Spencer Bonaventure Tracy (April 5, 1900 – June 10, 1967) was an American actor. He was known for his natural performing style and versatility.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

FilmWould be 126

View profile Photo (modified): Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (work for hire) · Public domain

1901 · 125 yrs

Melvyn Douglas

Melvyn Douglas (born Melvyn Edouard Hesselberg, April 5, 1901 – August 4, 1981) was an American actor, whose stage and screen careers spanned from the late 1920s until the early 1980s.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

FilmWould be 125

View profile Photo (modified): Studio publicity still · Public domain

1908 · 118 yrs

Bette Davis

Ruth Elizabeth "Bette" Davis (April 5, 1908 – October 6, 1989) was an American actress of film, television, and theater.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

FilmWould be 118

View profile Photo (modified): Studio Publicity · Public domain

1908 · 118 yrs

Herbert von Karajan

Herbert von Karajan (German:; born Heribert Adolf Ernst Karajan; 5 April 1908 – 16 July 1989) was an Austrian conductor. He was principal conductor of the Berlin Philharmonic for 34 years.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

MusicWould be 118

View profile Photo (modified): Bilsen, Joop van / Anefo, derivative work Lämpel · CC0

Showing 12 of 28

Famous deaths18

1697 · 329 yrs

Charles XI of Sweden

Charles XI or Carl (Swedish: Karl XI; 4 December 1655 – 15 April 1697) was King of Sweden from 1660 until his death in 1697. He was the only son of King Charles X Gustav and Hedwig Eleonora of Holstein-Gottorp.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

RoyaltyDied aged 41

View profile Photo (modified): David Klöcker Ehrenstrahl · Public domain

1794 · 232 yrs

Camille Desmoulins

Lucie-Simplice-Camille-Benoît Desmoulins (French:; 2 March 1760 – 5 April 1794) was a French journalist, politician and prominent figure of the French Revolution. He is best known for playing an instrumental role in the events that led to the Storming of the Bastille.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

MediaDied aged 34

View profile Photo (modified): Unidentified painter · Public domain

1794 · 232 yrs

Georges Danton

Georges Jacques Danton (US: also; French:; 26 October 1759 – 5 April 1794) was a French politician and leading figure of the French Revolution.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

ActivismDied aged 34

View profile Photo (modified): anonymous · CC0

1964 · 62 yrs

Douglas MacArthur

Douglas MacArthur (26 January 1880 – 5 April 1964) was an American general.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

MilitaryWould be 146

View profile Photo (modified): Photographer not credited. · Public domain

1967 · 59 yrs

Hermann Joseph Muller

Hermann Joseph Muller (December 21, 1890 – April 5, 1967) was an American geneticist who was awarded the 1946 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine "for the discovery of the production of mutations by means of X-ray irradiation".

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

ScienceWould be 135

View profile Photo (modified): Alfred De Bat · Public domain

1975 · 51 yrs

Chiang Kai-shek

Chiang Kai-shek (31 October 1887 – 5 April 1975) was a Chinese military commander, revolutionary, and statesman who was President of the Republic of China from 1948 to 1975 and the head of the Nationalist government from 1925 to 1948.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

PoliticsWould be 138

View profile Photo (modified): Unknown photographer · Attribution

1976 · 50 yrs

Howard Hughes

Howard Robard Hughes Jr. (December 24, 1905 – April 5, 1976) was an American aviator, aerospace engineer, business magnate, film producer, and investor.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

TechnologyWould be 121

View profile Photo (modified): Acme Newspictures · Public domain

1992 · 34 yrs

Sam Walton

Samuel Moore Walton (March 29, 1918 – April 5, 1992) was an American business magnate, philanthropist, and military veteran best known for co-founding the retailers Walmart and Sam's Club, which he started in Rogers, Arkansas, and Midwest City, Oklahoma, in 1962 and 1983 respectively. Wal-Mart Stores Inc.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

BusinessWould be 108

View profile Photo (modified): Janice Waltzer from Owasso, USA · CC BY 2.0

1994 · 32 yrs

Kurt Cobain

Kurt Donald Cobain (February 20, 1967 – c. April 5, 1994) was an American musician and songwriter. He was the lead vocalist, guitarist, primary songwriter, and a founding member of the grunge band Nirvana.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

MusicWould be 59

View profile Photo (modified): P.B. Rage from USA · CC BY-SA 2.0

1997 · 29 yrs

Allen Ginsberg

Irwin Allen Ginsberg (June 3, 1926 – April 5, 1997) was an American poet and writer. As a student at Columbia University in the 1940s, he befriended Lucien Carr, William S. Burroughs, and Jack Kerouac, forming the core of the Beat Generation.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

LiteratureWould be 100

View profile Photo (modified): Hans van Dijk for Anefo · CC0

2002 · 24 yrs

Layne Staley

Layne Thomas Staley (born Layne Rutherford Staley; August 22, 1967 – April 5, 2002) was an American singer-songwriter. He was the original lead vocalist of Alice in Chains, which rose to international fame in the early 1990s as part of Seattle's grunge movement.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

MusicWould be 59

View profile Photo (modified): Rex Aran Emrick · CC BY-SA 3.0

2005 · 21 yrs

Saul Bellow

Saul Bellow (born Solomon Bellows; June 10, 1915 – April 5, 2005) was an American writer. For his literary work, Bellow was awarded the Pulitzer Prize, the 1976 Nobel Prize in Literature, and the National Medal of Arts.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

LiteratureWould be 111

View profile Photo (modified): Photograph by Jeff Lowenthal. Published by Viking Press. · Public domain

Showing 12 of 18

Events5

1242 · 784 yrs

Battle of the Ice

The Battle on the Ice, also known as the Battle of Lake Peipus, took place on 5 April 1242.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

War

1795 · 231 yrs

Peace of Basel

The Peace of Basel of 1795 consists of three peace treaties involving France during the French Revolution (represented by François de Barthélemy).

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

Politics

1879 · 147 yrs

War of the Pacific

The War of the Pacific (Spanish: Guerra del Pacífico), also known by multiple other names, was a war between Chile and a Bolivian–Peruvian alliance from 1879 to 1884.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

War

1965 · 61 yrs

37th Academy Awards

The 37th Academy Awards were held on April 5, 1965, to honor film achievements of 1964. The ceremony was produced by MGM's Joe Pasternak and hosted, for the 14th time, by Bob Hope.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

Culture

1992 · 34 yrs

Siege of Sarajevo

The siege of Sarajevo (Serbo-Croatian: Опсада Сарајева, Opsada Sarajeva) was a prolonged military blockade of Sarajevo, the capital of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina, during the ethnically charged Bosnian War.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

War

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