On this day in history

May 5

29 births · 10 deaths · 5 events

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Anniversary highlights

Event anniversary

237

French Revolution

237 years ago

Born this day

1818

Karl Marx

Died aged 64

Photo (modified): John Jabez Edwin Mayall · Public domain

Oldest record

1473rd

Second Council of Constantinople

event anniversary

Famous births29

1210 · 816 yrs

Afonso III of Portugal

Afonso III (Afonso Afonso; 5 May 1210 – 16 February 1279), called the Boulonnais (Portuguese: o Bolonhês), was King of Portugal and the first to use the title King of Portugal and the Algarve, from 1249.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

RoyaltyDied aged 68

View profile Photo (modified): Unknown author · CC BY-SA 2.0

1747 · 279 yrs

Leopold II, Holy Roman Emperor

Leopold II (Peter Leopold Josef Anton Joachim Pius Gotthard; 5 May 1747 – 1 March 1792) was the penultimate Holy Roman Emperor, as well as King of Hungary, Croatia and Bohemia, and Archduke of Austria from 1790 to 1792, and Grand Duke of Tuscany from 1765 to 1790 as Leopold I.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

RoyaltyDied aged 44

View profile Photo (modified): Josef Kiss · Public domain

1813 · 213 yrs

Søren Kierkegaard

Søren Aabye Kierkegaard ( SORR-ən KEER-kə-gard, US also -⁠gor; Danish:; 5 May 1813 – 11 November 1855) was a Danish philosopher, Christian theologian, poet, social critic, and religious author who is widely considered to be the first existentialist philosopher.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

ReligionDied aged 42

View profile Photo (modified): La Biblioteca Real de Dinamarca · Public domain

1818 · 208 yrs

Karl Marx

Karl Marx (German:; 5 May 1818 – 14 March 1883) was a German philosopher, social and political theorist, and revolutionary socialist.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

PhilosophyDied aged 64

View profile Photo (modified): John Jabez Edwin Mayall · Public domain

1819 · 207 yrs

Stanisław Moniuszko

Stanisław Moniuszko (Polish:; 17 May 1819 – June 4, 1872) was a Polish composer, conductor, organist and pedagogue.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

MusicDied aged 52

View profile Photo (modified): Tytus Maleszewski · Public domain

1826 · 200 yrs

Eugénie de Montijo

Eugénie de Montijo (French:; born María Eugenia Ignacia Agustina de Palafox y Kirkpatrick; 5 May 1826 – 11 July 1920) was the Empress of the French from her marriage to Napoleon III on 30 January 1853 until he was overthrown on 4 September 1870.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

Notable PeopleDied aged 94

View profile Photo (modified): Sergey Lvovich Levitsky · Public domain

1846 · 180 yrs

Henryk Sienkiewicz

Henryk Adam Aleksander Pius Sienkiewicz (US: shen-KYAY-vitch, -⁠KYEV-itch; Polish:; 5 May 1846 – 15 November 1916), also known by the pseudonym Litwos (Polish:), was a Polish epic writer.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

LiteratureDied aged 70

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

1862 · 164 yrs

Niko Pirosmani

Nikoloz Pirosmanashvili (Georgian: ნიკოლოზ ფიროსმანაშვილი) or Niko Pirosmani (Georgian: ნიკო ფიროსმანი), simply referred to as Nikala (ნიკალა Nik’ala; 1862–1918), was a Georgian painter who posthumously rose to prominence. Relatively poor for most of his life, he worked a variety of ordinary jobs.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

ArtDied aged 55

View profile Photo (modified): Eduard Klar, 1861-1922 first upload in de wikipedia on 13:22, 14. Sep 2005 by ChrisM · Public domain

1864 · 162 yrs

Nellie Bly

Elizabeth Cochrane Seaman (born Elizabeth Jane Cochran; May 5, 1864 – January 27, 1922), better known by her pen name Nellie Bly, was an American journalist who was widely known for her record-breaking trip around the world in 72 days in emulation of Jules Verne's fictional character Phileas Fogg, and for an exposé in…

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

MediaDied aged 57

View profile Photo (modified): H. J. Myers, photographer · Public domain

1883 · 143 yrs

Archibald Wavell, 1st Earl Wavell

Field Marshal Archibald Percival Wavell, 1st Earl Wavell (5 May 1883 – 24 May 1950) was a senior officer of the British Army. He served in the Second Boer War, the Bazar Valley Campaign and the First World War, during which he was wounded in the Second Battle of Ypres.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

MilitaryWould be 143

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1914 · 112 yrs

Tyrone Power

Tyrone Edmund Power III (May 5, 1914 – November 15, 1958) was an American actor. From the 1930s to the 1950s, Power appeared in dozens of films, often in swashbuckler roles or romantic leads.

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FilmWould be 112

View profile Photo (modified): Movie studio · Public domain

1916 · 110 yrs

Zail Singh

Giani Zail Singh (born Jarnail Singh; 5 May 1916 – 25 December 1994) was an Indian politician who served as President of India from 1982 to 1987 and chief minister of Punjab in the 1970s. He was the first Sikh to become president.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

PoliticsWould be 110

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Showing 12 of 29

Famous deaths10

1705 · 321 yrs

Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor

Leopold I (Leopold Ignaz Joseph Balthasar Franz Felician; Hungarian: I. Lipót; 9 June 1640 – 5 May 1705) was Holy Roman Emperor, King of Germany, King of Hungary, Croatia and Bohemia.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

RoyaltyDied aged 64

View profile Photo (modified): Benjamin Block · Public domain

1727 · 299 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

1821 · 205 yrs

Napoleon

Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was Emperor of the French from 18 May 1804 until his first abdication in 1814, with a brief restoration during the Hundred Days in 1815.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

MilitaryDied aged 51

View profile Photo (modified): Jacques-Louis David · Public domain

1827 · 199 yrs

Friedrich August I of Saxony

Frederick Augustus I of Saxony (German: Friedrich August I., Polish: Fryderyk August I, French: Frédéric-Auguste Ier, 23 December 1750 – 5 May 1827) was a member of the House of Wettin who reigned as the last Elector of Saxony from 1763 to 1806 (as Frederick Augustus III) and as the first King of Saxony from 1806 to…

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

RoyaltyDied aged 76

View profile Photo (modified): Carl Christian Vogel von Vogelstein · Public domain

1859 · 167 yrs

Johann Peter Gustav Lejeune Dirichlet

Johann Peter Gustav Lejeune Dirichlet (German:; 13 February 1805 – 5 May 1859) was a German mathematician. In number theory, he proved special cases of Fermat's Last Theorem and created analytic number theory.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

ScienceDied aged 54

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

1921 · 105 yrs

Alfred Hermann Fried

Alfred Hermann Fried (Austrian German:; 11 November 1864 – 4 May 1921) was an Austrian Jewish pacifist, publicist, journalist, co-founder of the German peace movement, and winner (with Tobias Asser) of the Nobel Peace Prize in 1911. Fried was also a supporter of Esperanto.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

MediaDied aged 56

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

1959 · 67 yrs

Carlos Saavedra Lamas

Carlos Saavedra Lamas (1 November 1878 – 5 May 1959) was an Argentine academic and politician who served as Argentina's foreign minister from 1932 to 1938. A legal scholar specializing in labor legislation and international law, he also served as rector of the University of Buenos Aires.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

PoliticsWould be 147

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

1977 · 49 yrs

Ludwig Erhard

Ludwig Wilhelm Erhard (German:; 4 February 1897 – 5 May 1977) was a German politician and economist who served as the second chancellor of West Germany from 1963 until 1966.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

PoliticsWould be 129

View profile Photo (modified): Engelbert Reineke · CC BY-SA 3.0 de

1995 · 31 yrs

Mikhail Botvinnik

Mikhail Moiseyevich Botvinnik (Russian: Михаи́л Моисе́евич Ботви́нник; IPA:; 17 August 1911 – May 5, 1995) was a Soviet and Russian chess grandmaster who held five world titles in three different reigns.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

SportsWould be 115

View profile Photo (modified): Harry Pot for Anefo ]] · CC BY-SA 3.0 nl

2010 · 16 yrs

Umaru Musa Yar'Adua

Umaru Musa Yar'Adua (16 August 1951 – 5 May 2010) was a Nigerian politician who served as the president of Nigeria from 2007 until his death in May 2010. He won the Nigerian presidential election held on 21 April 2007, and was sworn in on 29 May 2007.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

PoliticsWould be 75

View profile Photo (modified): Marcello Casal Jr./ABr · CC BY 3.0 br

Events5

AD 553 · 1473 yrs

Second Council of Constantinople

The Second Council of Constantinople is the fifth of the first seven ecumenical councils recognized by both the Eastern Orthodox Church and the Catholic Church. It is also recognized by the Old Catholics and others.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

Politics

1789 · 237 yrs

French Revolution

The French Revolution was a period of political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the Coup of 18 Brumaire on 9 November 1799.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

Politics

1912 · 114 yrs

1912 Summer Olympics

The 1912 Summer Olympics (Swedish: Olympiska sommarspelen 1912), officially known as the Games of the V Olympiad (Swedish: Den V olympiadens spel) and commonly known as Stockholm 1912, were an international multi-sport event held in Stockholm, Sweden, between 6 July and 22 July 1912.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

Sports

1992 · 34 yrs

Tajikistani Civil War

The Tajikistani Civil War was an armed conflict in Tajikistan that began in May 1992 and ended in June 1997. Regional groups from the Garm and Gorno-Badakhshan regions of Tajikistan rose up against the newly formed government of President Rahmon Nabiyev, which was dominated by people from the Khujand and Kulob regions.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

War

2021 · 5 yrs

Myanmar Civil War

The Myanmar civil war began following the military coup on 1 February 2021. The seizure of power triggered mass anti-coup demonstrations and a violent crackdown by the Tatmadaw (Myanmar armed forces), which significantly escalated the country's longstanding insurgencies.

Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

War

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