May 5

May 5 is the 125th day of the year (126th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 240 days remaining until the end of the year.

This day marks the approximate midpoint of spring in the Northern Hemisphere and of autumn in the Southern Hemisphere (starting the season at the March equinox).

Events

• 553 – The Second Council of Constantinople begins.
• 1215 – Rebel barons renounce their allegiance to King John of England — part of a chain of events leading to the signing of the Magna Carta.
• 1260 – Kublai Khan becomes ruler of the Mongol Empire.
• 1494 – Christopher Columbus lands on the island of Jamaica and claims it for Spain.
• 1640 – King Charles I of England dissolves the Short Parliament.
• 1762 – Russia and Prussia sign the Treaty of St. Petersburg.
• 1789 – In France, the Estates-General convenes for the first time since 1614.
• 1809 – Mary Kies becomes the first woman awarded a U.S. patent, for a technique of weaving straw with silk and thread.
• 1809 – The Swiss canton of Aargau allowed citizenship to Jews.
• 1811 – In the second day of fighting at the Peninsular War Battle of Fuentes de Oñoro the French army, under Marshall André Masséna, drive in the Duke of Wellington's overextended right flank, but French frontal assaults fail to take the town of Fuentes de Oñoro and the Anglo-Portuguese army holds the field at the end of the day.
• 1821 – Emperor Napoleon dies in exile on the island of Saint Helena in the South Atlantic Ocean.
• 1835 – In Belgium, the first railway in continental Europe opens between Brussels and Mechelen.
• 1860 – Giuseppe Garibaldi sets sail from Genoa, leading the expedition of the Thousand to conquer the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies and giving birth to the Kingdom of Italy.
• 1862 – Cinco de Mayo: Troops led by Ignacio Zaragoza halt a French invasion in the Battle of Puebla in Mexico.
• 1864 – American Civil War: The Battle of the Wilderness begins in Spotsylvania County.
• 1865 – American Civil War: The Confederate District of the Gulf surrenders about 4,000 men at Citronelle, Alabama.
• 1865 – In North Bend, Ohio (a suburb of Cincinnati), the first train robbery in the United States takes place.
• 1865 – American Civil War: The Confederate government was declared dissolved at Washington, Georgia.
• 1866 – Memorial Day first celebrated in United States at Waterloo, New York.
• 1877 – American Indian Wars: Sitting Bull leads his band of Lakota into Canada to avoid harassment by the United States Army under Colonel Nelson Miles.
• 1886 – The Bay View Massacre: A militia fires into a crowd of protesters in Milwaukee, killing seven.
• 1891 – The Music Hall in New York City (later known as Carnegie Hall) has its grand opening and first public performance, with Tchaikovsky as the guest conductor.
• 1904 – Pitching against the Philadelphia Athletics at the Huntington Avenue Grounds, Cy Young of the Boston Americans throws the first perfect game in the modern era of baseball.
• 1905 – The trial in the Stratton Brothers case begins in London, England; it marks the first time that fingerprint evidence is used to gain a conviction for murder.
• 1920 – Authorities arrest Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti for alleged robbery and murder.
• 1925 – Scopes Trial: Serving of an arrest warrant on John T. Scopes for teaching evolution in violation of the Butler Act.
• 1925 – The government of South Africa declares Afrikaans an official language.
• 1934 – The first Three Stooges short, Woman Haters, is released.
• 1936 – Italian troops occupy Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
• 1940 – World War II: Norwegian refugees form a government-in-exile in London
• 1940 – World War II: Norwegian Campaign: Norwegian squads in Hegra Fortress and Vinjesvingen capitulate to German forces after all other Norwegian forces in southern Norway had laid down their arms.
• 1941 – Emperor Haile Selassie returns to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia; the country commemorates the date as Liberation Day or Patriots' Victory Day.
• 1944 – German troops execute 216 civilians in the village of Kleisoura in Greece.
• 1945 – World War II: Canadian and British troops liberate the Netherlands and Denmark from German occupation when Wehrmacht troops capitulate.
• 1945 – World War II: The Prague uprising begins as an attempt by the Czech resistance to free the city from German occupation.
• 1945 – World War II: Six people are killed when a Japanese fire balloon explodes near Bly, Oregon. They are the only Americans killed in the continental US during the war.
• 1946 – The International Military Tribunal for the Far East begins in Tokyo with twenty-eight Japanese military and government officials accused of war crimes and crimes against humanity.
• 1949 – The Treaty of London establishes the Council of Europe in Strasbourg as the first European institution working for European integration.
• 1950 – Bhumibol Adulyadej is crowned King Rama IX of Thailand.
• 1955 – West Germany gains full sovereignty.
• 1961 – The Mercury program: Mercury-Redstone 3: Alan Shepard becomes the first American to travel into outer space, on a sub-orbital flight.
• 1964 – The Council of Europe declares May 5 as Europe Day.
• 1965 – The Warlocks, later known as The Grateful Dead, make their first public appearance in Menlo Park, California.
• 1972 – Alitalia Flight 112 crashes into Mount Longa near Palermo, Sicily, killing all 115 aboard, making it the deadliest single-aircraft disaster in Italy.
• 1973 – Secretariat wins the 1973 Kentucky Derby in 1:59 2/5, an as-yet unbeaten record.
• 1977 – The first of The Nixon Interviews between David Frost and Richard Nixon are broadcast.
• 1980 – Operation Nimrod: The British Special Air Service storms the Iranian embassy in London after a six-day siege.
• 1981 – Bobby Sands dies in the Long Kesh prison hospital after 66 days of hunger-striking, aged 27.
• 1985 – Bitburg and Bergen-Belsen: Ronald Reagan visits the military cemetery at Bitburg, Germany, and the site of the Nazi concentration camp, Bergen-Belsen, where he makes a speech.
• 1987 – Iran–Contra affair: Start of Congressional televised hearings in the United States of America
• 1991 – A riot breaks out in the Mt. Pleasant section of Washington, D.C. after police shoot a Salvadoran man.
• 1994 – The signing of the Bishkek Protocol between Armenia and Azerbaijan effectively freezes the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.
• 1994 – American teenager Michael P. Fay is caned in Singapore for theft and vandalism.
• 2006 – The government of Sudan signs an accord with the Sudan Liberation Army.
• 2010 – Mass protests in Greece erupt in response to austerity measures imposed by the government as a result of the Greek government-debt crisis.
• 2014 – 11 people are missing after a Chinese cargo ship collides with a Marshall Islands registered container ship off the coast of Hong Kong.
• 2014 – 22 people die after two boats carrying illegal immigrants collide in the Aegean Sea off the coast of Greece.

Births

• 867 – Emperor Uda of Japan (d. 931)
• 1210 – Afonso III of Portugal (d. 1279)
• 1479 – Guru Amar Das, Indian 3rd Sikh Guru (d. 1574)
• 1542 – Thomas Cecil, 1st Earl of Exeter, English soldier and politician, Lord Lieutenant of Northamptonshire (d. 1623)
• 1684 – Françoise Charlotte d'Aubigné, French wife of Adrien Maurice de Noailles (d. 1739)
• 1747 – Leopold II, Holy Roman Emperor (d. 1792)
• 1749 – Jean-Frédéric Edelmann, French pianist and composer (d. 1794)
• 1764 – Robert Craufurd, Scottish general and politician (d. 1812)
• 1800 – Louis Christophe François Hachette, French publisher (d. 1864)
• 1813 – Søren Kierkegaard, Danish philosopher and author (d. 1855)
• 1818 – Karl Marx, German philosopher, sociologist, and journalist (d. 1883)
• 1826 – Eugénie de Montijo, French wife of Napoleon III (d. 1920)
• 1830 – John Batterson Stetson, American businessman, founded the John B. Stetson Company (d. 1906)
• 1832 – Hubert Howe Bancroft, American ethnologist and historian (d. 1918)
• 1833 – Ferdinand von Richthofen, German geographer and academic (d. 1905)
• 1834 – Viktor Hartmann, Russian painter and architect (d. 1873)
• 1843 – William George Beers, Canadian dentist and patriot (d. 1900)
• 1846 – Henryk Sienkiewicz, Polish journalist and author, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1916)
• 1858 – John L. Leal, American physician (d. 1914)
• 1864 – Nellie Bly, American journalist and author (d. 1922)
• 1866 – Thomas B. Thrige, Danish businessman (d. 1938)
• 1869 – Fabián de la Rosa, Filipino painter and educator (d. 1937)
• 1869 – Hans Pfitzner, German composer and conductor (d. 1949)
• 1883 – Agustín Barrios, Paraguayan guitarist and composer (d. 1944)
• 1883 – Archibald Wavell, 1st Earl Wavell, English general and politician, 43rd Governor-General of India (d. 1950)
• 1884 – Chief Bender, American baseball player and coach (d. 1954)
• 1887 – Mervyn S. Bennion, American captain, Medal of Honor recipient (d. 1941)
• 1887 – Geoffrey Fisher, English archbishop (d. 1972)
• 1889 – Herbie Taylor, South African cricketer and soldier (d. 1973)
• 1890 – Christopher Morley, American journalist and author (d. 1957)
• 1898 – Elsie Eaves, American engineer (d. 1983)
• 1899 – Freeman Gosden, American actor and screenwriter (d. 1982)
• 1901 – Blind Willie McTell, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1959)
• 1903 – James Beard, American chef and author (d. 1985)
• 1905 – Floyd Gottfredson, American author and illustrator (d. 1986)
• 1906 – Charles Exbrayat, French author and screenwriter (d. 1989)
• 1907 – Iryna Vilde, Ukrainian journalist and author (d. 1982)
• 1908 – Kurt Böhme, German opera singer (d. 1989)
• 1909 – Miklós Radnóti, Hungarian poet and author (d. 1944)
• 1910 – Leo Lionni, American author and illustrator (d. 1999)
• 1911 – Gilles Grangier, French director and screenwriter (d. 1996)
• 1911 – Andor Lilienthal, Russian-Hungarian chess player (d. 2010)
• 1911 – Pritilata Waddedar, Indian educator and activist (d. 1932)
• 1913 – Duane Carter, American racing driver (d. 1993)
• 1914 – Tyrone Power, American actor, singer, and producer (d. 1958)
• 1915 – Alice Faye, American actress and singer (d. 1998)
• 1915 – Ben Wright, English-American actor (d. 1989)
• 1916 – Zail Singh, Indian politician, 7th President of India (d. 1987)
• 1917 – Pío Leyva, Cuban singer-songwriter (Buena Vista Social Club) (d. 2006)
• 1919 – Georgios Papadopoulos, Greek colonel and politician, 169th Prime Minister of Greece (d. 1999)
• 1921 – Arthur Leonard Schawlow, American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1999)
• 1922 – Irene Gut Opdyke, Polish-American nurse (d. 2003)
• 1923 – James Gilbert, Scottish television producer and director
• 1923 – Richard Wollheim, English philosopher and academic (d. 2003)
• 1925 – Eddi Arent, Polish-German actor (d. 2013)
• 1925 – Leo Ryan, American soldier, educator, and politician (d. 1978)
• 1926 – Ann B. Davis, American actress and singer (d. 2014)
• 1927 – Pat Carroll, American actress and singer
• 1927 – Sylvia Fedoruk, Canadian physicist and politician, 17th Lieutenant Governor of Saskatchewan (d. 2012)
• 1928 – Richard Schaal, American actor and screenwriter (d. 2014)
• 1929 – Ayhan Işık, Turkish actor and producer (d. 1979)
• 1929 – Ilene Woods, American actress and singer (d. 2010)
• 1930 – Hans Abramson, Swedish director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2012)
• 1930 – Will Hutchins, American actor
• 1931 – Greg, Belgian author and illustrator (d. 1999)
• 1932 – Stan Goldberg, American illustrator (d. 2014)
• 1932 – Bob Said, American race car driver and bobsled racer (d. 2002)
• 1933 – Igor Kashkarov, Russian high jumper
• 1934 – Ace Cannon, American saxophonist
• 1934 – Victor Garland, Australian accountant and politician, 26th Australian Minister for Veterans' Affairs
• 1934 – Johnnie Taylor, American singer (d. 2000)
• 1935 – Douglas Marland, American actor and screenwriter (d. 1993)
• 1935 – Bernard Pivot, French journalist, talk show host, and producer
• 1935 – Robert Rehme, American film producer
• 1936 – Patrick Gowers, English composer and educator (d. 2014)
• 1936 – Ervin Lázár, Hungarian author (d. 2006)
• 1936 – John Maxton, Scottish politician
• 1937 – Delia Derbyshire, English keyboard player and composer (White Noise) (d. 2001)
• 1938 – Michael Murphy, American actor
• 1938 – Bill Robertson, American businessman and politician (d. 2013)
• 1938 – Barbara Wagner, Canadian figure skater and coach
• 1939 – Ray Gosling, English journalist, author, and activist (d. 2013)
• 1940 – Lasse Åberg, Swedish actor, singer, and director
• 1940 – Lance Henriksen, American actor
• 1940 – Michael Lindsay-Hogg, American director and producer
• 1941 – Alexander Ragulin, Russian ice hockey player (d. 2004)
• 1942 – Marc Alaimo, American actor
• 1942 – István Bujtor, Hungarian actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2009)
• 1942 – Jean Corston, Baroness Corston, English lawyer and politician
• 1942 – Hugh Courtenay, 18th Earl of Devon, English politician (d. 2015)
• 1942 – Tammy Wynette, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1998)
• 1943 – Nils Moritz, Estonian-Swedish actor
• 1943 – Michael Palin, English actor and screenwriter
• 1943 – Ignacio Ramonet, Spanish journalist and author
• 1943 – Dilys Watling, English actress and singer
• 1944 – Bo Larsson, Swedish footballer
• 1944 – John Rhys-Davies, Welsh actor and screenwriter
• 1944 – Roger Rees, Welsh-American actor and director (d. 2015)
• 1945 – Kurt Loder, American journalist, author, and critic
• 1945 – Lars-Inge Svartenbrandt, Swedish criminal
• 1945 – Dianne Willcocks, English sociologist and academic
• 1946 – Jim Kelly, American actor and martial artist (d. 2013)
• 1946 – Aydın Menderes, Turkish politician (d. 2011)
• 1947 – Daisuke Ban, Japanese actor
• 1947 – Robin McNamara, American singer-songwriter and actor
• 1948 – Jomanda, Dutch guru
• 1948 – Anna Bergman, Swedish actress
• 1948 – Mats Bergman, Swedish actor
• 1948 – Bella van der Spiegel-Hage, Dutch cyclist
• 1948 – Bill Ward, English drummer and songwriter (Black Sabbath and Mythology)
• 1949 – Eppie Bleeker, Dutch speed skater
• 1950 – Maggie MacNeal, Dutch singer (Mouth & MacNeal)
• 1951 – Rudolf Finsterer, German rugby player and coach
• 1951 – Nicholas Guest, American actor
• 1951 – Toomas Vilosius, Estonian physician and politician, 2nd Minister of Social Affairs of Estonia
• 1952 – Jorge Llopart, Spanish race walker
• 1952 – Willem Witteveen, Dutch scholar and politician (d. 2014)
• 1955 – Melinda Culea, American actress
• 1955 – Lisa Jane Persky, American actress and journalist
• 1956 – Lisa Eilbacher, American actress
• 1956 – Robert Marien, Canadian actor and singer
• 1956 – Steve Scott, American runner and coach
• 1957 – Richard E. Grant, Swazi-English actor, director, and screenwriter
• 1957 – Peter Howitt, English actor, director, and screenwriter
• 1957 – Aad van Mil, Dutch water polo player
• 1958 – Ron Arad, Israeli colonel and pilot (d. 1986)
• 1958 – Robert DiPierdomenico, Australian footballer and sportscaster
• 1958 – Aurélien Recoing, French actor
• 1958 – Jack Wishna, American businessman, co-founded Rockcityclub (d. 2012)
• 1959 – Bobby Ellsworth, American singer and bass player (Overkill)
• 1959 – Ian McCulloch, English singer-songwriter and guitarist (Echo & the Bunnymen, Electrafixion, and Crucial Three)
• 1959 – Peter Molyneux, English video game designer, created Fable
• 1959 – Steve Stevens, American guitarist and songwriter (Juno Reactor)
• 1959 – Brian Williams, American journalist
• 1961 – Hiroshi Hase, Japanese wrestler and politician
• 1961 – Rob Williams, American basketball player (d. 2014)
• 1962 – Sot Chitalada, Thai boxer
• 1962 – Nicolas Vanier, Senegalese explorer, author, and director
• 1962 – Kaoru Wada, Japanese composer and conductor
• 1963 – Heidi Kozak, American actress
• 1963 – James LaBrie, Canadian singer-songwriter (Dream Theater, Winter Rose, Explorers Club, and MullMuzzler)
• 1963 – Simon Rimmer, English chef and author
• 1963 – Scott Westerfeld, American author and composer
• 1964 – Jean-François Copé, French politician, French Minister of Budget
• 1964 – Heike Henkel, German high jumper
• 1964 – Don Payne, American screenwriter and producer (d. 2013)
• 1964 – Minami Takayama, Japanese voice actress and singer
• 1965 – Leslie Law, English horse rider
• 1965 – Glenn Seton, Australian race car driver
• 1966 – Shawn Drover, Canadian drummer (Megadeth, Eidolon, and Act of Defiance)
• 1966 – Sergei Stanishev, Ukrainian-Bulgarian politician, 46th Prime Minister of Bulgaria
• 1966 – Josh Weinstein, American screenwriter and producer
• 1967 – Levent Kazak, Turkish actor and screenwriter
• 1967 – Takehito Koyasu, Japanese voice actor and singer
• 1967 – Charles Nagy, American baseball player and coach
• 1967 – Alexis Sinduhije, Burundian journalist and politician
• 1967 – Bill Ward, English actor
• 1968 – Katherine Rake, English academic
• 1969 – Olav Sepp, Estonian chess player
• 1970 – Kyan Douglas, American television host and author
• 1970 – LaPhonso Ellis, American basketball player
• 1970 – Todd Newton, American game show host
• 1971 – Harold Miner, American basketball player
• 1971 – Mike Redmond, American baseball player and manager
• 1972 – James Cracknell, English rower
• 1973 – Casino Versus Japan, American composer and producer
• 1973 – Tina Yothers, American actress and singer
• 1974 – Seiji Ara, Japanese race car driver
• 1974 – Jens Fredrik Ryland, Norwegian guitarist (Borknagar)
• 1975 – Meb Keflezighi, American runner
• 1976 – Dieter Brummer, Australian actor
• 1976 – Jean-François Dumoulin, Canadian race car driver
• 1976 – Anastasios Pantos, Greek footballer
• 1976 – Juan Pablo Sorín, Argentinian footballer and sportscaster
• 1976 – Sage Stallone, American actor, director, and producer (d. 2012)
• 1976 – Jeremy Michael Ward, American singer and guitarist (The Mars Volta and De Facto) (d. 2003)
• 1977 – Virginie Efira, Belgian actress and journalist
• 1977 – Choi Kang-hee, South Korean actress
• 1977 – Jessica Schwarz, German actress
• 1978 – Santiago Cabrera, Venezuelan-English actor
• 1978 – Morgan Pehme, American director, producer, and screenwriter
• 1978 – John Wilshere, Papua New Guinean rugby player
• 1979 – Vincent Kartheiser, American actor
• 1980 – Yossi Benayoun, Israeli footballer
• 1980 – Hank Green, American blogger
• 1980 – DerMarr Johnson, American basketball player
• 1980 – Charmane Star, Filipino porn actress
• 1981 – Marcelle Bittar, Brazilian model
• 1981 – Craig David, English singer-songwriter
• 1981 – Stian Omenås, Norwegian trumpeter and orchestra leader
• 1981 – Danielle Fishel, American actress
• 1981 – Farid Kamil, Malaysian actor, director, and screenwriter
• 1982 – Ferrie Bodde, Dutch footballer
• 1982 – Jay Bothroyd, English footballer
• 1982 – Wouter D'Haene, Belgian sprinter
• 1982 – Randall Gay, American football player
• 1982 – Corey Parker, Australian rugby league footballer
• 1983 – Henry Cavill, English actor
• 1983 – Mabel Gay, Cuban triple jumper
• 1983 – Annie Villeneuve, Canadian singer-songwriter
• 1983 – Scott Ware, American football player
• 1984 – Wade MacNeil, Canadian singer-songwriter and guitarist (Alexisonfire, Gallows, and Black Lungs)
• 1984 – Christian Valdéz, Mexican footballer
• 1985 – Shoko Nakagawa, Japanese actress and singer
• 1985 – Emanuele Giaccherini, Italian footballer
• 1985 – Tsepo Masilela, South African footballer
• 1985 – Marcos Rogério Oliveira Duarte, Brazilian footballer
• 1985 – Terrence Wheatley, American football player
• 1987 – Jessie Cave, English actress
• 1987 – Graham Dorrans, Scottish footballer
• 1987 – Siim Sellis, Estonian skier
• 1987 – Marija Šestić, Bosnian singer
• 1987 – Ian Michael Smith, American actor
• 1988 – Adele, English singer-songwriter
• 1988 – Mai Agan, Estonian bass player and composer
• 1988 – Jessica Dubroff, American pilot (d. 1996)
• 1988 – Brooke Hogan, American singer and actress
• 1988 – Richard O'Dwyer, English computer programmer
• 1988 – Skye Sweetnam, Canadian singer-songwriter and actress (Sumo Cyco)
• 1989 – Chris Brown, American singer-songwriter, dancer, and actor
• 1989 – Agnes Knochenhauer, Swedish curler
• 1989 – Raai Laxmi, Indian actress
• 1989 – Larissa Wilson, English actress
• 1990 – Hannah Davis, American model
• 1990 – Song Jieun, South Korean singer, dancer, and actress (Secret)
• 1991 – Colin Edwards, Guyanese footballer (d. 2013)
• 1991 – Xenofon Fetsis, Greek footballer
• 1991 – Raúl Jiménez, Mexican footballer
• 1991 – Shubha Phutela, Indian model and actress (d. 2012)
• 1992 – Loïck Landre, French footballer
• 1992 – Yōsuke Mikami, Japanese footballer
• 1992 – Taisuke Miyazaki, Japanese footballer
• 1993 – Francine Niyonsaba, Burundian runner
• 1999 – Nathan Chen, American figure skater

Deaths

• 984 – Gerberga of Saxony (b. 913)
• 1194 – Casimir II the Just, Polish son of Bolesław III Wrymouth (b. 1138)
• 1243 – Hubert de Burgh, 1st Earl of Kent, English justiciar (b. c. 1160)
• 1306 – Constantine Palaiologos, Byzantine general (b. 1261)
• 1309 – Charles II of Naples (b. 1254)
• 1525 – Frederick III, Elector of Saxony (b. 1463)
• 1586 – Henry Sidney, Irish politician, Lord Deputy of Ireland (b. 1529)
• 1671 – Edward Montagu, 2nd Earl of Manchester, English general and politician, Lord Chamberlain of the United Kingdom (b. 1602)
• 1672 – Samuel Cooper, English painter and linguist (b. 1609)
• 1700 – Angelo Italia, Italian architect (b. 1628)
• 1705 – Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor (b. 1640)
• 1760 – Laurence Shirley, 4th Earl Ferrers, English politician (b. 1720)
• 1766 – Jean Astruc, French physician and scholar (b. 1684)
• 1808 – Pierre Jean George Cabanis, French physiologist and philosopher (b. 1757)
• 1821 – Napoleon, French general and emperor (b. 1769)
• 1827 – Frederick Augustus I of Saxony (b. 1750)
• 1833 – Sophia Campbell, English-Australian painter (b. 1777)
• 1855 – Sir Robert Inglis, 2nd Baronet, English politician (b. 1786)
• 1859 – Peter Gustav Lejeune Dirichlet, German mathematician and academic (b. 1805)
• 1860 – Jean-Charles Prince, Canadian bishop (b. 1804)
• 1892 – August Wilhelm von Hofmann, German chemist and academic (b. 1818)
• 1896 – Silas Adams, American lawyer and politician (b. 1839)
• 1907 – Şeker Ahmed Pasha, Turkish soldier and painter (b. 1841)
• 1916 – John MacBride, Irish soldier (b. 1865)
• 1916 – Maurice Raoul-Duval, French polo player (b. 1866)
• 1921 – Alfred Hermann Fried, Austrian journalist and publicist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1864)
• 1924 – A. Sabapathy, Sri Lankan journalist and politician (b. 1853)
• 1931 – Glen Kidston, English pilot and race car driver (b. 1899)
• 1939 – Clara Schønfeld, Danish actress (b. 1856)
• 1942 – Qemal Stafa, Albanian politician (b. 1920)
• 1944 – Bertha Benz German wife of Karl Benz (b. 1849)
• 1947 – Ty LaForest, Canadian-American baseball player (b. 1917)
• 1959 – Carlos Saavedra Lamas, Argentinian academic and politician, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1878)
• 1962 – Ernest Tyldesley, English cricketer (b. 1889)
• 1965 – Nikos Gounaris, Greek tenor and composer (b. 1915)
• 1965 – John Waters, American director and screenwriter (b. 1893)
• 1971 – Violet Jessop, Argentinean-English nurse (b. 1887)
• 1973 – Zekai Özger, Turkish poet and academic (b. 1948)
• 1977 – Ludwig Erhard, German economist and politician, Chancellor of Germany (b. 1897)
• 1981 – Bobby Sands, Irish soldier and politician (b. 1954)
• 1983 – Horst Schumann, German physician (b. 1901)
• 1983 – John Williams, English-American actor (b. 1903)
• 1985 – Donald Bailey, English engineer, designed the Bailey bridge (b. 1901)
• 1988 – Michael Shaara, American author and academic (b. 1928)
• 1992 – Jean-Claude Pascal, French actor and singer (b. 1927)
• 1994 – Mário Quintana, Brazilian poet and translator (b. 1906)
• 1995 – Mikhail Botvinnik, Russian chess player and coach (b. 1911)
• 1997 – Walter Gotell, German-English actor (b. 1924)
• 1999 – Vasilis Diamantopoulos, Greek actor, director, and screenwriter (b. 1920)
• 2000 – Gino Bartali, Italian cyclist (b. 1914)
• 2000 – Bill Musselman, American basketball player and coach (b. 1940)
• 2001 – Morris Graves, American painter and educator (b. 1910)
• 2001 – Clifton Hillegass, American publisher, created CliffsNotes (b. 1918)
• 2002 – Hugo Banzer, Bolivian general and politician, 62nd President of Bolivia (b. 1926)
• 2002 – Paul Wilbur Klipsch, American engineer, founded Klipsch Audio Technologies (b. 1904)
• 2002 – George Sidney, American director and producer (b. 1916)
• 2003 – Sam Bockarie, Sierra Leonean commander (b. 1964)
• 2003 – Walter Sisulu, South African activist and politician (b. 1912)
• 2004 – Ritsuko Okazaki, Japanese singer-songwriter (Melocure) (b. 1959)
• 2005 – Elisabeth Fraser, American actress (b. 1920)
• 2005 – Édgar Ponce, Mexican actor and dancer (b. 1974)
• 2006 – Naushad Ali, Indian composer and producer (b. 1919)
• 2006 – Atıf Yılmaz, Turkish director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1925)
• 2007 – Theodore Harold Maiman, American-Canadian physicist and engineer, created the laser (b. 1927)
• 2008 – Irv Robbins, Canadian-American businessman, co-founded Baskin-Robbins (b. 1917)
• 2008 – Jerry Wallace, American singer and guitarist (b. 1928)
• 2010 – Giulietta Simionato, Italian soprano (b. 1910)
• 2010 – Umaru Musa Yar'Adua, Nigerian academic and politician, 12th president of Nigeria (b. 1951)
• 2011 – Claude Choules, English-Australian soldier (b. 1901)
• 2011 – Yosef Merimovich, Israeli footballer and manager (b. 1924)
• 2011 – Dana Wynter, German-English actress (b. 1931)
• 2012 – Surendranath, Indian cricketer (b. 1937)
• 2012 – Count Carl Johan Bernadotte of Wisborg (b. 1916)
• 2012 – Aatos Erkko, Finnish journalist and publisher (b. 1932)
• 2012 – George Knobel, Dutch footballer, coach, and manager (b. 1922)
• 2012 – Roy Padayachie, South African lawyer and politician, South African Minister of Communications (b. 1950)
• 2013 – Rossella Falk, Italian actress (b. 1926)
• 2013 – Sarah Kirsch, German poet and author (b. 1935)
• 2013 – Greg Quill, Australian-Canadian singer-songwriter and journalist (b. 1947)
• 2013 – Robert Ressler, American FBI agent and author (b. 1937)
• 2014 – Timothy John Byford, English-Serbian director and screenwriter (b. 1941)
• 2014 – Butler Derrick, American lawyer and politician (b. 1936)
• 2014 – Billy Frank, Jr., American activist (b. 1931)
• 2014 – Eduardo Mac Entyre, Argentinian painter (b. 1929)
• 2014 – Michael Otedola, Nigerian journalist and politician, 9th Governor of Lagos State (b. 1926)
• 2014 – Jackie Lynn Taylor, American actress (b. 1925)
• 2015 – Jobst Brandt, American cyclist, engineer, and author (b. 1935)
• 2015 – Craig Gruber, American bass player (Rainbow, Elf, Bible Black, and Raven Lord) (b. 1951)
• 2015 – Oscar Holderer, German-American scientist and engineer (b. 1919)
• 2015 – Hans Jansen, Dutch linguist, academic, and politician (b. 1942)
• 2015 – Brian Sedgemore, English lawyer and politician (b. 1937)

Holidays and observances

• Children's Day (Japan)
• Children's Day (South Korea)
• Cinco de Mayo (Mexico and the United States)
• Christian feast day:
  • Angelus of Jerusalem
  • Blessed Edmund Ignatius Rice
  • Frederick the Wise (Lutheran)
  • Hilary of Arles
  • Jutta of Kulmsee
  • Stanisław Kazimierczyk
  • May 5 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
• Constitution Day (Kyrgyzstan)
• Coronation Day (Thailand), commemorates the coronation of King Bhumibol Adulyadej in 1950.
• Europe Day (Council of Europe)
• Feast of al-Khadr or Saint George (Palestinian)
• Indian Arrival Day (Guyana)
• International Midwives' Day (International)
• Liberation Day (Denmark)
• Liberation Day (Netherlands)
• Lusophone Culture Day (Community of Portuguese Language Countries)
• Martyrs' Day (Albania)
• Patriots' Victory Day (Ethiopia)
• Senior Citizens Day (Palau)
• Tango no sekku (Japan)

External links

• BBC: On This Day
• The New York Times: On This Day
• On This Day in Canada