Home › Almanac › On This Day

On This Day in History — April 5

‹ April 4 The Almanac April 6 ›

Jump to a date

Highlights of April 5

2018 — Agents with the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement raided a slaughterhouse in Tennessee, detaining nearly 100 Hispanic workers in one of the largest immigration raids in the history of the U.S. Read more
2010 — An explosion at a coal mine in West Virginia killed 29 miners in the United States' worst mining disaster in 40 years. Read more
2010 — Two bombings in Pakistan killed up to 50 people and injured around 100 others. Read more
2009 — The North Korean satellite Kwangmyŏngsŏng-2 was launched from the Tonghae Satellite Launching Ground and passed over Japan, sparking concerns it may have been a trial run of technology that could be used to launch intercontinental ballistic missiles. Read more
2002 — In the first reported data breach, 250,000 social security numbers collected by the State of California were stolen from a data center. Read more
2000 — Fan violence broke out before a UEFA Cup semifinal in Istanbul, Turkey, resulting in two Leeds United supporters being stabbed to death and Galatasaray supporters being banned from attending the second leg in England. Read more
1998 — The Akashi Kaikyo Bridge (pictured), then the world's longest suspension bridge, linking Awaji Island and Kobe in Japan, opened to traffic. Read more
1986 — The Libyan secret service bombed a discotheque in West Berlin, resulting in three deaths and 229 others injured. Read more
1983 — In China, the People's Armed Police, primarily responsible for internal security, was founded. Read more
1979 — Faculty members, clerical workers, and librarians at Boston University went on strike. Read more
1974 — Carrie (pictured), the first novel by American author Stephen King, was published. Read more
1966 — During the Buddhist Uprising, South Vietnamese military prime minister Nguyễn Cao Kỳ personally attempted to lead the capture of the restive city of Đà Nẵng before backing down. Read more
1955 — Aware that he was slowing down both physically and mentally in his old age, Winston Churchill retired as prime minister of the United Kingdom. Read more
1944 — Siegfried Lederer, a Czech Jew, escaped from Auschwitz with the aid of an SS officer who opposed the Holocaust. Read more
1936 — An F5 tornado struck Tupelo, Mississippi, killing at least 216 people during one of the deadliest tornado outbreaks in U.S. history. Read more
1933 — Nazi sympathisers attempted to kidnap two German-Jewish filmmakers in Liechtenstein. Read more
1902 — A spectator stand collapsed during a football match at Ibrox Park in Govan, Scotland, killing 25 supporters and injuring more than 500 others. Read more
1847 — Birkenhead Park, generally acknowledged as the world's first publicly funded civic park, opened in Birkenhead, England. Read more
1710 — The Statute of Anne, the first legislation in Great Britain providing for copyright regulated by the government and courts, received royal assent and entered into force five days later. Read more
1614 — Pocahontas (pictured), a Native American woman, married English colonist John Rolfe, leading to a period of peace between the Powhatan people and the inhabitants of Jamestown, Virginia. Read more
1242 — Northern Crusades: In the Battle on the Ice, Novgorod forces led by Alexander Nevsky rebuffed an invasion attempt by the Teutonic Knights at Lake Peipus on the present-day border of Estonia and Russia. Read more
919 — The Fatimid Caliphate began a second unsuccessful invasion of Egypt, then under Abbasid rule. Read more

Events

2018 — Agents with the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement raid a slaughterhouse in Tennessee, detaining nearly 100 undocumented Hispanic workers in one of the largest workplace raids in the history of the United States. Read more
2010 — Up to 50 people are killed and another 100 injured in two militant suicide bombings and attacks in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan: the first on an Awami National Party rally in Timergara; the second on the U.S. Consulate in Peshawar. Read more
2010 — Twenty-nine coal miners are killed in an explosion at the Upper Big Branch Mine in West Virginia. Read more
2010 — Space Shuttle Discovery is launched on STS-131 to resupply the International Space Station. Read more
2009 — North Korea launches its controversial Kwangmyŏngsŏng-2 satellite. 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. Read more
2007 — The cruise ship MS Sea Diamond strikes a volcanic reef near Nea Kameni and sinks the next day. Two passengers were never recovered and are presumed dead. Read more
1999 — Two Libyans suspected of bringing down Pan Am Flight 103 in 1988 are handed over for eventual trial in the Netherlands. Read more
1998 — In Japan, the Akashi Kaikyō Bridge opens to traffic, becoming the longest bridge span in the world. Read more
1992 — Alberto Fujimori, president of Peru, dissolves the Peruvian congress by military force. Read more
1992 — Peace protesters Suada Dilberovic and Olga Sučić are killed on the Vrbanja Bridge in Sarajevo, becoming the first casualties of the Bosnian War. Read more
1991 — An ASA EMB 120 crashes in Brunswick, Georgia, killing all 23 aboard, including Sen. John Tower and astronaut Sonny Carter. Read more
1991 — The Space Shuttle Atlantis launches on STS-37 to deploy the Compton Gamma Ray Observatory. Read more
1983 — The People's Armed Police is officially founded. Read more
1977 — The US Supreme Court rules that congressional legislation that diminished the size of the Sioux people's reservation thereby destroyed the tribe's jurisdictional authority over the area in Rosebud Sioux Tribe v. Kneip. Read more
1976 — In China, the April Fifth Movement leads to the Tiananmen Incident. Read more
1974 — Carrie, the first novel by American author Stephen King, is published for the first time with a print run of 30,000 copies. Read more
1971 — In Sri Lanka, Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna launches a revolt against the United Front government of Sirimavo Bandaranaike. Read more
1966 — During the Buddhist Uprising, South Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyễn Cao Kỳ personally attempts to lead the capture of the restive city of Đà Nẵng before backing down. Read more
1965 — My Fair Lady wins Best Picture at the 37th Academy Awards. Read more
1958 — Ripple 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. Read more
1956 — Cuban Revolution: Fidel Castro declares himself at war with Cuban President Fulgencio Batista. Read more
1951 — Cold War: Ethel and Julius Rosenberg are sentenced to death for spying for the Soviet Union. Read more
1949 — A fire in a hospital in Effingham, Illinois, kills 77 people and leads to nationwide fire code improvements in the United States. Read more
1946 — Soviet troops end their year-long occupation of the Danish island of Bornholm. Read more
1946 — A Fleet Air Arm Vickers Wellington crashes into a residential area in Rabat, Malta during a training exercise, killing all four crew members and 16 civilians on the ground. Read more
1945 — Cold War: Yugoslav leader Josip Broz Tito signs an agreement with the Soviet Union to allow "temporary entry of Soviet troops into Yugoslav territory". Read more
1943 — World War II: United States Army Air Forces bomber aircraft accidentally cause more than 900 civilian deaths, including 209 children, and 1,300 wounded among the civilian population of the Belgian town of Mortsel. Their target was the Erla factory 1 kilometre (0.62 mi) from the residential area hit. Read more
1942 — World War II: Adolf Hitler issues Fuhrer Directive No. 41 summarizing Case Blue, including the German Sixth Army's planned assault on Stalingrad. Read more
1942 — World 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. Read more
1938 — Spanish Civil War: Two days after the Nationalist army occupied the Catalan city of Lleida, dictator Francisco Franco decrees the abolition of the Generalitat (the autonomous government of Catalonia), the self-government granted by the Republic, and the official status of the Catalan language. Read more
1936 — Tupelo–Gainesville tornado outbreak: An F5 tornado kills 233 in Tupelo, Mississippi. Read more
1933 — U.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. Read more
1933 — Andorran Revolution: The Young Andorrans occupy the Casa de la Vall and force the government to hold democratic elections with universal male suffrage. Read more
1932 — Dominion of Newfoundland: Ten thousand rioters seize the Colonial Building leading to the end of self-government. Read more
1922 — The American Birth Control League, forerunner of Planned Parenthood, is incorporated. Read more
1910 — The Transandine Railway connecting Chile and Argentina is inaugurated. Read more
1902 — A stand box collapses at Ibrox Park (now Ibrox Stadium) in Glasgow, Scotland, which led to the deaths of 25 and injuries to more than 500 supporters during an international association football match between Scotland and England. Read more
1879 — Bolivia declares war on Chile, and Chile declares war on Peru, starting the War of the Pacific. Read more
1862 — American Civil War: The Battle of Yorktown begins. Read more
1818 — In 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. Read more
1795 — Peace of Basel between France and Prussia is made. Read more
1792 — United States President George Washington exercises his authority to veto a bill, the first time this power is used in the United States. Read more
1621 — The Mayflower sets sail from Plymouth, Massachusetts on a return trip to England. Read more
1614 — In Virginia, Native American Pocahontas marries English colonist John Rolfe. Read more
1614 — The second English Parliament of king James I, the so-called Addled Parliament, opens. Read more
1566 — Two hundred Dutch noblemen, led by Hendrick van Brederode, force themselves into the presence of Margaret of Parma and present the Petition of Compromise, denouncing the Spanish Inquisition in the Seventeen Provinces. Read more
1536 — Charles V makes a Royal Entry into Rome, demolishing a swath of the city to re-enact a Roman triumph. Read more
1242 — During the Battle on the Ice of Lake Peipus, Russian forces, led by Alexander Nevsky, rebuff an invasion attempt by the Teutonic Knights. Read more
919 — The second Fatimid invasion of Egypt begins, when the Fatimid heir-apparent, al-Qa'im bi-Amr Allah, sets out from Raqqada at the head of his army. Read more
823 — Lothair I is crowned King of Italy by Pope Paschal I. Read more

Born on April 5

2003 — Tetairoa McMillan, American football player Read more
2001 — Johnny Beecher, American ice hockey player Read more
2001 — Felipe Peña, Argentine footballer Read more
1999 — Bobby Miller, American baseball player Read more
1998 — Nathan Broadhead, Welsh football player Read more
1997 — Borja Mayoral, Spanish footballer Read more
1997 — Dominik Mysterio, American wrestler Read more
1996 — Nicolas Beer, Danish race car driver Read more
1996 — Raouf Benguit, Algerian footballer Read more
1995 — Daniel Caesar, Canadian singer-songwriter Read more
1995 — Viliame Kikau, Fijian rugby league player Read more
1995 — Sei Muroya, Japanese footballer Read more
1995 — Gleb Rassadkin, Belarusian footballer Read more
1995 — Sebastian Starke Hedlund, Swedish footballer Read more
1994 — Mateusz Bieniek, Polish volleyball player Read more
1994 — Edem Rjaïbi, Tunisian footballer Read more
1994 — Richard Sánchez, Mexican footballer Read more
1993 — Andreas Bouchalakis, Greek footballer Read more
1993 — Maya DiRado, American swimmer Read more
1993 — Laura Feiersinger, Austrian footballer Read more
1993 — Benjamin Garcia, French rugby league player Read more
1993 — Scottie Wilbekin, American-Turkish basketball player Read more
1992 — Emmalyn Estrada, Canadian singer-songwriter and dancer Read more
1992 — Shintaro Kurumaya, Japanese footballer Read more
1992 — Kaveh Rezaei, Iranian footballer Read more
1992 — Dmytro Ryzhuk, Ukrainian footballer Read more
1991 — Yassine Bounou, Moroccan footballer Read more
1991 — Nathaniel Clyne, English footballer Read more
1991 — Adriano Grimaldi, Italian-German footballer Read more
1991 — Joël Mall, Swiss footballer Read more
1991 — Guilherme dos Santos Torres, Brazilian footballer Read more
1990 — Amer Said Al-Shatri, Omani footballer Read more
1990 — Alex Cuthbert, Welsh rugby player Read more
1990 — Patrick Dangerfield, Australian footballer Read more
1990 — Fredy Hinestroza, Colombian footballer Read more
1990 — Chen Huijia, Chinese swimmer Read more
1990 — Haruma Miura, Japanese actor and singer (died 2020) Read more
1990 — Ismaeel Mohammad, Qatari footballer Read more
1990 — Iryna Pamialova, Belarusian canoeist Read more
1990 — Jakub Sedláček, Czech ice hockey player Read more

Died on April 5

2024 — C. J. Snare, American musician and songwriter (born 1959) Read more
2022 — Nehemiah Persoff, Israeli-American actor (born 1919) Read more
2022 — Jimmy Wang Yu, Taiwanese actor (born 1943) Read more
2021 — Paul Ritter, English actor (born 1966) Read more
2019 — Sydney Brenner, South African biologist, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1927) Read more
2019 — Wowaka, Japanese musician (born 1987) Read more
2018 — Isao Takahata, Japanese director (born 1935) Read more
2017 — Attilio Benfatto, Italian cyclist (born 1943) Read more
2017 — Arthur Bisguier, American chess Grandmaster (born 1929) Read more
2017 — Paul G. Comba, Italian-American computer scientist and astronomer (born 1926) Read more
2017 — Makoto Ōoka, Japanese poet and literary critic (born 1931) Read more
2017 — Paul O'Neill, American rock composer and producer (born 1956) Read more
2017 — Tim Parnell, British race car driver (born 1932) Read more
2017 — Memè Perlini, Italian actor and director (born 1947) Read more
2017 — Atanase Sciotnic, Romanian sprint canoeist (born 1942) Read more
2017 — Ilkka Sinisalo, Finnish ice hockey player (born 1958) Read more
2016 — Koço Kasapoğlu, Turkish footballer (born 1936) Read more
2015 — Fredric Brandt, American dermatologist and author (born 1949) Read more
2015 — Juan Carlos Cáceres, Argentinian singer and pianist (born 1936) Read more
2014 — Alan Davie, Scottish saxophonist and painter (born 1920) Read more
2014 — Mariano Díaz, Spanish cyclist (born 1939) Read more
2014 — Peter Matthiessen, American novelist, short story writer, editor, co-founded The Paris Review (born 1927) Read more
2014 — John Pinette, American comedian (born 1964) Read more
2014 — José Wilker, Brazilian actor, director, and producer (born 1947) Read more
2013 — Regina Bianchi, Italian actress (born 1921) Read more
2013 — Piero de Palma, Italian tenor and actor (born 1924) Read more
2013 — Nikolaos Pappas, Greek Navy admiral (born 1930) Read more
2012 — Ferdinand Alexander Porsche, German designer (born 1935) Read more
2012 — Pedro Bartolomé Benoit, Dominican Republican politician military officer (born 1921) Read more
2012 — Jim Marshall, English businessman, founded Marshall Amplification (born 1923) Read more
2012 — Barney McKenna, Irish musician (born 1939) Read more
2012 — Bingu wa Mutharika, Malawian economist and politician, 3rd President of Malawi (born 1934) Read more
2011 — Baruch Samuel Blumberg, American physician and geneticist, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1925) Read more
2011 — Ange-Félix Patassé, Central African politician (born 1937) Read more
2010 — Vitaly Sevastyanov, Soviet cosmonaut and engineer (born 1935) Read more
2009 — I. J. Good, British mathematician (born 1916) Read more
2008 — Charlton Heston, American actor, director, and political activist (born 1923) Read more
2007 — Maria Gripe, Swedish journalist and author (born 1923) Read more
2007 — Leela Majumdar, Indian author and academic (born 1908) Read more
2007 — Werner Maser, German historian and journalist (born 1922) Read more

Holidays & observances

Christian feast day: Agape, Chionia, and Irene; Christian feast day: Albert of Montecorvino; Christian feast day: Catherine of Palma; Christian feast day: Derfel Gadarn; Christian feast day: Æthelburh of Kent; Christian feast day: Gerald of Sauve-Majeure; Christian feast day: Juliana of Liège; Christian feast day: Maria Crescentia Höss; Christian feast day: Blessed Mariano de la Mata; Christian feast day: Pandita Mary Ramabai (Episcopal Church (USA)); Christian feast day: Ruadhán of Lorrha; Christian feast day: Vincent Ferrer; Christian feast day: April 5 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics); Cold Food Festival, held on April 4 if it is a leap year (China); and its related observances:; Earliest day on which Sham el-Nessim can fall, while May 9 is the latest; celebrated on Monday after the Orthodox Easter (Egypt); Children's Day (Palestinian territories); First Contact Day (International observance); Sikmogil (South Korea); National Maritime Day is observed in India, in commemoration of the first voyage of SS Loyalty of the Scindia Steam Navigation Company Ltd. in 1919.; International Day of Conscience

More from the Almanac

Sunrise & Sunset Star Transit Moon & Planting Calendars Ancient Measures

Events, births and deaths from Wikipedia contributors, “April 5”, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Lists are selections; the full record lives at the source.