5 May

Events

Pre-1600

* 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 – On his second voyage to the New World, Christopher Columbus sights Jamaica, landing at Discovery Bay and declares Jamaica the property of the Spanish crown.

1601–1900

*1609 – ''Daimyō'' (Lord) Shimazu Tadatsune of the Satsuma Domain in southern Kyūshū, Japan, completes his successful invasion of the Ryūkyū Kingdom in Okinawa.
* 1640 – King Charles I of England dissolves the Short Parliament.
*1654 – Cromwell's Act of Grace, aimed at reconciliation with the Scots, proclaimed in Edinburgh.
*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.
*1821 – Emperor Napoleon dies in exile on the island of Saint Helena in the South Atlantic Ocean.
*1821 – The first edition of ''The Manchester Guardian'', now ''The Guardian'', is published.
*1835 – The first railway in continental Europe opens between Brussels and Mechelen.
*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 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 – Workers marching for the Eight-hour day in Milwaukee, Wisconsin were shot at by Wisconsin National Guardsmen in what became known as the Bay View Massacre.
* 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.

1901–present

* 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.
*1930 – The 1930 Bago earthquake, the former of two major earthquakes in southern Burma kills as many as 7,000 in Yangon and Bago.
*1936 – Italian troops occupy Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
* 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; the country commemorates the date as Liberation Day or Patriots' Victory Day.
*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: A Fu-Go balloon bomb launched by the Japanese Army kills six people near Bly, Oregon.
* 1945 – World War II: Battle of Castle Itter, one of only two battles in that war in which American and German troops fought cooperatively.
*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.
*1955 – The General Treaty, by which France, Britain and the United States recognize the sovereignty of West Germany, comes into effect.
*1961 – 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.
*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, an as-yet unbeaten record.
*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 – Ronald Reagan visits the military cemetery at Bitburg and the site of the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp, 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.
*2007 – Kenya Airways Flight 507 crashes after takeoff from Douala International Airport in Douala, Cameroon, killing all 114 aboard, making it the deadliest aircraft disaster in Cameroon.
*2010 – Mass protests in Greece erupt in response to austerity measures imposed by the government as a result of the Greek government-debt crisis.

Births

Pre-1600

*1210 – Afonso III of Portugal (d. 1279)
* 1282 – Juan Manuel, Prince of Villena (d. 1348)
* 1310 – Preczlaw of Pogarell, Cardinal and Bishop of Wrocław (d. 1376)
* 1352 – Rupert of Germany, Count Palatine of the Rhine (d. 1410)
*1479 – Guru Amar Das, Indian 3rd Sikh Guru (d. 1574)
*1504 – Stanislaus Hosius, Polish cardinal (d. 1579)
*1530 – Gabriel, comte de Montgomery, French nobleman (d. 1574)
* 1542 – Thomas Cecil, 1st Earl of Exeter, English soldier and politician, Lord Lieutenant of Northamptonshire (d. 1623)
* 1582 – John Frederick, Duke of Württemberg (d. 1628)

1601–1900

*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)
* 1859 – Charles B. Hanford, American Shakespearean actor (d. 1926)
*1864 – Nellie Bly, American journalist and author (d. 1922)
*1865 – Helen Maud Merrill, American litterateur and poet (d. 1943)
*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)
*1874 – Thomas Bavin, New Zealand-Australian politician, 24th Premier of New South Wales (d. 1941)
*1882 – Sylvia Pankhurst, English women's suffrage movement leader and socialist activist (d. 1960)
*1883 – Archibald Wavell, 1st Earl Wavell, English general and politician, 43rd Governor-General of India (d. 1950)
* 1883 – Anna Johnson Pell Wheeler, American mathematician (d. 1966)
*1884 – Chief Bender, American baseball player and coach (d. 1954)
* 1885 – Kingsley Fairbridge, South African-Australian scholar and politician (d. 1924)
*1887 – Mervyn S. Bennion, American captain, Medal of Honor recipient (d. 1941)
*1889 – Herbie Taylor, South African cricketer and soldier (d. 1973)
*1890 – Christopher Morley, American journalist and author (d. 1957)
*1892 – Dorothy Garrod, British archaeologist (d. 1968)
*1898 – Elsie Eaves, American engineer (d. 1983)
* 1898 – Blind Willie McTell, American Piedmont blues singer and guitar player (d. 1959)
* 1899 – Freeman Gosden, American actor and screenwriter (d. 1982)
*1900 – Helen Redfield, American geneticist (d. 1988)

1901–present

* 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 – Daryna Dmytrivna Polotniuk, Bukovinian (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 – Tyrone Power, American actor (d. 1958)
*1915 – Alice Faye, American actress and singer (d. 1998)
* 1916 – Zail Singh, Indian politician, 7th President of India (d. 1994)
* 1917 – Pío Leyva, Cuban singer-songwriter (d. 2006)
*1918 – Egidio Galea, Maltese Roman Catholic priest (d. 2005)
*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 nurse and humanitarian (d. 2003)
* 1923 – William C. Campbell, American golfer (d. 2013)
* 1923 – James Gilbert, Scottish television producer and director (d. 2016)
* 1923 – Cathleen Synge Morawetz, Canadian mathematician (d. 2017)
* 1923 – Richard Wollheim, English philosopher and academic (d. 2003)
*1925 – Leo Ryan, American soldier, educator, and politician (d. 1978)
* 1927 – Pat Carroll, American actress (d. 2022)
*1929 – Ilene Woods, American actress (d. 2010)
*1930 – Hans Abramson, Swedish director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2012)
*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
* 1933 – Collie Smith, Jamaican cricketer (d. 1959)
*1934 – Henri Konan Bédié, Ivorian politician, 2nd President of Côte d'Ivoire
* 1934 – Victor Garland, Australian accountant and politician, 26th Australian Minister for Veterans' Affairs
*1935 – Eddie Linden, Scottish poet and magazine editor
* 1935 – Bernard Pivot, French journalist, talk show host, and producer
* 1935 – Robert Rehme, American film producer
*1936 – Sandy Baron, American actor and comedian (d. 2001)
* 1936 – Patrick Gowers, English composer and educator (d. 2014)
* 1936 – Ervin Lázár, Hungarian author (d. 2006)
* 1937 – Beryl Burton, English racing cyclist (d. 1996) Clifford, Tim, (7 May 1996), Beryl Burton Obituary, The Independent
Retrieved 20 July 2015
* 1937 – Delia Derbyshire, English musician, arranger and composer (d. 2001)
*1938 – Michael Murphy, American actor
* 1938 – Barbara Wagner, Canadian figure skater and coach
*1939 – Ray Gosling, English journalist, author, and activist (d. 2013)
* 1940 – Lance Henriksen, American actor
* 1940 – Michael Lindsay-Hogg, American director and producer
*1941 – Alexander Ragulin, Russian ice hockey player (d. 2004)
*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 – Michael Palin, English actor and screenwriter
* 1943 – Ignacio Ramonet, Spanish journalist and author
*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 – Dianne Willcocks, English sociologist and academic
* 1946 – Jim Kelly (martial artist), Jim Kelly, American actor, athlete, and martial artist (d. 2013)
*1946 – Aydın Menderes, Turkish politician (d. 2011)
*1948 – Bella van der Spiegel-Hage, Dutch cyclist
* 1948 – Bill Ward (musician), Bill Ward, English drummer and songwriter
*1949 – Eppie Bleeker, Dutch speed skater
*1950 – Rex Caldwell, American golfer
* 1950 – Maggie MacNeal, Dutch singer
*1951 – Rudolf Finsterer, German rugby player and coach
* 1951 – Toomas Vilosius, Estonian physician and politician, 2nd Minister of Social Affairs of Estonia
*1952 – Ed Lee (politician), Ed Lee, American politician and attorney, 43rd Mayor of San Francisco (d. 2017)
* 1952 – Jorge Llopart, Spanish race walker
* 1952 – Willem Witteveen, Dutch scholar and politician (d. 2014)
*1955 – Jon Butcher, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and freelance multimedia producer
*1956 – Steve Scott (athlete), Steve Scott, American runner and coach
*1957 – Richard E. Grant, Swazi-English actor, director, and screenwriter
* 1957 – Peter Howitt, English actor, director, and screenwriter
*1958 – Ron Arad (pilot), Ron Arad, Israeli colonel and pilot (d. 1986)
* 1958 – Robert DiPierdomenico, Australian footballer and sportscaster
* 1958 – Vanessa Downing, Australian actress
* 1958 – Jack Wishna, American businessman, co-founded Rockcityclub (d. 2012)
*1959 – Bobby Ellsworth, American singer and bass player
* 1959 – Ian McCulloch (singer), Ian McCulloch, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
* 1959 – Steve Stevens, American guitarist and songwriter
* 1959 – Brian Williams, American journalist
*1960 – Doug Hawkins, Australian footballer and sportscaster
*1961 – Marg Downey, Australian actress
* 1961 – Hiroshi Hase, Japanese wrestler and politician
* 1961 – Rob Williams (basketball), Rob Williams, American basketball player (d. 2014)
*1962 – Kaoru Wada, Japanese composer and conductor
*1963 – James LaBrie, Canadian singer-songwriter
* 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 (writer), Don Payne, American screenwriter and producer (d. 2013)
* 1964 – Minami Takayama, Japanese voice actress and singer
* 1964 – Efrat Mishori, Israeli poet and filmmaker
*1965 – Glenn Seton, Australian race car driver
*1966 – Shawn Drover, Canadian drummer
* 1966 – Sergei Stanishev, Bulgarian politician, 46th Prime Minister of Bulgaria
* 1966 – Josh Weinstein, American screenwriter and producer
*1967 – Adam Hughes, American author and illustrator
* 1967 – Alexis Sinduhije, Burundian journalist and politician
*1969 – Pieter Muller, South African rugby player
*1970 – Kyan Douglas, American television host and author
* 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
* 1972 – Žigmund Pálffy, Slovakian ice hockey player
* 1972 – Mikael Renberg, Swedish ice hockey player
*1975 – Meb Keflezighi, American runner
*1976 – Dieter Brummer, Australian actor (d. 2021)
* 1976 – Jean-François Dumoulin, Canadian race car driver
* 1976 – Anastasios Pantos, Greek footballer
* 1976 – Juan Pablo Sorín, Argentinian footballer and sportscaster
*1978 – Morgan Pehme, American director, producer, and screenwriter
*1979 – Vincent Kartheiser, American actor
*1980 – Yossi Benayoun, Israeli footballer
* 1980 – Hank Green, American entrepreneur, educator, and vlogger
* 1980 – DerMarr Johnson, American basketball player
*1981 – Craig David, English singer-songwriter, musician and producer
* 1981 – Danielle Fishel, American actress
*1982 – Ferrie Bodde, Dutch footballer
* 1982 – Vanessa Bryant, American philanthropist and model
* 1982 – Wouter D'Haene, Belgian sprinter
* 1982 – Randall Gay, American football player
* 1982 – Corey Parker (rugby league), Corey Parker, Australian rugby league footballer
*1983 – James Anyon, English cricketer
* 1983 – Henry Cavill, English actor
* 1983 – Mabel Gay, Cuban triple jumper
* 1983 – Annie Villeneuve, Canadian singer-songwriter
* 1983 – Scott Ware, American football player
*1984 – Johanna Hedva, Korean-American artist and genderqueer activist
* 1984 – Wade MacNeil, Canadian singer-songwriter and guitarist
* 1984 – Christian Valdez, Mexican footballer
*1985 – Shoko Nakagawa, Japanese actress and singer
* 1985 – Marcos Rogério Oliveira Duarte, Brazilian footballer
* 1985 – Emanuele Giaccherini, Italian footballer
* 1985 – Tsepo Masilela, South African footballer
* 1985 – P. J. Tucker, American basketball player
* 1985 – Terrence Wheatley, American football player
*1987 – Graham Dorrans, Scottish footballer
*1988 – Adele, English singer-songwriter
* 1988 – Mervyn Westfield, English cricketer
*1989 – Chris Brown, American singer-songwriter, dancer, and actor
*1991 – Xenofon Fetsis, Greek footballer
* 1991 – Raúl Jiménez, Mexican footballer
*1992 – Loïck Landre, French footballer
*1996 – Mayar Sherif, Egyptian tennis player
*1998 – Aryna Sabalenka, Belarusian tennis player
*1999 – Nathan Chen, American figure skater
* 1999 – Justin Kluivert, Dutch footballer
* 2003 – Carlos Alcaraz, Spanish tennis player

Deaths

Pre-1600

* 465 – Gerontius (bishop of Milan), Gerontius, Archbishop of Milan
*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 (son of Michael VIII), Constantine Palaiologos, Byzantine general (b. 1261)
*1309 – Charles II of Naples (b. 1254)
*1316 – Elizabeth of Rhuddlan, daughter of King Edward I of England (b. 1282)
*1338 – Prince Tsunenaga, son of the Japanese Emperor (b. 1324)
*1380 – Saint Philotheos, Coptic martyr
*1432 – Francesco Bussone da Carmagnola, Italian adventurer
*1525 – Frederick III, Elector of Saxony (b. 1463)
* 1582 – Charlotte of Bourbon, Princess consort of Orange, married to William I of Orange (b. 1547)
*1586 – Henry Sidney, Irish politician, Lord Deputy of Ireland (b. 1529)

1601–1900

*1671 – Edward Montagu, 2nd Earl of Manchester, English general and politician, Lord Chamberlain, Lord Chamberlain of the United Kingdom (b. 1602)
*1672 – Samuel Cooper (painter), 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)
*1883 – John O'Shanassy, Irish-Australian politician, 2nd Premier of Victoria (b. 1818)
*1892 – August Wilhelm von Hofmann, German chemist and academic (b. 1818)
*1896 – Silas Adams, American lawyer and politician (b. 1839)

1901–present

*1902 – Bret Harte, American short story writer and poet (b. 1836)
* 1907 – Şeker Ahmed Pasha, Turkish soldier and painter (b. 1841)
*1913 – Henry Moret, French painter (b. 1856)
* 1916 – John MacBride, Irish soldier and rebel (b. 1865)
* 1916 – Maurice Raoul-Duval, French polo player (b. 1866)
*1921 – Alfred Hermann Fried, Austrian journalist and publicist, Nobel Peace Prize, 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)
*1941 – Platon of Banja Luka, Serbian Orthodox bishop (b. 1874)
*1942 – Qemal Stafa, Albanian politician (b. 1920)
*1947 – Ty LaForest, Canadian-American baseball player (b. 1917)
*1957 – Leopold Löwenheim, German mathematician and logician (b. 1878)
*1959 – Carlos Saavedra Lamas, Argentinian academic and politician, Nobel Peace Prize, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1878)
*1962 – Ernest Tyldesley, English cricketer (b. 1889)
*1965 – Nikos Gounaris, Greek tenor and composer (b. 1915)
* 1965 – John Waters (director born 1893), 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 (Federal Republic), Chancellor of Germany (b. 1897)
*1981 – Bobby Sands, Provisional Irish Republican Army, PIRA volunteer and hunger striker (b. 1954)
*1983 – Horst Schumann, German physician (b. 1901)
* 1983 – John Williams (actor), John Williams, English-American actor (b. 1903)
*1985 – Donald Bailey (civil engineer), Donald Bailey, English engineer, designed the Bailey bridge (b. 1901)
*1988 – Michael Shaara, American author and academic (b. 1928)
*1993 – Irving Howe, American literary and social critic (b. 1920)
*1994 – Mário Quintana, Brazilian poet and translator (b. 1906)
*1995 – Mikhail Botvinnik, Russian chess player and coach (b. 1911)
*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)
* 2002 – Louis C. Wyman, American lawyer and politician (b. 1917)
*2003 – Sam Bockarie, Sierra Leonean commander (b. 1964)
* 2003 – Walter Sisulu, South African activist and politician (b. 1912)
*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, 13th 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, British actress (b. 1931)
*2012 – Surendranath (cricketer), Surendranath, Indian cricketer (b. 1937)
* 2012 – Carl Johan Bernadotte, Count 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 – Sarah Kirsch (poet), Sarah Kirsch, German poet and author (b. 1935)
* 2013 – Robert Ressler, American FBI agent and author (b. 1937)
*2014 – Michael Otedola, Nigerian journalist and politician, 9th Governor of Lagos State (b. 1926)
*2015 – Jobst Brandt, American cyclist, engineer, and author (b. 1935)
* 2015 – Hans Jansen, Dutch linguist, academic, and politician (b. 1942)
*2017 – Binyamin Elon, Israeli Orthodox rabbi and politician (b. 1954)
* 2017 – Ely Ould Mohamed Vall, Mauritanian politician (b. 1953)

Holidays and observances

* Children's Day (Japan, South Korea)
* Christian Calendar of saints, feast day:
** Angelus of Jerusalem
** Aventinus of Tours
** Edmund Ignatius Rice, Blessed Edmund Ignatius Rice
** Frederick III, Elector of Saxony, Frederick the Wise (Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod)
** Gotthard of Hildesheim
** Hilary of Arles
** Jutta of Kulmsee
** Stanisław Kazimierczyk
** May 5 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
* Cinco de Mayo (Mexico, United States)
* Constitution Day (Kyrgyzstan)
* Europe Day (Council of Europe)
* Feast of al-Khadr or Saint George (Palestinian people, Palestinian)
* Indian Arrival Day (Guyana)
* International Midwives' Day (International observance, International)
* Liberation Day (Denmark, Netherlands)
* Lusophone Culture Day (Community of Portuguese Language Countries)
* World Portuguese language day (International)
* Martyrs' Day (Albania), Martyrs' Day (Albania)
* National Cartoonist Day
* Ethiopian Patriots' Victory Day, Patriots' Victory Day (Ethiopia)
* Revenge of the Fifth (see Star Wars Day)
* Senior Citizens Day (Palau)
* Tango no sekku (Japan)
* Missing and murdered Indigenous women#National Day of Awareness for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls, Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women Awareness Day (Canada and United States)

References

External links

BBC: On This Day
*

Historical Events on May 5

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Days of the year
May