February 5 is the 36th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. There are 329 days remaining until the end of the year (330 in leap years).
Events
- 1576 - Henry of Navarre converts to Roman Catholicism in order to ensure his right to the throne of France.
- 1597 - A group of early Japanese Christians are killed by the new government of Japan for being seen as a threat to Japanese society.
- 1631 - Roger Williams emigrates to Boston.
- 1778 - South Carolina becomes the first state to ratify the Articles of Confederation.
- 1782 - Spanish defeat British forces and capture Minorca.
- 1818 - Jean-Baptiste Bernadotte ascends to the thrones of Sweden and Norway.
- 1859 - Wallachia and Moldavia are united under Alexander John Cuza as the United Principalities.
- 1885 - King Léopold II of Belgium establishes the Congo as a personal possession.
- 1900 - The United States and the United Kingdom sign treaty for Panama Canal
- 1917 - The current constitution of Mexico is adopted, establishing a federal republic with powers separated into independent executive, legislative, and judicial branches.
- 1917 - The Congress of the United States passes a law, over President Woodrow Wilson's veto, banning most Asian immigration to the United States.
- 1918 - Stephen W. Thompson shot down a German airplane. It was the first aerial victory by the U.S. military.
- 1919 - Charlie Chaplin, Mary Pickford, Douglas Fairbanks, and D.W. Griffith launch United Artists.
- 1924 - The Royal Greenwich Observatory begin broadcasting the hourly time signals known as the Greenwich Time Signal or the "BBC pips".
- 1945 - World War II: General Douglas MacArthur returns to Manila.
- 1946 - The Chondoist Chongu Party is founded in North Korea.
- 1958 - Gamel Abdel Nasser is nominated to be the first president of the United Arab Republic.
- 1958 - A hydrogen bomb known as the Tybee Bomb is lost by the US Air Force off the coast of Savannah, Georgia, never to be recovered.
- 1962 - French President Charles De Gaulle calls for allowing Algeria to be an independent nation.
- 1968 - Vietnam War: Battle of Khe Sanh begins.
- 1971 - Apollo program: Apollo 14 Mission - Alan Shepard and Edgar Mitchell aboard LM, Antares land on the Moon at Fra Mauro formation.
- 1972 - Bob Douglas becomes the first African American elected to the Basketball Hall of Fame.
- 1974 - John Murtha becomes the first Vietnam War veteran elected to the Congress of the United States.
- 1988 - Manuel Noriega is indicted on drug smuggling and money laundering charges.
- 1994 - Byron De La Beckwith is convicted of the 1963 murder of civil rights leader Medgar Evers.
- 1994 - During the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina more than 60 people are killed and some 200 wounded as a mortar shell slams into a downtown marketplace in Sarajevo.
- 1997 - The so-called Big Three banks in Switzerland announce the creation of a $71 million fund to aid Holocaust survivors and their families.
- 2004 - Twenty-three Chinese people drown when a group of 35 cockle-pickers are trapped by rising tides in Morecambe Bay, England. Twenty-one bodies are recovered.
- 2004 - Rebels from the Revolutionary Artibonite Resistance Front capture the city of Gonaïves, starting the 2004 Haiti rebellion.
- 2008 - A major tornado outbreak across the Southern United States leaves 57 dead, the most since the May 31, 1985 outbreak that killed 88.
Births
- 976 - Sanjō, Emperor of Japan (d. 1017)
- 1505 - Aegidius Tschudi, Swiss historian (d. 1572)
- 1519 - René of Châlon, (d. 1544)
- 1534 - Giovanni de' Bardi, Italian writer (d. 1612)
- 1589 - Esteban Manuel de Villegas, Spanish poet (d. 1669)
- 1608 - Gaspar Schott, German mathematician (d. 1666)
- 1626 - Marie de Rabutin-Chantal, marquise de Sévigné, French author (d. 1696)
- 1650 - Anne-Jules, French general (d. 1708)
- 1703 - Gilbert Tennent, Irish-born religious leader (d. 1764)
- 1725 - James Otis, American lawyer and patriot (d. 1783)
- 1744 - John Jeffries, Physician, Surgeon, Balloonist
- 1784 - Nancy Hanks Lincoln, mother of Abraham Lincoln (d. 1818)
- 1788 - Robert Peel, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (d. 1850)
- 1795 - Wilhelm Karl Ritter von Haidinger, Austrian mineralogist (d. 1871)
- 1804 - Johan Ludvig Runeberg, Finnish poet (d. 1877)
- 1808 - Carl Spitzweg, German painter (d. 1885)
- 1810 - Ole Bull, Norwegian violinist (d. 1880)
- 1837 - Dwight L. Moody, American evangelist (d. 1899)
- 1840 - John Boyd Dunlop, Scottish inventor (d. 1921)
- 1840 - Hiram Stevens Maxim, American inventor (Maxim gun) (d. 1916)
- 1848 - Joris-Karl Huysmans, French author (d. 1907)
- 1848 - Belle Starr, American outlaw (d. 1889)
- 1848 - Ignacio Carrera Pinto, Chilean war hero (d. 1882)
- 1878 - André Citroën, French automobile pioneer (d. 1935)
- 1880 - Gabriel Voisin, French aviation pioneer (d. 1973)
- 1889 - Ernest Tyldesley, British cricketer (d. 1962)
- 1900 - Adlai Stevenson, American politician (d. 1965)
- 1903 - Joan Whitney Payson, American heiress (d. 1975)
- 1906 - John Carradine, American actor (d. 1988)
- 1908 - Daisy and Violet Hilton, British conjoined twins (d. 1969)
- 1910 - Francisco Varallo, Argentine footballer
- 1910 - Charles Leblond, Canadian Cell Biologist (d. 2007)
- 1911 - Jussi Björling, Swedish tenor (d. 1960)
- 1914 - William S. Burroughs, American author (d. 1997)
- 1914 - Alan Lloyd Hodgkin, Nobel Prize Laureate (d. 1998)
- 1915 - Robert Hofstadter, Nobel Prize Laureate (d. 1990)
- 1919 - Red Buttons, American actor (d. 2006)
- 1919 - Andreas Papandreou, Greek politician, Prime Minister of Greece (d. 1996)
- 1919 - Tim Holt, American actor (d. 1973)
- 1920 - Frank Muir, British comedian (d. 1998)
- 1921 - John Pritchard, British conductor (d. 1989)
- 1922 - Alain de Changy, Belgian racing driver (d. 1994)
- 1923 - Claude King, American musician
- 1927 - Ruth Fertel, American entrepreneur (d. 2002)
- 1928 - Andrew Greeley, American priest and novelist
- 1929 - Luc Ferrari, French composer (d. 2005)
- 1929 - Fred Sinowatz, Austrian politician
- 1929 - Al Worthington, baseball player
- 1930 - John A. Gambling, American radio show host (d. 2004)
- 1932 - Cesare Maldini - Italian footballer and manager
- 1933 - Jörn Donner, Finnish writer/director
- 1934 - Don Cherry, Canadian hockey commentator
- 1934 - Hank Aaron, American baseball player
- 1937 - Stuart Damon, American actor
- 1937 - Gaston Roelants, Belgian athlete
- 1937 - Wang Xuan, Chinese scientist (d. 2006)
- 1940 - H.R. Giger, Swiss artist
- 1941 - Jane Bryant Quinn, American journalist
- 1941 - Stephen J. Cannell, American television producer and writer
- 1941 - David Selby, American actor
- 1941 - Kaspar Villiger, Swiss Federal Councilor
- 1942 - Roger Staubach, American football player
- 1942 - Cory Wells, American singer (Three Dog Night)
- 1943 - Nolan Bushnell, American video game pioneer
- 1943 - Michael Mann, American film director
- 1943 - Craig Morton, American football player
- 1944 - Al Kooper, American musician
- 1946 - Charlotte Rampling, British actress
- 1947 - Darrell Waltrip, American race car driver
- 1948 - Sven-Göran Eriksson, Swedish football manager
- 1948 - Christopher Guest, American actor
- 1948 - Barbara Hershey, American actress
- 1948 - Errol Morris, American film director
- 1952 - Daniel Balavoine, French singer and songwriter (d. 1986)
- 1953 - John Beilein, American basketball coach
- 1954 - Cliff Martinez, American musician
- 1955 - Mike Heath, baseball player
- 1956 - Hector Rebaque, Mexican racing driver
- 1956 - Betty Ong, flight attendant that died on September 11, 2001, on American Airlines Flight 11
- 1959 - Jennifer Granholm American Politician
- 1960 - Aris Christofellis, Greek countertenor
- 1961 - Savvas Kofidis, Greek footballer and manager
- 1961 - Tim Meadows, American actor and comedian
- 1962 - Jennifer Jason Leigh, American actress
- 1963 - Steven Shainberg, American film director
- 1964 - Alexia, Cypriot singer
- 1964 - Laura Linney, American actress
- 1964 - Duff McKagan, American musician
- 1965 - Gheorghe Hagi, Romanian footballer
- 1966 - Rok Petrovič, Slovenian skier (d. 1993)
- 1966 - Apostolos Nanos, Greek archer
- 1967 - Chris Parnell, American actor
- 1968 - Roberto Alomar, baseball player
- 1968 - Eyþór Guðjónsson, Icelandic actor
- 1968 - Nir Kabaretti, Israeli conductor
- 1969 - Bobby Brown, American singer
- 1969 - Michael Sheen, Welsh actor
- 1971 - Sara Evans, American singer
- 1972 - Mary, Crown Princess of Denmark
- 1972 - Koriki Chōshū, Japanese comedian
- 1973 - Richard Matvichuk, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1973 - Trijntje Oosterhuis, Dutch singer
- 1975 - Giovanni van Bronckhorst, Dutch footballer
- 1975 - Adam Carson, American musician (AFI)
- 1976 - Tony Jaa, Thai actor
- 1976 - Abhishek Bachchan, Indian actor
- 1976 - John Aloisi, Australian footballer
- 1976 - Brian Moorman, American football player
- 1977 - Ben Ainslie, British sailor
- 1977 - Adam Everett, American baseball player
- 1977 - Ahmad Merritt, American football player
- 1978 - Shawn Reaves, American actor
- 1978 - Brian Russell, American football player
- 1980 - Brad Fitzpatrick, American programmer
- 1980 - Prince Peter, American-born Yugoslav royalty
- 1980 - Jo Swinson, British politician
- 1980 - Robin Vik, Czech tennis player
- 1981 - Nora Zehetner, American actress
- 1981 - Loukas Vyntra, Greek football player
- 1982 - Aidin Nikkhah Bahrami, Iranian basketball player (d. 2007)
- 1982 - Rodrigo Palacio, Argentine footballer
- 1982 - Kevin Everett, American football player
- 1982 - Tomas Kopecky, Ice hockey player
- 1984 - Carlos Tévez, Argentinine footballer
- 1984 - Nate Salley, American football player
- 1985 - Laurence Maroney, American football player
- 1985 - Cristiano Ronaldo, Portuguese footballer
- 1985 - Crystal Hunt, American actress
- 1985 - Lindsey Cardinale, American singer
- 1986 - Reed Sorenson, American racecar driver
- 1986 - Billy Sharp, English footballer
- 1986 - Manuel Fernandes, Portuguese footballer
- 1989 - Cristine Reyes, Filipino actress
- 1989 - Jeremy Sumpter, American actor
Deaths
- 995 - William IV, Duke of Aquitaine (b. 937)
- 1520 - Sten Sture the Younger, regent of Sweden (b. 1493)
- 1578 - Giambattista Moroni, Italian painter
- 1705 - Philipp Jakob Spener, German theologian (b. 1635)
- 1766 - Leopold Josef Graf Daun, Austrian field marshal (b. 1705)
- 1775 - Eusebius Amort, German Catholic theologian (b. 1692)
- 1790 - William Cullen, Scottish physician and chemist (b. 1710)
- 1807 - Pasquale Paoli, Corsican patriot and military leader (b. 1725)
- 1881 - Thomas Carlyle, Scottish writer and historian (b. 1795)
- 1892 - Emilie Flygare-Carlén, Swedish novelist (b. 1807)
- 1915 - Ross Barnes, baseball player (b. 1850)
- 1917 - Jaber II Al-Sabah, Emir of Kuwait (b. 1860)
- 1922 - Slavoljub Eduard Penkala, Croatian inventor (b. 1871)
- 1922 - Christiaan De Wet, South African general (b. 1854)
- 1927 - Inayat Khan, Indian sufi
- 1937 - Lou Andreas-Salome, Russian-born writer (b. 1861)
- 1938 - Hans Litten, German jurist (b. 1903)
- 1941 - Banjo Paterson, Australian poet, author of "Walzing Matilda" (b. 1864)
- 1946 - George Arliss, English actor (b. 1868)
- 1948 - Johannes Blaskowitz, German general (b. 1883)
- 1957 - Sami Ibrahim Haddad, Lebanese surgeon (b. 1890)
- 1962 - Jacques Ibert, French composer (b. 1890)
- 1967 - Leon Leonwood Bean, American department store founder (b. 1872)
- 1969 - Thelma Ritter, American actress (b. 1905)
- 1970 - Rudy York, American baseball player (b. 1913)
- 1972 - Marianne Moore, American poet (b. 1887)
- 1976 - Rudy Pompilli, American musician (Bill Haley and His Comets) (b. 1926)
- 1977 - Oskar Klein, Swedish physicist (b. 1894)
- 1981 - Ella Grasso, Governor of Connecticut (b. 1919)
- 1984 - Rodolfo Guzmán Huerta, Mexican wrestler and film actor (b. 1917)
- 1985 - Georges-Émile Lapalme, Quebec politician (b. 1907)
- 1987 - William Collier, American film and stage actor (b. 1902)
- 1991 - Dean Jagger, American actor (b. 1903)
- 1992 - Miguel Rolando Covian, Brazilian physiologist (b. 1913)
- 1993 - Marcel Léger, Quebec politician (b. 1930)
- 1993 - Joseph L. Mankiewicz, American writer, producer, and director (b. 1909)
- 1993 - Tip Tipping, British actor and stuntman (parachuting accident) (b. 1958)
- 1995 - Doug McClure, American actor (b. 1935)
- 1997 - Pamela Harriman, English-born American diplomat (b. 1920)
- 1998 - Tim Kelly, American musician (b. 1963)
- 1999 - Wassily Leontief, Russian economist, Nobel Prize Laureate (b. 1906)
- 2000 - Claude Autant-Lara, French film director (b. 1901)
- 2003 - Helge Boes, American Central Intelligence Agency officer
- 2004 - John Hench, American animator (b. 1908)
- 2005 - Gnassingbe Eyadema, President of Togo (b. 1937)
- 2006 - Norma Candal, Puerto Rican actress and comedian (b. 1930)
- 2006 - Franklin Cover, American actor (b. 1928)
- 2007 - Alfred Worm, Austrian investigative journalist (b. 1945)
- 2007 - Leo T. McCarthy, American politician and 43rd Lieutenant Governor of California (1983–1995) (b. 1930)
- 2008 - Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, Indian guru, founder of Transcendental Meditation (b. c. 1917)
Holidays and observances
External links
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