History of 5 April
1908 – The Japanese Army reached the Yalu River as the Russians retreated.
1919 – Eamon de Valera became president of Ireland.
1923 – Firestone Tire and Rubber Company began the first regular production of balloon tires.
1930 – Mahatma Gandhi defied British law by making salt in India.
1933 – The first operation to remove a lung was performed at Barnes Hospital in St. Louis, MO.
1941 – German commandos secured docks along the Danube River in preparation for Germany’s invasion of the Balkans.
1951 – Americans Julius and Ethel Rosenberg were sentenced to death for committing espionage for the Soviet Union.
1953 – Jomo Kenyatta was convicted and sentenced to 7 years in prison for orchestrating the Mau-Mau rebellion in Kenya.
1955 – Winston Churchill resigned as British prime minister.
1984 – Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (Los Angeles Lakers) became the all-time NBA regular season scoring leader when he broke Wilt Chamberlain’s record of 31,419 career points.
1985 – John McEnroe said, “any man can beat any woman at any sport, especially tennis.”
1986 – A discotheque in Berlin was bombed by Libyan terrorists. The U.S. attacked Libya with warplanes in retaliation on April 15, 1986.
1987 – FOX Broadcasting Company launched “Married…With Children” and “The Tracey Ullman Show”. The two shows were the beginning of the FOX lineup.
1989 – In Poland, accords were signed between Solidarity and the government that set free elections for June 1989. The eight-year ban on Solidarity was also set to be lifted.
1998 – The Akashi Kaikyo Bridge in Japan opened becoming the largest suspension bridge in the world. It links Shikoku and Honshu. The bridge cost about $3.8 billion.
1999 – Two Libyans suspected of bombing a Pan Am jet in 1988 were handed over so they could be flown to the Netherlands for trial. 270 people were killed in the bombing.
1999 – In Laramie, WY, Russell Henderson pled guilty to kidnapping and felony murder in the death of Matthew Shepard.
2004 – Near Mexico City’s international airport, lightning struck the jet Mexican President Vicente Fox was on.
2009 – North Korea launched the Kwangmyongsong-2 rocket, prompting an emergency meeting of the United Nations Security Council.
2010 – Twenty-nine coal miners are killed in an explosion at the Upper Big Branch Mine in West Virginia.
Celebrating Birthday Today
- 1981 – Matthew Emmons, American rifle shooter
- 1981 – Michael A. Monsoor, American sailor, Medal of Honor recipient (d. 2006)
- 1981 – Mariqueen Maandig, Filipino-American musician and singer-songwriter
- 1981 – Daba Modibo Keïta, Malian taekwondo athlete
- 1981 – Marissa Nadler, American musician
- 1981 – Tom Riley, English actor, and producer
- 1981 – Mompati Thuma, Botswana footballer
- 1981 – Pieter Weening, Dutch cyclist
- 1982 – Hayley Atwell, English-American actress
- 1982 – Matheus Coradini Vivian, Brazilian footballer
- 1982 – Thomas Hitzlsperger, German footballer
- 1982 – Kelly Pavlik, American boxer
- 1982 – Matt Pickens, American soccer player
- 1982 – Alexandre Prémat, French race car driver
- 1982 – Danylo Sapunov, Ukrainian-Kazakhstani triathlete
- 1982 – Hubert Schwab, Swiss cyclist
- 1982 – Marcel Seip, Dutch former footballer
- 1983 – Jaime Castrillón, Colombian footballer
- 1983 – Jorge Andrés Martínez, Uruguayan footballer
- 1983 – Brock Radunske, Canadian-South Korean ice hockey player
- 1983 – Johann Sangaré, French basketball player
- 1983 – Cécile Storti, French cross-country skier
- 1983 – Shikha Uberoi, Indian-American tennis player
- 1984 – Marshall Allman, American actor
- 1984 – Aram Mp3, Armenian singer and comedian
- 1984 – Rune Brattsveen, Norwegian biathlete
- 1984 – Alexei Glukhov, Russian ice hockey player
- 1984 – Maartje Goderie, Dutch field hockey player
- 1984 – Darija Jurak, a Croatian tennis player
- 1984 – Dejan Kelhar, Slovenian footballer
- 1984 – Dmitry Kozonchuk, Russian cyclist
- 1984 – Shin Min-a, South Korean actress
- 1984 – Jess Sum, Hong Kong actress
- 1984 – Peter Penz, Austrian luger
- 1984 – Samuele Preisig, Swiss footballer
- 1984 – Cristian Săpunaru, Romanian footballer
- 1984 – Fabio Vitaioli, San Marinese footballer
- 1984 – Kisho Yano, Japanese footballer
- 1984 – Saba Qamar, Pakistani actress-model
- 1985 – Daniel Congré, French footballer
- 1985 – Erwin l’Ami, Dutch chess player
- 1985 – Jolanda Keizer, Dutch heptathlete
- 1985 – Sergey Khachatryan, Armenian violinist
- 1985 – Linas Pilibaitis, Lithuanian footballer
- 1985 – Jan Smeets, Dutch chess grandmaster
- 1985 – Kristof Vandewalle, Belgian cyclist
- 1986 – Anna Sophia Berglund, American model, and actress
- 1986 – Anzor Boltukayev, Chechen wrestler
- 1986 – Diego Chará, Colombian footballer
- 1986 – Charlotte Flair, American wrestler, author, and actress
- 1986 – Róbert Kasza, Hungarian Modern pentathlete
- 1986 – Eetu Muinonen, Finnish footballer
- 1986 – Manuel Ruz, Spanish footballer
- 1986 – Albert Selimov, Azerbaijani boxer
- 1987 – Max Grün, German footballer
- 1987 – Balázs Hárai, Hungarian water polo player
- 1987 – Anton Kokorin, Russian sprint athlete
- 1987 – Fyodor Kudryashov, Russian footballer
- 1987 – Etiënne Reijnen, Dutch footballer
- 1988 – Gerson Acevedo, Chilean footballer
- 1988 – Teresa Almeida, Angolan handball player
- 1988 – Quade Cooper, New Zealand rugby player, and boxer
- 1988 – Jonathan Davies, Welsh rugby union player
- 1988 – Gevorg Ghazaryan, Armenian footballer
- 1988 – Alisha Glass, American ex-indoor volleyball player
- 1988 – Vurğun Hüseynov, Azerbaijani footballer
- 1988 – Matthias Jaissle, German footballer and manager
- 1988 – Jon Kwang-Ik, North Korean footballer
- 1988 – Christopher Papamichalopoulos, Cypriot skier
- 1988 – Zack Smith, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1988 – Pape Sy, French basketball player
- 1988 – Alexey Volkov, Russian biathlete
- 1989 – Kader Amadou, Nigerien footballer
- 1989 – Yémi Apithy, Beninese fencer
- 1989 – Liemarvin Bonevacia, Dutch sprinter
- 1989 – Freddie Fox, English actor
- 1989 – Emre Gural, Turkish footballer
- 1989 – Justin Holiday, American basketball player
- 1989 – Rachel Homan, Canadian curler
- 1989 – Lily James, English actress
- 1989 – Trevor Marsicano, American speed skater
- 1989 – Jonathan Rossini, Swiss footballer
- 1989 – Kiki Sukezane, Japanese actress
- 1989 – Sosuke Takatani, Japanese wrestler
- 1990 – Alex Cuthbert, Welsh rugby player
- 1990 – Amer Said Al-Shatri, Omani footballer
- 1990 – Fredy Hinestroza, Colombian footballer
- 1990 – Chen Huijia, Chinese swimmer
- 1990 – Haruma Miura, Japanese actor, and singer
- 1990 – Ismaeel Mohammad, Qatari footballer
- 1990 – Iryna Pamialova, Belarusian canoeist
- 1990 – Jakub Sedlacek, Czech ice hockey player
- 1990 – Sercan Yıldırım, Turkish footballer
- 1990 – Género Zeefuik, Dutch footballer
- 1991 – Yassine Bounou, Moroccan footballer
- 1991 – Nathaniel Clyne, English footballer
- 1991 – Adriano Grimaldi, Italian-German footballer
- 1992 – Emmalyn Estrada, Canadian singer-songwriter and dancer
- 1992 – Shintaro Kurumaya, Japanese footballer
- 1992 – Kaveh Rezaei, Iranian footballer
- 1992 – Dmytro Ryzhuk, Ukrainian footballer
- 1993 – Andreas Bouchalakis, Greek footballer
- 1993 – Maya DiRado, American swimmer
- 1993 – Laura Feiersinger, Austrian footballer
- 1993 – Scottie Wilbekin, American-born naturalized Turkish basketball player
- 1994 – Mateusz Bieniek, Polish volleyball player
- 1994 – Edem Rjaibi, Tunisian footballer
- 1994 – Richard Sanchez, Mexican footballer
- 1995 – Viliame Kikau, Fijian rugby league player
- 1995 – Sei Muroya, Japanese footballer
- 1995 – Gleb Rassadkin, Belarusian footballer
- 1995 – Sebastian Starke Hedlund, Swedish footballer
- 1996 – Nicolas Beer, Danish race car driver
- 1996 – Raouf Benguit, Algerian footballer
- 1997 – Borja Mayoral, Spanish footballer
- 2000 – Ayush Mahesh Khedekar, Indian actor
- 2001 – Thylane Blondeau, French model, and actress