History of 5 May
1901 – The first Catholic mass for night workers was held at the Church of St. Andrew in New York City.
1904 – The third perfect game of the major leagues was thrown by Cy Young (Boston Red Sox) against the Philadelphia Athletics. It was the first perfect game under modern rules.
1912 – Soviet Communist Party newspaper Pravda began publishing.
1916 – U.S. Marines invaded the Dominican Republic.
1917 – Eugene Jacques Bullard becomes the first African-American aviator when he earned his flying certificate with the French Air Service.
1925 – John T. Scopes, a biology teacher in Dayton, TN, was arrested for teaching Darwin’s theory of evolution.
1926 – Eisenstein’s film “Battleship Potemkin” was shown in Germany for the first time.
1926 – Sinclair Lewis refused a 1925 Pulitzer for “Arrowsmith.”
1936 – Edward Ravenscroft received a patent for the screw-on bottle cap with a pouring lip.
1945 – The Netherlands and Denmark were liberated from Nazi control.
1945 – A Japanese balloon bomb exploded on Gearhart Mountain in Oregon. A pregnant woman and five children were killed.
1955 – “Damn Yankees” opened on Broadway.
1955 – The Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany) became a sovereign state.
1956 – Jim Bailey became the first runner to break the four-minute mile in the U.S. He was clocked at 3:58.5.
1961 – Alan Shepard became the first American in space when he made a 15-minute suborbital flight.
1966 – Willie Mays broke the National League record for home runs when he hit his 512th.
1978 – Pete Rose of the Cincinnati Reds registered his 3,000th major league hit.
1984 – The Itaipu Dam opened on the Paraná River between Brazil and Paraguay.
1987 – The U.S. congressional Iran-Contra hearings opened.
1991 – In New York, Carnegie Hall marked its 100th anniversary.
1997 – Dolores Hope received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
1997 – Ivan Reitman received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
2000 – The final episode of “Boy Meets World” aired on ABC.
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 – Eleven people are missing after a Chinese cargo ship collides with a Marshall Islands-registered container ship off the coast of Hong Kong.
2014 – Twenty-two people die after two boats carrying refugees collide in the Aegean Sea off the coast of Greece.
2019 – A Russian plane jet burst into flames while attempting an emergency landing at Sheremetyevo Airport in Moscow killing at least 41 people.
Celebrating Birthday Today
- 1981 – Craig David, English singer-songwriter, musician and producer
- 1981 – Danielle Fishel, American actress
- 1982 – Ferrie Bodde, Dutch footballer
- 1982 – Wouter D’Haene, Belgian sprinter
- 1982 – Randall Gay, American football player
- 1982 – 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 – Emanuele Giaccherini, Italian footballer
- 1985 – Tsepo Masilela, South African footballer
- 1985 – Marcos Rogério Oliveira Duarte, Brazilian footballer
- 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
- 1998 – Aryna Sabalenka, a Belarusian tennis player
- 1999 – Nathan Chen, American figure skater
- 1999 – Justin Kluivert, Dutch footballer