On this day in History - May 5

• 0200 - Sun Ce dies (b. 0175). Warlord of the Han Dynasty.
• 0311 - Galerius dies. Roman Emperor.
• 0553 - The Second Council of Constantinople begins.
• 0867 - Uda was born (d. 0931). Emperor of Japan.
• 0984 - Gerberga of Saxony dies. Queen of Western Francia.
• 1028 - Alfonso V dies. King of León and Galicia.
• 1192 - Duke Ottokar IV of Styria dies. Last independent ruler of Styria, which is henceforth under common rule with Austria.
• 1194 - King Casimir II of Poland dies (b. 1138).
• 1210 - King Afonso III of Portugal ("O Bolonhês") was born in Coimbra (d. 16 Feb 1279 in Lisbon).
• 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.
  
• 1219 - King Leo II of Armenia dies (b. 1150).
• 1260 - Kublai Khan becomes ruler of the Mongol Empire.
• 1309 - King Charles II of Naples dies (b. c. 1248). King of Naples.
• 1455 - D. João II was born in Lisbon (d. 25 Oct 1495, in Alvor). King of Portugal (1481-1495).
• 1479 - Guru Amar Das was born (d. 1574). Third Sikh Guru.
• 1494 - Christopher Columbus discovers the island of Jamaica and claims it for Spain.
• 1512 - Geradus Mercator was born. German map maker.
• 1525 - Frederick III of Saxony dies (b. 1463).
• 1546 - Thomas Cecil, 1st Earl of Exeter was born (d. 1623). English politician.
• 1586 - Henry Sidney dies (b. 1529). Lord Deputy of Ireland.
• 1604 - Claudio Merulo dies (b. 1533). Italian composer.
• 1640 - King Charles I of England disbands the Short Parliament.
• 1646 - King Charles I of England and Scotland surrenders to the Scottish Presbyterian Army at Newark.
• 1671 - Edward Montagu, 2nd Earl of Manchester dies (b. 1602). English politician.
• 1672 - Samuel Cooper dies (b. 1609). English painter.
• 1705 - Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor dies (b. 1640).
• 1747 - Leopold II, Holy Roman Emperor was born (d. 1792).
• 1751 - The Portuguese government takes steps to curb the Inquisitions powers.
• 1760 - Laurence Shirley, 4th Earl Ferrers dies hanged (b. 1720). English murderer.
• 1762 - Russia and Prussia sign the Treaty of St. Petersburg.
• 1764 - Robert Craufurd was born (d. 1812). British general.
• 1766 - Firmin Massot was born in Geneva (d. 16 May 1849). Swiss painter, draftsman, and teacher.
• 1766 - Jean Astruc dies (b. 1684). French physician and scholar.
• 1769 - Decreto autorizando o estabelecimento, na Lousã, de uma fábrica de papel de escrever.
• 1789 - In France, the Estates-General convenes for the first time in 150 years.
• 1800 - Louis Christophe François Hachette was born (d. 1864). French publisher.
• 1807 - P. D. Q. Bach dies (b. 1742). Fictitious composer.
• 1808 - Pierre Jean George Cabanis dies (b. 1757). French physiologist.
• 1809 - Mary Kies becomes the first woman awarded a US patent, for a technique of weaving straw with silk and thread.
• 1809 - The Swiss canton of Aargau denies citizenship to Jews.
• 1811 - Antoine de Marcenay de Ghuy dies (b. 1724). French artist — Self-Portrait.
• 1811 - Robert Mylne dies (b. 1734). Scottish architect.
• 1813 - Søren Kierkegaard was born (d. 1855). Danish philosopher.
• 1814 - British-American War (War of 1812): The British attack Fort Ontario at Oswego, New York.
• 1815 - Eugène Labiche was born (d. 23 Jan 1888). French dramatist.
• 1818 - Karl Marx was born (d. 1883). Political philosopher.
• 1821 - Emperor Napoleon I dies (b. 1769) in exile on the island of Saint Helena in the South Atlantic Ocean.
• 1826 - Empress Eugenie of France was born (d. 1920). Empress as wife of Napoleon III.
• 1827 - Frederick Augustus I of Saxony dies (b. 1750).
• 1830 - John Batterson Stetson was born (d. 1906). American hat manufacturer.
• 1832 - H.H. Bancroft was born (d. 1918). American historian and publisher.
• 1833 - Ferdinand von Richthofen was born (d. 1905). German geographer.
• 1833 - Sophia Campbell dies (b. 1777). Australian artist.
• 1834 - Viktor Hartmann was born (d. 1873). Russian architect and painter.
• 1835 - In Belgium, the first railway in continental Europe opens between Brussels and Mechelen.
• 1837 - Niccolo Antonio Zingarelli dies. Italian composer.
• 1846 - Henryk Sienkiewicz was born (d. 1916). Polish author, recipient of the Nobel Prize in literature 1905.
• 1855 - Sir Robert Inglis, Bt dies (b. 1786). English politician.
• 1857 - António Teixeira de Sousa was born. Prime-Minister of Portugal.
• 1859 - Peter Gustav Dirichlet dies (b. 1805). German mathematician.
• 1862 - Cinco de Mayo in Mexico: troops led by Ignacio Zaragoza halt a French invasion in the Battle of Puebla (on May 9 this day was made into the Cinco de mayo holiday).
• 1864 - American Civil War: The Battle of the Wilderness begins in Spotsylvania County, Virginia.
• 1864 - Nellie Bly was born (d. 1922). American journalist and writer.
• 1865 - In North Bend, Ohio (a suburb of Cincinnati), the first train robbery in the United States takes place.
• 1865 - Marshall Rondon was born (d. 1958). Brazilian soldier and sertanist.
• 1865 - Elizabeth Jane Cochran ("Nellie Bly") was born (d. 1922). American journalist, writer.
• 1866 - Thomas B. Thrige was born (d. 1938). Danish industrialist.
• 1869 - Hans Pfitzner was born (d. 1949). Russian-born composer.
• 1877 - Indian Wars: Sitting Bull leads his band of Lakota into Canada to avoid harassment by the United States Army under Colonel Nelson Miles.
• 1883 - Archibald Wavell was born (d. 1950). British World War II general.
• 1883 - Eva Gonzalès, Mme Henri Guérard, dies (b. 19 Apr 1849). French Impressionist painter.
• 1886 - The Bay View Tragedy occurs, militia fire upon a crowd of protesters in Milwaukee, Wisconsin killing seven.
• 1887 - Peruvian Academy of Language is created /Creación de la Academia Peruana de la Lengua.
• 1887 - Geoffrey Fisher was born (d. 1972). Archbisp of Canterbury.
• 1889 - Herbie Taylor was born (d. 1973). South African cricketer, Wisden COY 1925.
• 1890 - Christopher Morley was born (d. 1957). American writer and editor.
• 1891 - The Music Hall in New York (now known as Carnegie Hall) has its grand opening and first public performance, with Tchaikovsky as the guest conductor.
• 1892 - The U.S. Congress passes the Geary Chinese Exclusion Act: All Chinese in the United States must register or risk deportation.
• 1892 - August Wilhelm von Hofmann dies (b. 1818). German chemist.
• 1893 - Panic of 1893: Crash on the New York Stock Exchange starts a depression.
• 1896 - Silas Adams dies (b. 1839). American lawyer and politician.
• 1899 - Freeman Gosden was born (d. 1982). American radio comedian (Amos-Amos 'n' Andy).
• 1900 - Ivan Aivazovsky dies (b. 1817). Russian painter.
• 1901 - Blind Willie McTell was born (d. 1959). American blues singer.
• 1902 - Commonwealth Public Service Act creates Australian Public Service.
• 1903 - James Beard was born (d.1985). Chef and cookbook writer.
• 1904 - Pitching against the Philadelphia Athletics at the Huntington Avenue Grounds, Cy Young of the Boston Americans threw the first perfect game in the modern era of baseball.
• 1905 - Club Atlético Colón, Argentina, is founded.
• 1907 - Eugène-Alexis Girardet dies (b. 31 May 1853). French painter, specialized in orientalism.
• 1908 - Kurt Böhme was born (d. 1989). German bass.
• 1911 - Bernardo de Alpoim de Cerqueira Borges Cabral dies. Portuguese militar and politician.
• 1912 - The 1912 Summer Olympics open in Stockholm, Sweden.
• 1913 - Henri Moret dies (b. 12 Dec 1856). French marine and landscape painter.
• 1914 - Tyrone Power was born in Cincinnati, Ohio (d. 15 Nov. 1958). American actor.
• 1915 - Alice Faye was born (d. 1998). American actress.
• 1916 - American marines invade the Dominican Republic.
• 1916 - Zail Singh was born (d. 1994). President of India.
• 1917 - Dalva de Oliveira (Vicentina Paula de Oliveira) was born in Rio Claro, São Paulo (d. 1972). Unforgettable Brazilian singer.
• 1918 - Nemesio Antúnez Zañartu was born. Chilean painter.
• 1919 - Georgios Papadopoulos was born (d. 1999). Greek dictator.
• 1920 - The anarchists Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti are arrested for alleged robbery and murder.
• 1921 - Chanel No. 5 perfume, created by perfumer Ernst Beaux for Coco Chanel, is launched.
• 1921 - Arthur Leonard Schawlow was born (d. 28 Apr 1999). American physicist and corecipient, with Nicolaas Bloembergen of the United States and Kai Manne Börje Siegbahn of Sweden, of the 1981 Nobel Prize for Physics for his work in developing the laser and in laser spectroscopy.
• 1921 - Alfred Hermann Fried dies (b. 1864). Austrian writer and pacifist, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize.
• 1922 - In The Bronx, construction begins on Yankee Stadium.
• 1923 - Richard Wollheim was born (d. 2003). British philosopher.
• 1925 - Scopes Trial: John T. Scopes is served an arrest warrant for teaching evolution in violation of the Butler Act.
• 1925 - Afrikaans established as an official language in South Africa.
• 1925 - Leo Ryan was born (d. 1978). United States Congressman.
• 1926 - Ann B. Davis was born. American actress (The Brady Bunch).
• 1926 - Luís Jorge Archer was born. Portuguese scientist.
• 1927 - Pat Carroll was born. American actress.
• 1929 - Fernando Farinha was born in Barreiro, Portugal (oficial birthdate, the real date was 20 Dec. 1928 (d. 12 Feb. 1988). Portuguese fadist ("O menino da bica").
• 1931 - Greg was born (d. 1999). Belgian comic-book writer (Achille Talon).
• 1931 - Glen Kidston dies (b. 1899). British aviator and racing driver.
• 1934 - Ace Cannon was born. American saxophonist.
• 1935 - Errol Flynn / Lili Damita were married.
• 1935 - Bernard Pivot was born. French journalist and television host.
• 1935 - Douglas Marland was born (d. 1993). Soap opera writer (As the World Turns).
• 1935 - Robert Rehme was born. American film producer.
• 1936 - Italian troops occupy Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
• 1936 - Patrick Gowers was born. British composer.
• 1937 - Delia Derbyshire was born (d. 2001). British Electronic Music composer.
  
• 1937 - Johnnie Taylor was born (d. 2000). American singer.
• 1938 - Michael Murphy was born. American actor.
• 1939 - Cesare Fiorio was born. Italian sporting director of various Formula One teams.
• 1940 - World War II: In London, a Norwegian government in exile is formed.
• 1940 - Lance Henriksen was born on New York. American actor (whose characters are frequently dead in the films).
• 1940 - Michael Lindsay-Hogg was born. American film director.
• 1941 - Emperor Haile Selassie returns to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia; this date has been since commemorated as Liberation Day.
• 1941 - Alexander Ragulin was born (d. 2004). Russian ice hockey player.
• 1941 - Natalija Obrenović dies (b. 1859). Queen of Serbia.
• 1942 - Battle of Coral Sea.
• 1942 - Marc Alaimo was born. American actor.
• 1942 - Tammy Wynette was born (d. 1998). American musician.
• 1942 - Qemal Stafa dies (b. 1920). Albanian politician.
• 1943 - The film curator of the Library of Congress, Howard Walls, announces that about 5,000 films will be preserved in the library.
• 1943 - Michael Palin was born. British writer, actor and comedian ("Monty Python").
• 1943 - Raphael was born. Spanish singer.
• 1944 - Bo Larsson was born. Swedish soccer player.
• 1944 - Jean-Pierre Léaud was born. French actor.
• 1944 - John Rhys-Davies was born. Welsh actor.
• 1944 - Roger Rees was born. Welsh-American actor.
• 1945 - World War II: A Japanese bomb, launched by balloon and called a fire balloon, explodes near Lakewood, Oregon, killing a woman and five children who were examining it during a church picnic.
• 1945 - World War II: German troops in the Netherlands and Denmark capitulate to Canadian and British forces, liberating these countries from Nazi occupation.
• 1945 - World War II: Prague uprising against the Nazis.
• 1945 - World War II: Mauthausen concentration camp is liberated.
• 1945 - World War II: Admiral Karl Dönitz, leader of Germany after Hitler's death, orders all U-boats to cease offensive operations and return to their bases.
• 1945 - Canadian soldiers liberate the city of Amsterdam from Nazi occupation.
• 1945 - Kurt Loder was born. Entertainment reporter.
• 1945 - Peter Van Pels dies (b. 1926). Jewish refugee.
• 1946 - Beth Carvalho was born. Brazilian sambist.
• 1947 - Ty LaForest dies (b. 1917). Canadian baseball player.
• 1948 - Bill Ward was born. British drummer (Black Sabbath).
• 1949 - The Council of Europe in Strasbourg is founded through the Treaty of London as the first European institution working for European integration. Since 1964, May 5 has been designated Europe Day by the Council of Europe and is celebrated since then to commemorate its founding on 5 May 1949.
• 1949 - Joaquim NUNES CLARO dies in Sintra (some sources say 4 May) (b. in Lisbon 20 Apr 1878). Portuguese poet and phisician.
• 1950 - Bhumibol Adulyadej is crowned as King Rama IX of Thailand.
• 1950 - Googoosh was born. Faegheh Atashin (فائقه آتشین), Iranian, Persian Singer & actress.
• 1950 - Mary Hopkin was born. Welsh singer.
• 1952 - Campbell McComas was born (d. 2005). Australian impersonator and broadcaster.
• 1954 - A coup d'état carries General Alfredo Stroessner to power in Paraguay.
• 1954 - Chitãozinho was born. Brazilian musician.
• 1954 - Dave Spector was born. American television personality and commentator.
• 1955 - West Germany gains full sovereignty.
• 1955 - António Laginha was born. Portuguese journalist and ballerino.
• 1955 - Melinda Culea was born. American actress.
• 1956 - Robert Marien was born. Quebec actor, singer and songwriter.
• 1957 - Peter Howitt was born. British actor and film director.
• 1957 - Richard E. Grant was born. British actor.
• 1957 - Dr. Joseph William Kennedy dies (b. 30 May 1916). American scientist, one of four co-discoverers of plutonium, (element 94) which was produced from uranium oxide bombarded with deuterons in a cyclotron at the Univ. of California at Berkeley.
• 1958 - Ron Arad was born. Israeli aircraft navigator missing in action.
• 1959 – Brian Phelps was born. American disk jockey and actor.
• 1959 – Brian Williams was born. American news anchor.
• 1959 - Ian McCulloch was born. English singer of Echo & the Bunnymen.
• 1959 - Carlos Saavedra Lamas dies (b. 1897). Argentine politician, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize.
• 1961 - The Mercury program: Mercury 3 - Alan Shepard becomes the first American to travel into space, making a sub-orbital flight of 15 minutes.
• 1961 - Hiroshi Hase was born. Japanese professional wrestler and politician.
• 1962 - Jenifer McKitrick was born. American songwriter.
• 1962 - Ernest Tyldesley dies (b. 1889). English cricketer.
• 1963 - Heidi Kozak was born. American actress.
• 1963 - James LaBrie was born. Canadian singer (Dream Theater).
• 1963 - Simon Rimmer was born. English chef.
• 1964 - 5 May is declared Europe Day on the 25th anniversary of the Council of Europe.
• 1964 - John Lee (placekicker) was born. Korean-born American football player.
• 1965 - Glenn Seton was born. Australian racing driver.
• 1966 - Josh Weinstein was born. American writer.
• 1966 - Shawn Drover was born. Canadian drummer (Megadeth).
• 1967 - Maro Mavri was born. Greek fashion model and actress
• 1967 - Takehito Koyasu was born. Japanese seiyu (voice actor).
• 1970 - Juan Acevedo was born. Mexican baseball player.
• 1970 - Kyan Douglas was born. American TV-personality
• 1970 – LaPhonso Ellis was born. American basketball player.
• 1970 – Naomi Klein was born. Canadian author and activist.
• 1970 - Soheil Ayari was born. French racer.
• 1970 - Will Arnett was born. Canadian-American actor.
• 1971 - David Reilly was born (d. 2005). American singer (God Lives Underwater).
• 1971 – Gary Johnson was born. British Record Producer.
• 1971 – Harold Miner was born. American basketball player.
• 1971 - Mike Redmond was born. American baseball player.
• 1971 - Violet Jessop dies (b. 1887). Titanic survivor.
• 1972 - Portugal: O governo de Marcelo Caetano extingue a Censura Prévia e cria o regime do Exame Prévio. Na realidade tudo fica na mesma.
• 1972 – Brad Bombardir was born. Canadian ice hockey player.
• 1972 - Devin Townsend was born. Canadian musician (Strapping Young Lad).
• 1972 - James Cracknell was born. British rowing champion, double Olymipic gold medalist
• 1972 - Mike Dirnt was born. American musician (Green Day).
• 1973 - Erik Kowalski was born. American IDM composer behind Casino Versus Japan.
• 1973 - Muhsin Muhammad was born. American football player.
• 1973 - Tina Yothers was born. American actress.
• 1974 - Militantes do MRPP impedem o embarque de tropas para África.
• 1974 - Seiji Ara was born. Japanese racing driver.
• 1976 - Anastasios Pantos was born. Greek footballer.
• 1976 – Dieter Brummer was born. Australian TV Actor.
• 1976 – Jeremy Michael Ward was born (d. 2003). American Musician.
• 1976 - Juan Pablo Sorín was born. Argentine footballer.
  
• 1977 - Choi Kang-hee was born. South Korean actress.
• 1977 - Ludwig Erhard dies (b. 1897). German politician (CDU) and Chancellor of Germany from 1963 until 1966.
• 1978 - Pete Rose of the Cincinnati Reds hits his 3000th major league hit.
• 1978 - Bruno Cheyrou was born. French footballer.
• 1978 - Morgan Pehme was born. American filmmaker and writer.
• 1978 – Noam Zylberman was born. Voice actor.
• 1978 - Santiago Cabrera was born. Chilean actor.
• 1979 - Vincent Kartheiser was born. American actor.
• 1980 - Operation Nimrod: The Special Air Service storm the Iranian embassy in London after a six day siege.
• 1980 - Constantine Karamanlis is elected for the first time President of Greece.
• 1980 - DerMarr Johnson was born. American basketball player.
• 1980 – Yossi Benayoun was born. Israeli footballer.
• 1981 - Bobby Sands dies in a Belfast prison: hunger striker (b. 1954). Provisional IRA activist. Bobby Sands and 9 more Irish Republican Army hunger strikers were protesting their treatment as criminals rather than political prisoners.
• 1981 - Craig David was born. British singer.
• 1981 - Chris Duncan was born. Baseball player.
• 1981 - Danielle Fishel was born. American actress.
• 1981 - Marcelle Bittar was born. Brazilian supermodel.
• 1982 - Edyta Sliwinska was born. Polish ballroom dancer.
• 1982 - Jay Bothroyd was born. English footballer.
• 1982 - Randall Gay was born. National Footbal League player.
• 1983 - Henry Cavill was born. English actor.
• 1983 - Scott Ware was born. American footballer.
• 1983 - Horst Schumann dies (b. 1901). Nazi physician.
• 1984 - In Luxembourg, Herreys win the twenty-ninth Eurovision Song Contest for Sweden singing "Diggi-loo, diggi-ley".
• 1984 - Eve Torres was born. American dancer and model.
• 1984 - Wade MacNeil was born. Canadian guitarist (Alexisonfire).
• 1985 - David Nugent was born. English footballer.
• 1985 - P.J. Tucker was born. American basketball player.
• 1985 - Shōko Nakagawa was born. Japanese actress, illustrator and singer.
• 1985 - Terrence Wheatley was born. American Football player.
• 1985 - Sir Donald Bailey dies (b. 1901). British civil engineer who invented the Bailey Bridge.
• 1986 - The TV series The Love Boat airs its last episode.
• 1986 - Ruy Coelho dies. Portuguese composer.
• 1987 - Iran-Contra affair: Start of Congressional televised hearings.
• 1987 - John Gotti Agnello was born. Son of columnist and author Victoria Gotti and grandson of mobster John Gotti.
• 1987 - Marija Šestić was born. Bosnian singer.
• 1987 -Tenório Cavalcanti dies. Brazilian politician.
• 1988 - Adele was born. English soul singer.
• 1988 - Brooke Hogan was born. American singer.
• 1988 - Jessica Dubroff was born (d. 1996). American aviator.
• 1988 - Skye Sweetnam was born. Canadian singer and songwriter.
• 1988 - Michael Shaara dies (b. 1928). American author.
• 1988 - A live broadcast from the top of Mt Everest is made for the first time, by Japanese TV.
• 1989 - Robert Lucas Christian was born. Famous architect.
• 1989 - Chris Brown was born. American singer.
• 1990 - Capital punishment: Jesse Tafero is executed in Florida after three electric chair malfunctions cause flames to shoot from his head.
• 1990 - In Zagreb, Yugoslavia (now Croatia), Toto Cutugno wins the thirty-fifth Eurovision Song Contest for Italy singing "Insieme: 1992" (Together: 1992).
• 1991 - A riot breaks out in the Mt. Pleasant section of Washington, DC after a Salvadoran man is shot by police.
• 1991 - José Sant 'Anna Dionísio dies. Portuguese teacher and essayst.
• 1992 - Wolfenstein 3D is released, the first-ever first-person shooter computer game.
• 1992 - The 27th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution is ratified.
• 1992 - Jean-Claude Pascal dies (b. 1927). French singer, Eurovision Song Contest winner.
• 1992 - Moldávia becomes member of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development.
• 1993 - Actor Keanu Reeves is arrested for the charge of drunk driving in Los Angeles, California.
• 1994 - The signing of the Bishkek Protocol between Armenia and Azerbaijan effectively freezes the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.
• 1994 - American Michael P. Fay is caned in Singapore as punishment for spray-painting two cars.
• 1994 - Mário Quintana dies in Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul (b. 30 Jul 1906, in Alegrete, RGS). Brazilian poet, writer, journalist and politician.
• 1995 - British film producer Ray Santilli unveils his "alien autopsy" footage to a group of UFO researchers. The film is widely regarded as a hoax.
• 1995 - Mikhail Botvinnik dies (b. 1911). Russian world chess champion.
• 1997 - Walter Gotell dies (b. 1924). German actor.
• 2000 - Conjunction of all traditional planets (Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Moon and Sun formed a rough line across the sky with the Sun and Moon).
• 2000 - Gino Bartali dies (b. 1914). Italian cyclist.
• 2001 - Chandra Levy's parents report her missing to Washington, DC police.
• 2001 - Cliff Hillegass dies (b. 1918). American writer and publisher, creator of Cliffs Notes.
• 2001 - Raymond Kessler dies. American midget wrestler.
• 2002 - French President Jacques Chirac was re-elected in a landslide victory over extreme-right leader Jean-Marie Le Pen.
• 2002 - The first "Free Comic Book Day" promotional event to promote popular interest in the medium in North America; timed to coincide with the premiere of the film, Spider-Man.
• 2002 - The World Wrestling Federation changes its name to World Wrestling Entertainment due to a lawsuit from the World Wildlife Fund.
• 2002 - George Sidney dies (b. 1916). American film director.
• 2002 - Hugo Banzer dies (b. 1926). Bolivian dictator.
• 2002 - Paul Klipsch dies (b. 1904). American engineer, noted for his loudspeaker designs.
• 2003 - Sam Bockarie dies (b. 1964). RUF Rebel Commander.
• 2003 - Walter Sisulu dies (b. 1912). South African activist.
• 2003 - Waly Salomão dies in Rio de Janeiro (b. 3 Sep 1944). Brazilian poet and composer.
• 2004 - Ritsuko Okazaki dies (b. 1959). Japanese singer-songwriter.
• 2005 - The United Kingdom general election takes place, in which Tony Blair's Labour Party is re-elected for a third, consecutive term.
• 2006 - The government of Sudan signed an accord with the Sudan Liberation Army (SLA).
• 2006 - Naushad Ali dies (b. 1919). Indian composer.
• 2007 - Kenya Airways Flight KQ 507 crashes in Cameroon.
• 2007 - Republic Protests in Turkey.
• 2007 - A judge sentenced Paris Hilton to 45 days in a Los Angeles County jail for violating her probation in a reckless driving case.
• 2007 - Theodore Harold Maiman dies (b. 1927). American inventor.
• 2008 - Irv Robbins dies (b. 1917). Canadian-American entrepreneur.
• Denmark: Liberation Day (1945).
• The Netherlands: May 5, Liberation day (1945).
• Ethiopia: Liberation Day (1941).
• Northern Territory, Australia: May Day.
• Japan: Tango no Sekku - Boy's Day; or Kodomo no hi - Children's Day.
• Mexico and United States: Cinco de Mayo (1862).
• Guyana: Indian Immigration Day (1838).
• International Midwives Day.
• Council of Europe: Europe Day.
• CPLP - Community of Portuguese-speaking countries: Day of the Lusophone.
• Albania: Martyrs' Day (Albania).
• Japan: Tango no Sekku (Boy's Day) or Kodomo no hi (Children's Day).
• South Korea: Children's Day.