March 5

This article is about the day. For the 1993 novel, see The Fifth of March.

March 5 in recent years

2024 (Tuesday)

2023 (Sunday)

2022 (Saturday)

2021 (Friday)

2020 (Thursday)

2019 (Tuesday)

2018 (Monday)

2017 (Sunday)

2016 (Saturday)

2015 (Thursday)

March 5 is the 64th day of the year (65th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar; 301 days remain until the end of the year.

Events

• 363 – Roman Emperor Julian moves from Antioch with an army of 90,000 to attack the Sassanid Empire, in a campaign which would bring about his own death.
• 1046 – Naser Khosrow begins the seven-year Middle Eastern journey which he will later describe in his book Safarnama.
• 1279 – the Livonian Order is defeated in the Battle of Aizkraukle by the Grand Duchy of Lithuania
• 1496 – King Henry VII of England issues letters patent to John Cabot and his sons, authorising them to explore unknown lands.
• 1689 – Daniel Finch, 2nd Earl of Nottingham is named Secretary of State for the Northern Department.
• 1766 – Antonio de Ulloa, the first Spanish governor of Louisiana, arrives in New Orleans.
• 1770 – Boston Massacre: Five Americans, including Crispus Attucks, and a boy, are killed by British troops in an event that would contribute to the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War (also known as the American War of Independence) five years later. At a subsequent trial the soldiers are defended by John Adams.
• 1784 – Thomas Townshend, 1st Viscount Sydney is named President of the Board of Trade.
• 1824 – First Burmese War: The British officially declare war on Burma.
• 1836 – Samuel Colt makes the first production-model revolver, the .34-caliber.
• 1848 – Louis Antoine Garnier-Pages is named French minister of Finance.
• 1850 – The Britannia Bridge across the Menai Strait between the Isle of Anglesey and the mainland of Wales is opened.
• 1860 – Parma, Tuscany, Modena and Romagna vote in referendums to join the Kingdom of Sardinia.
• 1868 – A court of impeachment is organized in the United States Senate to hear charges against President Andrew Johnson.
• 1868 – Mefistofele, an opera by Arrigo Boito receives its première performance at La Scala.
• 1872 – George Westinghouse patents the air brake.
• 1894 – Archibald Philip Primrose, 5th Earl of Rosebery becomes First Lord of the Treasury.
• 1904 – Nikola Tesla, in Electrical World and Engineer, describes the process of the ball lightning formation.
• 1912 – Italian forces are the first to use airships for military purposes, employing them for reconnaissance behind Turkish lines.
• 1931 – The British Viceroy of India, Governor-General Edward Frederick Lindley Wood and Mohandas Gandhi (Mahatma Gandhi) sign an agreement envisaging the release of political prisoners and allowing salt to be freely used by the poorest members of the population.
• 1933 – Great Depression: President Franklin D. Roosevelt declares a "bank holiday", closing all U.S. banks and freezing all financial transactions.
• 1933 – Adolf Hitler's Nazi Party receives 43.9% at the Reichstag elections. This later allows the Nazis to pass the Enabling Act and establish a dictatorship.
• 1940 – Members of Soviet politburo sign an order for the execution of 25,700 Polish intelligentsia, including 14,700 Polish POWs, known also as the Katyn massacre.
• 1942 – United States Navy Seabees established.
• 1943 – First flight of Gloster Meteor jet aircraft in the United Kingdom.
• 1946 – Winston Churchill uses the phrase "Iron Curtain" in his speech at Westminster College, Missouri.
• 1946 – Hungarian Communists and Social Democrats co-found the Left Bloc.
• 1958 – The Explorer 2 spacecraft launches and fails to reach Earth orbit.
• 1960 – Alister Hardy publicly announces his idea that ape-human divergence may have been due to a coastal phase, giving rise to the Aquatic Ape Hypothesis.
• 1965 – March Intifada: A Leftist uprising erupts in Bahrain against British colonial presence.
• 1966 – BOAC Flight 911 crashes on Mount Fuji, Japan, killing 124.
• 1970 – The Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty goes into effect after ratification by 43 nations.
• 1973 – Donald DeFreeze, the future Symbionese Liberation Army leader, escapes from Vacaville Prison.
• 1974 – Yom Kippur War: Israeli forces withdraw from the west bank of the Suez Canal.
• 1975 – First meeting of the Homebrew Computer Club
• 1978 – The Landsat 3 is launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.
• 1979 – Soviet probes Venera 11, Venera 12 and the American solar satellite Helios II all are hit by "off the scale" gamma rays leading to the discovery of soft gamma repeaters.
• 1979 – America's Voyager 1 spacecraft has its closest approach to Jupiter, 172,000 miles.
• 1982 – The Soviet probe Venera 14 arrives at the planet Venus.
• 1984 – 6,000 miners in the United Kingdom begin their strike at Cortonwood Colliery.
• 1988 – The Constitution of Turks and Caicos Islands is restored and revised.
• 1999 – Paul Okalik is elected first Premier of Nunavut.
• 2001 – In Mecca, 35 Muslim pilgrims are crushed to death during the annual Hajj pilgrimage.
• 2003 – In Haifa, 17 Israeli civilians are killed by a Hamas suicide bomb in the Haifa bus 37 massacre.

Births

• 1133 – King Henry II of England (d. 1189)
• 1324 – King David II of Scotland (d. 1371)
• 1326 – Louis I of Hungary (d. 1382)
• 1512 – Gerardus Mercator, Flemish cartographer (d. 1594)
• 1563 – John Coke, English politician (d. 1644)
• 1575 – William Oughtred, English mathematician (d. 1660)
• 1585 – John George I, Elector of Saxony (d. 1656)
• 1658 – Antoine Laumet de La Mothe, sieur de Cadillac, French explorer (d. 1730)
• 1693 – Johann Jakob Wettstein, Swiss theologian (d. 1754)
• 1696 – Giovanni Battista Tiepolo, Italian painter (d. 1770)
• 1703 – Vasily Kirillovich Trediakovsky, Russian poet (d. 1768)
• 1713 – Edward Cornwallis, English military officer (d. 1776)
• 1713 – Frederick Cornwallis, Archbishop of Canterbury (d. 1783)
• 1723 – Princess Mary of Great Britain (d. 1773)
• 1739 – Benjamin Ruggles Woodbridge, American physican and statesman (d. 1819)
• 1748 – Jonas C. Dryander, Swedish botanist (d. 1810)
• 1748 – William Shield, English musician (d. 1829)
• 1750 – Jean-Baptiste Gaspard d'Ansse de Villoison, French classical scholar (d. 1805)
• 1794 – Jacques Babinet, French physicist (d. 1872)
• 1794 – Robert Cooper Grier, American jurist and Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States (d. 1870)
• 1814 – Wilhelm von Giesebrecht, German historian (d. 1889)
• 1815 – John Wentworth, American politician and Member of the United States House of Representatives from Illinois (d. 1888)
• 1817 – Austen Henry Layard, English archaeologist (d. 1894)
• 1836 – Charles Goodnight, American cattle rancher (d. 1929)
• 1853 – Howard Pyle, American author and illustrator (d. 1911)
• 1862 – Siegbert Tarrasch, German chess player (d. 1934)
• 1867 – Louis-Alexandre Taschereau, Premier of Quebec (d. 1952)
• 1869 – Michael von Faulhaber, German cardinal and archbishop (d. 1952)
• 1870 – Frank Norris, American writer (d. 1902)
• 1871 – Rosa Luxemburg, Socialist revolutionary (d. 1919)
• 1873 – Olav Bjaaland, Norwegian explorer and cross-country skier (d. 1961)
• 1874 – Henry Travers, British actor (d. 1965)
• 1879 – Sir William Beveridge, British economist (d. 1963)
• 1882 – Dora Marsden, British editor, writer (d. 1960)
• 1883 – Marius Barbeau, French Canadian ethnographer and folklorist (d. 1969)
• 1886 – Dong Biwu, Chinese Communist Party figure (d. 1975)
• 1887 – Heitor Villa-Lobos, Brazilian composer (d. 1959)
• 1897 – Set Persson, Swedish communist politician (d. 1960)
• 1898 – Zhou Enlai, Premier of the People's Republic of China (d. 1976)
• 1898 – Soong May-ling, Chinese wife of Chiang Kai-Shek (d. 2003)
• 1904 – Karl Rahner, German theologian (d. 1984)
• 1908 – Irving Fiske, American writer, playwright, (d. 1990)
• 1908 – Sir Rex Harrison, English actor (d. 1990)
• 1914 – Philip Farkas, American horn player and teacher (d. 1992)
• 1915 – Laurent Schwartz, French mathematician (d. 2002)
• 1918 – Milt Schmidt, Canadian ice hockey player, coach and manager
• 1918 – Red Storey, Canadian football player and ice hockey referee (d. 2006)
• 1918 – James Tobin, American economist, Nobel laureate (d. 2002)
• 1920 – José Aboulker, Jewish Communist (d. 2009)
• 1920 – Virginia Christine, American actress (d. 1996)
• 1921 – Elmer Valo, American baseball player (d. 1998)
• 1922 – James Noble, American actor
• 1922 – Pier Paolo Pasolini, Italian writer and film director (d. 1975)
• 1923 – Laurence Tisch, American investor (d. 2003)
• 1927 – Jack Cassidy, American actor (d. 1976)
• 1929 – Erik Carlsson, Swedish rally driver
• 1930 – Del Crandall, American baseball player
• 1931 – Fred Othon Aristidès, French comics artist
• 1931 – Barry Tuckwell, Australian horn player
• 1933 – Jef Eygel, Belgian basketball player (d. 2005)
• 1933 – Kostas Linoxilakis, Greek footballer
• 1933 – Tommy Tucker, American blues singer and pianist (d. 1982)
• 1934 – Daniel Kahneman, Israeli economist, Nobel laureate
• 1934 – James B. Sikking, American actor
• 1935 – Philip K. Chapman, Australian astronaut and scientist
• 1936 – Canaan Banana, 1st President of Zimbabwe (d. 2003)
• 1936 – Dean Stockwell, American actor
• 1937 – Olusẹgun Ọbasanjọ, 5th & 12th President of Nigeria
• 1938 – Paul Evans, American singer and songwriter
• 1938 – Lynn Margulis, American biologist
• 1938 – Fred Williamson, American football player and actor
• 1939 – Samantha Eggar, English actress
• 1939 – Peter Woodcock, Canadian serial killer
• 1939 – Pierre Wynants, Belgian chef
• 1940 – Malcolm Hebden, English actor
• 1940 – David Koch, American businessman, politician
• 1942 – Felipe González, Prime Minister of Spain (1982-1996)
• 1942 – Mike Resnick, American science fiction author
• 1943 – Billy Backus, American boxer
• 1944 – Lucio Battisti, Italian singer (d. 1998)
• 1944 – Peter Brandes, Danish artist
• 1944 – Roy Gutman, American journalist, Pulitzer Prize winner
• 1946 – Murray Head, British actor and singer
• 1946 – Lova Moor, French singer and dancer
• 1946 – Richard Bell, Canadian musician (The Band) (d. 2007)
• 1947 – Eddie Hodges, American actor and singer
• 1947 – Clodagh Rodgers, Irish singer
• 1947 – Kent Tekulve, American baseball player
• 1948 – Eddy Grant, Guyana-born singer
• 1948 – Richard Hickox, English musical conductor
• 1948 – Elaine Paige, English singer and actress
• 1948 – Paquirri, Spanish bullfighter (d. 1984)
• 1949 – Franz Josef Jung, German federal minister of defence
• 1951 – Giorgos Ninios, Greek actor
• 1951 – Burkhard Segler, German footballer
• 1951 – Datuk Mohammad Nor Khalid, Malaysian cartoonist
• 1952 – Diana Castro Hagee, American evangelist and author, wife of John Hagee
• 1952 – Alan Clark, English keyboardist (Dire Straits)
• 1953 – Michael Sandel, American philosopher
• 1954 – Marsha Warfield, American actress
• 1954 – Barry Lee Fairchild, American convicted murderer (d. 1995)
• 1955 – Penn Jillette, American magician and comedian
• 1955 – Julien Dray, French politician
• 1955 – Georgios Papastamkos, Greek politician
• 1956 – Adriana Barraza, Mexican actress
• 1956 – Teena Marie, American singer (d. 2010)
• 1956 – Marco Paolini, Italian stage actor and author
• 1957 – Mark E. Smith, English singer (The Fall)
• 1957 – Ray Suarez, American journalist and author
• 1958 – Andy Gibb, English-born Australian singer and teen idol (d. 1988)
• 1959 – Vazgen Sargsyan, Armenian politician and 7th Prime Minister of Armenia (d. 1999)
• 1959 – David Fury, American television writer and producer
• 1960 – David Tibet, English musician (Current 93)
• 1962 – Jonathan Penner, American reality show contestant
• 1962 – Charlie and Craig Reid, Scottish musicians (The Proclaimers)
• 1963 – Joel Osteen, American religious figure
• 1964 – Bertrand Cantat, French singer and murderer
• 1966 – Michael Irvin, American football player
• 1966 – Bob Halkidis, Canadian hockey player
• 1966 – Aasif Mandvi, Indian-born American actor and comedian
• 1968 – Gordon Bajnai, Hungarian politician
• 1969 – Paul Blackthorne, British actor
• 1969 – Danny King, British author
• 1969 – Moussa Saïb, former Algerian footballer
• 1969 – MC Solaar, French rapper
• 1970 – Mike Brown, American basketball coach
• 1970 – John Frusciante, American musician (Red Hot Chili Peppers)
• 1970 – Lisa Robin Kelly, American actress
• 1971 – Jeffrey Hammonds, American baseball player
• 1971 – Evil Jared Hasselhoff, American musician (Bloodhound Gang)
• 1971 – Yuri Lowenthal, American actor and author
• 1971 – Filip Meirhaeghe, Belgian mountainbiker
• 1971 – Scott Mosier, American producer
• 1972 – Brian Grant, American basketball player
• 1972 – Luca Turilli, Italian musician (Rhapsody)
• 1973 – Yannis Anastasiou, Greek footballer
• 1973 – Ryan Franklin, American baseball player
• 1974 – Kevin Connolly, American actor and comedian
• 1974 – Jens Jeremies, German footballer
• 1974 – Matt Lucas, English comedian
• 1974 – Eva Mendes, American actress
• 1975 – Jolene Blalock, American actress
• 1975 – Sasho Petrovski, Australian soccer player
• 1975 – Niki Taylor, American model
• 1975 – Luciano Burti, Brazilian racing driver
• 1976 – Šarūnas Jasikevičius, Lithuanian basketball player
• 1976 – Paul Konerko, American baseball player
• 1976 – Katerina Matziou, Greek actress
• 1976 – Tim Sylvia, American mixed martial artist
• 1977 – Bryan Berard, American ice hockey player
• 1977 – Mike MacDougal, American baseball player
• 1977 – Wally Szczerbiak, American basketball player
• 1978 – Jared Crouch, Australian rules footballer
• 1978 – Mike Hessman, American baseball player
• 1978 – Kimberly McCullough, American actress
• 1978 – Papoose, American rapper
• 1979 – Tang Gonghong, Chinese weightlifter
• 1981 – Barret Jackman, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1981 – Paul Martin, American ice hockey player
• 1981 – Shugo Oshinari, Japanese actor
• 1981 – Andreas Wiig, Norwegian snowboarder
• 1982 – Daniel Carter, New Zealand rugby player
• 1982 – Giorgia Palmas, Italian television personality and model
• 1984 – Ryan Crowley, Australian rules footballer
• 1985 – Brad Mills, American baseball player
• 1985 – Kenichi Matsuyama, Japanese actor
• 1985 – David Marshall, Scottish footballer
• 1986 – Matty Fryatt, English footballer
• 1986 – Kimberlee Green, Australian netball player
• 1986 – Ellen Whitaker, English show jumper
• 1987 – Anna Chakvetadze, Russian tennis player
• 1988 – Trevor Carson, Northern Irish footballer
• 1988 – Bjarni Viðarsson, Icelandic footballer
• 1989 – Sterling Knight, American actor
• 1989 – Jake Lloyd, American actor
• 1990 – Alex Smithies, English footballer

Deaths

• 1534 – Antonio da Correggio, Italian painter (b. 1489)
• 1539 – Nuno da Cunha, Portuguese governor in India (b. 1487)
• 1592 – Michael Coxcie, Flemish painter (b. 1499)
• 1611 – Shimazu Yoshihisa, Japanese warlord and samurai (b. 1533)
• 1622 – Ranuccio I Farnese, Duke of Parma (b. 1569)
• 1695 – Henry Wharton, English writer (b. 1664)
• 1726 – Evelyn Pierrepont, 1st Duke of Kingston-upon-Hull, English politician
• 1770 – Crispus Attucks, American Revolution figure
• 1776 – Yeongjo of Joseon of Korea (b. 1694)
• 1778 – Thomas Arne, English composer (b. 1710)
• 1815 – Franz Mesmer, German physician and astrologist (b. 1734)
• 1827 – Pierre-Simon Laplace, French mathematician (b. 1749)
• 1827 – Alessandro Volta, Italian physicist (b. 1745)
• 1829 – John Adams, British mutineer (b. 1766)
• 1849 – David Scott, Scottish painter (b. 1806)
• 1876 – Marie d'Agoult, German-born writer (b. 1805)
• 1893 – Hippolyte Taine, French historian (b. 1828)
• 1895 – Nikolai Leskov, Russian writer (b. 1831)
• 1895 – Henry Rawlinson, British soldier and scholar (b. 1810)
• 1903 – George Francis Robert Henderson, British soldier (b. 1854)
• 1904 – John Lowther du Plat Taylor, British Army officer (b. 1829)
• 1907 – Friedrich Blass, German classical scholar (b. 1843)
• 1925 – Johan Jensen, Danish mathematician (b. 1859)
• 1926 – Clément Ader, French aviation pioneer (b. 1841)
• 1927 – Franz Mertens, German mathematician (b. 1840)
• 1929 – David Dunbar Buick, Scottish-born American automobile executive (b. 1854)
• 1931 – Fr. Arthur Tooth, British religious figure (b. 1839)
• 1940 – Cai Yuanpei, Chinese educator (b. 1868)
• 1944 – Max Jacob, French poet and writer (b. 1876)
• 1945 – Lena Baker, American convicted murderer (b. 1901)
• 1947 – Alfredo Casella, Italian composer (b. 1883)
• 1953 – Sergei Prokofiev, Russian composer, (b. 1891)
• 1953 – Joseph Stalin, Georgian leader of the Soviet Union (b. 1878)
• 1953 – Herman J. Mankiewicz, American screenwriter (b. 1897)
• 1955 – Antanas Merkys, Lithuanian politician (b. 1888)
• 1963 – Patsy Cline, American singer (b. 1932)
• 1963 – Cowboy Copas, American singer (b. 1913)
• 1963 – Hawkshaw Hawkins, American singer (b. 1921)
• 1965 – Chen Cheng, Chinese politician (b. 1897)
• 1965 – Pepper Martin, American baseball player (b. 1904)
• 1966 – Anna Akhmatova, Russian poet (b. 1889)
• 1967 – Georges Vanier, Canadian politician (b. 1888)
• 1967 – Mohammad Mossadegh, Iranian Prime Minister (b. 1882)
• 1973 – Michael Jeffery, British music manager (b. 1933)
• 1974 – Billy De Wolfe, American actor (b. 1907)
• 1974 – Sol Hurok, Russian-born American impresario (b. 1888)
• 1977 – Tom Pryce, Welsh race car driver (b. 1949)
• 1980 – Jay Silverheels, Canadian actor (b. 1912)
• 1980 – Winifred Wagner, German opera producer (b. 1897)
• 1981 – Yip Harburg, American lyricist (b. 1896)
• 1982 – John Belushi, American actor (b. 1949)
• 1984 – Tito Gobbi, Italian baritone (b. 1915)
• 1984 – William Powell, American actor (b. 1892)
• 1988 – Alberto Olmedo, Argentine comedian (b. 1933)
• 1990 – Gary Merrill, American film actor (b. 1915)
• 1993 – Cyril Collard, French author and filmmaker (b. 1957)
• 1995 – Vivian Stanshall, English musician (Bonzo Dog Band) (b. 1943)
• 1995 – Gregg Hansford, Australian motorcycle and touring car racer (b. 1952)
• 1996 – Whit Bissell, American actor (b. 1909)
• 1997 – Samm Sinclair Baker, American dietician and author (b. 1909)
• 1999 – Richard Kiley, American actor (b. 1922)
• 2000 – Rena Dor, Greek actress and singer (b. 1917)
• 2000 – Lolo Ferrari, French pornographic actress (b. 1962)
• 2004 – Walt Gorney, American actor (b. 1912)
• 2006 – Richard Kuklinski, American organized crime figure (b. 1935)
• 2008 – Joseph Weizenbaum, German-born American computer science professor (b. 1923)

Holidays and observances

• CCHR Day (Scientology)
• Christian Feast Day:
  • Ciarán of Saigir (Irish calendar)
  • Olivia
  • Theophilus, bishop of Caesarea
  • March 5 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
• Learn from Lei Feng Day (China)
• St Piran's Day (Cornwall)

External links

• BBC: On This Day
• The New York Times: On This Day
• On This Day in Canada

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