Wikipedia:Selected anniversaries/July 5
July 5: Independence Day in Venezuela (1811), Algeria (1962) and Cape Verde (1975); Saints Cyril and Methodius Day in the Czech Republic and Slovakia; Tynwald Day on the Isle of Man.
- 1687 – Philosophiae Naturalis Principia Mathematica by Isaac Newton (pictured) was first published, describing his laws of motion and his law of universal gravitation.
- 1937 - The Hormel Foods Corporation introduced Spam, the canned precooked meat product that would eventually enter into pop culture, folklore, and urban legend.
- 1954 – Elvis Presley began making his first commercial recordings at Sun Studios in Memphis, Tennessee, USA.
- 1977 – General Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq overthrew Prime Minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto of Pakistan in a military coup d'état.
- 2004 – Indonesia held its first direct presidential elections in its history; Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono would later be elected president during the second round of the elections on September 20.