Alan Shepard in a Space Capsule

Alan Shepard becomes the first American in space

Born on This Day

Karl Marx

Karl Marx

1818 - 1883

German-born philosopher and political theorist. Co-author of 'The Communist Manifesto.'

Tammy Wynette Portrait Session

Tammy Wynette

1942 - 1998

First lady of country music best known for her 1968 hit "Stand by Your Man."

Portrait Of Nellie Bly

Nellie Bly

1864 - 1922

Pioneering journalist famed for her 72-day trip around the world in 1889 and undercover exposé of a New York mental institution.

Karl MarxBettmann Archive

Tammy WynetteGetty Images

Nellie BlyGetty Images

1809

MAY5

Mary Kies becomes the first American woman to receive a patent—for her straw-and-silk weaving technique to create hats. President James Madison himself signed the patent.

Timeline

Also on This Day in History

Discover more of the major events, famous births, notable deaths and everything else history-making that happened on May 5th

The Examiner publishes John Keats’ first poem

The first published poem by 20-year-old John Keats appears in The Examiner on May 5, in 1816. Unlike many writers of his day, Keats came from a lower-middle-class background. His father worked at a stable in London and eventually married the owner’s daughter. John was the first of the couple’s five children. John was sent […]

2:24m read read

Napoleon dies in exile

Napoleon Bonaparte, the former French ruler who once ruled an empire that stretched across Europe, dies as a British prisoner on the remote island of Saint Helena in the southern Atlantic Ocean. The Corsica-born Napoleon, one of the greatest military strategists in history, rapidly rose in the ranks of the French Revolutionary Army during the […]

1:34m read read

Outnumbered Mexican army defeats French at Battle of Puebla

Cinco de Mayo celebrates Mexico's 1862 victory over France.

2:14m read read

Martha Jones becomes first Black woman to receive a U.S. patent

On May 5, 1868, Martha Jones of Amelia County, Virginia is believed to be the first Black woman to receive a U.S. patent for inventing a machine that husks and shells corn all in one procedure. The Patent No. 77,494 granted to Jones three years after the Civil War for her “Improvement to the Corn […]

1:52m read read

Cy Young pitches first perfect game in MLB history

On May 5, 1904, 37-year-old Cy Young pitches the first perfect game in modern Major League Baseball history as the Boston Americans defeat the Philadelphia Athletics, 3-0. Young strikes out eight of the 27 batters he faces and benefits from excellent defense in a game that is completed in only 83 minutes. “Unparalleled feat,” a […]

1:46m read read

British murder trial begins, the first to be solved by fingerprint evidence

Trial starts in the murder case of Thomas and Ann Farrow, shopkeepers in South London. The case would be the first resolved on the basis of fingerprint evidence. The neighbors had found the Farrows in their home, badly bludgeoned, on March 27 of that year. Thomas was already dead, but Ann was still breathing. She […]

1:42m read read

Italian delegates announce return to Paris peace conference

On May 5, 1919, the delegation from Italy—led by Prime Minister Vittorio Orlando and Foreign Minister Sidney Sonnino—announce that they will return to the Versailles Peace Conference in Paris, France, after leaving abruptly 11 days earlier during contentious negotiations over the territory Italy would receive after the First World War. Italy’s entrance into World War […]

4:04m read read

Chanel No. 5 perfume launches

On May 5, 1921, a date of symbolic importance to its iconic creator, the perfume Chanel No. 5 officially debuts in Coco Chanel’s boutique on the Rue Cambon in Paris. The new fragrance immediately revolutionized the perfume industry and remained popular for a century. Gabrielle “Coco” Chanel was the daughter of a clothing peddler and […]

2:28m read read

As the Nazi threat dies, the Red Army rises

On May 5, 1945, Soviet Premier Joseph Stalin forwards to Presiden

Six killed in Oregon by Japanese bomb

In Gearhart Mountain, Oregon, Mrs. Elsie Mitchell and five neighborhood children are killed while attempting to drag a Japanese balloon out of the woods. Unbeknownst to Mitchell and the children, the balloon was armed, and it exploded soon after they began tampering with it. They were the first and only known American civilians to be […]

1:16m read read

Allies end occupation of West Germany

The Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany) becomes a sovereign state when the United States, France and Great Britain end their military occupation, which had begun in 1945. With this action, West Germany was given the right to rearm and become a full-fledged member of the western alliance against the Soviet Union. In 1945, the […]

Ben & Jerry’s opens its first ice cream shop

On May 5, 1978, area residents line up outside a renovated gas station in Burlington, Vermont, for the grand opening of Ben & Jerry’s Homemade. Opened by childhood friends Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield, the store sells soups, crêpes and pottery, but it is their homemade ice cream, made with locally sourced cream and butterfat […]

2:10m read read

IRA militant Bobby Sands dies

On May 5, 1981, imprisoned Irish-Catholic militant Bobby Sands dies after refusing food for 66 days in protest of his treatment as a criminal rather than a political prisoner by British authorities. His death immediately touched off widespread rioting in Belfast, as young Irish-Catholic militants clashed with police and British Army patrols and started fires. […]

3:18m read read

“Spider-Man” becomes first movie to top $100 million in opening weekend

Directed by Sam Raimi and starring Tobey Maguire in the title role, the eagerly awaited comic book adaptation Spider-Man is released on Friday, May 3, 2002, and quickly becomes the fastest movie ever to earn more than $100 million at the box office, raking in a staggering $114.8 million by Sunday, May 5. After a […]

1:40m read read

Human remains found in suitcase near Virginia Beach

On May 5, 2004, a suitcase holding what is later identified as the partial remains of William McGuire, a 39-year-old Navy veteran and computer analyst is pulled from the water near Virginia Beach. A second suitcase of body parts was found nearby on May 11, and a third washed up near the Chesapeake Bay Bridge […]

1:54m read read

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