April 5 in History

Historical Events on April 5

823

Lothair I is crowned King of Italy by Pope Paschal I.
1081

Alexios I Komnenos is crowned Byzantine emperor at Constantinople, bringing the Komnenian dynasty to full power.
1242

During the Battle on the Ice of Lake Peipus, Russian forces, led by Alexander Nevsky, rebuff an invasion attempt by the Teutonic Knights.
1536

Royal Entry of Charles V into Rome: The last Roman triumph.
1566

Two-hundred Dutch noblemen, led by Hendrick van Brederode, force themselves into the presence of Margaret of Parma and present the Petition of Compromise, denouncing the Spanish Inquisition in the Seventeen Provinces.
1609

Daimyo (Lord) Shimazu Tadatsune of the Satsuma Domain in southern Kyūshū, Japan, completes his successful invasion of the Ryūkyū Kingdom in Okinawa.
1614

In Virginia, Native American Pocahontas marries English colonist John Rolfe.
1621

The Mayflower sets sail from Plymouth, Massachusetts on a return trip to England.
1710

The Statute of Anne receives the royal assent establishing the Copyright law of the United Kingdom.
1722

The Dutch explorer Jacob Roggeveen discovers Easter Island.
1792

United States President George Washington exercises his authority to veto a bill, the first time this power is used in the United States.
1795

Peace of Basel between France and Prussia is made.
1818

In the Battle of Maipú, Chile's independence movement, led by Bernardo O'Higgins and José de San Martín, win a decisive victory over Spain, leaving 2,000 Spaniards and 1,000 Chilean patriots dead.
1862

American Civil War: The Battle of Yorktown begins.
1879

Chile declares war on Bolivia and Peru, starting the War of the Pacific.
1900

Archaeologists in Knossos, Crete, discover a large cache of clay tablets with hieroglyphic writing in a script they call Linear B.
1904

The first international rugby league match is played between England and an Other Nationalities team (Welsh & Scottish players) in Central Park, Wigan, England.
1915

Boxing challenger Jess Willard knocks out Jack Johnson in Havana, Cuba to become the Heavyweight Champion of the World.
1922

The American Birth Control League, forerunner of Planned Parenthood, is incorporated.
1932

Dominion of Newfoundland: Ten thousand rioters seize the Colonial Building leading to the end of self-government.
1933

U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt signs two executive orders: 6101 to establish the Civilian Conservation Corps, and 6102 "forbidding the Hoarding of Gold Coin, Gold Bullion, and Gold Certificates" by U.S. citizens.
1936

Tupelo-Gainesville tornado outbreak: An F5 tornado kills 233 in Tupelo, Mississippi.
1942

World War II: The Imperial Japanese Navy launches a carrier-based air attack on Colombo, Ceylon during the Indian Ocean raid. Port and civilian facilities are damaged and the Royal Navy cruisers HMS Cornwall and HMS Dorsetshire are sunk southwest of the island.
1943

World War II: American bomber aircraft accidentally cause more than 900 civilian deaths, including 209 children, and 1,300 wounded among the civilian population of the Belgian town of Mortsel. Their target was the Erla factory one kilometer from the residential area hit.
1944

World War II: Two hundred seventy inhabitants of the Greek town of Kleisoura are executed by the Germans.
1945

Cold War: Yugoslav leader Josip Broz Tito signs an agreement with the Soviet Union to allow "temporary entry of Soviet troops into Yugoslav territory".
1949

A fire in a hospital in Effingham, Illinois, kills 77 people and leads to nationwide fire code improvements in the United States.
1951

Ethel and Julius Rosenberg are sentenced to death for spying for the Soviet Union.
1956

Fidel Castro declares himself at war with Cuban President Fulgencio Batista.
1956

In Sri Lanka, the Mahajana Eksath Peramuna win the general elections in a landslide and S. W. R. D. Bandaranaike is sworn in as the Prime Minister of Ceylon.
1957

In India, Communists win the first elections in united Kerala and E. M. S. Namboodiripad is sworn in as the first Chief Minister.
1958

Ripple Rock, an underwater threat to navigation in the Seymour Narrows in Canada is destroyed in one of the largest non-nuclear controlled explosions of the time.
1969

Vietnam War: Massive antiwar demonstrations occur in many U.S. cities.
1971

In Sri Lanka, Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna launches a revolt against the United Front government of Sirimavo Bandaranaike.
1976

In the People's Republic of China, the April Fifth Movement leads to the Tiananmen Incident.
1986

Three people are killed in the bombing of the La Belle discotheque in West Berlin, Germany.
1991

An ASA EMB 120 crashes in Brunswick, Georgia, killing all 23 aboard including Sen. John Tower and astronaut Sonny Carter.
1992

Alberto Fujimori, president of Peru, dissolves the Peruvian congress by military force.
1992

Peace protesters Suada Dilberovic and Olga Sučić are killed on the Vrbanja Bridge in Sarajevo, becoming the first casualties of the Bosnian War.
1998

In Japan, the Akashi Kaikyō Bridge opens to traffic, becoming the longest bridge span in the world.
1999

Two Libyans suspected of bringing down Pan Am Flight 103 in 1988 are handed over for eventual trial in the Netherlands.
2009

North Korea launches its controversial Kwangmyŏngsŏng-2 rocket. The satellite passed over mainland Japan, which prompted an immediate reaction from the United Nations Security Council, as well as participating states of Six-party talks.
2010

Twenty-nine coal miners are killed in an explosion at the Upper Big Branch Mine in West Virginia.

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