May 5 in History

Historical Events on May 5

1494 Christopher Columbus lands on the island of Jamaica and claims it for Spain.

1821 Emperor Napoleon dies in exile on the island of Saint Helena in the South Atlantic Ocean.

1864 American Civil War: The Battle of the Wilderness begins in Spotsylvania County.

1920 Authorities arrest Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti for alleged robbery and murder.

1940 World War II: Norwegian refugees form a government-in-exile in London.

1940 World War II: Norwegian Campaign: Norwegian squads in Hegra Fortress and Vinjesvingen capitulate to German forces after all other Norwegian forces in southern Norway had laid down their arms.

1941 Emperor Haile Selassie returns to Addis Ababa; the country commemorates the date as Liberation Day or Patriots' Victory Day.

1950 Bhumibol Adulyadej is crowned as King of Thailand.

2006 The government of Sudan signs an accord with the Sudan Liberation Army.

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Famous Birthdays on May 5

1813 Søren Kierkegaard

1818 Karl Marx

1989 Chris Brown

All Births

Famous Deaths on May 5

1705 Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor

1821 Napoleon

1995 Mikhail Botvinnik

2000 Gino Bartali

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