What happened on January 5? There are more than 306 events that were made this day in history. Here are the important historical events, facts, and some myths about this day.
Interesting Facts & Myths About January 5
January 5 is the 5th day of the year 2024. There are 361 days remaining until the end of this year. The day of the week is Friday. This day falls under the 1st week of the year 2024.
On this day in Austin, Texas 78751 sunrise occured at 07:26 AM and sunset occured at 05:45 PM (local time).
The zodiac sign of a person born on this day is Capricorn. The modern birthstone for this month is Garnet while the mystical birthstone is Emerald.
According to the Chinese calendar, there are 36 days remaining before the start of the next Chinese New Year (February 10, 2024).
Is your birthday coming up in two days? Are you not curious to find out who is sharing your special day? Discover all the April 27 famous birthdays. There are fun facts about that day that you must know. (Sponsored link)
Historical Events For January 5
- 1066Edward the Confessor dies childless, sparking a succession crisis that will eventually lead to the Norman conquest of England.
- 1477Battle of Nancy: Charles the Bold is killed and Burgundy becomes part of France.
- 1500Duke Ludovico Sforza conquers Milan.
- 1527Felix Manz, a leader of the Anabaptist congregation in Zurich, Switzerland, is executed by drowning.
- 1554A great fire occurs in Eindhoven, Netherlands.
- 1675Battle of Colmar: the French army beats Brandenburg.
- 1757Louis XV of France survives an assassination attempt by Robert-François Damiens, the last person to be executed in France by drawing and quartering, the traditional and gruesome form of capital punishment used for regicides.
- 1759George Washington marries Martha Dandridge Custis.
- 1781American Revolutionary War: Richmond, Virginia, is burned by British naval forces led by Benedict Arnold.
- 1782American Revolutionary War: French troops begin a siege of a British garrison on Brimstone Hill in Saint Kitts.
- 1846The United States House of Representatives votes to stop sharing the Oregon Territory with the United Kingdom.
- 1854The San Francisco steamer sinks, killing 300 people.
- 1895Dreyfus affair: French army officer Alfred Dreyfus is stripped of his rank and sentenced to life imprisonment on Devil’s Island.
- 1896An Austrian newspaper reports that Wilhelm Röntgen has discovered a type of radiation later known as X-rays.
- 1900Irish leader John Redmond calls for a revolt against British rule.
- 1909Colombia recognizes the independence of Panama.
- 1911Kappa Alpha Psi, the world’s second oldest and largest black fraternity, is founded at Indiana University.
- 1912The Prague Party Conference takes place.
- 1913First Balkan War: During the Naval Battle of Lemnos, Greek admiral Pavlos Kountouriotis forces the Turkish fleet to retreat to its base within the Dardanelles, from which it did not venture for the rest of the war.
- 1914The Ford Motor Company announces an eight-hour workday and a minimum wage of $5 for a day’s labor.
- 1918The Free Committee for a German Workers Peace, which would become the Nazi Party, is founded.
- 1925Nellie Tayloe Ross of Wyoming becomes the first female governor in the United States.
- 1933Construction of the Golden Gate Bridge begins in San Francisco Bay.
- 1940FM radio is demonstrated to the Federal Communications Commission for the first time.
- 1944The Daily Mail becomes the first transoceanic newspaper.
- 1945The Soviet Union recognizes the new pro-Soviet government of Poland.
- 1957In a speech given to the United States Congress, President Dwight D. Eisenhower announces the establishment of what will later be called the Eisenhower Doctrine.
- 1968Alexander Dubček comes to power: “Prague Spring” begins in Czechoslovakia.
- 1969Members of the Royal Ulster Constabulary damage property and assault occupants in the Bogside in Derry, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom. In response, residents erect barricades and establish Free Derry.
- 1971The first One Day International cricket match is held between Australia and England at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.
- 1972U.S. President Richard Nixon orders the development of a Space Shuttle program.
- 1974An earthquake in Lima, Peru, kills six people, and damages hundreds of houses.
- 1974Warmest reliably measured temperature in Antarctica of +59°F (+15°C) recorded at Vanda Station
- 1975The Tasman Bridge in Tasmania, Australia, is struck by the bulk ore carrier Lake Illawarra, killing twelve people.
- 1976Ten Protestant civilians are shot dead by a paramilitary group at Kingsmill in County Armagh, Northern Ireland (part of The Troubles).
- 1976The Khmer Rouge proclaim the Constitution of Democratic Kampuchea.
- 1991Georgian forces enter Tskhinvali, the capital of South Ossetia, Georgia, opening the 1991–1992 South Ossetia War.
- 1993The oil tanker MV Braer runs aground on the coast of the Shetland Islands, spilling 84,700 tons of crude oil.
- 1993Washington state executes Westley Allan Dodd by hanging (the last judicial hanging in America).
- 1996Hamas bombmaker Yahya Ayyash is killed by an Israeli-planted booby-trapped cell phone.
- 2003Police arrest seven suspects in connection with Wood Green ricin plot.
- 2005Eris, the largest known dwarf planet in the solar system, is discovered by the team of Michael E. Brown, Chad Trujillo, and David L. Rabinowitz using images originally taken on October 21, 2003, at the Palomar Observatory.
- 2008Mikheil Saakashvili wins his second term as President of Georgia in the snap election.
Who Were Born On January 5?
- 1209Richard, 1st Earl of Cornwall, King of the Romans (d. 1272)
- 1548Francisco Suarez, Spanish theologian (d. 1617)
- 1587Xu Xiake, Chinese geographer (d. 1641)
- 1592Shah Jahan, Mughal Emperor of India (d. 1666)
- 1614Archduke Leopold Wilhelm of Austria (d. 1662)
- 1667Antonio Lotti, Italian composer (d. 1740)
- 1696Giuseppe Galli-Bibiena, Italian architect/painter (d. 1757)
- 1717William Wildman Shute Barrington, British statesman (d. 1793)
- 1762Constanze Mozart, wife of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (d. 1842)
- 1767Jean-Baptiste Say, French economist, originator of Say’s Law (d. 1832)
- 1778Zebulon Pike, American explorer (d. 1813)
- 1779Stephen Decatur, American naval officer (d. 1820)
- 1808Anton Füster, Austrian priest and revolutionary activist (d. 1881)
- 1829Sir Roger Ichborne, British heir (d. c. 1854)
- 1834William John Wills, English explorer (d. 1861)
- 1838Camille Jordan, French mathematician (d. 1922)
- 1846Rudolf Christoph Eucken, German writer, Nobel laureate (d. 1926)
- 1855King Camp Gillette, American inventor (d. 1932)
- 1864Ban Johnson, American baseball executive (d. 1931)
- 1864Bob Caruthers, American baseball player (d. 1911)
- 1865Julio Garavito Armero, Colombian astronomer (d. 1920)
- 1866Dimitrios Gounaris, Prime Minister of Greece (d. 1922)
- 1871Frederick Converse, American composer (d. 1940)
- 1874Joseph Erlanger, American physiologist, Nobel laureate (d. 1965)
- 1876Konrad Adenauer, German statesman (d. 1967)
- 1879Hans Eppinger, Austrian physician (d. 1946)
- 1880Nikolay Medtner, Russian composer (d. 1951)
- 1882Herbert Bayard Swope, American journalist (d. 1958)
- 1885Humbert Wolfe, Italian-born British poet (d. 1940)
- 1886Markus Reiner, Israeli scientist (d. 1976)
- 1893Paramahansa Yogananda, Indian guru (d. 1952)
- 1893Zoltán Böszörmény, Hungarian Nazi politician (d. unknown)
- 1895Elizabeth Cotten, American musician (d. 1987)
- 1895Jeannette Piccard, American priest, and aeronaut (d. 1981)
- 1900Yves Tanguy, French painter (d. 1955)
- 1902Stella Gibbons, English novelist (d. 1989)
- 1903Harold Gatty, Australian aviator (d. 1957)
- 1904Erica Morini, Austrian violinist (d. 1995)
- 1904Jeane Dixon, American astrologer (d. 1997)
- 1906Kathleen Kenyon, English archaeologist (d. 1978)
- 1908George Dolenz, American actor (d. 1963)
- 1909Lucienne Bloch, Swiss-born American sculptor, muralist, photographer (d. 1995)
- 1909Stephen Cole Kleene, American mathematician (d. 1994)
- 1910Hugh Brannum, American actor (d. 1987)
- 1910Jack Lovelock, New Zealand athlete (d. 1949)
- 1911Jean-Pierre Aumont, French actor (d. 2001)
- 1914George Reeves, American actor (d. 1959)
- 1914Nicolas de Staël, French-Russian painter (d. 1955)
- 1915Arthur H. Robinson, Canadian cartographer (d. 2004)
- 1917Francis L. Kellogg, American diplomat and socialite (d. 2006)
- 1917Jane Wyman, American actress (d. 2007)
- 1917Lucienne Day, British textile designer (d. 2010)
- 1917Wieland Wagner, German stage director (d. 1966)
- 1919Severino Gazzelloni, Italian flautist (d. 1992)
- 1920Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli, Italian pianist (d. 1995)
- 1921Friedrich Dürrenmatt, Swiss writer (d. 1990)
- 1921Jean, Grand Duke of Luxembourg
- 1921Paul Governali, American professional football player (d. 1978)
- 1922Sir Anthony Synnot, Australian naval officer (d. 2001)
- 1923Sam Phillips, American music producer (d. 2003)
- 1924Gilbert Bogle, Australian scientist (d. 1963)
- 1926Hosea Williams, American activist (d. 2000)
- 1926William De Witt Snodgrass, American poet
- 1928Walter Mondale, American politician, former United States Senator from Minnesota and 42nd Vice President of the United States
- 1928Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, Pakistani statesman (d. 1979)
- 1929Wilbert Harrison, American singer (d. 1994)
- 1930Alfred Masini, American television producer (d. 2010)
- 1931Alfred Brendel, Austrian pianist
- 1931Alvin Ailey, American choreographer (d. 1989)
- 1931Joan Coxsedge, Australian politician
- 1931Robert Duvall, American actor
- 1932Chuck Noll, American football coach
- 1932Raisa Gorbachova, wife of Mikhail Gorbachev (d. 1999)
- 1932Umberto Eco, Italian philosopher and writer
- 1934William Bendeck, Bolivian rally driver (d. 1971)
- 1936Florence King, American humorist
- 1938Jim Otto, American football player
- 1938King Juan Carlos I of Spain
- 1938Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o, Kenyan writer
- 1940Athol Guy, Australian singer (The Seekers)
- 1940Michael O'Donoghue, American writer (d. 1994)
- 1940Sir Michael Rose, British military officer
- 1940Yuri Ershov, Russian mathematician
- 1941Hayao Miyazaki, Japanese film maker
- 1941Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi, Indian cricketer (d. 2011)
- 1942Charlie Rose, American talk show host
- 1942Jan Leeming, English television presenter and newsreader
- 1942Maurizio Pollini, Italian pianist
- 1942Terenci Moix, Spanish writer (d. 2003)
- 1943Mary Gaudron, Australian jurist
- 1944Ed Rendell, American politician and 45th Governor of Pennsylvania
- 1945Chuck McKinley, American tennis player (d. 1986)
- 1945Roger Spottiswoode, Canadian-born film director
- 1946Diane Keaton, American actress
- 1947Mercury Morris, American football player
- 1947Mike Dewine, American politician
- 1948Ted Lange, American actor
- 1949George Brown, American drummer (Kool & The Gang)
- 1950Charlie Richmond, Canadian entrepreneur
- 1950Chris Stein, American guitarist (Blondie)
- 1950Ioan Petru Culianu, Romanian educator (d. 1991)
- 1950John Manley, Canadian politician
- 1950Krzysztof Wielicki, Polish mountaineer
- 1951Steve Arnold, English footballer
- 1952Uli Hoeneß, German footballer/manager
- 1953George Tenet, American civil servant, university professor and 18th Director of Central Intelligence
- 1953Mike Rann, Australian politician
- 1953Pamela Sue Martin, American actress
- 1953Steve Archer, American singer (The Archers)
- 1954Alex English, American basketball player
- 1954László Krasznahorkai, Hungarian writer
- 1956Chen Kenichi, Japanese-born chef
- 1956Tim Macartney-Snape, Australian mountaineer
- 1957Kevin Hastings, Australian rugby league footballer
- 1958Nancy Delahunt, Canadian athlete
- 1958Ron Kittle, American baseball player
- 1959Clancy Brown, American actor
- 1960Glenn Strömberg, Swedish footballer
- 1960Phil Thornalley, English bass guitarist (The Cure)
- 1960Steve Jones, British aviator (Red Bull Air Race World Series)
- 1961Iris DeMent, American songwriter and singer
- 1962Danny Jackson, American baseball player
- 1962Perry Fenwick, English actor
- 1962Suzy Amis, American actress and model
- 1963Jeff Fassero, American baseball player
- 1964Grant Young (musician), American drummer (Soul Asylum)
- 1965Vinnie Jones, British footballer-turned-actor
- 1966Kate Schellenbach, American drummer (Luscious Jackson)
- 1966Steve Tuttle, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1967Joe Flanigan, American actor
- 1968Andrew Golota, Polish boxer
- 1968Carrie Ann Inaba, American dancer and choreographer
- 1968DJ Bobo, Swiss singer
- 1968Joé Juneau, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1968Ricky Paull Goldin, American actor
- 1969Marilyn Manson, American singer
- 1969Paul McGillion, Scottish actor
- 1970Rick Campanelli, Canadian TV presenter
- 1971Jayne Middlemiss, British TV presenter and celebrity chef
- 1971Mayuko Takata, Japanese actress
- 1972Sakis Rouvas, Greek singer
- 1973Phil Joel, New Zealand bassist (Newsboys)
- 1974Sarah Jane Honeywell, British television presenter
- 1975Bradley Cooper, American actor
- 1975Kylie Bax, New Zealand model
- 1975Mike Grier, American ice hockey player
- 1975Warrick Dunn, American football player
- 1976Diego Tristán, Spanish footballer
- 1976Matt Wachter, American bassist (30 Seconds to Mars)
- 1978Franck Montagny, French Formula One driver
- 1978January Jones, American actress
- 1978Marcus Trick, German rugby player
- 1978Sabrina Harman, American military figure and accused torturer
- 1979Kyle Calder, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1979Masami Tanaka, Japanese swimmer
- 1979Ronnie O'Brien, Irish footballer
- 1980Bennie Joppru, American football player
- 1981Brooklyn Sudano, American actress
- 1981Corey Flynn, New Zealand rugby union footballer
- 1981Joel Thomas Zimmerman, Canadian musician
- 1982Benoît Vaugrenard, French cyclist
- 1982Darren Mackie, Scottish footballer
- 1982Janica Kostelić, Croatian skier
- 1982Norichika Aoki, Japanese baseball player
- 1983Sean Dockery, American basketball player
- 1984Amanda Hearst, American heiress and model
- 1985Diego Vera, Uruguayan footballer
- 1985Michael Cuccione, Canadian actor (d. 2001)
- 1985Yoon So-Yi, South Korean actress
- 1986Deepika Padukone, Indian model and actress
- 1986J. P. Arencibia, American baseball player
- 1986Teppei Koike, Japanese actor and singer
- 1987Kristin Cavallari, American actress
- 1988Pauline, French singer
- 1989Krisztián Németh, Hungarian footballer
- 1991Daniel Pacheco, Spanish footballer
- 1991Denis Alibec, Romanian footballer
- 1996Max Baldry, English actor
- 1999Marc Yu, American musician
Who Died On January 5?
- 842Al-Mu'tasim, Abbasid caliph (b. 794)
- 1066Edward the Confessor, King of England (b. 1004)
- 1387King Peter IV of Aragon (b. 1319)
- 1400John Montacute, 3rd Earl of Salisbury, English politician (b. c. 1350)
- 1448Christopher of Bavaria (b. 1416)
- 1465Charles, Duke of Orléans, French poet (b. 1394)
- 1477Charles, Duke of Burgundy (b. 1433)
- 1524Marko Marulić, Croatian poet (b. 1450)
- 1527Felix Manz, Swiss leader (executed) (b. 1498)
- 1588Qi Jiguang, Chinese general (b. 1528)
- 1589Catherine de' Medici, queen of Henry II of France (b. 1519)
- 1713Jean Chardin, French explorer (b. 1643)
- 1740Antonio Lotti, Italian composer (b. 1667)
- 1762Empress Elizabeth of Russia (b. 1709)
- 1771John Russell, 4th Duke of Bedford, British statesman (b. 1710)
- 1796Samuel Huntington,(statesman) (b. 1731)
- 1823Major George Johnston, Lieutenant-Governor of New South Wales (b. 1764)
- 1846Alfred Thomas Agate, American artist (b. 1812)
- 1858Joseph Radetzky von Radetz, Austrian field marshal (b. 1766)
- 1860Saint John Nepomucene Neumann, first American bishop to be canonized (b. 1811)
- 1883Charles Tompson, first Australian published poet (b. 1806)
- 1888Henri Herz, Austrian pianist (b. 1803)
- 1891Emma Abbott, American soprano (b. 1849)
- 1904Karl Alfred von Zittel, German palaeontologist (b. 1839)
- 1910Léon Walras, French economist (b. 1834)
- 1919Sumako Matsui, Japanese actress and singer (b. 1886)
- 1922Sir Ernest Shackleton, Irish explorer (b. 1874)
- 1933Calvin Coolidge, 30th President of the United States (b. 1872)
- 1937Marie Booth, child of William and Catherine Booth (b. 1864)
- 1939Amelia Earhart, American aviator declared dead after disappearance in 1937 (b. 1897)
- 1940Humbert Wolfe, Italian-British poet (b. 1885)
- 1941Amy Johnson, English aviator (b. 1903)
- 1942Tina Modotti, Italian photographer, model, actress, and revolutionary political activist (b. 1896)
- 1943George Washington Carver, American educator (b. 1864)
- 1946Kitty Cheatham, American singer (b. 1864)
- 1951Andrei Platonov, Russian writer (b. 1899)
- 1952Hristo Tatarchev, Bulgarian revolutionary (b. 1869)
- 1952Victor Hope, 2nd Marquess of Linlithgow, Viceroy of India (b. 1887)
- 1954Rabbit Maranville, American baseball player (b. 1891)
- 1956Mistinguett, French singer (b. 1875)
- 1963Rogers Hornsby, American baseball player (b. 1896)
- 1970Cyril Fagan, Irish astrologer (b. 1896)
- 1970Max Born, German physicist, Nobel laureate (b. 1882)
- 1970Roberto Gerhard, Catalan composer (b. 1896)
- 1971Douglas Shearer, Canadian film engineer (b. 1899)
- 1974Lev Oborin, Russian pianist (b. 1907)
- 1976John A. Costello, Taoiseach of Ireland (b. 1891)
- 1976Mal Evans, Beatles’ “roadie” (b. 1935)
- 1978Wyatt Cooper, American screenwriter (b. 1927)
- 1979Charles Mingus, American musician (b. 1922)
- 1981Harold C. Urey, American chemist, Nobel laureate (b. 1893)
- 1981Lanza del Vasto, Italian philosopher (b. 1901)
- 1982Hans Conried, American actor (b. 1917)
- 1982Harvey Lembeck, American actor (b. 1923)
- 1982Sir Edmund Herring, Australian military commander, Lieutenant Governor of Victoria (b. 1892)
- 1985Robert L. Surtees, American Oscar-winning cinematographer (Ben-Hur) (b. 1906)
- 1987Herman Smith-Johannsen, Norwegian-born Canadian cross-country skier (b. 1875)
- 1987Margaret Laurence, Canadian author (b. 1926)
- 1988Pete Maravich, American basketball player (b. 1947)
- 1990Arthur Kennedy, American actor (b. 1914)
- 1991Vasko Popa, Yugoslav poet (b. 1922)
- 1994Brian Johnston, English cricket commentator (b. 1912)
- 1994Tip O'Neill, American politician (b. 1912)
- 1996Lincoln Kirstein, American writer, impresario, art connoisseur (b. 1907)
- 1996Yahya Ayyash, Palestinian Hamas member (b. 1966)
- 1997André Franquin, Belgian cartoonist (Gaston Lagaffe) (b. 1924)
- 1997Burton Lane, American composer and lyricist (b. 1912)
- 1998Ken Forssi, American musician (Love) (b. 1943)
- 1998Sonny Bono, American entertainer and politician (b. 1935)
- 2001Nancy Parsons, American actress (b. 1942)
- 2003Doreen Carwithen, British composer, widow of William Alwyn (b. 1922)
- 2003Jean Kerr, American author (b. 1923)
- 2003Massimo Girotti, Italian film actor (b. 1918)
- 2003Roy Jenkins, British politician (b. 1920)
- 2004Norman Heatley, member of the team of Oxford University scientists who developed penicillin (b. 1911)
- 2004Tug McGraw, American baseball player, father of Tim McGraw (b. 1944)
- 2005Danny Sugerman, American music manager (The Doors) (b. 1954)
- 2006Lord Merlyn-Rees, British politician (b. 1920)
- 2007Chih Ree Sun, Chinese-American physicist and poet (b. 1923)
- 2007Momofuku Ando, inventor of instant noodles and cup noodles (b. 1910)
- 2008Clinton Grybas, Australian sports commentator (b. 1975)
- 2009Griffin Bell, American lawyer (b. 1918)
- 2009Ned Tanen, American movie executive (b. 1931)
- 2010Murray Saltzman, Reform Jewish rabbi and civil rights leader (b. 1929)
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