February 5

Events

*1576 - Henry of Navarre converts to Roman Catholicism in order to ensure his right to the throne of France.
*1597 - A group of early Japanese Christians are killed by the new government of Japan for being seen as a threat to Japanese society.
*1631 - Roger Williams emigrates to Boston.
*1778 - South Carolina becomes the first state to ratify the Articles of Confederation.
*1782 - Spanish defeat British forces and capture Minorca.
*1818 - Jean-Baptiste Bernadotte ascends to the thrones of Sweden and Norway.
*1859 - Wallachia and Moldavia are united under Alexander John Cuza as the United Principalities.
*1885 - King Léopold II of Belgium establishes the Congo as a personal possession.
*1900 - The United States and the United Kingdom sign treaty for Panama Canal
*1917 - The current constitution of Mexico is adopted, establishing a federal republic with powers separated into independent executive, legislative, and judicial branches.
* 1917 - The Congress of the United States passes a law, over President Woodrow Wilson's veto, banning most Asian immigration to the United States.
*1918 - Stephen W. Thompson shot down a German airplane. It was the first aerial victory by the U.S. military.
*1919 - Charlie Chaplin, Mary Pickford, Douglas Fairbanks, and D.W. Griffith launch United Artists.
*1924 - The Royal Greenwich Observatory begin broadcasting the hourly time signals known as the Greenwich Time Signal or the "BBC pips".
*1945 - World War II: General Douglas MacArthur returns to Manila.
*1946 - The Chondoist Chongu Party is founded in North Korea.
*1958 - Gamel Abdel Nasser is nominated to be the first president of the United Arab Republic.
* 1958 - A hydrogen bomb known as the Tybee Bomb is lost by the US Air Force off the coast of Savannah, Georgia, never to be recovered.
*1962 - French President Charles De Gaulle calls for allowing Algeria to be an independent nation.
*1968 - Vietnam War: Battle of Khe Sanh begins.
*1971 - Apollo program: Apollo 14 Mission - Alan Shepard and Edgar Mitchell aboard LM, "Antares" land on the Moon at Fra Mauro formation.
*1972 - Bob Douglas becomes the first African American elected to the Basketball Hall of Fame.
*1974 - John Murtha becomes the first Vietnam War veteran elected to the Congress of the United States.
*1988 - Manuel Noriega is indicted on drug smuggling and money laundering charges.
*1994 - Byron De La Beckwith is convicted of the 1963 murder of civil rights leader Medgar Evers.
*1994 - During the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina more than 60 people are killed and some 200 wounded as a mortar shell slams into a downtown marketplace in Sarajevo.
*1997 - The so-called Big Three banks in Switzerland announce the creation of a $71 million fund to aid Holocaust survivors and their families.
*2004 - Twenty-three Chinese people drown when a group of 35 cockle-pickers are trapped by rising tides in Morecambe Bay, England. Twenty-one bodies are recovered.
* 2004 - Rebels from the Revolutionary Artibonite Resistance Front capture the city of Gonaïves, starting the 2004 Haiti rebellion.
* 2008 - A major tornado outbreak across the Southern United States leaves at least 58 dead, the most since the May 31, 1985 outbreak that killed 88.

Births

* 976 - Sanjō, Emperor of Japan (d. 1017)
*1505 - Aegidius Tschudi, Swiss historian (d. 1572)
*1519 - René of Châlon, (d. 1544)
*1534 - Giovanni de' Bardi, Italian writer (d. 1612)
*1589 - Esteban Manuel de Villegas, Spanish poet (d. 1669)
*1608 - Gaspar Schott, German mathematician (d. 1666)
*1626 - Marie de Rabutin-Chantal, marquise de Sévigné, French author (d. 1696)
*1650 - Anne-Jules, French general (d. 1708)
*1703 - Gilbert Tennent, Irish-born religious leader (d. 1764)
*1725 - James Otis, American lawyer and patriot (d. 1783)
*1744 - John Jeffries, Physician, Surgeon, Balloonist
*1784 - Nancy Hanks Lincoln, mother of Abraham Lincoln (d. 1818)
*1788 - Robert Peel, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (d. 1850)
*1795 - Wilhelm Karl Ritter von Haidinger, Austrian mineralogist (d. 1871)
*1804 - Johan Ludvig Runeberg, Finnish poet (d. 1877)
*1808 - Carl Spitzweg, German painter (d. 1885)
*1810 - Ole Bull, Norwegian violinist (d. 1880)
*1837 - Dwight L. Moody, American evangelist (d. 1899)
*1840 - John Boyd Dunlop, Scottish inventor (d. 1921)
* 1840 - Hiram Stevens Maxim, American inventor (Maxim gun) (d. 1916)
*1848 - Joris-Karl Huysmans, French author (d. 1907)
* 1848 - Belle Starr, American outlaw (d. 1889)
* 1848 - Ignacio Carrera Pinto, Chilean war hero (d. 1882)
*1878 - André Citroën, French automobile pioneer (d. 1935)
*1880 - Gabriel Voisin, French aviation pioneer (d. 1973)
*1889 - Ernest Tyldesley, British cricketer (d. 1962)
*1900 - Adlai Stevenson, American politician (d. 1965)
*1903 - Joan Whitney Payson, American heiress (d. 1975)
*1906 - John Carradine, American actor (d. 1988)
*1908 - Daisy and Violet Hilton, British conjoined twins (d. 1969)
*1910 - Francisco Varallo, Argentine footballer
* 1910 - Charles Leblond, Canadian Cell Biologist (d. 2007)
*1911 - Jussi Björling, Swedish tenor (d. 1960)
*1914 - William S. Burroughs, American author (d. 1997)
* 1914 - Alan Lloyd Hodgkin, Nobel Prize Laureate (d. 1998)
*1915 - Robert Hofstadter, Nobel Prize Laureate (d. 1990)
*1919 - Red Buttons, American actor (d. 2006)
* 1919 - Andreas Papandreou, Greek politician, Prime Minister of Greece (d. 1996)
* 1919 - Tim Holt, American actor (d. 1973)
*1920 - Frank Muir, British comedian (d. 1998)
*1921 - John Pritchard, British conductor (d. 1989)
*1922 - Alain de Changy, Belgian racing driver (d. 1994)
*1923 - Claude King, American musician
*1927 - Ruth Fertel, American entrepreneur (d. 2002)
*1928 - Andrew Greeley, American priest and novelist
*1929 - Luc Ferrari, French composer (d. 2005)
* 1929 - Fred Sinowatz, Austrian politician
*1929 - Al Worthington, baseball player
*1930 - John A. Gambling, American radio show host (d. 2004)
*1932 - Cesare Maldini - Italian footballer and manager
*1933 - Jörn Donner, Finnish writer/director
*1934 - Don Cherry, Canadian hockey commentator
* 1934 - Hank Aaron, American baseball player
*1937 - Stuart Damon, American actor
* 1937 - Gaston Roelants, Belgian athlete
* 1937 - Wang Xuan, Chinese scientist (d. 2006)
*1940 - H.R. Giger, Swiss artist
*1941 - Jane Bryant Quinn, American journalist
* 1941 - Stephen J. Cannell, American television producer and writer
* 1941 - David Selby, American actor
* 1941 - Kaspar Villiger, Swiss Federal Councilor
*1942 - Roger Staubach, American football player
* 1942 - Cory Wells, American singer (Three Dog Night)
*1943 - Nolan Bushnell, American video game pioneer
* 1943 - Michael Mann, American film director
* 1943 - Craig Morton, American football player
*1944 - Al Kooper, American musician
*1946 - Charlotte Rampling, British actress
*1947 - Darrell Waltrip, American race car driver
*1948 - Sven-Göran Eriksson, Swedish football manager
* 1948 - Christopher Guest, American actor
* 1948 - Barbara Hershey, American actress
* 1948 - Errol Morris, American film director
*1952 - Daniel Balavoine, French singer and songwriter (d. 1986)
*1953 - John Beilein, American basketball coach
*1954 - Cliff Martinez, American musician
*1955 - Mike Heath, baseball player
*1956 - Hector Rebaque, Mexican racing driver
* 1956 - Betty Ong, flight attendant that died on September 11, 2001, on American Airlines Flight 11
*1959 - Jennifer Granholm American Politician
*1960 - Aris Christofellis, Greek countertenor
*1961 - Savvas Kofidis, Greek footballer and manager
* 1961 - Tim Meadows, American actor and comedian
*1962 - Jennifer Jason Leigh, American actress
*1963 - Steven Shainberg, American film director
*1964 - Alexia, Cypriot singer
* 1964 - Laura Linney, American actress
* 1964 - Duff McKagan, American musician
*1965 - Gheorghe Hagi, Romanian footballer
*1966 - Rok Petrovič, Slovenian skier (d. 1993)
* 1966 - Apostolos Nanos, Greek archer
*1967 - Chris Parnell, American actor
*1968 - Roberto Alomar, baseball player
* 1968 - Eyþór Guðjónsson, Icelandic actor
* 1968 - Nir Kabaretti, Israeli conductor
*1969 - Bobby Brown, American singer
* 1969 - Michael Sheen, Welsh actor
*1971 - Sara Evans, American singer
*1972 - Mary, Crown Princess of Denmark
* 1972 - Koriki Chōshū, Japanese comedian
*1973 - Richard Matvichuk, Canadian ice hockey player
* 1973 - Trijntje Oosterhuis, Dutch singer
*1975 - Giovanni van Bronckhorst, Dutch footballer
* 1975 - Adam Carson, American musician (AFI)
*1976 - Tony Jaa, Thai actor
* 1976 - Abhishek Bachchan, Indian actor
* 1976 - John Aloisi, Australian footballer
* 1976 - Brian Moorman, American football player
*1977 - Ben Ainslie, British sailor
* 1977 - Adam Everett, American baseball player
* 1977 - Ahmad Merritt, American football player
*1978 - Shawn Reaves, American actor
* 1978 - Brian Russell, American football player
*1980 - Brad Fitzpatrick, American programmer
* 1980 - Prince Peter, American-born Yugoslav royalty
* 1980 - Jo Swinson, British politician
* 1980 - Robin Vik, Czech tennis player
*1981 - Nora Zehetner, American actress
* 1981 - Loukas Vyntra, Greek football player
*1982 - Aidin Nikkhah Bahrami, Iranian basketball player (d. 2007)
* 1982 - Rodrigo Palacio, Argentine footballer
* 1982 - Kevin Everett, American football player
* 1982 - Tomas Kopecky, Ice hockey player
*1984 - Carlos Tévez, Argentinine footballer
* 1984 - Nate Salley, American football player
*1985 - Laurence Maroney, American football player
* 1985 - Cristiano Ronaldo, Portuguese footballer
* 1985 - Crystal Hunt, American actress
* 1985 - Lindsey Cardinale, American singer
*1986 - Reed Sorenson, American racecar driver
* 1986 - Billy Sharp, English footballer
* 1986 - Manuel Fernandes, Portuguese footballer
*1989 - Cristine Reyes, Filipino actress
*1989 - Jeremy Sumpter, American actor

Deaths

* 995 - William IV, Duke of Aquitaine (b. 937)
*1520 - Sten Sture the Younger, regent of Sweden (b. 1493)
*1578 - Giambattista Moroni, Italian painter
*1705 - Philipp Jakob Spener, German theologian (b. 1635)
*1766 - Leopold Josef Graf Daun, Austrian field marshal (b. 1705)
*1775 - Eusebius Amort, German Catholic theologian (b. 1692)
*1790 - William Cullen, Scottish physician and chemist (b. 1710)
*1807 - Pasquale Paoli, Corsican patriot and military leader (b. 1725)
*1881 - Thomas Carlyle, Scottish writer and historian (b. 1795)
*1892 - Emilie Flygare-Carlén, Swedish novelist (b. 1807)
*1915 - Ross Barnes, baseball player (b. 1850)
*1917 - Jaber II Al-Sabah, Emir of Kuwait (b. 1860)
*1922 - Slavoljub Eduard Penkala, Croatian inventor (b. 1871)
* 1922 - Christiaan De Wet, South African general (b. 1854)
*1927 - Inayat Khan, Indian sufi
*1937 - Lou Andreas-Salome, Russian-born writer (b. 1861)
*1938 - Hans Litten, German jurist (b. 1903)
*1941 - Banjo Paterson, Australian poet, author of "Walzing Matilda" (b. 1864)
*1946 - George Arliss, English actor (b. 1868)
*1948 - Johannes Blaskowitz, German general (b. 1883)
*1957 - Sami Ibrahim Haddad, Lebanese surgeon (b. 1890)
*1962 - Jacques Ibert, French composer (b. 1890)
*1967 - Leon Leonwood Bean, American department store founder (b. 1872)
*1969 - Thelma Ritter, American actress (b. 1905)
*1970 - Rudy York, American baseball player (b. 1913)
*1972 - Marianne Moore, American poet (b. 1887)
*1976 - Rudy Pompilli, American musician (Bill Haley and His Comets) (b. 1926)
*1977 - Oskar Klein, Swedish physicist (b. 1894)
*1981 - Ella Grasso, Governor of Connecticut (b. 1919)
*1984 - Rodolfo Guzmán Huerta, Mexican wrestler and film actor (b. 1917)
*1985 - Georges-Émile Lapalme, Quebec politician (b. 1907)
*1987 - William Collier, American film and stage actor (b. 1902)
*1991 - Dean Jagger, American actor (b. 1903)
*1992 - Miguel Rolando Covian, Brazilian physiologist (b. 1913)
*1993 - Marcel Léger, Quebec politician (b. 1930)
* 1993 - Joseph L. Mankiewicz, American writer, producer, and director (b. 1909)
* 1993 - Tip Tipping, British actor and stuntman (parachuting accident) (b. 1958)
*1995 - Doug McClure, American actor (b. 1935)
*1997 - Pamela Harriman, English-born American diplomat (b. 1920)
*1998 - Tim Kelly, American musician (b. 1963)
*1999 - Wassily Leontief, Russian economist, Nobel Prize Laureate (b. 1906)
*2000 - Claude Autant-Lara, French film director (b. 1901)
*2003 - Helge Boes, American Central Intelligence Agency officer
*2004 - John Hench, American animator (b. 1908)
*2005 - Gnassingbe Eyadema, President of Togo (b. 1937)
*2006 - Norma Candal, Puerto Rican actress and comedian (b. 1930)
* 2006 - Franklin Cover, American actor (b. 1928)
*2007 - Alfred Worm, Austrian investigative journalist (b. 1945)
* 2007 - Leo T. McCarthy, American politician and 43rd Lieutenant Governor of California (1983–1995) (b. 1930)
*2008 - Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, Indian guru, founder of Transcendental Meditation (b. ca. 1917)

Holidays and observances

*St. Agatha

External links

* [http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/february/5 BBC: On This Day]
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* [http://www1.sympatico.ca/cgi-bin/on_this_day?mth=Feb&day=05 On This Day in Canada] ----