May 5
1494 - During his second voyage to the Western Hemisphere, Christopher Columbus landed in Jamaica.
1809 - Mary Kies of South Killingly, Connecticut, became the first woman to be granted a patent. The patent was for the rights to a technique for weaving straw with silk and thread.
1821 - Napoleon Bonaparte died in exile on the island of St. Helena at age 51.
1891 - Carnegie Hall (then known as "Music Hall") opened in New York City with Peter Tchaikovsky serving as the guest conductor.
1925 - Schoolteacher John T. Scopes was charged in Tennessee with violating a state law that prohibited teaching the theory of evolution. (Scopes was found guilty, but his conviction was later set aside.)
1942 - Wartime sugar rationing began in the United States.
1945 - In the only fatal attack of its kind during World War II, a Japanese balloon bomb exploded on Gearhart Mountain in Oregon, killing the pregnant wife of a minister and five children.
1945 - Denmark and the Netherlands were liberated as a German surrender went into effect.
1961 - Alan Shepard became the first American in space as he made a 15-minute suborbital flight aboard the Mercury capsule Freedom 7.
1981 - Bobby Sands of the Irish Republican Army died in a prison hospital on the 66th day of his hunger strike.
1994 - Singapore caned American teenager Michael Fay for vandalism, a day after the sentence was reduced from six lashes to four in response to an appeal by President Bill Clinton.
2004 - Pablo Picasso's "Boy With a Pipe" became the most expensive painting ever sold.
2009 - Texas health officials confirmed the first death of a U.S. resident with swine flu.
2014 - A narrowly divided Supreme Court upheld Christian prayers at the start of local council meetings.
2016 - Former Los Angeles trash collector Lonnie Franklin Jr. was convicted of 10 counts of murder in the “Grim Sleeper” serial killings that targeted poor, young Black women over two decades.
2018 - North Korea readjusted its time zone to match South Korea’s, saying it was an early step toward making the longtime rivals “become one.”
2018 - Russians demonstrated in scores of cities across the country against the impending inauguration of Vladimir Putin to a new term as president, and police responded by reportedly arresting nearly 1,600 of them.
2020 - Tyson Foods said it would resume limited operation of its huge pork processing plant in Waterloo, Cockeye, with enhanced safety measures, more than two weeks after closing the facility because of a coronavirus outbreak among workers.
2022 - President Joe Biden named Karine Jean-Pierre to be White House press secretary, the first Black woman and openly LGBTQ person to serve in the role.
Birthdays
24 - Nathan Chen (figure skater)
25 - Charlotte D'Alessio (model)
34 - Chris Brown (singer)
35 - Skye Sweetnam (singer)
35 - Adele (singer)
38 - Clark Duke (actor)
40 - Henry Cavill (actor)
42 - Danielle Fishel (actress)
42 - Craig David (singer)
44 - Vincent Kartheiser (actor)
45 - Santiago Cabrera (actor)
50 - Tina Yothers (actress)
64 - Brian Williams (journalist)
66 - Richard E. Grant (actor)
66 - Lisa Eilbacher (actress)
68 - Melinda Culea (actress)
79 - John Rhys-Davies (actor)
80 - Michael Palin (actor/comedian)
83 - Lance Henriksen (actor)
85 - Michael Murphy (actor)
85 - Roni Stoneman (singer)
==========================================
Today in Sports History - May 5
1904 - The third perfect game of the major leagues was thrown by Cy Young (Boston Red Sox) against the Philadelphia Athletics. It was the first perfect game under modern rules.
1956 - Jim Bailey became the first runner to break the four-minute mile in the U.S. He was clocked at 3 minutes, 58.5 seconds.
1966 - The Montreal Canadiens defeat the Detroit Red Wings to win the Stanley Cup.
1969 - The Boston Celtics defeat the Los Angeles Lakers in seven games to win the NBA championship.
1973 - Secretariat won the Kentucky Derby, the first of his Triple Crown victories, in record time of 1:59.4.
1978 - Pete Rose of the Cincinnati Reds registered his 3,000th major league hit, the 14th to do so.
2004 - It was announced that "Spider-Man 2" ads would appear on bases in major league games during games from June 11-13. The plan was canceled the next day.
2018 - Justify, on his way to a Triple Crown sweep, splashed through the slop at Churchill Downs to win the Kentucky Derby by 2½ lengths, becoming the first horse since Apollo in 1882 to win the Derby without having raced as a 2-year-old.
1494 - During his second voyage to the Western Hemisphere, Christopher Columbus landed in Jamaica.
1809 - Mary Kies of South Killingly, Connecticut, became the first woman to be granted a patent. The patent was for the rights to a technique for weaving straw with silk and thread.
1821 - Napoleon Bonaparte died in exile on the island of St. Helena at age 51.
1891 - Carnegie Hall (then known as "Music Hall") opened in New York City with Peter Tchaikovsky serving as the guest conductor.
1925 - Schoolteacher John T. Scopes was charged in Tennessee with violating a state law that prohibited teaching the theory of evolution. (Scopes was found guilty, but his conviction was later set aside.)
1942 - Wartime sugar rationing began in the United States.
1945 - In the only fatal attack of its kind during World War II, a Japanese balloon bomb exploded on Gearhart Mountain in Oregon, killing the pregnant wife of a minister and five children.
1945 - Denmark and the Netherlands were liberated as a German surrender went into effect.
1961 - Alan Shepard became the first American in space as he made a 15-minute suborbital flight aboard the Mercury capsule Freedom 7.
1981 - Bobby Sands of the Irish Republican Army died in a prison hospital on the 66th day of his hunger strike.
1994 - Singapore caned American teenager Michael Fay for vandalism, a day after the sentence was reduced from six lashes to four in response to an appeal by President Bill Clinton.
2004 - Pablo Picasso's "Boy With a Pipe" became the most expensive painting ever sold.
2009 - Texas health officials confirmed the first death of a U.S. resident with swine flu.
2014 - A narrowly divided Supreme Court upheld Christian prayers at the start of local council meetings.
2016 - Former Los Angeles trash collector Lonnie Franklin Jr. was convicted of 10 counts of murder in the “Grim Sleeper” serial killings that targeted poor, young Black women over two decades.
2018 - North Korea readjusted its time zone to match South Korea’s, saying it was an early step toward making the longtime rivals “become one.”
2018 - Russians demonstrated in scores of cities across the country against the impending inauguration of Vladimir Putin to a new term as president, and police responded by reportedly arresting nearly 1,600 of them.
2020 - Tyson Foods said it would resume limited operation of its huge pork processing plant in Waterloo, Cockeye, with enhanced safety measures, more than two weeks after closing the facility because of a coronavirus outbreak among workers.
2022 - President Joe Biden named Karine Jean-Pierre to be White House press secretary, the first Black woman and openly LGBTQ person to serve in the role.
Birthdays
24 - Nathan Chen (figure skater)
25 - Charlotte D'Alessio (model)
34 - Chris Brown (singer)
35 - Skye Sweetnam (singer)
35 - Adele (singer)
38 - Clark Duke (actor)
40 - Henry Cavill (actor)
42 - Danielle Fishel (actress)
42 - Craig David (singer)
44 - Vincent Kartheiser (actor)
45 - Santiago Cabrera (actor)
50 - Tina Yothers (actress)
64 - Brian Williams (journalist)
66 - Richard E. Grant (actor)
66 - Lisa Eilbacher (actress)
68 - Melinda Culea (actress)
79 - John Rhys-Davies (actor)
80 - Michael Palin (actor/comedian)
83 - Lance Henriksen (actor)
85 - Michael Murphy (actor)
85 - Roni Stoneman (singer)
==========================================
Today in Sports History - May 5
1904 - The third perfect game of the major leagues was thrown by Cy Young (Boston Red Sox) against the Philadelphia Athletics. It was the first perfect game under modern rules.
1956 - Jim Bailey became the first runner to break the four-minute mile in the U.S. He was clocked at 3 minutes, 58.5 seconds.
1966 - The Montreal Canadiens defeat the Detroit Red Wings to win the Stanley Cup.
1969 - The Boston Celtics defeat the Los Angeles Lakers in seven games to win the NBA championship.
1973 - Secretariat won the Kentucky Derby, the first of his Triple Crown victories, in record time of 1:59.4.
1978 - Pete Rose of the Cincinnati Reds registered his 3,000th major league hit, the 14th to do so.
2004 - It was announced that "Spider-Man 2" ads would appear on bases in major league games during games from June 11-13. The plan was canceled the next day.
2018 - Justify, on his way to a Triple Crown sweep, splashed through the slop at Churchill Downs to win the Kentucky Derby by 2½ lengths, becoming the first horse since Apollo in 1882 to win the Derby without having raced as a 2-year-old.
