February 5 is the 36th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. There are 329 days remaining until the end of the year (330 in leap years). [edit] Events - 62 AD – Earthquake in Pompeii Italy
- 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.
- 1649 – The claimant King Charles II of England and Scotland is declared King in his absence. Scotland is the first of the three kingdoms to recognize his claim to the throne.
- 1778 – South Carolina becomes the first state to ratify the Articles of Confederation.
- 1782 – Spanish defeat British forces and capture Minorca.
- 1783 – In Calabria a sequence of strong earthquakes begins
- 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 a treaty for the 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 the Immigration Act of 1917 over President Woodrow Wilson's veto. Also known as the Asiatic Barred Zone Act, it forbade immigration from nearly all of south and southeast Asia.
- 1918 – Stephen W. Thompson shoots down a German airplane. It is 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 begins broadcasting the hourly time signals known as the Greenwich Time Signal or the "BBC pips".
- 1937 – President Franklin D. Roosevelt proposes a plan to enlarge the Supreme Court of the United States.
- 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 Algeria to be granted independence.
- 1968 – Vietnam War: Battle of Khe Sanh begins.
- 1972 – Bob Douglas becomes the first African American elected to the Basketball Hall of Fame.
- 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 57 dead, the most since the May 31, 1985 outbreak that killed 88.
- 2009 – The United States Navy guided missile cruiser Port Royal runs aground off Oahu, Hawaii, damaging the ship as well as a coral reef.
[edit] 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 (d. 1819)
- 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, English 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)
- 1909 – Grażyna Bacewicz, Polish composer and violinist (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, American 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 ice hockey commentator
- 1934 – Hank Aaron, American baseball player
- 1936 – K. S. Nissar Ahmed, Kannada Poet
- 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 – J.R. Cobb, American guitarist (Classics IV)
- 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
- 1949 – Yvon Vallières, Quebec politician
- 1951 – Russell Grant, British astrologer
- 1952 – Daniel Balavoine, French singer and songwriter (d. 1986)
- 1953 – John Beilein, American basketball coach
- 1953 – Takashi Ishikawa, Japanese sumo and professional wrestler
- 1954 – Cliff Martinez, American musician
- 1955 – Mike Heath, American 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 (Guns N' Roses)
- 1965 – Gheorghe Hagi, Romanian footballer
- 1965 – Keith Moseley, American musician (The String Cheese Incident)
- 1966 – Rok Petrovič, Slovenian skier (d. 1993)
- 1966 – Apostolos Nanos, Greek archer
- 1967 – Chris Parnell, American actor
- 1967 – Frederick Pitcher, Nauruan politician
- 1968 – Roberto Alomar, Puerto Rican 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 soccer player
- 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 – Kevin Everett, American football player
- 1982 – Marc Kennedy, Canadian Curler
- 1982 – Tomáš Kopecký, Slovak ice hockey player
- 1982 – Dionysis Makris, Greek singer
- 1982 – Rodrigo Palacio, Argentine footballer
- 1982 – Wheesung, Korean R&B singer
- 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 – Vedran Ćorluka Croatian football player
- 1986 – Manuel Fernandes, Portuguese footballer
- 1986 – Ashley Lane, American professional wrestler
- 1986 – Billy Sharp, English footballer
- 1986 – Reed Sorenson, American racecar driver
- 1988 – Kevin J Maclean, Scottish Singer Songwriter
- 1989 – Cristine Reyes, Filipino actress
- 1989 – Jeremy Sumpter, American actor
- 1990 – Jordan Rhodes, English footballer (Huddersfield Town)
- 1992 – Neymar, Brazilian footballer
[edit] Deaths - 995 – William IV, Duke of Aquitaine (b. 937)
- 1520 – Sten Sture the Younger, regent of Sweden (b. 1493)
- 1574 – Nicolaas Kruik, Dutch cartographer (b. 1678)
- 1578 – Giambattista Moroni, Italian painter (b. c.1520-24)
- 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)
- 1843 – Theodoros Kolokotronis, Greek general in the Greek War of Independence (b. 1770)
- 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 (b. 1882)
- 1933 – Josiah Thomas, Australian politician (b. 1863)
- 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)
- 1993 – Séan Flanagan, senior Fianna Fáil politician and Gaelic footballer (b. 1922)
- 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)
- 2007 – Fred Ball, American movie studio executive, actor, and the brother of comedienne Lucille Ball (b. 1915)
- 2008 – Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, Indian guru, founder of Transcendental Meditation (b. c. 1917)
[edit] Holidays and observances [edit] External links
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