September 5
is the 248th day of the year (249th in
leap years). There are 117 days remaining.
*
1666 -
Great Fire of London ends: A large fire in
London burns out after three days. 10,000 buildings including
St. Paul's Cathedral are destroyed, but only 16 people are known to have died.
*
1698 - In an effort to move his people away from archaic customs, Tsar
Peter I of Russia imposes a
tax on beards; All men, except priests and peasants, are required to pay the tax of one hundred
rubles a year for those above the lowest class, one
kopek each for commoners.
*
1774 - First
Continental Congress assembles in
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
*
1793 - In
France, the
French National Convention votes to implement terror measures to enforce the principles of the
French Revolution, initiating the
Reign of Terror.
*
1836 -
Sam Houston is elected as the first president of the
Republic of Texas.
*
1862 -
American Civil War: In the
Confederacy's first invasion of the North, General
Robert E. Lee leads 55,000 men of the
Army of Northern Virginia across the
Potomac River at
White's Ford near
Leesburg, Virginia, into
Maryland.
*
1877 -
Indian Wars: Oglala
Sioux chief
Crazy Horse is
bayoneted by a
United States soldier after resisting confinement in a guardhouse at
Fort Robinson in
Nebraska.
*
1882 - The first
United States Labor Day parade is held in
New York City.
*
1901 - The National Association of Professional Baseball Leagues (later renamed
Minor League Baseball), is formed in
Chicago, Illinois.
*
1905 -
Russo-Japanese War: In
New Hampshire,
USA, the
Treaty of Portsmouth, a
treaty mediated by US President
Theodore Roosevelt, is signed by victor
Japan and defeated party
Russia.
*
1906 -
Brandbury Robinson throws the first legal forward pass in an
American football game.
*
1914 -
World War I:
First Battle of the Marne begins. Northeast of
Paris, the
French attack and defeat
German forces who are advancing on the capital.
*
1937 -
Spanish Civil War: The fall of
Llanes.
*
1939 -
World War II: The
United States declares its neutrality in the war.
*
1943 - World War II: The
503d Parachute Infantry Regiment under
U.S. General
Douglas MacArthur lands and occupies
Nazdab in
Papua New Guinea.
*
1945 -
Iva Toguri D'Aquino, a
Japanese-American suspected of being wartime radio propagandist
Tokyo Rose, is arrested in
Yokohama.
*
1948 -
Robert Schuman becomes Prime Minister of
France.
*
1949 - A former sharpshooter in
World War II,
Howard Unruh kills 13 neighbors in
Camden, New Jersey, with a souvenir
Luger to become the first U.S. single-episode
mass murderer.
*
1950 -
Paul William Roberts, Anglo-Canadian writer born in Wales, U.K.
*
1960 -
Muhammad Ali wins the gold medal in
boxing at the
Rome Olympic Games.
*
1969 -
My Lai Massacre: U.S. Army Lt.
William Calley is charged with six specifications of premeditated murder for the death of 109
Vietnamese civilians in
My Lai.
*
1970 -
Vietnam War:
Operation Jefferson Glenn begins: the
United States 101st Airborne Division and the
South Vietnamese 1st Infantry Division initiate a new operation in
Thua Thien province.
*
1972 -
Munich Massacre: A
Palestinian terrorist group called "
Black September" attack
Israeli athletes at the
Munich Olympic Games.
*
1975 - In
Sacramento, California, a follower of incarcerated cult leader
Charles Manson named
Lynette Fromme attempts to assassinate
U.S. President
Gerald Ford, but is thwarted by a
Secret Service agent.
*
1977 -
Voyager program:
Voyager 1 is launched after a brief delay.
* 1977 -
Hanns Martin Schleyer, President of the Employers Association, is kidnapped in
Cologne, West Germany. Kidnappers kill three escorting police officers and his chauffeur. They demand release of
Red Army Faction prisoners
*
1978 -
Camp David Accords:
Menachem Begin and
Anwar Sadat begin peace process at
Camp David,
Maryland.
*
1980 - The
St. Gotthard Tunnel opens in
Switzerland as the world's longest
highway tunnel at 10.14 miles (16.32 km) stretching from
Goschenen to
Airolo.
*
1983 -
Tom Brokaw becomes lead anchor for
NBC Nightly News*
1984 -
STS-41-D: The
Space Shuttle Discovery lands after its maiden voyage.
* 1984 -
Western Australia becomes the last Australian state to abolish capital punishment.
*
1986 -
Pan Am Flight 73 with 358 people on board is
hijacked at
Karachi International Airport.
*
1988 - With US$2 billion in federal aid, the
Robert M. Bass Group agrees to buy the
United States's largest
bankrupt thrift,
American Savings and Loan Association.
*
1997 - At least 87 people killed in the
Beni-Messous massacre*
2000 -
Tuvalu joins the
United Nations.
*
2001 -
Peru's attorney general files
homicide charges against ex-President
Alberto Fujimori.
* 2001 -
Young Left formed in
Toronto,
Ontario,
Canada.
*
2002 - A
car bomb kills 30 people in
Kabul,
Afghanistan, in an apparent assassination attempt on Afghan President
Hamid Karzai.
* 2002 - The
Sour Biscuit Fire in
Oregon and northern
California,
United States, which burned 499,570 acres (2,020 km²), is finally contained.
*
2004 - Tropical Storm Ivan becomes
Hurricane Ivan in the
Atlantic Ocean.
*
2006 -
My Network TV is scheduled to launch.
*
1187 - King
Louis VIII of France (d.
1226)
*
1494 -
Hans Sachs, German
Meistersinger (d.
1576)
*
1568 -
Tommaso Campanella, Italian theologian, philosopher, and poet (d.
1639)
*
1638 -
Louis XIV of France (d.
1715)
*
1667 -
Giovanni Gerolamo Saccheri, Italian mathematician (d.
1733)
*
1695 -
Carl Gustaf Tessin, Swedish politician (d.
1770)
*
1722 -
Frederick Christian, Elector of Saxony (d.
1763)
*
1725 -
Jean-Étienne Montucla, French mathematician (d.
1799)
*
1735 -
Johann Christian Bach, German composer (d.
1782)
*
1750 -
Robert Fergusson , Scottish poet (d.
1774)
*
1771 -
Archduke Charles of Austria, Austrian general (d.
1847)
*
1774 -
Caspar David Friedrich, German artist (d.
1840)
*
1787 -
François Sulpice Beudant, French mineralogist and geologist (d.
1850)
*
1791 -
Giacomo Meyerbeer, German composer (d.
1864)
*
1806 -
Christophe Léon Louis Juchault de Lamoricière, French general (d.
1865)
*
1807 -
Richard Chenevix Trench, Irish Anglican clergyman and philologist (d.
1886)
*
1827 -
Goffredo Mameli, Italian poet and writer
*
1847 -
Jesse James, American outlaw (d.
1882)
*
1857 -
Konstantin Tsiolkovsky, Russian rocket scientist and inventor (d.
1935)
*
1867 -
Amy Beach, American composer and pianist (d.
1944)
*
1874 -
Nap Lajoie, baseball player (d.
1959)
*
1876 -
Wilhelm Ritter von Leeb, German field marshal (d.
1956)
*
1888 -
Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, second
President of India (d.
1975)
*
1892 -
Joseph Szigeti, Hungarian violinist (d.
1973)
*
1902 -
Darryl F. Zanuck, American film producer and executive (d.
1979)
*
1905 -
Arthur Koestler, Hungarian writer (d.
1983)
*
1912 -
John Cage, American composer (d.
1992)
* 1912 -
Kristina Söderbaum, German actress and photographer (d.
2001)
*
1913 -
Frank Thomas, American animator (d.
2004)
*
1916 -
Frank Yerby, American novelist (d.
1991)
*
1921 -
Jack Valenti, American political advisor and film executive
*
1924 -
Paul Volcker, American banker
*
1929 -
Bob Newhart, American actor and comedian
* 1929 -
Andrian Nikolayev, cosmonaut
*
1934 -
Carol Lawrence, American actress and singer
*
1936 -
Bill Mazeroski, baseball player
*
1937 -
Antonio Valentin Angelillo, Argentinian football player
*
1939 -
William Devane, American actor
* 1939 -
George Lazenby, Australian actor
*
1940 -
Raquel Welch, American actress
*
1942 -
Werner Herzog, German film director
*
1945 -
Al Stewart, Scottish singer and songwriter
*
1946 -
Freddie Mercury, Zanzibar-born singer
Queen (d.
1991)
* 1946 -
Buddy Miles, American musician
* 1946 -
Loudon Wainwright III, American singer and composer
*
1948 -
Benita Ferrero-Waldner, Austrian diplomat and politician
*
1950 -
Cathy Guisewite, American cartoonist
*
1951 -
Michael Keaton, American actor (or
September 9)
*
1956 -
Roine Stolt, Swedish guitarist (
The Flower Kings)
*
1962 -
Peter Wingfield, Welsh actor
*
1963 -
Juan Alderete, American bassist (
Racer X)
* 1963 -
Jeff Brantley, Baseball player
*
1967 -
Jane Sixsmith, English field hockey player
*
1969 -
Dweezil Zappa, American musician
* 1969 -
Leonardo Nascimento de Araujo, Brazilian football player
*
1973 -
Rose McGowan, Italian-born actress
*
1974 -
Derek Neikirk, American professional wrestler
*
1976 -
Tatyana Gutsu, Ukrainian gymnast
*
1978 -
Chris Jack, New Zealand rugby union player
*
1979 -
George O'Callaghan, Irish professional football player
* 1979 -
John Carew, Norwegian football player
*
1165 -
Emperor Nijo of Japan (b.
1143)
*
1201 -
Constance, Duchess of Brittany (b.
1161)
*
1235 -
Henry I, Duke of Brabant (b.
1165)
*
1629 -
Domenico Allegri, Italian composer
*
1786 -
Jonas Hanway, English merchant, traveler, and philanthropist (b.
1712)
*
1803 -
Pierre Choderlos de Laclos, French general and author (b.
1741)
* 1803 -
François Devienne, French composer (b.
1759)
*
1808 -
John Home, Scottish writer (b.
1722)
*
1836 -
Ferdinand Raimund, Austrian playwright (b.
1790)
*
1838 -
Charles Percier, French architect (b.
1764)
*
1857 -
Auguste Comte, French sociologist (b.
1798)
*
1877 -
Crazy Horse, Sioux chief (b.
1849)
*
1898 -
Sarah Edmonds, Canadian nurse, soldier, and spy (b.
1841)
*
1901 -
Ignacij Klemenčič, Slovenian physicist (b.
1853)
*
1902 -
Rudolf Virchow, German pathologist and politician (b.
1821)
*
1906 -
Ludwig Boltzmann, Austrian physicist (b.
1844)
*
1912 -
Arthur MacArthur, Jr., U.S. Army general (b.
1845)
*
1917 -
Marian Smoluchowski, Polish physicist (b.
1872)
*
1920 -
Robert Harron, American actor (b.
1893)
*
1930 -
Robert Means Thompson, American naval officer (b.
1849)
*
1948 -
Richard C. Tolman, American mathematical physicist (b.
1881)
*
1965 -
Thomas Johnston, Scottish-born politician (b.
1882)
*
1966 -
Dezső Lauber, Hungarian athlete (b.
1879)
*
1970 -
Jochen Rindt, Austrian race car driver (b.
1942)
*
1973 -
Jack Fournier, baseball player (b.
1889)
*
1975 -
Georg Ots, Estonian singer (b.
1920)
*
1988 -
Gert Fröbe, German actor (b.
1913)
*
1990 -
Ivan Mihailov, Bulgarian revolutionary (b.
1896)
*
1992 -
Fritz Leiber, American author (b.
1910)
*
1995 -
William Kunstler, American lawyer and activist (b.
1919)
*
1997 -
Georg Solti, Hungarian conductor (b.
1912)
* 1997 -
Mother Teresa, Albanian missionary and humanitarian, recipient of the
Nobel Peace Prize (b.
1910)
*
1998 -
Leo Penn, American film director (b.
1921)
*
1999 -
Allen Funt, American radio and television personality (b.
1914)
*
2001 -
Vladimir Zerjavic, Croatian UN statistician (b.
1912)
*
2003 -
Gisele MacKenzie, Canadian singer (b.
1927)
*
Roman festivals -
Jupiter Stator to commemorate that
Jupiter helped
Romulus to stop the
Sabine invasion under
Titus Tatius.
*
RC Saints - Saint Lorenzo Giustiniani ; the
feast day of
Teresa of Calcutta, currently pending
sainthood.
*
India - The birthdate of
Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan is celebrated as
Teacher's Day in
India.
*
BBC: On This Day-
September 4 -
September 6 -
August 5 -
October 5 – more
historical anniversaries
