October 5 in History

October 5 spans 47 recorded events across recorded history, from 610 to 2021. Below is a curated digest of the most significant moments tied to this date.

Holidays and observances on October 5

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Jan Sobieski, Grand Hetman of the Polish Crown, begins his successful military c

1672 — Jan Sobieski, Grand Hetman of the Polish Crown, begins his successful military campaign against the Tartars following their rebellion and an invasion by the Ottoman Empire.

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Historical Events 47 events 610 – 2021

More major events on October 5

The featured story and these ranked highlights form a quick summary. Every recorded event remains available in the chronology below.

  1. 1944 The Provisional Government of the French Republic enfranchises women. Source
  2. 1914 World War I: An aircraft successfully destroys another aircraft with gunfire for the first time. Source

Did you know

In 1672, Jan Sobieski, Grand Hetman of the Polish Crown, begins his successful military campaign against the Tartars following their rebellion and an invasion by the Ottoman Empire. This featured entry focuses on the immediate decision and its direct historical impact.

Did you know

Jan Sobieski's expedition against the Tatar chambuls was a successful military campaign that aimed to disperse the Tatars who were pillaging the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth during the Polish–Ottoman War (1672–1676). This helps explain why the event mattered beyond the initial announcement.

Did you know

In 1672, Jan Sobieski, Grand Hetman of the Polish Crown, begins his successful military campaign against the Tartars following their rebellion and an invasion by the Ottoman Empire had consequences that extended beyond the first headline. The key context is the institutions involved, the policy shift, and how the public response evolved afterward.

Did you know

In 1672, Jan Sobieski, Grand Hetman of the Polish Crown, begins his successful military campaign against the Tartars following their rebellion and an invasion by the Ottoman Empire had consequences that extended beyond the first headline. The key context is the institutions involved, the policy shift, and how the public response evolved afterward.

Did you know

In 1672, Jan Sobieski, Grand Hetman of the Polish Crown, begins his successful military campaign against the Tartars following their rebellion and an invasion by the Ottoman Empire had consequences that extended beyond the first headline. The key context is the institutions involved, the policy shift, and how the public response evolved afterward.


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Showing all 46 events

610 Heraclius

Heraclius arrives at Constantinople, kills Byzantine Emperor Phocas, and becomes emperor.

Heraclius (Latin: Heraclius, Greek: Ἡράκλειος, romanized: Hērákleios, Arabic: هِرَقْل, romanized: Hiraql; c. 575 – 11 February 641) was Byzantine emperor from 610 to 641. His rise to power began in 608, when he and his father, Heraclius the Elder, the Exarch of Africa, led a revolt against the unpopular emperor Phocas. Heraclius's reign was marked by wars against the Persians and the Arabs. Heraclius immediately took charge of the Byzantine–Sasanian War of 602–628 upon his accession, but his leadership initially did little to stem Persian ascendency in the war; after personally losing the Battle of Antioch (613), the Persians were able to take Syria and Egypt, reducing the Empire to Asia Minor. Heraclius, however, avoided total defeat and initiated reforms to rebuild and strengthen the military. Heraclius drove the Persians out of Asia Minor and pushed deep into their territory, defeating them in 627 at the Battle of Nineveh and devastating much of Mesopotamia. The Persian Shah Khosrow II was overthrown and executed by his son Kavad II, who soon sued for a peace treaty, agreeing to withdraw from all occupied territory. Heraclius won the war, but his Empire was deeply strained. Heraclius soon lost many of his newly regained lands to the Rashidun Caliphate. Emerging from the Arabian Peninsula, the Arabs quickly conquered the Sasanian Empire. In 636, the Arabs marched into Syria, defeating Heraclius's brother Theodore. Within a short period of time, the Arabs conquered Mesopotamia, Armenia, and Egypt. Heraclius responded with reforms that allowed his successors to combat the Arabs and avoid total destruction. Heraclius entered diplomatic relations with the Serbs in the Balkans. He tried to repair the schism in the Christian church regarding the non-Chalcedonians by promoting a compromise doctrine called monothelitism. The Church of the East (commonly called Nestorian) was also involved in the process. Eventually, this project of unity was rejected by all sides of the dispute. During his reign, the Greek language, widely spoken throughout the empire, became the official language of the state, replacing Latin.
816 Louis the Pious

King Louis the Pious is crowned emperor of the Holy Roman Empire by the Pope.

Louis the Pious (Latin: Ludovicus Pius; French: Louis le Pieux; German: Ludwig der Fromme; 778 – 20 June 840), also called the Fair and the Debonaire, was King of the Franks and co-emperor with his father, Charlemagne, from 813. He was also King of Aquitaine from 781. As the only surviving son of Charlemagne and Hildegard, he became the sole ruler of the Franks after his father's death in 814. He held this position until his death in 840, save for November 833 to March 834 when Louis was deposed. During his reign in Aquitaine, Louis was charged with the defence of the empire's southwestern frontier. He conquered Barcelona from the Emirate of Córdoba in 801 and asserted Frankish authority over Pamplona and the Basques south of the Pyrenees in 812. As emperor, he included his adult sons, Lothair, Pepin and Louis, in the government and sought to establish a suitable division of the realm among them. The first decade of his reign was characterised by several tragedies and embarrassments, notably the brutal treatment of his nephew Bernard of Italy for which Louis atoned in a public act of self-debasement. In the 830s his empire was torn by civil war between his sons that was only exacerbated by Louis's attempts to include his son Charles by his second wife in the succession plans. Though his reign ended on a high note, with order largely restored to his empire, it was followed by three years of civil war. Louis is generally compared unfavourably to his father but faced distinctly different problems.
869 Fourth Council of Constantinople (Catholic Church)

The Fourth Council of Constantinople is convened to depose patriarch Photios I.

The Fourth Council of Constantinople was the eighth ecumenical council of the Catholic Church held in Constantinople from 5 October 869, to 28 February 870. It was attended by over 103 bishops. In contrast, the pro-Photian council of 879–80 was attended by 383 bishops. The Council met in ten sessions from October 869 to February 870 and issued 27 canons. The council was called by Emperor Basil I the Macedonian, with the support of Pope Hadrian II. It deposed and anathematized Photius, a layman who had been appointed as Patriarch of Constantinople, and reinstated his predecessor Ignatius. The Council also reaffirmed the decisions of the Second Council of Nicaea in support of icons and holy images and required the image of Christ to have veneration equal with that of the gospel book. It was a reaction against the local Council of Constantinople (867) that excommunicated Pope Nicholas I and declared him anathema. A later council, the Eastern Orthodox Fourth Council of Constantinople, was held after Photios had been reinstated on the order of the emperor. Today, the Catholic Church recognizes the council in 869–870 as "Constantinople IV", while the Eastern Orthodox Churches recognize the councils in 879–880 as "Constantinople IV" and revere Photios as a saint. Whether and how far the Greek Fourth Council of Constantinople was confirmed by Pope John VIII is a matter of dispute. Some argue that he did accept it, in his Letters to the Emperors Basil I, Leo VI and Alexander, which were read in the second session of the 879/80 council, his so-called letter to Photios and his Commonitorium. Francis Dvornik has argued that subsequent popes accepted the council of 879 as binding, only choosing the council of 869–70 as ecumenical years later after the Great Schism due to issues with certain canons (namely the implicit condemnation of the filioque). Siecienski disagrees with Dvornik's assessment. The previous seven ecumenical councils are recognized as ecumenical and authoritative by both Eastern Orthodox and Catholic Christians.
1143 Treaty of Zamora

With the signing of the Treaty of Zamora, King Alfonso VII of León and Castile recognises Portugal as a Kingdom.

The Treaty of Zamora (Portuguese: Tratado de Zamora) was signed on 5 October 1143 between King Afonso I of Portugal and his cousin Alfonso VII of León. It took place at Zamora in the presence of the papal legate, Cardinal Guido de Vico. On the occasion, Alfonso VII acknowledged Afonso as king of Portugal. The event is celebrated as a critical step in the process which led to the complete recognition of Portugal as fully independent and which was only definitively concluded by the signing of the Papal bull Manifestis Probatum in 1179.
1450 Louis IX of Bavaria

Louis IX, Duke of Bavaria expels Jews from his jurisdiction.

Louis IX (German: Ludwig IX, Herzog von Bayern-Landshut, also known as Louis the Rich; 23 February 1417 – 18 January 1479) was Duke of Bavaria-Landshut from 1450. He was a son of Henry XVI the Rich and Margaret of Austria. Louis was the founder of the University of Ingolstadt (now the Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München or LMU Munich).
1465 Louis XI

King Louis XI of France is forced to sign the treaty of Conflans.

Louis XI (3 July 1423 – 30 August 1483), called the Prudent (French: le Prudent), was King of France from 1461 to 1483. He succeeded his father, Charles VII. Louis entered into open rebellion against his father in a short-lived revolt known as the Praguerie in 1440. The king forgave his rebellious vassals, including Louis, to whom he entrusted the management of the Dauphiné, then a province in southeastern France. Louis's ceaseless intrigues, however, led his father to banish him from court. From the Dauphiné, Louis led his own political establishment and married Charlotte of Savoy, daughter of Louis, Duke of Savoy, against the will of his father. Charles VII sent an army to compel his son to his will, but Louis fled to Burgundy, where he was hosted by Philip the Good, the Duke of Burgundy, Charles's greatest enemy. When Charles VII died in 1461, Louis left the Burgundian court to take possession of his kingdom. His taste for intrigue and his intense diplomatic activity earned him the nicknames "the Cunning" (Middle French: le rusé) and "the Universal Spider" (Middle French: l'universelle aragne), as his enemies accused him of spinning webs of plots and conspiracies. In 1472, the subsequent Duke of Burgundy, Charles the Bold, took up arms against his rival Louis. However, Louis was able to isolate Charles from his English allies by signing the Treaty of Picquigny (1475) with Edward IV of England. The treaty formally ended the Hundred Years' War. With the death of Charles the Bold at the Battle of Nancy in 1477, the dynasty of the dukes of Burgundy died out. Louis took advantage of the situation to seize numerous Burgundian territories, including Burgundy itself and Picardy. Without direct foreign threats, Louis was able to eliminate his rebellious vassals, expand royal power, and strengthen the economic development of his country. He died in 1483, and was succeeded by his only surviving son Charles VIII, who was then still in his minority.
1607 Paolo Sarpi

Assassins attempt to kill Venetian statesman and scientist Paolo Sarpi.

Paolo Sarpi, O.S.M. (14 August 1552 – 15 January 1623) was an Italian Servite friar and Catholic priest who was a notable historian, scientist, canon lawyer, polymath, and statesman active on behalf of the Venetian Republic during the period of its successful defiance of the papal interdict (1605–1607) and its war (1615–1617) with Austria over the Uskok pirates. His writings, frankly polemical and highly critical of the Catholic Church and its Scholastic tradition, "inspired both Hobbes and Edward Gibbon in their own historical debunkings of priestcraft." Sarpi's major work, the History of the Council of Trent (1619), was published in London in 1619; other works: a History of Ecclesiastical Benefices, History of the Interdict and his Supplement to the History of the Uskoks, appeared posthumously. Organized around single topics, they are early examples of the genre of the historical monograph. As a defender of the liberties of Republican Venice and proponent of the separation of Church and state, Sarpi attained fame as a hero of republicanism and free thought and possible crypto Protestant. His last words, "Esto perpetua" ("may she [i.e., the republic] live forever"), were recalled by John Adams in 1820 in a letter to Thomas Jefferson, when Adams "wished 'as devoutly as Father Paul for the preservation of our vast American empire and our free institutions', as Sarpi had wished for the preservation of Venice and its institutions." Sarpi was also an experimental scientist, a proponent of the Copernican system, a friend and patron of Galileo Galilei, and a keen follower of the latest research on anatomy, astronomy, and ballistics at the University of Padua. His extensive network of correspondents included Francis Bacon and William Harvey. Sarpi believed that government institutions should rescind their censorship of the Avvisi—the newsletters that started to be common in his time—and instead of censorship, publish their own versions of the news to counter enemy publications. In that spirit, Sarpi himself published several pamphlets in defence of Venice's rights over the Adriatic. As such, Sarpi could be considered as an early advocate of the freedom of the press, though the concept did not yet exist in his lifetime.
1789 Women's March on Versailles

French Revolution: The Women's March on Versailles effectively terminates royal authority.

The Women's March on Versailles, also known as the Black March, the October Days or simply the March on Versailles, was one of the earliest and most significant events of the French Revolution. The march began among women in the marketplaces of Paris who, on the morning of 5 October 1789, were rioting over the high price of bread. The unrest quickly became intertwined with the activities of revolutionaries seeking liberal political reforms and a constitutional monarchy for France. The market women and their allies ultimately grew into a crowd of thousands. Encouraged by revolutionary agitators, they ransacked the city armory for weapons and marched on the Palace of Versailles. The crowd besieged the palace and, in a dramatic and violent confrontation, they successfully pressed their demands upon King Louis XVI. The very next day, the crowd forced the king and his family to return with them to Paris. Over the next few weeks, most of the French assembly also relocated to the capital. These events ended the king's independence and heralded a new balance of power that would ultimately displace the established, privileged orders of the French nobility in favor of the common people, collectively known as the Third Estate. By bringing together people representing the sources of the Revolution in their largest numbers yet, the march on Versailles proved to be a defining moment of the Revolution.
1813 War_of_1812

War of 1812: The Army of the Northwest defeats a British and Native Canadian force threatening Detroit.

The War of 1812 was a conflict initiated by the United States against the United Kingdom and its allies fought mainly in North America and at sea during the wider Napoleonic Wars. The United States declared war on Britain on 18 June 1812. Although peace terms were agreed upon in the December 1814 Treaty of Ghent, the war did not officially end until the peace treaty was ratified by the United States Senate on 17 February 1815.
1869

The Saxby Gale devastates the Bay of Fundy region in Canada.

The Saxby Gale was a tropical cyclone which struck eastern Canada's Bay of Fundy region on the night of October 4–5, 1869. The storm was named for Lieutenant Stephen Martin Saxby, a naval instructor who, based on his astronomical studies, had predicted extremely high tides in the North Atlantic Ocean on October 1, 1869, which would produce storm surges in the event of a storm.
1869 Eastman tunnel

The Eastman tunnel, in Minnesota, United States, collapses during construction, causing a landslide that nearly destroys St.

Anthony Falls.
The Eastman tunnel, also called the Hennepin Island tunnel, was a 2,000-foot-long (600 m) underground passage in Saint Anthony, Minnesota (now Minneapolis), dug beneath the Mississippi River riverbed between 1868 and 1869 to create a tailrace so water-powered business could be located upstream of Saint Anthony Falls on Nicollet Island. The tunnel ran downstream from Nicollet Island, beneath Hennepin Island, and exited below Saint Anthony Falls. During construction of the tunnel on October 5, 1869, the river broke through the thin layer of limestone separating the river's bed from the tunnel. The rushing river scoured the tunnel, caving in parts of Hennepin Island and causing the earth supporting Saint Anthony Falls to collapse upstream. There was serious concern that the riverbed would crumble and reduce Saint Anthony Falls to a long set of rapids. Within a few weeks, dams were built to divert the river and stop Saint Anthony Falls from being washed away. The fix was temporary as the 1870 spring floods damaged some of the new dams and swept away more of Hennepin Island. The final fix for the tunnel disaster was a concrete dike constructed by the United States Army Corps of Engineers. The Corps also built a protective sloping wood timber apron to create an artificial waterfall, which remains the only major waterfall on the Mississippi River. The Eastman tunnel is a contributing resource to the St. Anthony Falls Historic District. The District is on the National Register of Historic Places. The site of the tunnel is about a mile upstream from the present-day I-35W Mississippi River bridge.
1877 Nez_Perce_War

The Nez Perce War in the northwestern United States comes to an end.

The Nez Perce War was an armed conflict in 1877 in the Western United States that pitted several bands of the Nez Perce tribe of Native Americans and their allies, a small band of the Palouse tribe led by Red Echo (Hahtalekin) and Bald Head, against the United States Army. Fought between June and October, the conflict stemmed from the refusal of several bands of the Nez Perce, dubbed "non-treaty Indians," to give up their ancestral lands in the Pacific Northwest and move to an Indian reservation in Idaho Territory. This forced removal was in violation of the 1855 Treaty of Walla Walla, which granted the tribe 7.5 million acres of their ancestral lands and the right to hunt and fish on lands ceded to the U.S. government.
1900 South_African_Republic

Peace congress in Paris condemns British policy in South Africa and asserts Boer Republic's right to self-determination.

The South African Republic, also known as the Transvaal Republic, was a landlocked independent Boer republic in Southern Africa which existed from 1852 to 1902, when it was annexed into the British Empire as a result of the Second Boer War.
1905 Wright brothers

The Wright brothers pilot the Wright Flyer III in a new world record flight of 24 miles in 39 minutes.

The Wright brothers, Orville Wright (August 19, 1871 – January 30, 1948) and Wilbur Wright (April 16, 1867 – May 30, 1912), were American aviation pioneers generally credited with inventing, building, and flying the world's first successful airplane. They made the first controlled, sustained flight of an engine-powered, heavier-than-air aircraft with the Wright Flyer on December 17, 1903, four miles (6 km) south of Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, at what is now known as Kill Devil Hills. In 1904 the Wright brothers developed the Wright Flyer II, which made longer-duration flights including the first circle, followed in 1905 by the first truly practical fixed-wing aircraft, the Wright Flyer III. The brothers' breakthrough invention was their creation of a three-axis control system, which enabled the pilot to steer the aircraft effectively and to maintain its equilibrium. Their system of aircraft controls made fixed-wing powered flight possible and remains standard on airplanes of all kinds. Their first U.S. patent, written in March 1903, before their first flight at Kitty Hawk, did not claim invention of a flying machine, but rather a system of aerodynamic control that manipulated a flying machine's surfaces. From the beginning of their aeronautical work, Wilbur and Orville focused on developing a reliable method of pilot control as the key to solving "the flying problem". This approach differed significantly from other experimenters of the time who put more emphasis on developing powerful engines. Using a small home-built wind tunnel, the Wrights also collected more accurate data than any before, enabling them to design more efficient wings and propellers. The brothers gained the mechanical skills essential to their success by working for years in their Dayton, Ohio-based shop with printing presses, bicycles, motors, and other machinery. Their work with bicycles, in particular, influenced their belief that an unstable vehicle such as a flying machine could be controlled and balanced with practice. This was a trend, as many other aviation pioneers were also dedicated cyclists and involved in the bicycle business in various ways. From 1900 until their first powered flights in late 1903, the brothers conducted extensive glider tests that also developed their skills as pilots. Their shop mechanic Charles Taylor became an important part of the team, building their first airplane engine in close collaboration with the brothers. The Wright brothers' status as inventors of the airplane has been subject to numerous counter-claims. Much controversy persists over the many competing claims of early aviators. Edward Roach, historian for the Dayton Aviation Heritage National Historical Park, argues that the Wrights were excellent self-taught engineers who could run a small company well, but did not have the business skills or temperament necessary to dominate the rapidly growing aviation industry at the time.
1910 5 October 1910 revolution

In a revolution in Portugal the monarchy is overthrown and a republic is declared.

The 5 October 1910 Revolution (Portuguese: Revolução de 5 de outubro de 1910) was the overthrow of the centuries-old Portuguese monarchy and its replacement by the First Portuguese Republic. It was the result of a coup d'état organized by the Portuguese Republican Party. By 1910, the Kingdom of Portugal was in deep crisis: national anger over the 1890 British Ultimatum, the royal family's expenses, the assassination of the King and his heir in 1908, changing religious and social views, instability of the two political parties (Progressive and Regenerator), the dictatorship of João Franco, and the regime's apparent inability to adapt to modern times all led to widespread resentment against the Monarchy. The proponents of the republic, particularly the Republican Party, found ways to take advantage of the situation. The Republican Party presented itself as the only one with a programme capable of regaining Portugal's lost status and placing it on the path of progress. After the reluctance of the military to oppose the nearly two thousand soldiers and sailors that rebelled on 3 and 4 October 1910, the Republic was proclaimed at 9 a.m the next day from the balcony of Lisbon's City Hall. A provisional government led by Teófilo Braga directed the fate of the country until the approval of the Constitution in 1911, which marked the beginning of the First Republic. The national anthem and flag were changed, and some civil and religious liberties established; a wave of harsh anti-clericalism soon followed, corroding relations between the Republic and the Catholic Church.
1911 Kowloon–Canton_Railway

The Kowloon–Canton Railway commences service.

The Kowloon–Canton Railway was a railway network in Hong Kong. It was owned and operated by the Kowloon–Canton Railway Corporation (KCRC) until 2007. Rapid transit services, a light rail system, feeder bus routes within Hong Kong, and intercity passenger and freight train services to China on the KCR network, have been operated by the MTR Corporation since 2007.
1914 World_War_I

World War I: An aircraft successfully destroys another aircraft with gunfire for the first time.

World War I, or the First World War, also known as the Great War, was a global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies and the Central Powers. One of the deadliest conflicts in history, World War I resulted in an estimated 15 to 22 million deaths, including those in war crimes and genocides. The war also helped spread the Spanish flu pandemic. The conflict saw important developments in weaponry, including the first large-scale use of machine guns, artillery, aircraft, chemical weapons, and tanks.
1921 1921_World_Series

The World Series is broadcast on radio for the first time.

The 1921 World Series was the championship series in Major League Baseball for the 1921 season. The 18th edition of the World Series, it matched the National League (NL) champion New York Giants and the American League (AL) champion New York Yankees.
1930 R101

British airship R101 crashes in France en route to India on its maiden voyage killing 48 people.

R101 was one of a pair of British rigid airships completed in 1929 as part of the Imperial Airship Scheme, a British government programme to develop civil airships capable of service on long-distance routes within the British Empire. It was designed and built by an Air Ministry–appointed team and was effectively in competition with the government-funded but privately designed and built R100. When built, it was the world's largest flying craft at 731 ft (223 m) in length, later enlarged to 777 feet, and at that size it was not surpassed by another hydrogen-filled rigid airship until the LZ 129 Hindenburg was launched seven years later.
1931 Clyde Pangborn

Clyde Edward Pangborn and Hugh Herndon, Jr.

make the first nonstop flight across the Pacific Ocean in the plane Miss Veedol.
Clyde Edward Pangborn (c. October 28, 1895 – March 29, 1958), nicknamed "Upside-Down Pangborn", was an American aviator and barnstormer who performed aerial stunts in the 1920s for the Gates Flying Circus. He was its half-owner, chief pilot and operating manager, working in partnership with Ivan R. Gates. In 1931, Pangborn and co-pilot Hugh Herndon Jr. flew their plane, Miss Veedol, on the first non-stop flight across the Pacific Ocean.
1936 Jarrow March

The Jarrow March sets off for London.

The Jarrow March of 5–31 October 1936, also known as the Jarrow Crusade, was an organised protest against the unemployment and poverty suffered in the English town of Jarrow during the 1930s. Around 200 men, or "Crusaders" as they preferred to be called, marched from Jarrow to London, carrying a petition to the British government requesting the re-establishment of industry in the town following the closure in 1934 of its main employer, Palmer's shipyard. The petition was received by the House of Commons but not debated, and the march produced few immediate results. The Jarrovians went home believing that they had failed. Jarrow had been a settlement since at least the 8th century. In the early 19th century, a coal industry developed before the shipyard was established in 1851. Over the following 80 years, more than 1,000 ships were launched in Jarrow. In the 1920s, a combination of mismanagement and changed world trade conditions following the First World War brought a decline that led eventually to the yard's closure. Plans to replace it with a modern steelworks plant were frustrated by opposition from the British Iron and Steel Federation, an employers' organisation with its own plans for the industry. The failure of the steelworks plan, and the lack of any prospect of large-scale employment in the town, were the final factors that led to the decision to march. Marches of the unemployed to London, termed "hunger marches", had taken place since the early 1920s, mainly organised by the National Unemployed Workers' Movement (NUWM), a communist-led body. For fear of being associated with communist agitation, the Labour Party and Trades Union Congress (TUC) leaderships stood aloof from these marches. They exercised the same policy of detachment towards the Jarrow March, which was organised by the borough council with the support of all sections of the town but without any connection with the NUWM. During their journey the Jarrow marchers received sustenance and hospitality from local branches of all the main political parties, and were given a broad public welcome on their arrival in London. Despite the initial sense of failure among the marchers, historians have subsequently recognized the Jarrow March as a defining event of the 1930s. It helped to foster the change in attitudes that prepared the way to social reforms after the Second World War, which their proponents thought would improve working conditions. The town holds numerous memorials to the march. Re-enactments celebrated the 50th and 75th anniversaries, in both cases invoking the "spirit of Jarrow" in their campaigns against unemployment. In contrast to the Labour Party's coldness in 1936, the post-war party leadership adopted the march as a metaphor for governmental callousness and working-class fortitude.
1938 The_Holocaust

Holocaust: In Nazi Germany, Jews' passports are invalidated.

The Holocaust, known in Hebrew as the Shoah, was the genocide of European Jews during World War II. From 1941 to 1945, Nazi Germany and its collaborators systematically murdered around six million Jews across German-occupied Europe, approximately two-thirds of Europe's Jewish population. The murders were committed primarily through mass shootings across Eastern Europe and poison gas chambers in extermination camps, chiefly Auschwitz-Birkenau, Treblinka, Belzec, Sobibor, Chełmno and Majdanek death camps in occupied Poland. Concurrent Nazi persecutions killed millions of other non-Jewish civilians and prisoners of war (POWs); the term Holocaust is sometimes used to include the murder and persecution of non-Jewish groups, such as the Romani and Soviet POWs.
1943 World_War_II

World War II: Pacific Theater: Ninety-eight American POWs are executed by Japanese forces on Wake Island.

World War II, or the Second World War, was a global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies and the Axis powers. Nearly all of the world's countries participated, with many engaging in total war on an unprecedented scale. World War II was the deadliest conflict in history, causing the deaths of 60 to 75 million people, a majority of whom were civilians. Millions died as a result of massacres, starvation, disease, and genocides including the Holocaust. After the Allied victory, Germany, Austria, Japan, and Korea were occupied, and German and Japanese leaders were tried for war crimes.
1944 Provisional Government of the French Republic

The Provisional Government of the French Republic enfranchises women.

The Provisional Government of the French Republic (PGFR; French: Gouvernement provisoire de la République française, GPRF) was the provisional government of the French Republic between 3 June 1944 and 27 October 1946, following the liberation of continental France after Operations Overlord and Dragoon, and lasting until the establishment of the French Fourth Republic. Its establishment marked the official restoration and re-establishment of a provisional French Republic, assuring continuity with the defunct French Third Republic. It succeeded the French Committee of National Liberation (CFLN), which had been the provisional government of France in the overseas territories and metropolitan parts of the country (Algeria and Corsica) that had been liberated by the Free French. As the wartime government of France in 1944–1945, its main purposes were to handle the aftermath of the occupation of France and continue to wage war against Germany as one of the major Allies. Its principal mission (in addition to the war) was to prepare the ground for a new constitutional order that resulted in the Fourth Republic. It also made several important reforms and political decisions, such as granting women the right to vote, founding the École nationale d'administration and laying the grounds of social security in France.
1945

A six-month strike by Hollywood set decorators turns into a bloody riot at the gates of the Warner Brothers studio.

Hollywood Black Friday, or Hollywood Bloody Friday, is the name given, in the history of organized labor in the United States, to October 5, 1945. On that date, a six-month strike by the set decorators represented by the Conference of Studio Unions (CSU) boiled over into a bloody riot at the gates of Warner Bros.' studios in Burbank, California, led by Herbert Sorrell. The strikes helped the passage of the Taft–Hartley Act in 1947 and led to the eventual breakup of the CSU and reorganization of the rival International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE) leadership.
1947 United States Oval Office Address

President Truman makes the first televised Oval Office address.

An Oval Office address is a type of speech made by the president of the United States, usually but not always in the Oval Office at the White House. It is considered among the most solemn settings for an address made by a leader, and is most often delivered to announce a major new policy initiative, on the occasion of a leader's departure from office, or during times of national emergency (natural disaster, war, etc.). On occasions of national interest, U.S. presidents may decide to speak to the American people directly. Often in addresses to the nation, the president speaks directly into the camera and begins with the phrase, "My fellow Americans...".
1962 James_Bond

The first of the James Bond film series, based on the novels by Ian Fleming, Dr.

No, is released in Britain.
The James Bond franchise focuses on the character of James Bond, a fictional British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short-story collections. Since Fleming's death in 1964, nine other authors have written authorised Bond novels or novelisations: Kingsley Amis, Christopher Wood, John Gardner, Raymond Benson, Sebastian Faulks, Jeffery Deaver, William Boyd, Anthony Horowitz and Charlie Higson. The latest novel is On His Majesty's Secret Service by Charlie Higson, published in May 2023. Charlie Higson wrote a series on a young James Bond, and Kate Westbrook wrote three novels based on the diaries of a recurring series character, Moneypenny.
1962 The_Beatles

The first Beatles single "Love Me Do" is released in Britain.

The Beatles were an English rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the most influential band in popular music and were integral to the development of 1960s counterculture and the recognition of popular music as an art form. Rooted in skiffle, beat and 1950s rock 'n' roll, their sound incorporated elements of classical music and traditional pop in innovative ways. They also explored styles ranging from folk and Indian music to psychedelia and hard rock. As pioneers in recording, songwriting and artistic presentation, the Beatles revolutionised many aspects of the music industry and were often publicised as leaders of the era's youth and sociocultural movements.
1963

The United States suspends the Commercial Import Program in response to repression of the Buddhist majority by the regime of President Ngo Dinh Diem.

The Commercial Import Program, sometimes known as the Commodity Import Program (CIP), was an economic aid arrangement between South Vietnam and its main supporter, the United States. It lasted from January 1955 until the Fall of Saigon in 1975 and the dissolution of South Vietnam following the invasion by North Vietnam after US forces had withdrawn from the country due to the 1973 cease-fire agreement.
1966 Enrico Fermi Nuclear Generating Station

A reactor at the Enrico Fermi Nuclear Generating Station near Detroit suffers a partial meltdown.

The Enrico Fermi Nuclear Generating Station is a nuclear power plant on the shore of Lake Erie near Monroe, in Frenchtown Charter Township, Michigan on approximately 1,000 acres (400 ha). All units of the plant are operated by the DTE Energy Electric Company and owned (100 percent) by parent company DTE Energy. It is approximately halfway between Detroit, Michigan, and Toledo, Ohio. It is also visible from parts of Amherstburg and Colchester, Ontario as well as on the shore of Lake Erie in Ottawa County, Ohio. Two units have been constructed on this site. The first unit's construction started on August 4, 1956 and reached initial criticality on August 23, 1963, and the second unit received its construction permit on September 26, 1972. It reached criticality (head on) on June 21, 1985 and was declared commercial on November 18, 1988. The plant is connected to two single-circuit 345 kV Transmission Lines and three 120 kV lines. They are operated and maintained by ITC Transmission. The plant is named after the Italian nuclear physicist Enrico Fermi, most noted for his work on the development of the first nuclear reactor as well as many other major contributions to nuclear physics. Fermi won the 1938 Nobel Prize in Physics for his work on induced radioactivity. On October 5, 1966, Fermi 1, a prototype fast breeder reactor, suffered a partial fuel meltdown, although no radioactive material was released. After repairs it was shut down by 1972. On August 8, 2008, John McCain was taken on a 45-minute tour of the plant, becoming the first actively campaigning presidential candidate to visit a nuclear plant.
1968

A Northern Ireland Civil Rights Association march in Derry is violently suppressed by police.

The Northern Ireland Civil Rights Association was an organisation that campaigned for civil rights for Irish Catholics in Northern Ireland during the late 1960s and early 1970s. Formed in Belfast on 9 April 1967, the civil rights campaign attempted to achieve reform by publicising, documenting, and lobbying for an end to discrimination against Catholics in areas such as elections, discrimination in employment, in public housing and abuses of the Special Powers Act.
1970 PBS

The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is founded in the United States.[citation needed]

The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educational programs to public television stations in the United States, distributing shows such as Nature, Nova, Frontline, PBS News Hour, Washington Week, Masterpiece, American Experience, and children's programs such as Mister Rogers' Neighborhood, Sesame Street, Barney & Friends, Arthur, Curious George, The Magic School Bus, and others. Certain stations also provide spillover service to Canada.
1970

The British Trade Commissioner, James Cross, is kidnapped by members of the Front de libération du Québec, triggering the October Crisis in Canada.

James Richard Cross was an Irish-born British diplomat who served in India, Malaysia and Canada. While posted in Canada, Cross was kidnapped by members of the Front de libération du Québec (FLQ) during the October Crisis of October 1970. He was ultimately released almost two months later, and subsequently returned to the United Kingdom.
1974 Provisional_Irish_Republican_Army

Bombs planted by the PIRA in pubs in Guildford kill four British soldiers and one civilian.

The Provisional Irish Republican Army, officially known as the Irish Republican Army and informally known as the Provos, was an Irish republican paramilitary force that sought to end British rule in Northern Ireland, facilitate Irish reunification and bring about an independent socialist republic, which would encompass all of Ireland. It was the most active republican paramilitary group during the Troubles. It argued that the all-island Irish Republic continued to exist, and it saw itself as that state's army, the sole legitimate successor to the original IRA from the Irish War of Independence. It was designated a terrorist organisation in the United Kingdom and an unlawful organisation in the Republic of Ireland, both of whose authority it rejected.
1978 Eddie_Villanueva

Brother Eddie Villanueva and 15 others from the Polytechnic University of the Philippines begin the Jesus Is Lord Church.

Eduardo Cruz Villanueva, most commonly referred to as Bro. Eddie Villanueva or ECV, is an evangelist and President and Spiritual Director of the Jesus Is Lord Church Worldwide (JILCW).
1982 Tylenol

Tylenol products are recalled after bottles in Chicago laced with cyanide cause seven deaths.

Tylenol is a brand of medication, advertised for reducing pain, reducing fever, and relieving the symptoms of allergies, cold, cough, headache, and influenza. An active ingredient in these medications is acetaminophen (paracetamol), an analgesic and antipyretic, although other ingredients with significant effects are included in some variants. Like the generic names paracetamol and acetaminophen, the brand name Tylenol is derived from a chemical name for the compound, N-acetyl-para-aminophenol.
1984 Marc_Garneau

Marc Garneau becomes the first Canadian in space.

Joseph Jean-Pierre Marc Garneau was a Canadian Armed Forces officer, astronaut and politician. Garneau served as a naval officer before being selected as an astronaut as part of the 1983 NRC Group. He became the first Canadian in space on October 5, 1984, and flew on three Space Shuttle missions. From 2001 to 2005, Garneau was president of the Canadian Space Agency (CSA). Garneau entered politics and was elected to the House of Commons in 2008, serving as a Montreal-area member of Parliament (MP) until 2023. A member of the Liberal Party, Garneau served as Minister of Foreign Affairs from January to October in 2021 and as Minister of Transport from 2015 to 2021.
1985 Ras_Burqa_massacre

Seven Israeli vacationers, including four children, are killed in a mass shooting at Ras Burqa in the Sinai Peninsula by an Egyptian soldier.

The Ras Burqa massacre was a mass shooting on 5 October 1985 on Israeli vacationers in Ras Burqa, a beach resort area in the Sinai peninsula, in which seven people, including four children, were killed by Egyptian soldier Suleiman Khater.
1988 Augusto_Pinochet

A Chilean opposition coalition defeats Augusto Pinochet in his re-election attempt.

Augusto José Ramón Pinochet Ugarte was a Chilean army officer and military dictator who ruled Chile from 1973 to 1990. He led the Chilean Army in the overthrow of President Salvador Allende in 1973 and established a military junta. He was proclaimed President of Chile by the junta in 1974 and served until 1990, when he stepped down to pave the way for democratic elections. Throughout his presidency, thousands of political opponents were tortured or executed. Pinochet is the longest-serving head of state in the history of Chile.
1990

After 150 years The Herald newspaper in Melbourne, Australia, is published for the last time as a separate newspaper.

The Herald was a morning and, later, evening broadsheet newspaper published in Melbourne, Australia, from 3 January 1840 to 5 October 1990. It later merged with its sister morning newspaper The Sun News-Pictorial to form the Herald-Sun.
1991 1991_Jakarta_Indonesian_Air_Force_C-130_crash

An Indonesian Air Force C-130 crash kills 135 people.

On 5 October 1991, an Indonesian Air Force Lockheed C-130H-30 Hercules crashed shortly after takeoff from Jakarta-Halim Perdana Kusuma Airport due to an engine fire. It killed all but one of the 134 people on board with an additional 2 people on the ground.
1994 Order_of_the_Solar_Temple

Swiss police find the bodies of 48 members of the Order of the Solar Temple, who had died in a cult mass murder-suicide.

The Order of the Solar Temple, or simply the Solar Temple, was a new religious movement and secret society, often described as a cult, notorious for the mass deaths of many of its members in several mass murders and suicides throughout the 1990s. The OTS was a neo-Templar order, claiming to be a continuation of the Knights Templar, and incorporated an eclectic range of beliefs with aspects of Rosicrucianism, Theosophy, and New Age ideas. It was led by Joseph Di Mambro, with Luc Jouret as a spokesman and second in command. It was founded in 1984, in Geneva, Switzerland.
1999 Ladbroke_Grove_rail_crash

The Ladbroke Grove rail crash in West London kills 31 people.

The Ladbroke Grove rail crash occurred on 5 October 1999 at Ladbroke Grove in London, England, when a Thames Trains passenger train passed a signal at danger, colliding almost head-on with a First Great Western passenger train. With 31 people killed and 417 injured, it was one of the worst rail accidents in 20th-century British history.
2000 Overthrow_of_Slobodan_Milošević

Mass demonstrations in Serbia force the resignation of Slobodan Milošević.

The overthrow of Slobodan Milošević, president of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, began after the general election on 24 September 2000 and culminated on 5 October 2000. It is commonly referred to as the 5 October Revolution or as the Bulldozer Revolution, after an event during the day-long protest in which a heavy equipment operator charged the Radio Television of Serbia building, considered to be symbolic of the Milošević regime's propaganda.
2011 Mekong_River_massacre

In the Mekong River massacre, two Chinese cargo boats are hijacked and 13 crew members murdered.

The Mekong River massacre occurred on the morning of 5 October 2011, when two Chinese cargo ships were attacked on a stretch of the Mekong River in the Golden Triangle region on the borders of Myanmar (Burma) and Thailand. All 13 crew members on both ships were killed and dumped in the river. It was the deadliest attack on Chinese nationals abroad in modern times. In response, China temporarily suspended shipping on the Mekong, and reached an agreement with Myanmar, Thailand and Laos to jointly patrol the river. The event was also the impetus for the Naypyidaw Declaration and other anti-drug cooperation efforts in the region. On 28 October 2011, Thai authorities arrested nine Pha Muang Task Force soldiers, who subsequently "disappeared from the justice system". Drug lord Naw Kham and three subordinates were eventually tried and executed by the Chinese government for their roles in the massacre.
2021 Windows_11

Windows 11 is released to the general public.

Windows 11 is the current major release of Microsoft's Windows NT operating system, released on October 5, 2021, as the successor to Windows 10 (2015). It is available as a free upgrade for devices running Windows 10 that meet its system requirements. The Windows Server counterpart, Windows Server 2025, was released in 2024. It is the first major version of Windows without a corresponding mobile edition, following the end of support for Windows 10 Mobile, and is implemented to mobile devices with different form factors, screen sizes and CPU architectures as a unified edition of Windows. As of October 14, 2025, it is the only fully supported consumer-oriented version of Windows.

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