The ZX81, a pioneering British home computer, was launched by Sinclair Research, and went on to sell more than 1.5 million units around the world.
5 March 10
A Saturday in history
Weekday
Saturday
Season
Spring (N. Hemisphere)
Century
1st century
Records
419
1981
1966BOAC Flight 911 disintegrated and crashed near Mount Fuji shortly after departure from Tokyo International Airport, killing all 113 passengers and 11 crew members on board.
- 1963
American country-music performers Patsy Cline, Cowboy Copas, and Hawkshaw Hawkins were killed when their PA-24 crashed shortly after takeoff in Camden, Tennessee.
1960Cuban photographer Alberto Korda took his iconic photograph Guerrillero Heroico of Marxist revolutionary Che Guevara.
1943World War II: The Gloster Meteor, the Allies' only operational jet aircraft, made its maiden flight.
1936The prototype (pictured) of the Supermarine Spitfire flew for the first time.
1825Roberto Cofresí, one of the last Caribbean pirates, was apprehended after his flagship sloop Anne was captured by authorities.
1824The First Anglo-Burmese War began.
1811Peninsular War: At the Battle of Barrosa, Anglo-Iberian forces trying to lift the Siege of Cádiz defeated a French attack but could not break the siege itself.
1770American Revolution: British soldiers fired into a crowd in Boston, killing five people.
1279The Livonian branch of the Teutonic Order suffered a great loss when 71 knights died in the Battle of Aizkraukle.
- 363
Roman–Persian Wars: Roman emperor Julian and his army set out from Antioch to attack the Sasanian Empire.
Photo archive
24 historic images from this day — tap to open the gallery.
What was life like?
Prices, jobs, food, music and everyday routine — the world as it felt to live in.
Sources & fact check
Every claim is traced to primary sources, archives, universities and the press — with an explicit confidence rating. Dossiers are generated once and cached permanently.