5 March 1961

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.

BOAC 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.

Cuban photographer Alberto Korda took his iconic photograph Guerrillero Heroico of Marxist revolutionary Che Guevara.

World War II: The Gloster Meteor, the Allies' only operational jet aircraft, made its maiden flight.

The prototype (pictured) of the Supermarine Spitfire flew for the first time.

Roberto Cofresí, one of the last Caribbean pirates, was apprehended after his flagship sloop Anne was captured by authorities.

The First Anglo-Burmese War began.

Peninsular 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.

American Revolution: British soldiers fired into a crowd in Boston, killing five people.

The Livonian branch of the Teutonic Order suffered a great loss when 71 knights died in the Battle of Aizkraukle.

The 2023 Estonian parliamentary election is held, with two centre-right liberal parties gaining an absolute majority for the first time.

Pope Francis begins a historic visit to Iraq amidst the COVID-19 pandemic.

Syrian civil war: The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) pause the Deir ez-Zor campaign due to the Turkish-led invasion of Afrin.

Tropical Storm Irina kills over 75 as it passes through Madagascar.

Two people are killed and six more are injured in a shooting at a hair salon in Bucharest, Romania.

An Antonov An-148 crashes in Russia's Alexeyevsky District, Belgorod Oblast during a test flight, killing all seven aboard.

In Haifa, 17 Israeli civilians are killed in the Haifa bus 37 suicide bombing.

An earthquake in Mindanao, Philippines, kills 15 people and injures more than 100.

In Mina, Saudi Arabia, 35 pilgrims are killed in a stampede on the Jamaraat Bridge during the Hajj.

Palair Macedonian Airlines Flight 301 crashes at Skopje International Airport in Petrovec, North Macedonia, killing 83.

Aeropostal Alas de Venezuela Flight 109 crashes in Venezuela, killing 45.

Soviet probe Venera 14 lands on Venus.

The ZX81, a pioneering British home computer, is launched by Sinclair Research and would go on to sell over 11⁄2 million units around the world.

Soviet probes Venera 11, Venera 12 and the German-American solar satellite Helios II all are hit by "off the scale" gamma rays leading to the discovery of soft gamma repeaters.