5 May 1764

A Saturday in history

Weekday

Saturday

Season

Spring (N. Hemisphere)

Century

18th century

Records

290

  1. 2023

    The World Health Organization declared the end of COVID-19 as a global health emergency.

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  2. 2020

    Philippine broadcast network ABS-CBN was forced to go off-air by the National Telecommunications Commission after Congress failed to renew its franchise granted in 1995.

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  3. 2007

    Kenya Airways Flight 507 crashed immediately after takeoff from Douala International Airport in Cameroon, resulting in the deaths of all 114 people aboard.

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  4. 1994

    American teenager Michael P. Fay was caned in Singapore for theft and vandalism, a punishment that the United States deemed to be excessive for a teenager committing a non-violent crime.

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  5. 1992

    The Twenty-seventh Amendment to the United States Constitution was ratified, 202 years after it was first proposed.

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  6. 1991

    Riots broke out in Washington, D.C., after a rookie police officer shot a Salvadoran man in the chest.

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  7. 1981

    After a 66-day hunger strike, Irish republican Bobby Sands died of starvation in HM Prison Maze.

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  8. 1980

    The British Special Air Service recaptured the Iranian embassy in London following a six-day siege after Iranian Arab separatists had seized it.

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  9. 1961

    Project Mercury: American astronaut Alan Shepard made a sub-orbital spaceflight on board Freedom 7, becoming the second person to travel into outer space.

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  10. 1960

    The Netherlands Carillon was inaugurated in Arlington, Virginia, on the 15th anniversary of Dutch Liberation Day.

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  11. 1945

    World War II: American and German troops fought side-by-side at the Battle for Castle Itter, defending a prison against Waffen-SS forces.

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  12. 1945

    World War II: The citizens of Prague spontaneously rose up against the city's German occupiers.

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  13. 1945

    The Mauthausen and Gusen concentration camps were liberated by the United States Army.

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  14. 1940

    World War II: A squad of 250 Norwegian volunteers defending Hegra Fortress surrendered to a superior Nazi force after a 25-day siege.

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  15. 1936

    Second Italo-Ethiopian War: Italian troops (pictured) captured the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa unopposed.

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  16. 1904

    Pitching for the Boston Americans, Cy Young threw the first perfect game in modern professional baseball.

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  17. 1891

    Carnegie Hall (interior pictured) in New York City, built by the philanthropist Andrew Carnegie, officially opened with a concert conducted by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky.

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  18. 1864

    American Civil War: Union Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant's Overland Campaign in Virginia began with the inconclusive Battle of the Wilderness in Spotsylvania County.

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  19. 1860

    Led by Italian general Giuseppe Garibaldi, the volunteer Expedition of the Thousand set sail from Genoa on a campaign to conquer the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, a crucial event of the unification of Italy.

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  20. 1654

    Cromwell's Act of Grace, which pardoned the people of Scotland for any crimes committed during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms, was proclaimed in Edinburgh.

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  21. 1646

    First English Civil War: Charles I surrendered himself to Scottish Covenanter leader David Leslie near Newark, England.

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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.