May 5th in culture:

• 1780 - 2nd oldest learned society in U.S., American Academy of Arts and Sciences, forms in Boston, Massachusetts
• 1862 - "Cinco de Mayo" refers to the Mexican army's unlikely victory against French forces at the Battle of Puebla. The date is observed nationwide in the United States and other locations around the world as a celebration of Mexican heritage and pride
• 1891: The Music Hall in New York City, later known as Carnegie Hall, has its grand opening and first performance with Tchaikovsky as the guest conductor
• 1921: After commissioning renowned perfumer Ernest Beaux to create the most expensive perfume in the world, Coco Chanel releases Chanel No. 5 .
• 1960: Princess Margaret marries Antony Armstrong Jones in a royal wedding at Westminster Abbey. Many thousands line the streets of London hoping to catch sight of the royal couple. This is the first time in 400 years that a daughter of a king has married a commoner.

May 5th in world events:

• 1809 - Mary Kies becomes the first woman awarded a U.S. patent for a technique of weaving straw with silk and thread to make hats
• 1821 - Napoleon Bonaparte dies in exile on the island of Saint Helena
• 1865-  In North Bend, Ohio, the first train robbery in the United States takes place
• 1961 - Alan Shepard becomes the first American to travel into outer space.

May 5th in sports:

• 1904 - Baseball great Cy Young throws the first perfect game in the modern era of baseball
• 1922 - Construction begins on Yankee Stadium in the Bronx, New York
• 1935 - Olympic champion, Jessie Owens of the United States, sets a world record for the long jump at almost 27 feet
• 1966 - Baseball player Willie Mays hits his 512th home run

May 5th in politics:

• 1260 - Kublai Khan becomes the ruler of the Mongol Empire
• 1949 - The Treaty of London establishes the Council of Europe in Strasbourg as the first European institution working for European integration
• 1992 - Governor Bill Clinton continues to increase his run for the democratic nomination with 80% of  the number of delegates needed to secure the democratic presidential nomination. Meanwhile Ross Perot running as an independent, is edging closer in the polls to President Bush and Bill Clinton
• 2005 - Tony Blair of the U.K., wins historic third term in government for the British Labour Party

May 5th birthdays:

• 1818 - Karl Marx, German political philosopher
• 1914 - Tyrone Power, American actor
• 1942 - Tammy Wynette, American country music singer
• 1948 - Bill Ward, British musician (Drummer for the band Black Sabbath)
• 1989 - Chris Brown, American singer and actor