This day marks the approximate midpoint of spring in the Northern Hemisphere and of autumn in the Southern Hemisphere (starting the season at the March equinox).
May 5 in History
- 553 – The Second Council of Constantinople begins
- 1215 – Rebel barons renounce their allegiance to King John of England — part of a chain of events leading to the signing of the Magna Carta.
- 1260 – Kublai Khan becomes ruler of the Mongol Empire.
- 1494 – Christopher Columbus lands on the island of Jamaica and claims it for Spain.
- 1640 – King Charles I of England dissolves the Short Parliament.
- 1654 – Cromwell’s Act of Grace, aimed at reconciliation with the Scots, proclaimed in Edinburgh.
- 1672 – In preparation for the Franco-Dutch War, Louis XIV of France personally inspects his troops at Charleroi in one of the most magnificent displays of military power in the seventeenth century.
- 1762 – Russia and Prussia sign the Treaty of St. Petersburg.
- 1789 – In France, the Estates-General convenes for the first time since 1614.
- 1809 – Mary Kies becomes the first woman awarded a U.S. patent, for a technique of weaving straw with silk and thread.
- 1809 – The Swiss canton of Aargau allows citizenship to Jews.
- 1811 – Peninsular War: In the Battle of Fuentes de Oñoro, the British-Portuguese Army repels an attempt by the French Army of Portugal to relieve the besieged city of Almeida.
- 1821 – Emperor Napoleon dies in exile on the island of Saint Helena in the South Atlantic Ocean.
- 1835 – The first railway in continental Europe opens between Brussels and Mechelen.
- 1860 – Giuseppe Garibaldi sets sail from Genoa, leading the expedition of the Thousand to conquer the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies and giving birth to the Kingdom of Italy.
- 1862 – Cinco de Mayo: Troops led by Ignacio Zaragoza halt a French invasion in the Battle of Puebla in Mexico.
- 1864 – American Civil War: The Battle of the Wilderness begins in Spotsylvania County.
- 1865 – American Civil War: The Confederate District of the Gulf surrenders about 4,000 men at Citronelle, Alabama.
- 1865 – American Civil War: The Confederate government was declared dissolved at Washington, Georgia.
- 1866 – Memorial Day first celebrated in United States at Waterloo, New York.
- 1877 – American Indian Wars: Sitting Bull leads his band of Lakota into Canada to avoid harassment by the United States Army under Colonel Nelson Miles.
- 1886 – The Bay View massacre: A militia fires into a crowd of protesters in Milwaukee, killing seven.
- 1891 – The Music Hall in New York City (later known as Carnegie Hall) has its grand opening and first public performance, with Tchaikovsky as the guest conductor.
- 1904 – Pitching against the Philadelphia Athletics at the Huntington Avenue Grounds, Cy Young of the Boston Americans throws the first perfect game in the modern era of baseball.
- 1905 – The trial in the Stratton Brothers case begins in London, England; it marks the first time that fingerprint evidence is used to gain a conviction for murder.
- 1912 – Pravda, the “voice” of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, begins publication in Saint Petersburg.
- 1920 – Authorities arrest Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti for alleged robbery and murder.
- 1925 – Scopes Trial: Serving of an arrest warrant on John T. Scopes for teaching evolution in violation of the Butler Act.
- 1927 – To the Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf is first published.
- 1936 – Italian troops occupy Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
- 1940 – World War II: Norwegian refugees form a government-in-exile in London.
- 1940 – World War II: Norwegian Campaign: Norwegian squads in Hegra Fortress and Vinjesvingen capitulate to German forces after all other Norwegian forces in southern Norway had laid down their arms.
- 1941 – Emperor Haile Selassie returns to Addis Ababa; the country commemorates the date as Liberation Day or Patriots’ Victory Day.
- 1945 – World War II: The German surrender at Lüneburg Heath becomes effective, encompassing all German armed forces opposing the 21st Army Group in northwestern Germany, Denmark, and the Netherlands.
- 1945 – World War II: Dönitz gives Löhr permission to seek an armistice with the Western Allies to preserve a communist free Austria and recognising first, from a German standpoint, the separation of Austria from Germany undoing the Anschluss.
- 1945 – World War II: The Prague uprising begins as an attempt by the Czech resistance to free the city from German occupation.
- 1945 – World War II: A Fu-Go balloon bomb launched by the Japanese Army kills six people near Bly, Oregon.
- 1945 – World War II: Battle of Castle Itter, the only battle in which American and German troops fought cooperatively.
- 1946 – The International Military Tribunal for the Far East begins in Tokyo with twenty-eight Japanese military and government officials accused of war crimes and crimes against humanity.
- 1950 – Bhumibol Adulyadej is crowned as King of Thailand.
- 1955 – The General Treaty, by which France, Britain and the United States recognize the sovereignty of West Germany, comes into effect.
- 1961 – Alan Shepard becomes the first American to travel into outer space, on a sub-orbital flight.
- 1964 – The Council of Europe declares May 5 as Europe Day.
- 1972 – Alitalia Flight 112 crashes into Mount Longa near Palermo, Sicily, killing all 115 aboard, making it the deadliest single-aircraft disaster in Italy.
- 1973 – Secretariat wins the 1973 Kentucky Derby in 1:592⁄5, an as-yet unbeaten record.
- 1980 – Operation Nimrod: The British Special Air Service storms the Iranian embassy in London after a six-day siege.
- 1981 – Bobby Sands dies in the Long Kesh prison hospital after 66 days of hunger-striking, aged 27.
- 1985 – Ronald Reagan visits the military cemetery at Bitburg and the site of the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp, where he makes a speech.
- 1987 – Iran–Contra affair: Start of Congressional televised hearings in the United States of America
- 1991 – A riot breaks out in the Mt. Pleasant section of Washington, D.C. after police shoot a Salvadoran man.
- 1992 – Armand Césari Stadium disaster in Bastia (Corsica): Eighteen people are killed and 2,300 are injured when one of the terraces collapses before a football match between SC Bastia and Olympique de Marseille.
- 1993 – Three eight-year-old boys are murdered in West Memphis, Arkansas, Ultimately leading to the conviction of the West Memphis Three.
- 1994 – The signing of the Bishkek Protocol between Armenia and Azerbaijan effectively freezes the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.
- 1994 – American teenager Michael P. Fay is caned in Singapore for theft and vandalism.
- 1998 – A Peruvian Air Force Boeing 737 operating for Occidental Petroleum crashes on approach to Alférez FAP Alfredo Vladimir Sara Bauer Airport in Andoas, Peru, killing 75 people.
- 2006 – The government of Sudan signs an accord with the Sudan Liberation Army.
- 2007 – Kenya Airways Flight 507 crashes after takeoff from Douala International Airport in Douala, Cameroon, killing all 114 aboard, making it the deadliest aircraft disaster in Cameroon.
- 2010 – Mass protests in Greece erupt in response to austerity measures imposed by the government as a result of the Greek government-debt crisis.
- 2014 – Eleven people are missing after a Chinese cargo ship collides with a Marshall Islands registered container ship off the coast of Hong Kong.
- 2014 – Twenty-two people die after two boats carrying refugees collide in the Aegean Sea off the coast of Greece.
- 2019 – A Russian jet plane burst into flames while attempting an emergency landing at Sheremetyevo Airport in Moscow killing at least 41 people.
- 2020 – The National Telecommunications Commission issued a Cease and desist order to ABS-CBN Corporation to stop the operation of it’s free TV and radio stations.
Births on May 5
- 1210 – Afonso III of Portugal (d. 1279)
- 1282 – Juan Manuel, Prince of Villena (d. 1322)
- 1310 – Preczlaw of Pogarell, Cardinal and Bishop of Wrocław (d. 1376)
- 1352 – Rupert of Germany, Count Palatine of the Rhine (d. 1410)
- 1479 – Guru Amar Das, Indian 3rd Sikh Guru (d. 1574)
- 1504 – Stanislaus Hosius, Polish cardinal (d. 1579)
- 1530 – Gabriel, comte de Montgomery, French nobleman (d. 1574)
- 1542 – Thomas Cecil, 1st Earl of Exeter, English soldier and politician, Lord Lieutenant of Northamptonshire (d. 1623)
- 1582 – John Frederick, Duke of Württemberg (d. 1628)
- 1684 – Françoise Charlotte d’Aubigné, French wife of Adrien Maurice de Noailles (d. 1739)
- 1747 – Leopold II, Holy Roman Emperor (d. 1792)
- 1749 – Jean-Frédéric Edelmann, French pianist and composer (d. 1794)
- 1764 – Robert Craufurd, Scottish general and politician (d. 1812)
- 1800 – Louis Christophe François Hachette, French publisher (d. 1864)
- 1813 – Søren Kierkegaard, Danish philosopher and author (d. 1855)
- 1818 – Karl Marx, German philosopher, sociologist, and journalist (d. 1883)
- 1826 – Eugénie de Montijo, French wife of Napoleon III (d. 1920)
- 1830 – John Batterson Stetson, American businessman, founded the John B. Stetson Company (d. 1906)
- 1832 – Hubert Howe Bancroft, American ethnologist and historian (d. 1918)
- 1833 – Ferdinand von Richthofen, German geographer and academic (d. 1905)
- 1834 – Viktor Hartmann, Russian painter and architect (d. 1873)
- 1843 – William George Beers, Canadian dentist and patriot (d. 1900)
- 1846 – Henryk Sienkiewicz, Polish journalist and author, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1916)
- 1858 – John L. Leal, American physician (d. 1914)
- 1859 – Charles B. Hanford, American Shakespearean actor (d. 1926)
- 1864 – Nellie Bly, American journalist and author (d. 1922)
- 1865 – Helen Maud Merrill, American litterateur and poet (d. 1943)
- 1866 – Thomas B. Thrige, Danish businessman (d. 1938)
- 1869 – Fabián de la Rosa, Filipino painter and educator (d. 1937)
- 1869 – Hans Pfitzner, German composer and conductor (d. 1949)
- 1874 – Thomas Bavin, New Zealand-Australian politician, 24th Premier of New South Wales (d. 1941)
- 1882 – Sylvia Pankhurst, English women’s suffrage movement leader and socialist activist (d. 1960)
- 1883 – Archibald Wavell, 1st Earl Wavell, English general and politician, 43rd Governor-General of India (d. 1950)
- 1883 – Anna Johnson Pell Wheeler, American mathematician (d. 1966)
- 1884 – Chief Bender, American baseball player and coach (d. 1954)
- 1885 – Kingsley Fairbridge, South African-Australian scholar and politician (d. 1924)
- 1887 – Mervyn S. Bennion, American captain, Medal of Honor recipient (d. 1941)
- 1889 – Herbie Taylor, South African cricketer and soldier (d. 1973)
- 1890 – Christopher Morley, American journalist and author (d. 1957)
- 1892 – Dorothy Garrod, British archaeologist (d. 1968)
- 1898 – Elsie Eaves, American engineer (d. 1983)
- 1898 – Blind Willie McTell, American Piedmont blues singer and guitar player (d. 1959)
- 1899 – Freeman Gosden, American actor and screenwriter (d. 1982)
- 1900 – Helen Redfield, American geneticist (d. 1988)
- 1903 – James Beard, American chef and author (d. 1985)
- 1905 – Floyd Gottfredson, American author and illustrator (d. 1986)
- 1906 – Charles Exbrayat, French author and screenwriter (d. 1989)
- 1907 – Daryna Dmytrivna Polotniuk, Bukovinian (Ukrainian) journalist and author (d. 1982)
- 1908 – Kurt Böhme, German opera singer (d. 1989)
- 1909 – Miklós Radnóti, Hungarian poet and author (d. 1944)
- 1910 – Leo Lionni, American author and illustrator (d. 1999)
- 1911 – Gilles Grangier, French director and screenwriter (d. 1996)
- 1911 – Andor Lilienthal, Russian-Hungarian chess player (d. 2010)
- 1911 – Pritilata Waddedar, Indian educator and activist (d. 1932)
- 1913 – Duane Carter, American race car driver (d. 1993)
- 1914 – Tyrone Power, American actor (d. 1958)
- 1915 – Alice Faye, American actress and singer (d. 1998)
- 1916 – Zail Singh, Indian politician, 7th President of India (d. 1994)
- 1917 – Pío Leyva, Cuban singer-songwriter (d. 2006)
- 1918 – Egidio Galea, Maltese Roman Catholic priest (d. 2005)
- 1919 – Georgios Papadopoulos, Greek colonel and politician, 169th Prime Minister of Greece (d. 1999)
- 1921 – Arthur Leonard Schawlow, American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1999)
- 1922 – Irene Gut Opdyke, Polish nurse and humanitarian (d. 2003)
- 1923 – William C. Campbell, American golfer (d. 2013)
- 1923 – James Gilbert, Scottish television producer and director (d. 2016)
- 1923 – Cathleen Synge Morawetz, Canadian mathematician (d. 2017)
- 1923 – Richard Wollheim, English philosopher and academic (d. 2003)
- 1925 – Leo Ryan, American soldier, educator, and politician (d. 1978)
- 1927 – Pat Carroll, American actress
- 1929 – Ilene Woods, American actress (d. 2010)
- 1930 – Hans Abramson, Swedish director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2012)
- 1931 – Greg, Belgian author and illustrator (d. 1999)
- 1932 – Stan Goldberg, American illustrator (d. 2014)
- 1932 – Bob Said, American race car driver and bobsled racer (d. 2002)
- 1933 – Igor Kashkarov, Russian high jumper
- 1933 – Collie Smith, Jamaican cricketer (d. 1959)
- 1934 – Henri Konan Bédié, Ivorian politician, 2nd President of Côte d’Ivoire
- 1934 – Victor Garland, Australian accountant and politician, 26th Australian Minister for Veterans’ Affairs
- 1935 – Eddie Linden, Scottish poet and magazine editor
- 1935 – Bernard Pivot, French journalist, talk show host, and producer
- 1935 – Robert Rehme, American film producer
- 1936 – Sandy Baron, American actor and comedian (d. 2001)
- 1936 – Patrick Gowers, English composer and educator (d. 2014)
- 1936 – Ervin Lázár, Hungarian author (d. 2006)
- 1937 – Delia Derbyshire, English musician, arranger and composer (d. 2001)
- 1938 – Michael Murphy, American actor
- 1938 – Barbara Wagner, Canadian figure skater and coach
- 1939 – Ray Gosling, English journalist, author, and activist (d. 2013)
- 1940 – Lance Henriksen, American actor
- 1940 – Michael Lindsay-Hogg, American director and producer
- 1941 – Alexander Ragulin, Russian ice hockey player (d. 2004)
- 1942 – István Bujtor, Hungarian actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2009)
- 1942 – Jean Corston, Baroness Corston, English lawyer and politician
- 1942 – Hugh Courtenay, 18th Earl of Devon, English politician (d. 2015)
- 1942 – Tammy Wynette, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1998)
- 1943 – Michael Palin, English actor and screenwriter
- 1943 – Ignacio Ramonet, Spanish journalist and author
- 1944 – Bo Larsson, Swedish footballer
- 1944 – John Rhys-Davies, Welsh actor and screenwriter
- 1944 – Roger Rees, Welsh-American actor and director (d. 2015)
- 1945 – Kurt Loder, American journalist, author, and critic
- 1945 – Dianne Willcocks, English sociologist and academic
- 1946 – Jim Kelly, American actor, athlete, and martial artist
- 1946 – Aydın Menderes, Turkish politician (d. 2011)
- 1948 – Bella van der Spiegel-Hage, Dutch cyclist
- 1948 – Bill Ward, English drummer and songwriter
- 1949 – Eppie Bleeker, Dutch speed skater
- 1950 – Rex Caldwell, American golfer
- 1950 – Maggie MacNeal, Dutch singer
- 1951 – Rudolf Finsterer, German rugby player and coach
- 1951 – Toomas Vilosius, Estonian physician and politician, 2nd Minister of Social Affairs of Estonia
- 1952 – Ed Lee, American politician and attorney, 43rd Mayor of San Francisco (d. 2017)
- 1952 – Jorge Llopart, Spanish race walker
- 1952 – Willem Witteveen, Dutch scholar and politician (d. 2014)
- 1955 – Jon Butcher, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and freelance multimedia producer
- 1956 – Steve Scott, American runner and coach
- 1957 – Richard E. Grant, Swazi-English actor, director, and screenwriter
- 1957 – Peter Howitt, English actor, director, and screenwriter
- 1957 – Aad van Mil, Dutch water polo player
- 1958 – Ron Arad, Israeli colonel and pilot (d. 1986)
- 1958 – Robert DiPierdomenico, Australian footballer and sportscaster
- 1958 – Vanessa Downing, Australian actress
- 1958 – Jack Wishna, American businessman, co-founded Rockcityclub (d. 2012)
- 1959 – Bobby Ellsworth, American singer and bass player
- 1959 – Ian McCulloch, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1959 – Steve Stevens, American guitarist and songwriter
- 1959 – Brian Williams, American journalist
- 1960 – Doug Hawkins, Australian footballer and sportscaster
- 1961 – Marg Downey, Australian actress
- 1961 – Hiroshi Hase, Japanese wrestler and politician
- 1961 – Rob Williams, American basketball player (d. 2014)
- 1962 – Kaoru Wada, Japanese composer and conductor
- 1963 – James LaBrie, Canadian singer-songwriter
- 1963 – Simon Rimmer, English chef and author
- 1963 – Scott Westerfeld, American author and composer
- 1964 – Jean-François Copé, French politician, French Minister of Budget
- 1964 – Heike Henkel, German high jumper
- 1964 – Don Payne, American screenwriter and producer (d. 2013)
- 1964 – Minami Takayama, Japanese voice actress and singer
- 1964 – Efrat Mishori, Israeli poet and filmmaker
- 1965 – Glenn Seton, Australian race car driver
- 1966 – Shawn Drover, Canadian drummer
- 1966 – Sergei Stanishev, Bulgarian politician, 46th Prime Minister of Bulgaria
- 1966 – Josh Weinstein, American screenwriter and producer
- 1967 – Adam Hughes, American author and illustrator
- 1967 – Alexis Sinduhije, Burundian journalist and politician
- 1969 – Pieter Muller, South African rugby player
- 1970 – Kyan Douglas, American television host and author
- 1970 – Todd Newton, American game show host
- 1971 – Harold Miner, American basketball player
- 1971 – Mike Redmond, American baseball player and manager
- 1972 – James Cracknell, English rower
- 1972 – Žigmund Pálffy, Slovakian ice hockey player
- 1972 – Mikael Renberg, Swedish ice hockey player
- 1975 – Meb Keflezighi, American runner
- 1976 – Dieter Brummer, Australian actor
- 1976 – Jean-François Dumoulin, Canadian race car driver
- 1976 – Anastasios Pantos, Greek footballer
- 1976 – Juan Pablo Sorín, Argentinian footballer and sportscaster
- 1978 – Morgan Pehme, American director, producer, and screenwriter
- 1979 – Vincent Kartheiser, American actor
- 1980 – Yossi Benayoun, Israeli footballer
- 1980 – Hank Green, American entrepreneur, educator, and vlogger
- 1980 – DerMarr Johnson, American basketball player
- 1981 – Craig David, English singer-songwriter, musician and producer
- 1981 – Danielle Fishel, American actress
- 1982 – Ferrie Bodde, Dutch footballer
- 1982 – Wouter D’Haene, Belgian sprinter
- 1982 – Randall Gay, American football player
- 1982 – Corey Parker, Australian rugby league footballer
- 1983 – James Anyon, English cricketer
- 1983 – Henry Cavill, English actor
- 1983 – Mabel Gay, Cuban triple jumper
- 1983 – Annie Villeneuve, Canadian singer-songwriter
- 1983 – Scott Ware, American football player
- 1984 – Johanna Hedva, Korean-American artist and genderqueer activist
- 1984 – Wade MacNeil, Canadian singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1984 – Christian Valdez, Mexican footballer
- 1985 – Shoko Nakagawa, Japanese actress and singer
- 1985 – Emanuele Giaccherini, Italian footballer
- 1985 – Tsepo Masilela, South African footballer
- 1985 – Marcos Rogério Oliveira Duarte, Brazilian footballer
- 1985 – Terrence Wheatley, American football player
- 1987 – Graham Dorrans, Scottish footballer
- 1988 – Adele, English singer-songwriter
- 1988 – Mervyn Westfield, English cricketer
- 1989 – Chris Brown, American singer-songwriter, dancer, and actor
- 1991 – Xenofon Fetsis, Greek footballer
- 1991 – Raúl Jiménez, Mexican footballer
- 1992 – Loïck Landre, French footballer
- 1994 – Celeste, English singer
- 1998 – Aryna Sabalenka, Belarusian tennis player
- 1999 – Nathan Chen, American figure skater
- 1999 – Justin Kluivert, Dutch footballer
Deaths on May 5
- 465 – Gerontius, Archbishop of Milan
- 1194 – Casimir II the Just, Polish son of Bolesław III Wrymouth (b. 1138)
- 1243 – Hubert de Burgh, 1st Earl of Kent, English justiciar (b. c. 1160)
- 1306 – Constantine Palaiologos, Byzantine general (b. 1261)
- 1309 – Charles II of Naples (b. 1254)
- 1316 – Elizabeth of Rhuddlan, daughter of King Edward I of England (b. 1282)
- 1338 – Prince Tsunenaga, son of the Japanese Emperor (b. 1324)
- 1380 – Saint Philotheos, Coptic martyr
- 1432 – Francesco Bussone da Carmagnola, Italian adventurer
- 1525 – Frederick III, Elector of Saxony (b. 1463)
- 1582 – Charlotte of Bourbon, Princess consort of Orange, married to William I of Orange (b. 1547)
- 1586 – Henry Sidney, Irish politician, Lord Deputy of Ireland (b. 1529)
- 1671 – Edward Montagu, 2nd Earl of Manchester, English general and politician, Lord Chamberlain of the United Kingdom (b. 1602)
- 1672 – Samuel Cooper, English painter and linguist (b. 1609)
- 1700 – Angelo Italia, Italian architect (b. 1628)
- 1705 – Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor (b. 1640)
- 1760 – Laurence Shirley, 4th Earl Ferrers, English politician (b. 1720)
- 1766 – Jean Astruc, French physician and scholar (b. 1684)
- 1808 – Pierre Jean George Cabanis, French physiologist and philosopher (b. 1757)
- 1821 – Napoleon, French general and emperor (b. 1769)
- 1827 – Frederick Augustus I of Saxony (b. 1750)
- 1833 – Sophia Campbell, English-Australian painter (b. 1777)
- 1855 – Sir Robert Inglis, 2nd Baronet, English politician (b. 1786)
- 1859 – Peter Gustav Lejeune Dirichlet, German mathematician and academic (b. 1805)
- 1860 – Jean-Charles Prince, Canadian bishop (b. 1804)
- 1883 – John O’Shanassy, Irish-Australian politician, 2nd Premier of Victoria (b. 1818)
- 1892 – August Wilhelm von Hofmann, German chemist and academic (b. 1818)
- 1896 – Silas Adams, American lawyer and politician (b. 1839)
- 1902 – Bret Harte, American short story writer and poet (b. 1836)
- 1907 – Şeker Ahmed Pasha, Turkish soldier and painter (b. 1841)
- 1913 – Henry Moret, French painter (b. 1856)
- 1916 – John MacBride, Irish soldier and rebel (b. 1865)
- 1916 – Maurice Raoul-Duval, French polo player (b. 1866)
- 1921 – Alfred Hermann Fried, Austrian journalist and publicist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1864)
- 1924 – A. Sabapathy, Sri Lankan journalist and politician (b. 1853)
- 1931 – Glen Kidston, English pilot and race car driver (b. 1899)
- 1942 – Qemal Stafa, Albanian politician (b. 1920)
- 1947 – Ty LaForest, Canadian-American baseball player (b. 1917)
- 1957 – Leopold Löwenheim, German mathematician and logician (b. 1878)
- 1959 – Carlos Saavedra Lamas, Argentinian academic and politician, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1878)
- 1962 – Ernest Tyldesley, English cricketer (b. 1889)
- 1965 – Nikos Gounaris, Greek tenor and composer (b. 1915)
- 1965 – John Waters, American director and screenwriter (b. 1893)
- 1971 – Violet Jessop, Argentinean-English nurse (b. 1887)
- 1973 – Zekai Özger, Turkish poet and academic (b. 1948)
- 1977 – Ludwig Erhard, German economist and politician, Chancellor of Germany (b. 1897)
- 1981 – Bobby Sands, PIRA volunteer and hunger striker (b. 1954)
- 1983 – Horst Schumann, German physician (b. 1901)
- 1983 – John Williams, English-American actor (b. 1903)
- 1985 – Donald Bailey, English engineer, designed the Bailey bridge (b. 1901)
- 1988 – Michael Shaara, American author and academic (b. 1928)
- 1993 – Irving Howe, American literary and social critic (b. 1920)
- 1994 – Mário Quintana, Brazilian poet and translator (b. 1906)
- 1995 – Mikhail Botvinnik, Russian chess player and coach (b. 1911)
- 1999 – Vasilis Diamantopoulos, Greek actor, director, and screenwriter (b. 1920)
- 2000 – Gino Bartali, Italian cyclist (b. 1914)
- 2000 – Bill Musselman, American basketball player and coach (b. 1940)
- 2001 – Morris Graves, American painter and educator (b. 1910)
- 2001 – Clifton Hillegass, American publisher, created CliffsNotes (b. 1918)
- 2002 – Hugo Banzer, Bolivian general and politician, 62nd President of Bolivia (b. 1926)
- 2002 – Paul Wilbur Klipsch, American engineer, founded Klipsch Audio Technologies (b. 1904)
- 2002 – George Sidney, American director and producer (b. 1916)
- 2003 – Sam Bockarie, Sierra Leonean commander (b. 1964)
- 2003 – Walter Sisulu, South African activist and politician (b. 1912)
- 2006 – Naushad Ali, Indian composer and producer (b. 1919)
- 2006 – Atıf Yılmaz, Turkish director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1925)
- 2007 – Theodore Harold Maiman, American-Canadian physicist and engineer, created the laser (b. 1927)
- 2008 – Irv Robbins, Canadian-American businessman, co-founded Baskin-Robbins (b. 1917)
- 2008 – Jerry Wallace, American singer and guitarist (b. 1928)
- 2010 – Giulietta Simionato, Italian soprano (b. 1910)
- 2010 – Umaru Musa Yar’Adua, Nigerian academic and politician, 13th President of Nigeria (b. 1951)
- 2011 – Claude Choules, English-Australian soldier (b. 1901)
- 2011 – Yosef Merimovich, Israeli footballer and manager (b. 1924)
- 2011 – Dana Wynter, British actress (b. 1931)
- 2012 – Surendranath, Indian cricketer (b. 1937)
- 2012 – Carl Johan Bernadotte, Count of Wisborg (b. 1916)
- 2012 – Aatos Erkko, Finnish journalist and publisher (b. 1932)
- 2012 – George Knobel, Dutch footballer, coach, and manager (b. 1922)
- 2012 – Roy Padayachie, South African lawyer and politician, South African Minister of Communications (b. 1950)
- 2013 – Sarah Kirsch, German poet and author (b. 1935)
- 2013 – Robert Ressler, American FBI agent and author (b. 1937)
- 2014 – Michael Otedola, Nigerian journalist and politician, 9th Governor of Lagos State (b. 1926)
- 2015 – Jobst Brandt, American cyclist, engineer, and author (b. 1935)
- 2015 – Hans Jansen, Dutch linguist, academic, and politician (b. 1942)
- 2017 – Binyamin Elon, Israeli Orthodox rabbi and politician (b. 1954)
- 2017 – Ely Ould Mohamed Vall, Mauritanian politician (b. 1953)
Holidays and observances on May 5
- Children’s Day (Japan, South Korea)
- Christian feast day:
- Angelus of Jerusalem
- Aventinus of Tours
- Blessed Edmund Ignatius Rice
- Frederick the Wise (Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod)
- Hilary of Arles
- Jutta of Kulmsee
- Stanisław Kazimierczyk
- May 5 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
- Cinco de Mayo (Mexico, United States)
- Constitution Day (Kyrgyzstan)
- Europe Day (Council of Europe)
- Feast of al-Khadr or Saint George (Palestinian)
- Indian Arrival Day (Guyana)
- International Midwives’ Day (International)
- Liberation Day (Denmark, Netherlands)
- Lusophone Culture Day (Community of Portuguese Language Countries)
- World Portuguese language day (International)
- Martyrs’ Day (Albania)
- Patriots’ Victory Day (Ethiopia)
- Senior Citizens Day (Palau)
- Tango no sekku (Japan)
