May 5: What Happened on This Day in History (Elementary Level)?

(Page last edited 10/12/2017)

1. 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.
2. 1494 - Christopher Columbus lands on the island of Jamaica and claims it for Spain.
3. 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.
4. 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.
5. 2000 - Approximate alignment of the five planets (Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn) visible to the naked eye from Earth, as well as the sun and Earth's moon, and Earth itself; for the first time since March 4th, 1953 B.C. (since about 4000 years ago); and for the last time in the next 4000 years
6. Famous Birthdays: Karl Marx (German philosopher), Henryk Sienkiewicz (Polish author, Nobel Prize laureate), Nellie Bly (American journalist and author), Floyd Gottfredson (American illustrator), Arthur Leonard Schawlow (American physicist, Nobel Prize laureate)

For famous birthdays and other daily events in history, visit our Daily Dose Activities.

Click Here for Yesterday in History: May 4

Click Here for Tomorrow in History: May 6

For more history resources on Internet 4 Classrooms, visit our Social Studies and History index. For Pre K-8th Grade Level History and Social Studies Resources, visit our Grade Level Index.