◆ On this day

May 5

4 sourced moments from May 5 in history: Napoleon Bonaparte dies in exile on Saint Helena (1821); Mexican forces defeat the French at the Battle of Puebla (1862); Carnegie Hall opens in New York City (1891), plus 1 more.

‹

›

S 2 S 3 M 4 T 5 W 6 T 7 F 8

4 things happened on May 5

newest first ↓

1961 Space · Space Exploration

Alan Shepard, first American in space, nearly beat Gagarin

Shepard's May 5, 1961 suborbital hop could have flown weeks before Gagarin's orbit, if not for one extra rocket test NASA chose to run.

Read →

1891 Culture & Arts · Performing Arts

Carnegie Hall opens in New York City

America's grandest concert hall threw open its doors with a five-day festival and a guest conductor of global fame: Tchaikovsky.

Read →

1862 History · War & Conflict

Mexican forces defeat the French at the Battle of Puebla

On May 5, 1862, an outnumbered Mexican army turned back one of Europe's finest forces at Puebla, and Cinco de Mayo was born.

Read →

1821 History · Modern

Napoleon Bonaparte dies in exile on Saint Helena

On May 5, 1821, the emperor who had redrawn Europe died of stomach cancer in a damp house on one of the loneliest islands on Earth.

Read →