A Brief History
This article presents a chronological list of notable events that happened on March 5th. For each date below, please click on the date to be taken to an article covering that date’s event.
Digging Deeper
On March 5, 1496, in the wake of the tremendous news about the voyage of Christopher Columbus to the New World, King Henry VII of England granted “letters patent” to John Cabot, an Italian sailor and adventurer, along with his sons, to explore the world on behalf of the English Crown.
On March 5, 1770, in an incident then known as “The Incident on King Street” British soldiers gunned down 5 American patriots and wounded another 6.
On March 5, 1770, British soldiers opened fire on a group of unarmed American protesters, killing 5 (either 3 or 4 immediately, one dying later), an event referred to as The Boston Massacre, sometimes called the first shots fired in the American Revolutionary War. (NOTE: The link in the date for this entry leads to a different article than the other mention to this same event above.)
On March 5, 1836, Samuel Colt formed the gun-manufacturing company that would produce the pistols “that won the West.”
On March 5, 1836, Samuel Colt formed Patent Arms Manufacturing, the forerunner of Colt’s Firearms Manufacturing Company which in turn became today’s Colt’s Manufacturing Company. (NOTE: The link in the date for this entry leads to a different article than the other mention to this same event above.)
On March 5, 1872, George Westinghouse patented the air brake, a system for use with railroad trains.
On March 5, 1933, Germany’s Reichstag elections were won by Adolf Hitler and his band of “national socialists” with only 43.9% of the vote, enough to allow Hitler, already appointed Chancellor, to become virtual dictator of Germany and lead the world to a path of ruin.
On March 5, 1936, the fighter airplane that has been called the most beautiful plane of all time made its first flight.
On March 5, 1946, while speaking at Westminster College in Fulton, Missouri, former British Prime Minister, Winston Churchill, uttered the term “Iron Curtain” in reference to the divide between the Soviet led Communist Bloc and the democratic/capitalist Western group of nations led by the United States.
On March 5, 1953, Joseph Stalin, one of modern history’s most evil world leaders, died.
On March 5, 2014, we posted an article about Colt’s revolver, but what are some more famous pistols in history?
On March 5, 2021, American science fiction action-adventure film Chaos Walking was scheduled to be released in the United States by Lionsgate.
On March 5, 2023, Americans celebrated yet another of those strange “National Days” that you may not be aware of, this time, honoring that fabled alcoholic beverage, Absinthe, known as “The Green Fairey.”
Question for students (and subscribers): Which event that occurred on today’s date would you like to learn more about? Please let us know in the comments section below this article.
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Historical Evidence
For more information, please see…
Andrews, John and Matt Baker. Timeline of World History. Thunder Bay Press, 2020.
You can also watch video versions of this article on YouTube.
