38 events · 20 births · 20 deaths · 8 observances. From 1675 to 2025.
Standout on January 5
Alaska Airlines Flight 1282 makes an emergency landing at Portland International Airport after a door plug blows off the Boeing 737 MAX 9 operating the flight. There are no fatalities, but the accident prompts the 737 MAX to be grounded and renews scrutiny on Boeing's manufacturing and design issues.
January 5 is the 5th day of the year. These facts are computed from the calendar, not copied from anywhere.
A dated happening — a battle, treaty, launch, discovery, disaster or decision — recorded on this calendar day.
Alaska Airlines Flight 1282 makes an emergency landing at Portland International Airport after a door plug blows off the Boeing 737 MAX 9 operating the flight. There are no fatalities, but the accident prompts the 737 MAX to be grounded and renews scrutiny on Boeing's manufacturing and design issues.
The 2023 Sinaloa unrest begins.
Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev dismisses Prime Minister Asqar Mamin and declares state of emergency over the 2022 Kazakh unrest.
A launch of the communication satellite GSAT-14 aboard the GSLV MK.II D5 marks the first successful flight of an Indian cryogenic engine.
In Eng Foong Ho v Attorney-General, the Court of Appeal of Singapore held that equality before the law was satisfied by a "reasonable nexus" between state action and the object of the law.
Mikheil Saakashvili was decisively re-elected as President of Georgia in "the first genuinely competitive presidential election" in the history of the country.
The Taiwan High Speed Rail opened, connecting Taipei and Kaohsiung.
The dwarf planet Eris was discovered by a team using images from the Samuel Oschin telescope at Palomar Observatory.
The dwarf planet Eris is discovered by Palomar Observatory-based astronomers, later motivating the International Astronomical Union (IAU) to define the term planet for the first time.
The Metropolitan Police arrested six people in conjunction with an alleged terrorist plot to release ricin on the London Underground, although no toxin was found.
A suicide bombing at the Tel Aviv central bus station kills 23 people and injures over 100 more.
Sri Lankan Tamil politician Kumar Ponnambalam was killed in an assassination suspected to have been sanctioned by President Chandrika Kumaratunga.
The oil tanker MV Braer runs aground on the coast of the Shetland Islands, spilling 84,700 tons of crude oil.
The embassy of the United States to Somalia was evacuated by helicopter airlift days after violence enveloped Mogadishu during the Somali Civil War.
Georgian troops attacked Tskhinvali, the South Ossetian capital, beginning the First South Ossetia War.
Georgian forces enter Tskhinvali, the capital of South Ossetia, Georgia, opening the 1991–92 South Ossetia War.
Somali Civil War: The United States Embassy to Somalia in Mogadishu is evacuated by helicopter airlift days after the outbreak of violence in Mogadishu.
The Khmer Rouge announce that the new Constitution of Democratic Kampuchea is ratified.
The Troubles: In response to the killings of six Catholics the previous night, South Armagh Republican Action Force gunmen killed ten Protestants in County Armagh, Northern Ireland.
The Tasman Bridge in Tasmania, Australia, is struck by the bulk ore carrier Lake Illawarra, killing twelve people.
The bulk carrier Lake Illawarra struck a bridge over the River Derwent in Hobart, Australia, causing the deaths of seven of the ship's crewmen and five motorists on the bridge.
US President Richard Nixon announces the Space Shuttle program.
A magnitude-7.1 earthquake struck Tonghai County in southern China, killing at least 10,000 people and eventually spurring the creation of the nation's largest earthquake monitoring system.
A Spantax Convair CV-990 Coronado crashes during takeoff from Stockholm Arlanda Airport, killing five people.
The Venera 5 space probe is launched at 06:28:08 UTC from Baikonur.
Ariana Afghan Airlines Flight 701 crashes in Fernhill, West Sussex, UK, while on approach to Gatwick Airport, killing 50 people.
Alexander Dubček comes to power in Czechoslovakia, effectively beginning the "Prague Spring".
Cultural Revolution: The Shanghai People's Commune is established following the seizure of power from local city officials by revolutionaries.
In a speech given to the United States Congress, United States President Dwight D. Eisenhower announces the establishment of what will later be called the Eisenhower Doctrine.
In his State of the Union speech, U.S. president Harry S. Truman (pictured) announced: "Every segment of our population, and every individual, has a right to expect from his government a fair deal."
Second World War: Australian and British troops defeated Italian forces in Bardia, Libya, the first battle of the war in which an Australian Army formation took part.
Construction began on the Golden Gate Bridge across the Straits of the Golden Gate, the entrance to San Francisco Bay.
Nellie Tayloe Ross was inaugurated as Governor of Wyoming, the first woman to serve as the governor of a U.S. state.
Antarctic explorer Ernest Shackleton (pictured) died of a heart attack during his final expedition.
The German Workers' Party, the precursor of the Nazi Party, was founded by Anton Drexler.
Te Kooti's War: After surviving a five-day siege in the pā at Ngātapa, Māori leader Te Kooti escaped from New Zealand's Armed Constabulary.
King Louis XV survived an assassination attempt by Robert-François Damiens, who later became the last person in France to be executed by drawing and quartering.
Franco-Dutch War: French troops defeated Austrian and Brandenburg forces at the Battle of Turckheim (pictured) in Alsace.
A notable person born on this day. Each links to a person page with their dates and story.
A notable person who died on this day.
Costas Simitis, Greek economist, lawyer, and politician, Prime Minister of Greece (born 1936)
Joseph Lelyveld, American journalist and executive editor of The New York Times (born 1937)
Tafazzul Haque Habiganji, Bangladeshi Islamic scholar and politician (born 1938)
Thomas Bopp, American astronomer best known as the co-discoverer of comet Hale–Bopp (born 1949)
Jean-Pierre Beltoise, French racing driver and motorcycle racer (born 1937)
A holiday, feast day, awareness day or national day observed every year on this date.
Harbin International Ice and Snow Sculpture Festival (Harbin, China)
National Bird Day (United States)
Christian Feast day: John Neumann (Catholic Church)
Joma Shinji (Japan)
Christian Feast day: Charles of Mount Argus
Christian Feast day: Simeon Stylites (Latin Church)
Christian Feast day: January 5 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
Christian Feast day: Pope Telesphorus
Earliest: Franco-Dutch War (1675). Most recent: Costas Simitis (2025).
January 5 is the 5th day of the year, with 360 days left after it.
January 5 falls under Capricorn (December 22 – January 19), a earth sign ruled by Saturn. The birthstone for the month is Garnet.
We record 86 entries for January 5: 38 events · 20 births · 20 deaths · 8 observances. From 1675 to 2025.
Walker Scobell (2009) is among the notable births on January 5. The births section lists the rest.
The day is filled the first time anyone opens it and then re-checked for new entries about every 90 days. Computed facts such as the weekday and the anniversaries update every year.
One short email a day from this calendar. Kept for this site only.
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