5 January
Notable Births
Walker Scobell
b. 2009
American actor (born 2009)
Shane Wright
b. 2004
Canadian ice hockey player (born 2004)
Mykhailo Mudryk
b. 2001
Ukrainian footballer (born 2001)
Ellis Simms
b. 2001
English footballer (born 2001)
Mattias Svanberg
b. 1999
Swedish footballer (born 1999)
Carles Aleñá
b. 1998
Spanish footballer (born 1998)
Corey Horsburgh
b. 1998
Australian rugby league footballer (born 1998)
Jesús Vallejo
b. 1997
Spanish footballer (born 1997)
James Fisher-Harris
b. 1996
New Zealand and Māori international rugby league footballer
Tyler Ulis
b. 1996
American basketball player and coach
Toafofoa Sipley
b. 1995
Niue international rugby league footballer
Lachlan Fitzgibbon
b. 1994
Australian rugby league footballer (born 1994)
Zemgus Girgensons
b. 1994
Latvian ice hockey player (born 1994)
Matt Grzelcyk
b. 1994
American ice hockey player (born 1994)
Tyrone Phillips
b. 1994
Fiji international rugby league footballer
Gustavo Scarpa
b. 1994
Brazilian footballer (born 1994)
Phillip Dorsett
b. 1993
American football player (born 1993)
Franz Drameh
b. 1993
British actor (born 1993)
Mike Faist
b. 1992
American actor (born 1992)
Suki Waterhouse
b. 1992
English actress, singer, and model (born 1992)
Notable Deaths
Mike Rinder
d. 2025
American Scientology critic (1955–2025)
Costas Simitis
d. 2025
Prime Minister of Greece from 1996 to 2004
Joseph Lelyveld
d. 2024
American journalist (1937–2024)
Mário Zagallo
d. 2024
Brazilian footballer and manager (1931–2024)
Kim Mi-soo
d. 2022
South Korean actress (1992–2022)
Colin Bell (footballer, born 1946)
d. 2021
English professional footballer (1946–2021)
Hefazat-e-Islam Bangladesh
d. 2020
Bangladeshi Islamic advocacy group
Bernice Sandler
d. 2019
American women's rights activist (1928–2019)
Dragoslav Šekularac
d. 2019
Yugoslav and Serbian footballer and coach (1937–2019)
Asghar Khan
d. 2018
First native Pakistani Air Chief (1921-2018)
Thomas Bopp
d. 2018
American astronomer (1949–2018)
Karin von Aroldingen
d. 2018
German ballet dancer
Jill Saward
d. 2017
English campaigner and author
Pierre Boulez
d. 2016
French composer and conductor (1925–2016)
Jean-Pierre Beltoise
d. 2015
French racing driver and motorcycle road racer (1937–2015)
Bernard Joseph McLaughlin
d. 2015
Catholic bishop (1912–2015)
Eusébio
d. 2014
Portuguese footballer (1942–2014)
Carmen Zapata
d. 2014
American actress (1927–2014)
Qazi Hussain Ahmad
d. 2013
Islamist political party president (1938 – 2013)
Isaac Díaz Pardo
d. 2012
Spanish artist
On This Day in History
All 41 ›2024
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.
Alaska Airlines Flight 1282
2023
The 2023 Sinaloa unrest begins.
2023 Sinaloa unrest
2022
Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev dismisses Prime Minister Asqar Mamin and declares state of emergency over the 2022 Kazakh unrest.
Kassym-Jomart Tokayev
2014
A launch of the communication satellite GSAT-14 aboard the GSLV MK.II D5 marks the first successful flight of an Indian cryogenic engine.
GSAT-14
2005
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.
Eris (dwarf planet)
2003
A suicide bombing at the Tel Aviv central bus station kills 23 people and injures over 100 more.
Tel Aviv central bus station massacre
1993
The oil tanker MV Braer runs aground on the coast of the Shetland Islands, spilling 84,700 tons of crude oil.
MV Braer
1991
Georgian forces enter Tskhinvali, the capital of South Ossetia, Georgia, opening the 1991–92 South Ossetia War.
Georgia (country)
1991
Somali Civil War: The United States Embassy to Somalia in Mogadishu is evacuated by helicopter airlift days after the outbreak of violence in Mogadishu.
Somali Civil War
1976
The Khmer Rouge announce that the new Constitution of Democratic Kampuchea is ratified.
Khmer Rouge
1976
The Troubles: Gunmen shoot dead ten Protestant civilians after stopping their minibus at Kingsmill in County Armagh, Northern Ireland, UK, allegedly as retaliation for a string of attacks on Catholic civilians in the area by Loyalists, particularly the killing of six Catholics the night before.
The Troubles
1975
The Tasman Bridge in Tasmania, Australia, is struck by the bulk ore carrier Lake Illawarra, killing twelve people.
Tasman Bridge
1972
US President Richard Nixon announces the Space Shuttle program.
Richard Nixon
1970
The 7.1 Mw Tonghai earthquake shakes Tonghai County, Yunnan province, China, with a maximum Mercalli intensity of X (Extreme). Between 10,000 and 15,000 people are known to have been killed and about another 26,000 are injured.
1970 Tonghai earthquake
1970
A Spantax Convair CV-990 Coronado crashes during takeoff from Stockholm Arlanda Airport, killing five people.
Spantax
1969
The Venera 5 space probe is launched at 06:28:08 UTC from Baikonur.
Venera 5
1969
Ariana Afghan Airlines Flight 701 crashes in Fernhill, West Sussex, UK, while on approach to Gatwick Airport, killing 50 people.
Ariana Afghan Airlines Flight 701
1968
Alexander Dubček comes to power in Czechoslovakia, effectively beginning the "Prague Spring".
Alexander Dubček
1967
Cultural Revolution: The Shanghai People's Commune is established following the seizure of power from local city officials by revolutionaries.
Cultural Revolution
1957
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.
United States Congress