On This Day — 5 January

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

1953

The play Waiting for Godot by Samuel Beckett receives its première in Paris.

Waiting for Godot

1949

In his State of the Union address, United States President Harry S. Truman unveils his Fair Deal program.

Harry S. Truman

1948

The Semiramis Hotel bombing kills at least 23 people.

Semiramis Hotel bombing

1945

The Soviet Union recognizes the new pro-Soviet Provisional Government of the Republic of Poland.

Soviet Union

1944

The Daily Mail becomes the first major London newspaper to be published on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean.

Daily Mail

1941

Amy Johnson, a 37-year-old pilot and the first woman to fly solo from London to Australia, disappears after bailing out of her plane over the River Thames, and is presumed dead.

Amy Johnson

1933

Construction of the Golden Gate Bridge begins in San Francisco Bay.

Golden Gate Bridge

1925

Nellie Tayloe Ross of Wyoming becomes the first female governor in the United States.

Nellie Tayloe Ross

1919

The German Workers' Party, which would become the Nazi Party, is founded in Munich.

German Workers' Party

1914

The Ford Motor Company announces an eight-hour workday and minimum daily wage of $5 in salary plus bonuses.

Ford Motor Company

1913

First Balkan War: The Battle of Lemnos begins; Greek admiral Pavlos Kountouriotis forces the Turkish fleet to retreat to its base within the Dardanelles, from which it did not venture for the rest of the war.

First Balkan War

1912

The sixth All-Russian Conference of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party (Prague Party Conference) opens. In the course of the conference, Vladimir Lenin and his supporters break from the rest of the party to form the Bolshevik movement.

Russian Social Democratic Labour Party

1911

Kappa Alpha Psi, the world's third-oldest and largest black fraternity, is founded at Indiana University.

Kappa Alpha Psi

1900

Irish nationalist leader John Edward Redmond calls for revolt against British rule.

John Redmond

1895

Dreyfus affair: French army officer Alfred Dreyfus is stripped of his rank and sentenced to life imprisonment on Devil's Island.

Dreyfus affair

1875

The Palais Garnier, one of the most famous opera houses in the world, is inaugurated in Paris.

Palais Garnier

1822

The government of Central America votes for total annexation to the First Mexican Empire.

Central America

1781

American Revolutionary War: Richmond, Virginia, is burned by British naval forces led by former American general Benedict Arnold.

American Revolutionary War

1757

Louis XV of France survives an assassination attempt by Robert-François Damiens, who becomes the last person to be executed in France by drawing and quartering (the traditional form of capital punishment used for regicides).

Louis XV

1675

Battle of Colmar: The French army defeats forces from Austria and Brandenburg.

Battle of Turckheim

1477

Battle of Nancy: Charles the Bold is defeated and killed in a conflict with René II, Duke of Lorraine; Burgundy subsequently becomes part of France.

Battle of Nancy