May 5

Today in History
• 1260 - Kublai Khan, grandson of Genghis Khan, becomes ruler of the Mongol Empire
• 1382 - Battle of Beverhoutsveld - population beats drunken army
• 1494 - On 2nd voyage to New World Columbus sights Jamaica, landing at Discovery Bay
• 1646 - King Charles I surrenders in Scotland
• 1762 - Russia and Prussia sign peace treaty
• 1764 - Smolny Institute forms in St Petersburg for noble girls
• 1780 - 2nd oldest society in U.S. (American Academy of Arts and Sciences) forms
• 1816 - American Bible Society organized in New York


Holidays - Traditional and Obscure
• Buddha Purnima
• Cinco de Mayo
• Day of Vesak
• Indian Arrival Day (Guyana)
• Kentucky Oaks
• Liberation Day (Bevrijdingsdag)
• National Astronaut Day
• World Portuguese Language Day

Birthdays
• 1210 - Afonso III, King of Portugal (1248-79)
• 1352 - Ruprecht, Roman catholic German king
• 1741 - John Archer, Congressman who received the 1st medical diploma issued on US continent
• 1817 - George Washington Julian, politician, U.S. House of Representatives from Indiana
• 1826 - Eugenie M de Montijo y de Guzman, Empress of France
• 1883 - Charles Bender, only American Indian in baseball's Hall of Fame
• 1884 - Wang Tjing-Wei, premier China, 1932-35
• 1910 - William I Martin, U.S. pilot/Vice-Admiral, WW II