Today In History [5th June, 2015]

A chronological timetable of historical events that occurred on this day in history. Historical facts of the day in the areas of military, politics, science, music, sports, arts, entertainment and more. Discover what happened today in history.

Today in History
June 5
1099           Members of the First Crusade witness an eclipse of the moon and interpret it as a sign they will recapture Jerusalem.
1568           Ferdinand, the Duke of Alba, crushes the Calvinist insurrection in Ghent.
1595           Henry IV’s army defeats the Spanish at the Battle of Fontaine-Francaise.
1637           American settlers in New England massacre a Pequot Indian village.
1783           Joseph and Jacques Montgolfier make the first public balloon flight.
1794           The U.S. Congress prohibits citizens from serving in any foreign armed forces.
1827           Athens falls to Ottoman forces.
1851           Harriet Beecher Stow publishes the first installment of Uncle Tom’s Cabin in The National Era.
1856           U.S. Army troops in the Four creeks region of California, head back to quarters, officially ending the Tule River War. Fighting, however, will continue for a few more years.
1863           The Confederate raider CSS Alabama captures the Talisman in the Mid-Atlantic.
1872           The Republican National Convention, the first major political party convention to includes blacks, commences.
1880           Wild woman of the west Myra Maybelle Shirley marries Sam Starr even though records show she was already married to Bruce Younger.
1900           British troops under Lord Roberts seize Pretoria from the Boers.
1940           The German army begins its offensive in Southern France.
1944           The first B-29 bombing raid strikes the Japanese rail line in Bangkok, Thailand.
1947           Secretary of State George C. Marshall outlines "The Marshall Plan," a program intended to assist European nations, including former enemies, to rebuild their economies.
1956           Premier Nikita Khrushchev denounces Josef Stalin to the Soviet Communist Party Congress.
1967           The Six-Day War between Israel and Egypt, Syria and Jordan begins.
1968           Sirhan Sirhan shoots Democratic presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy after Kennedy’s victory in the pivotal California primary election.
1973           Doris A. Davis becomes the first African-American woman to govern a city in a major metropolitan area when she is elected mayor of Compton, California.
2004           Former U.S. President Ronald Reagan dies at age 93. Reagan was the 40th president of the United States.

Born on June 5
1723           Adam Smith, Scottish philosopher and economist.
1878           Francisco "Pancho" Villa, Mexican revolutionary and guerrilla leader.
1883           John Maynard Keynes, economist.
1884           Dame Ivy Compton-Burnett, British author.
1898           Federico Garcia Lorca, Spanish poet and dramatist.
1915           Alfred Kazin, critic and editor (A Walker in the City).
1919           Richard Scarry, Children’s author and illustrator.
1926           David Wagoner, poet and novelist (The Escape Artist).
1932           Christy Brown, Irish novelist and poet (My Left Foot).
1939           Margaret Drabble, English novelist (The Millstone, The Realms of Gold).
1947           David Hare, British playwright and director (A Map of the World, Slag).
1949           Ken Follett, novelist (Eye of the Needle, On The Wings of Eagles).