A Day in the Past

On this day: 5 March

125 things happened on 5 March, from AD 254 to 2023. UK stories come first, then the rest of the world.

Printable worksheet Take the quiz

In the UK 6

UK history first: stories from England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

1981 45 years ago

UK story

The ZX81, a pioneering British home computer, was launched by Sinclair Research, and went on to sell more than 1.5 million units around the world.

Inventions Find out more: ZX81 (Wikipedia)

Around the world 28

1942 84 years ago

World War II: Japanese forces capture Batavia, capital of Dutch East Indies, which is left undefended after the withdrawal of the KNIL garrison and Australian Blackforce battalion to Buitenzorg and Bandung.

War & peace Find out more: Empire of Japan (Wikipedia)

Quick quiz

Every answer is somewhere on this page. Have a go, then check!

  1. In which year did this happen: “Cold War: Winston Churchill delivers his famous "Iron Curtain" speech at”?

    1. 1946
    2. 1981
    3. 1850
    Show the answer

    A: 1946. 1946 — that’s 80 years ago. Find it on the page

  2. In which year did this happen: “World War II: The Gloster Meteor, the Allies' only operational jet aircraft”?

    1. 1943
    2. 1981
    3. 1496
    Show the answer

    A: 1943. 1943 — that’s 83 years ago. Find it on the page

  3. Which of these happened first?

    1. The ZX81, a pioneering British home computer, was launched by Sinclair
    2. World War II: The Gloster Meteor, the Allies' only operational jet aircraft
    3. Cold War: Winston Churchill delivers his famous "Iron Curtain" speech at
    Show the answer

    B: World War II: The Gloster Meteor, the Allies' only operational jet aircraft. 1981: The ZX81, a pioneering British home computer, was launched by Sinclair · 1943: World War II: The Gloster Meteor, the Allies' only operational jet aircraft · 1946: Cold War: Winston Churchill delivers his famous "Iron Curtain" speech at Find it on the page

  4. “The ZX81, a pioneering British home computer, was launched by Sinclair” happened in 1981. How many years ago was that?

    1. 45 years
    2. 55 years
    3. 35 years
    Show the answer

    A: 45 years. 2026 − 1981 = 45. Find it on the page

Born on this day 40

Famous people whose birthday is 5 March.

Remembering 19

Well-known people who died on 5 March.

Special days 7

Festivals, holidays and saints’ days celebrated on 5 March somewhere in the world.

For older readers 25 Show stories about war, disasters, crime and other difficult history

Content note: these entries mention things like war, violence, deaths, disasters or crime. They are part of history, but they can be upsetting. Grown-ups and teachers: you may want to read them first. They come straight from Wikipedia and have not been rewritten for children.

Where these facts come from

Stories with a heading have been written for young readers by A Day in the Past, using the linked articles as sources. Other entries show text from Wikipedia’s “March 5” page and its “On this day” feed, written by Wikipedia contributors and shared under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 licence. Each “Read more” link goes to the article an entry is based on. Photos are credited under each picture. Spotted a mistake? Please tell us.