132 things happened on 5 November, from 1009 to 2024. UK stories come first, then the rest of the world.
1605 · 421 years ago
Around midnight, men searching the rooms beneath the House of Lords in London found Guy Fawkes guarding 36 barrels of gunpowder. He belonged to a group of English Catholics, led by Robert Catesby, who planned to blow up the House of Lords and kill King James …
UK history first: stories from England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
UK story
Around midnight, men searching the rooms beneath the House of Lords in London found Guy Fawkes guarding 36 barrels of gunpowder. He belonged to a group of English Catholics, led by Robert Catesby, who planned to blow up the House of Lords and kill King James I at the State Opening of Parliament. Fawkes was arrested, and the Gunpowder Plot failed.
UK story
Prince William of Orange landed at Brixham with a Dutch fleet. He had come to challenge King James II, who was also James VII of Scotland and the last Catholic monarch of England, Scotland and Ireland. James lost his throne later that year in the Glorious Revolution, which confirmed that Parliament had more power than the Crown. From 1689, William ruled together with his wife, Queen Mary II.
UK story
During the Crimean War, British and French armies defeated the Russian army at Inkerman, in what is now Ukraine. The allies were heavily outnumbered, and thick fog covered the battlefield. In the fog, soldiers mostly had to act on their own initiative, which is why it is known as ‘the Soldier's Battle’. The defeat broke the Russian army's will to beat the allies in open battle.
UK story
During the First World War, France and the British Empire declared war on the Ottoman Empire. The Ottoman Empire was centred on what is now Turkey and had lasted for more than 600 years. At the time, the British Empire was the largest empire in history. By 1913 it held sway over 412 million people, almost a quarter of everyone in the world.
UK story
The Treaty of Fort Stanwix is signed, the purpose of which is to adjust the boundary line between Indian lands and white settlements set forth in the Royal Proclamation of 1763 in the Thirteen Colonies.
UK story
Korean War: The 27th British Commonwealth Brigade succeeded in preventing a Chinese breakthrough at the Battle of Pakchon.
Franklin D. Roosevelt won the US presidential election for a third time, something no other president has done. His first two terms had focused on fighting the Great Depression, a time of high unemployment and poverty. His third and fourth terms focused on America's part in the Second World War. He served from 1933 until his death in 1945.
Google unveiled Android, an operating system for mobile devices. An operating system is the main software that runs a device and lets apps work on it. Android was designed mainly for smartphones and tablets, and the first version was released in 2008. It became the most widely used operating system in the world, with billions of users.
The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) launched the Mars Orbiter Mission, also known as Mangalyaan. It was India's first mission to another planet. The probe reached Mars orbit in September 2014, making India the first Asian nation to get there. ISRO became the fourth space agency to orbit Mars, after the Soviet space programme, NASA and the European Space Agency.
Berber forces led by Sulayman ibn al-Hakam defeat the Umayyad caliph Muhammad II of Córdoba in the Battle of Qantish.
Lý Anh Tông was enthroned as the emperor of Đại Việt at the age of two, beginning a 37-year reign.
The Catholicon, written in 1464 by Jehan Lagadeuc in Tréguier, is published; this is the first Breton dictionary as well as the first French dictionary.
At the Second Battle of Panipat, forces of the Mughal emperor Akbar captured Hemu, the Hindu emperor of north India.
Seven Years' War: Prussian forces led by Frederick the Great defeated the allied French and Habsburg armies at the Battle of Rossbach.
French-American forces under Colonel LaBalme are defeated by Miami Chief Little Turtle.
Salvadoran priest José Matías Delgado rings the bells of La Merced church in San Salvador, calling for insurrection and launching the 1811 Independence Movement.
Greek War of Independence: The French Morea expedition to recapture Morea (now the Peloponnese) ends when the last Ottoman forces depart the peninsula.
Founding of the Free University of Brussels by Pierre-Théodore Verhaegen.
American Civil War: Abraham Lincoln removes George B. McClellan as commander of the Army of the Potomac.
Women's suffrage in the United States: In defiance of the law, suffragist Susan B. Anthony votes for the first time, and is later fined $100.
In New Zealand, 1600 armed volunteers and constabulary field forces led by Minister of Native Affairs John Bryce march on the pacifist Māori settlement at Parihaka, evicting upwards of 2000 residents, and destroying the settlement in the context of the New Zealand land confiscations.
George B. Selden is granted the first U.S. patent for an automobile.
Negrese nationalists revolt against Spanish rule and establish the short-lived Republic of Negros.
After declaring war on the Ottoman Empire on September 29, 1911, Italy annexes Tripoli and Cyrenaica.
Woodrow Wilson is elected the 28th President of the United States, defeating incumbent William Howard Taft.
King Otto of Bavaria is deposed by his cousin, Prince Regent Ludwig, who assumes the title Ludwig III.
The Kingdom of Poland is proclaimed by the Act of 5th November of the emperors of Germany and Austria-Hungary.
Tikhon is elected the Patriarch of Moscow and of the Russian Orthodox Church.
World War II: Allied forces began a military campaign on Japanese-occupied Singapore.
An earthquake struck the Kamchatka Peninsula, triggering a major tsunami that affected the Kuril Islands and other parts of the Pacific Ocean.
After being destroyed in World War II, the rebuilt Vienna State Opera reopens with a performance of Beethoven's Fidelio.
Richard Nixon is elected as 37th President of the United States.
USS Rentz, USS Reeves and USS Oldendorf visit Qingdao, China; the first US naval visit to China since 1949.
Bill Clinton is reelected President of the United States.
Pakistani President Farooq Leghari dismisses the government of Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto and dissolves the National Assembly.
China's first lunar satellite, Chang'e 1, goes into orbit around the Moon.
Rona Ambrose takes over after Stephen Harper as the Leader of the Conservative Party of Canada.
Donald Trump becomes the first president of the United States to be elected to a non-consecutive second term in 132 years, since Grover Cleveland won the 1892 election.
Every answer is somewhere on this page. Have a go, then check!
In which year did this happen: “British and French armies win the Battle of Inkerman”?
C: 1854. 1854 — that’s 172 years ago. Find it on the page
In which year did this happen: “Guy Fawkes is caught and the Gunpowder Plot fails”?
B: 1605. 1605 — that’s 421 years ago. Find it on the page
Which of these happened first?
C: Guy Fawkes is caught and the Gunpowder Plot fails. 1688: William of Orange lands at Brixham to challenge King James II · 1854: British and French armies win the Battle of Inkerman · 1605: Guy Fawkes is caught and the Gunpowder Plot fails Find it on the page
“William of Orange lands at Brixham to challenge King James II” happened in 1688. How many years ago was that?
B: 338 years. 2026 − 1688 = 338. Find it on the page
Famous people whose birthday is 5 November.
UK story
The British actress Vivien Leigh was born. She won the Academy Award for Best Actress twice. The first was for playing Scarlett O'Hara in the 1939 film Gone with the Wind, and the second was for playing Blanche DuBois in A Streetcar Named Desire. She also starred on stage, including in London's West End.
UK story
The British-born scientist J. B. S. Haldane, nicknamed ‘Jack’, was born. He worked on genetics, evolution, how bodies work and mathematics, and was largely self-taught in biology. By using statistics in clever new ways, he helped to found ‘neo-Darwinism’, a modern form of Charles Darwin's ideas about evolution. Later in life he moved to India and became an Indian citizen.
Well-known people who died on 5 November.
Festivals, holidays and saints’ days celebrated on 5 November somewhere in the world.
UK story
Bonfire Night, also called Guy Fawkes Night, is celebrated with bonfires and firework displays, mainly in Great Britain. It began in 1605, when people lit bonfires around London to celebrate King James I surviving the Gunpowder Plot. A few months later, a new law made 5 November a yearly day of thanksgiving. In parts of the West Country, the season is also marked with carnivals.
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.
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 “November 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.