A birthday on the globe
5 July on the globe: what happened in the world on this day, and who was born
For 5 July, the English Wikipedia lists 71 events and 242 births. 36 of the events stand at their places as rays of light; five more are dashed circles, where the sentence links only to a country or a sea. The taller the ray, the longer ago it happened. The people born that day come further down, as blue points.
A birthday, yours or someone else’s:
Turn it into a greetingScroll: the globe turns to each place
The day you were born, on the globe.
Three things from your day
Scroll: your day first, then 5 July through the years
The Earth on 5 July
The picture on the globe was assembled by NASA from satellite photographs taken in July 2004: the snow, the ice and the green are those of the month.
On 5 July the Sun passes straight overhead at noon along the parallel of 22.8° north. In London, the day lasts about 16 hours 30 minutes.
Beyond 67° north the Sun no longer sets; beyond 67° south it no longer rises.
The line between day and night is tilted on the globe exactly as on this day of the year. On the dark side you can see the lights of towns.
Britain & Ireland · Bristol
1610
John Guy sets sail from Bristol with 39 other colonists for Newfoundland.
On the map: Bristol.
Also on the day’s list of Wikipedia in Chinese.
Britain & Ireland · Leicester
1841
Thomas Cook organises the first package excursion, from Leicester to Loughborough.
On the map: Leicester.
Also on the day’s list of Wikipedia in Chinese.
Britain & Ireland · Wimbledon Championships
1975
Arthur Ashe becomes the first black man to win the Wimbledon singles title.
On the map: Wimbledon Championships.
Also on the day’s list of Wikipedia in Spanish and Chinese.
Britain & Ireland · Staffordshire Hoard
2009
The Staffordshire Horde, the largest hoard of Anglo-Saxon gold ever discovered in Britain, is found near the village of Hammerwich, near Lichfield, Staffordshire.
On the map: Staffordshire Hoard.
Also on the day’s list of Wikipedia in Spanish and Romanian.
Britain & Ireland · The Shard
2012
The Shard in London is inaugurated as the tallest building in Europe, with a height of 310 metres (1,020 ft).
On the map: The Shard.
Also on the day’s list of Wikipedia in Spanish and Chinese.
Europe · Constantine's Bridge
328
The official opening of Constantine's Bridge built over the Danube between Sucidava (Corabia, Romania) and Oescus (Gigen, Bulgaria) by the Roman architect Theophilus Patricius.
On the map: Constantine's Bridge.
Europe · Pontifical Maronite College
1584
The Maronite College is established in Rome.
On the map: Pontifical Maronite College.
Latin America · Venezuelan Declaration of Independence
1811
The Venezuelan Declaration of Independence is adopted by a congress of the provinces.
On the map: the coordinates Wikidata gives for the article “Venezuelan Declaration of Independence”.
Also on the day’s list of Wikipedia in Spanish.
North America · Panama–Pacific International Exposition
1915
The Liberty Bell leaves Philadelphia by special train on its way to the Panama–Pacific International Exposition. This is the last trip outside Philadelphia that the custodians of the bell intend to permit.
On the map: the coordinates Wikidata gives for the article “Panama–Pacific International Exposition”.
North America · Memphis, Tennessee
1954
Elvis Presley records his first single, "That's All Right", at Sun Records in Memphis, Tennessee.
On the map: Memphis, Tennessee.
Oceans · Midway Atoll
1859
The United States discovers and claims Midway Atoll.
On the map: Midway Atoll.
5 July
Born on 5 July#
The English Wikipedia lists 242 births for this day. The blue points are the birthplaces of 60 of these people: those written about in the most Wikipedia editions, where Wikidata gives a place of birth.
Born on 5 July
1889
Jean Cocteau, French novelist, poet, and playwright (died 1963)
Place of birth: Maisons-Laffitte.
Born on 5 July
1975
Hernán Crespo, Argentinian footballer and coach
Place of birth: Florida.
Born on 5 July
1946
Gerard 't Hooft, Dutch physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
Place of birth: Den Helder.
Born on 5 July
1891
John Howard Northrop, American chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (died 1987)
Place of birth: Yonkers.
Born on 5 July
1985
Megan Rapinoe, American soccer player
Place of birth: Redding.
Born in Britain and Ireland
1820
William John Macquorn Rankine, Scottish physicist, mathematician, and engineer (died 1872)
Place of birth: Edinburgh.
Born in Britain and Ireland
1958
Veronica Guerin, Irish journalist (died 1996)
Place of birth: Dublin.
Born in Britain and Ireland
1936
James Mirrlees, Scottish economist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (died 2018)
Place of birth: Minnigaff.
5 July
Number one in the charts that week
At the cinema
An animal recorded that day
The record can be seen in GBIF, which brings together wildlife records from around the world.
All your birthdays
The weather that day
Data: Met Office Hadley Centre (HadCET); NOAA (GHCN-Daily, Mauna Loa).
Above the Earth
Sources: Jonathan McDowell, GCAT (launches); GFZ Potsdam (Kp index). Days are counted in Universal Time.
Football that day
International matches played that day:
Source: the “International football results” dataset kept by Mart Jürisoo (CC0).
Also that day
The earthquake’s page at the USGS
Source: the USGS catalogue. The day is counted in Universal Time (UTC).
In those days
Make a link for someone
Type the name, pick the day and the year of birth. The link opens straight on their day, with their name in the greeting.
The link carries the name, date and place typed here; anyone who gets it can see them.
Put another birthday beside it
Your mother’s, your child’s, a friend’s: the two days appear side by side.
Below: 5 July through the years.
The whole globe of the day
Drag the globe to turn it. Touch a ray or a point to read what happened there.
Everything Wikipedia lists for 5 July
The list is the English Wikipedia’s, in its own wording, as it stood in October 2026. 30 events have no place on the map: the sentence links to no place with coordinates, only to places too wide to mark, or to several countries.
- 328
The official opening of Constantine's Bridge built over the Danube between Sucidava (Corabia, Romania) and Oescus (Gigen, Bulgaria) by the Roman architect Theophilus Patricius.
Europe · Constantine's BridgeWikipedia: Sucidava - 1294
Election of pope Celestine V following the death of pope Nicholas IV two years prior.
Europe · 1292–1294 papal electionWikipedia: 1292–1294 papal election - 1316
The Burgundian and Majorcan claimants of the Principality of Achaea meet in the Battle of Manolada.
Europe · Battle of ManoladaWikipedia: Battle of Manolada - 1413
Mehmed Çelebi and his army defeat the army of his brother Musa Çelebi in the battle of Çamurlu. Musa is captured and executed.
Europe · SamokovWikipedia: Battle of Çamurlu - 1584
The Maronite College is established in Rome.
Europe · Pontifical Maronite CollegeWikipedia: Pontifical Maronite College - 1594
Portuguese forces under the command of Pedro Lopes de Sousa begin an unsuccessful invasion of the Kingdom of Kandy during the Campaign of Danture in Sri Lanka.
no place on the mapWikipedia: Campaign of Danture - 1610
John Guy sets sail from Bristol with 39 other colonists for Newfoundland.
Britain & Ireland · BristolWikipedia: John Guy - 1643
The battle of Landsdowne results in severe losses for both the Royalist and Parliamentarian forces.
no place on the mapWikipedia: Cavalier - 1687
Isaac Newton publishes Philosophiæ Naturalis Principia Mathematica.
no place on the mapWikipedia: Isaac Newton - 1770
The Battle of Chesma between the Russian Empire and the Ottoman Empire begins, resulting in one of the worst naval defeats of the Ottomans since Lepanto.
Asia · Battle of ChesmaWikipedia: Battle of Chesma - 1775
The Second Continental Congress adopts the Olive Branch Petition.
no place on the mapWikipedia: Second Continental Congress - 1803
The Convention of Artlenburg is signed, leading to the French occupation of the Electorate of Hanover (which had been ruled by the British king).
no place on the mapWikipedia: Convention of Artlenburg - 1807
In Buenos Aires the local militias repel the British soldiers within the Second English Invasion.
Latin America · Buenos AiresWikipedia: British invasions of the River Plate - 1809
The Battle of Wagram between the French and Austrian Empires begins.
Europe · Battle of WagramWikipedia: Battle of Wagram - 1811
The Venezuelan Declaration of Independence is adopted by a congress of the provinces.
Latin America · Venezuelan Declaration of IndependenceWikipedia: Venezuelan Declaration of Independence - 1813
War of 1812: Three weeks of British raids on Fort Schlosser, Black Rock and Plattsburgh, New York commence.
North America · Plattsburgh, New YorkWikipedia: War of 1812 - 1814
War of 1812: Battle of Chippawa: American Major General Jacob Brown defeats British General Phineas Riall at Chippawa, Ontario.
North America · Battle of ChippawaWikipedia: Battle of Chippawa - 1830
After inflicting a series of defeats on Algerian forces, the French army under the Comte de Bourmont captures Algier.
Africa · Invasion of AlgiersWikipedia: Invasion of Algiers - 1833
Admiral Charles Napier vanquishes the navy of the Portuguese usurper Dom Miguel at the third Battle of Cape St. Vincent.
Europe · Kingdom of PortugalWikipedia: Battle of Cape St. Vincent - 1833
Lê Văn Khôi along with 27 soldiers stage a mutiny taking over the Phiên An citadel, developing into the Lê Văn Khôi revolt against Emperor Minh Mạng.
Asia · Southern VietnamWikipedia: Lê Văn Khôi revolt - 1841
Thomas Cook organises the first package excursion, from Leicester to Loughborough.
Britain & Ireland · LeicesterWikipedia: Thomas Cook - 1852
Abolitionist Frederick Douglass delivers his "What to the Slave Is the Fourth of July?" speech at a meeting organized by the Rochester Ladies' Anti-Slavery Society in Rochester, New York.
North America · Rochester, New YorkWikipedia: Frederick Douglass - 1859
The United States discovers and claims Midway Atoll.
Oceans · Midway AtollWikipedia: Midway Atoll - 1865
The United States Secret Service begins operation.
no place on the mapWikipedia: United States Secret Service - 1884
Germany takes possession of Cameroon.
no place on the mapWikipedia: German Empire - 1915
The Liberty Bell leaves Philadelphia by special train on its way to the Panama–Pacific International Exposition. This is the last trip outside Philadelphia that the custodians of the bell intend to permit.
North America · Panama–Pacific International ExpositionWikipedia: Panama–Pacific International Exposition - 1922
Brazilian Army rebels took over Fort Copacabana and launched a rebellion in Rio de Janeiro against President Epitácio Pessoa and President-elect Artur Bernardes.
Latin America · Fort CopacabanaWikipedia: Tenentism - 1934
"Bloody Thursday": The police open fire on striking longshoremen in San Francisco.
North America · San Francisco Police DepartmentWikipedia: 1934 West Coast waterfront strike - 1935
The National Labor Relations Act, which governs labor relations in the United States, is signed into law by President Franklin D. Roosevelt.
no place on the mapWikipedia: National Labor Relations Act of 1935 - 1937
The Hormel Foods Corporation introduced Spam, the canned precooked meat product that would eventually enter into pop culture, folklore, and urban legend.
no place on the mapWikipedia: Hormel Foods - 1940
World War II: Foreign relations of Vichy France are severed with the United Kingdom.
no place on the mapWikipedia: World War II - 1941
World War II: Operation Barbarossa: German troops reach the Dnieper river.
Europe · Nazi GermanyWikipedia: Operation Barbarossa - 1943
World War II: An Allied invasion fleet sails for Sicily (Operation Husky, July 10, 1943).
no place on the mapWikipedia: Allied invasion of Sicily - 1943
World War II: German forces begin a massive offensive against the Soviet Union at the Battle of Kursk, also known as Operation Citadel.
Europe · Battle of KurskWikipedia: Battle of Kursk - 1944
Second World War: Canadian troops defeated the last German counterattacks against Carpiquet, Normandy, France.
Europe · Operation WindsorWikipedia: World War II - 1945
The United Kingdom holds its first general election in 10 years, which would be won by Clement Attlee's Labour Party.
Britain & Ireland · United KingdomWikipedia: 1945 United Kingdom general election - 1946
Micheline Bernardini models the first modern bikini at a swimming pool in Paris.
no place on the mapWikipedia: Micheline Bernardini - 1948
National Health Service Acts create the national public health system in the United Kingdom.
no place on the mapWikipedia: National Health Service - 1950
Korean War: Task Force Smith: American and North Korean forces first clash, in the Battle of Osan.
Asia · Battle of OsanWikipedia: Battle of Osan - 1950
The Knesset of Israel passes the Law of Return which grants all Jews the right to immigrate to the Land of Israel.
Asia · IsraelWikipedia: Israel - 1954
Elvis Presley records his first single, "That's All Right", at Sun Records in Memphis, Tennessee.
North America · Memphis, TennesseeWikipedia: Elvis Presley - 1954
The BBC broadcasts its first daily television news bulletin.
no place on the mapWikipedia: BBC - 1962
The official independence of Algeria is proclaimed after an eight-year-long war with France.
no place on the mapWikipedia: Algerian War - 1969
Two days after the death of their founder Brian Jones, the Rolling Stones performed at a free festival in Hyde Park, London, in front of more than a quarter of a million fans.
Britain & Ireland · The Stones in the ParkWikipedia: Brian Jones - 1970
Air Canada Flight 621 crashes in Brampton, Ontario, Canada, killing all 109 people on board.
North America · Air Canada Flight 621Wikipedia: Air Canada Flight 621 - 1971
The Twenty-sixth Amendment to the United States Constitution, lowering the voting age from 21 to 18 years, is formally certified by President Richard Nixon.
no place on the mapWikipedia: Twenty-sixth Amendment to the United States Constitution - 1973
A boiling liquid expanding vapor explosion (BLEVE) in Kingman, Arizona, following a fire that broke out as propane was being transferred from a railroad car to a storage tank, kills eleven firefighters.
North America · Kingman, ArizonaWikipedia: Boiling liquid expanding vapor explosion - 1973
Juvénal Habyarimana seizes power over Rwanda in a coup d'état.
Africa · 1973 Rwandan coup d'étatWikipedia: 1973 Rwandan coup d'état - 1975
Arthur Ashe becomes the first black man to win the Wimbledon singles title.
Britain & Ireland · Wimbledon ChampionshipsWikipedia: Wimbledon Championships - 1975
Cape Verde gains its independence from Portugal.
Africa · Cape VerdeWikipedia: Cape Verde - 1977
The Pakistan Armed Forces under Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq seize power in Operation Fair Play and begin 11 years of martial law. Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, the first elected Prime Minister of Pakistan, is overthrown.
no place on the mapWikipedia: 1977 Pakistani military coup - 1980
Swedish tennis player Björn Borg wins his fifth Wimbledon final and becomes the first male tennis player to win the championships five times in a row (1976–1980).
no place on the mapWikipedia: Björn Borg - 1984
The United States Supreme Court gives its United States v. Leon decision providing a good-faith exception from the Fourth Amendment exclusionary rule against use of evidence obtained through defective warrants in criminal trials.
North America · Supreme Court of the United StatesWikipedia: Supreme Court of the United States - 1987
Sri Lankan Civil War: The LTTE uses suicide attacks on the Sri Lankan Army for the first time. The Black Tigers are born and, in the following years, will continue to kill with the tactic.
no place on the mapWikipedia: Sri Lankan civil war - 1989
Iran–Contra affair: Oliver North is sentenced by U.S. District Judge Gerhard A. Gesell to a three-year suspended prison term, two years probation, $150,000 in fines and 1,200 hours community service. His convictions are later overturned.
no place on the mapWikipedia: Iran–Contra affair - 1990
An explosion at a petrochemical plant in Channelview, Texas, United States, killed 17 people and injured 5 others.
North America · 1990 ARCO explosionWikipedia: 1990 ARCO explosion - 1994
Jeff Bezos founds Amazon.
no place on the mapWikipedia: Jeff Bezos - 1995
Armenia adopts its constitution, four years after its independence from the Soviet Union.
no place on the mapWikipedia: Armenia - 1996
Dolly the sheep becomes the first mammal cloned from an adult cell.
no place on the mapWikipedia: Dolly - 1997
Sri Lankan Civil War: Sri Lankan Tamil MP A. Thangathurai is shot dead at Sri Shanmuga Hindu Ladies College in Trincomalee.
Asia · Sri Shanmuga Hindu Ladies CollegeWikipedia: Sri Lankan civil war - 1999
U.S. President Bill Clinton imposes trade and economic sanctions against the Taliban regime in Afghanistan.
no place on the mapWikipedia: Bill Clinton - 2003
The World Health Organization announces that the 2002–2004 SARS outbreak has been contained.
no place on the mapWikipedia: World Health Organization - 2004
The first direct Indonesian presidential election is held.
no place on the mapWikipedia: 2004 Indonesian presidential election - 2006
North Korea tests four short-range missiles, one medium-range missile and a long-range Taepodong-2. The long-range Taepodong-2 reportedly fails in mid-air over the Sea of Japan.
Asia · 2006 North Korean missile testWikipedia: 2006 North Korean missile test - 2009
A series of violent riots break out in Ürümqi, the capital city of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region in China.
Asia · July 2009 Ürümqi riotsWikipedia: July 2009 Ürümqi riots - 2009
The Staffordshire Horde, the largest hoard of Anglo-Saxon gold ever discovered in Britain, is found near the village of Hammerwich, near Lichfield, Staffordshire.
Britain & Ireland · Staffordshire HoardWikipedia: Anglo-Saxons - 2012
The Shard in London is inaugurated as the tallest building in Europe, with a height of 310 metres (1,020 ft).
Britain & Ireland · The ShardWikipedia: The Shard - 2016
The Juno space probe arrives at Jupiter and begins a 20-month survey of the planet.
no place on the mapWikipedia: Juno - 2022
British government ministers Sajid Javid and Rishi Sunak resign from the second Johnson ministry, beginning the July 2022 United Kingdom government crisis.
no place on the mapWikipedia: Sajid Javid - 2023
The last Ariane 5 rocket is launched, carrying the Heinrich Hertz and Syracuse 4B satellites.
no place on the mapWikipedia: Ariane 5 - 2024
Keir Starmer is appointed Prime Minister by Charles III, becoming the first Labour prime minister since Gordon Brown in 2010 and the first one to win a general election since Tony Blair at the 2005 general election.
no place on the mapWikipedia: 2005 United Kingdom general election
Who was born on 5 July
In order of how many Wikipedia editions have an article about each. The first 60 of 242 are shown.
- 1911
Georges Pompidou, French banker and politician, 19th President of France (died 1974)
MontboudifWikipedia: Georges Pompidou - 1889
Jean Cocteau, French novelist, poet, and playwright (died 1963)
Maisons-LaffitteWikipedia: Jean Cocteau - 1857
Clara Zetkin, German theorist and activist (died 1933)
Königshain-WiederauWikipedia: Clara Zetkin - 1853
Cecil Rhodes, English-South African businessman and politician, 6th Prime Minister of the Cape Colony (died 1902)
Bishop's StortfordWikipedia: Cecil Rhodes - 1810
P. T. Barnum, American businessman, co-founded Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus (died 1891)
BethelWikipedia: P. T. Barnum - 1975
Hernán Crespo, Argentinian footballer and coach
FloridaWikipedia: Hernán Crespo - 1946
Gerard 't Hooft, Dutch physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
Den HelderWikipedia: Gerard 't Hooft - 1891
John Howard Northrop, American chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (died 1987)
- 1985
Megan Rapinoe, American soccer player
ReddingWikipedia: Megan Rapinoe - 1979
Amélie Mauresmo, French-Swiss tennis player
Saint-Germain-en-LayeWikipedia: Amélie Mauresmo - 1820
William John Macquorn Rankine, Scottish physicist, mathematician, and engineer (died 1872)
EdinburghWikipedia: W. J. M. Rankine - 1956
Horacio Cartes, Paraguayan businessman and politician, President of Paraguay
AsunciónWikipedia: Horacio Cartes - 1958
Veronica Guerin, Irish journalist (died 1996)
- 1717
Peter III, Portuguese king (died 1786)
- 1982
Alberto Gilardino, Italian footballer
- 1904
Ernst Mayr, German-American biologist and ornithologist (died 2005)
KemptenWikipedia: Ernst Mayr - 1781
Stamford Raffles, English politician, founded Singapore (died 1826)
JamaicaWikipedia: Stamford Raffles - 1928
Pierre Mauroy, French educator and politician, Prime Minister of France (died 2013)
CartigniesWikipedia: Pierre Mauroy - 1968
Susan Wojcicki, Polish-American technology executive (died 2024)
Santa ClaraWikipedia: Susan Wojcicki - 1886
Willem Drees, Dutch politician and historian, Prime Minister of the Netherlands (1948–1958) (died 1988)
AmsterdamWikipedia: Willem Drees - 1888
Herbert Spencer Gasser, American physiologist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (died 1963)
PlattevilleWikipedia: Herbert Spencer Gasser - 1899
Marcel Achard, French playwright, screenwriter, and author (died 1974)
Sainte-Foy-lès-LyonWikipedia: Marcel Achard - 1802
Pavel Nakhimov, Russian admiral (died 1855)
KhmelitaWikipedia: Pavel Nakhimov - 1805
Robert FitzRoy, English captain, meteorologist, and politician, 2nd Governor of New Zealand (died 1865)
Ampton HallWikipedia: Robert FitzRoy - 1872
Édouard Herriot, French lawyer and politician, Prime Minister of France (died 1957)
- 1936
James Mirrlees, Scottish economist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (died 2018)
MinnigaffWikipedia: James Mirrlees - 1983
Jonás Gutiérrez, Argentinian footballer
Buenos AiresWikipedia: Jonás Gutiérrez - 1966
Gianfranco Zola, Italian footballer and coach
- 1932
Gyula Horn, Hungarian politician, 37th Prime Minister of Hungary (died 2013)
BudapestWikipedia: Gyula Horn - 1992
Alberto Moreno, Spanish footballer
SevilleWikipedia: Alberto Moreno - 1963
Edie Falco, American actress
BrooklynWikipedia: Edie Falco - 1969
RZA, American rapper, producer, actor, and director
BrownsvilleWikipedia: RZA - 1976
Nuno Gomes, Portuguese footballer
AmaranteWikipedia: Nuno Gomes - 1801
David Farragut, American admiral (died 1870)
KnoxvilleWikipedia: David Farragut - 1974
Márcio Amoroso, Brazilian footballer
BrasíliaWikipedia: Márcio Amoroso - 1983
Zheng Jie, Chinese tennis player
ChengduWikipedia: Zheng Jie - 1755
Sarah Siddons, English actress (died 1831)
BreconWikipedia: Sarah Siddons - 1979
Stiliyan Petrov, Bulgarian footballer and manager
MontanaWikipedia: Stiliyan Petrov - 1986
Piermario Morosini, Italian footballer (died 2012)
- 1982
Philippe Gilbert, Belgian cyclist
VerviersWikipedia: Philippe Gilbert - 1967
Mustafa Al-Kadhimi, Iraqi politician, 80th Prime Minister of Iraq
KadhimiyaWikipedia: Mustafa Al-Kadhimi - 1849
William Thomas Stead, English journalist (died 1912)
NorthumberlandWikipedia: W. T. Stead - 1882
Inayat Khan, Indian mystic and educator (died 1927)
VadodaraWikipedia: Inayat Khan - 1936
Shirley Knight, American actress (died 2020)
GoesselWikipedia: Shirley Knight - 1879
Wanda Landowska, Polish-French harpsichord player and educator (died 1959)
- 1982
Tuba Büyüküstün, Turkish actress
IstanbulWikipedia: Tuba Büyüküstün - 1994
Shohei Ohtani, Japanese baseball player
MizusawaWikipedia: Shohei Ohtani - 1879
Dwight F. Davis, American tennis player and politician, 49th United States Secretary of War (died 1945)
St. LouisWikipedia: Dwight F. Davis - 1968
Michael Stuhlbarg, American actor
Long BeachWikipedia: Michael Stuhlbarg - 1973
Róisín Murphy, Irish singer-songwriter and producer
ArklowWikipedia: Róisín Murphy - 1987
Ji Chang-wook, South Korean actor
AnyangWikipedia: Ji Chang-wook - 1958
Bill Watterson, American author and illustrator
Washington, D.C.Wikipedia: Bill Watterson - 1943
Robbie Robertson, Canadian singer-songwriter, guitarist, producer, and actor (died 2023)
TorontoWikipedia: Robbie Robertson - 1554
Elisabeth of Austria, French queen (died 1592)
- 1891
Tin Ujević, Croatian poet and translator (died 1955)
VrgoracWikipedia: Tin Ujević - 1921
Viktor Kulikov, Russian marshal (died 2013)
Verkhnaya LyubovshaWikipedia: Viktor Kulikov - 1929
Katherine Helmond, American actress and director (died 2019)
GalvestonWikipedia: Katherine Helmond - 1973
Marcus Allbäck, Swedish footballer and coach
GothenburgWikipedia: Marcus Allbäck - 1977
Nicolas Kiefer, German tennis player
HolzmindenWikipedia: Nicolas Kiefer - 1980
David Rozehnal, Czech footballer
ŠternberkWikipedia: David Rozehnal
What is celebrated on 5 July
- Bloody Thursday (International Longshore and Warehouse Union)
- Christian feast day: Anthony Maria Zaccaria, priest (died 1539)
- Christian feast day: Cyril and Methodius (a public holiday in Czech Republic and Slovakia)
- Christian feast day: Martha, mother of Simeon Stylites the Younger
- Christian feast day: Wexford Martyrs (Roman Catholic Church)
- Christian feast day: Zoe of Rome (Roman Catholic Church)
- Christian feast day: July 5 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
- Fifth of July (New York), historic celebration of the abolition of slavery in New York in 1827.
- Independence Day (Algeria), celebrating the independence of Algeria from France in 1962.
- Independence Day (Cape Verde), celebrating the independence of Cape Verde from Portugal in 1975.
- Independence Day (Venezuela), celebrating the independence of Venezuela from Spain in 1811; also National Armed Forces Day.
- Tynwald Day, if July 5 is on a weekend, the holiday is the following Monday. (Isle of Man)
A greeting link for someone
Type a name and, if you like, the year of birth. The link opens with a greeting, and beside each event it says how old the person turned that day, or how many years before their birth it happened.
The name and the year go only into the link you send.
All 366 days
How the globe is made
Where the events come from
Each edition of this page uses the day’s list from Wikipedia in its own language: Romanian, English, Spanish, Chinese. The lists are written by volunteers and differ from one edition to the next; the text of each event is Wikipedia’s, with a link to the article. A row that appears twice in a list is shown once. The lists have not been checked event by event: they are Wikipedia’s, mistakes included.
For events before 1582, and for countries that moved to the Gregorian calendar later (Britain in 1752, Russia in 1918), the same day may be counted Old Style in one list and New Style in another.
The chapter “What the other Wikipedias remember” adds up to five events a day from the lists of the other three editions, only for years in which the English list has nothing on that day. They were translated for this page, passed the same filters as the tour, and are not counted among the events of the English list.
How an event gets onto the map
The place comes from Wikidata. If the sentence links to the article about the event itself (a battle, an opening, an earthquake), dated to the same year, the ray stands on its coordinates or on those of its location. Otherwise it stands on the first place the sentence links to: a town, a building, a mountain, an island. This second step can be wrong: sometimes the sentence only mentions the place. That is why the page says, under each event, which place the ray stands on.
When the sentence links to a single state or province, or to a single sea, lake or desert larger than 5,000 km², the globe shows a dashed circle, not a ray. The circle has the area Wikidata gives, with its radius kept between 1.2° and 16°, or a radius of 4.5° when Wikidata gives no area; it says only that the sentence links to that place. Organisations, ships, spacecraft, museum objects, rivers, mountain ranges, languages and continents are never used as places. When a sentence names several states and no exact place, the event stays in the list only.
What the height means
The height of a ray shows how many years have passed, on a logarithmic scale: 10 years, 100 years and 1,000 years are equal steps apart; anything older than about 2,600 years has the tallest ray. The colour runs from pale yellow for recent years to violet for antiquity.
Where the tour stops
In each region the tour stops at up to three events (five in Britain and Ireland), chosen mainly by three things: whether Wikipedia’s editors put the event in the “On this day” box of their main page (the English, Spanish and Chinese editions), how many Wikipedia editions have an article about it, and how many of the four lists include it. Events whose sentence or article is about a war, an attack, a crime or a disaster are left out of the tour; they stay in the whole list, in Wikipedia’s wording. The filter is a list of words and a list of Wikidata types, so it can miss some.
The tour of births names the people with articles in the most editions and leaves aside those whom the list or Wikidata describes as rulers, politicians, commanders, leaders of movements or criminals; they stay in the list.
The Earth and the Sun
The daytime images are NASA’s Blue Marble Next Generation mosaics, one for each month of 2004; the night side is Black Marble 2016. The tilt of the line between day and night is computed for the day; the hour is chosen so that the place being read is in daylight. The latitude where the Sun stands overhead is the average of the four years of the leap cycle; in a given year it can differ by up to 0.4°.
The day you were born
The number ones come from the weekly lists on Wikipedia: Billboard for the United States (from 1940; the Hot 100 from August 1958), the UK Singles Chart (from November 1952), Los 40 Principales for Spain (from July 1966) and, for Romania, the Romanian Top 100 and Airplay 100 (2001–2021, with missing weeks). The page shows the chart of the week in which the day of birth falls, with its date; Billboard and the UK chart are dated at the end of their week. For Romania before 2001 and for China these sources have no weekly chart.
The films are those that reached cinemas in the United States up to ten days before or three days after that day (some of them in a few cinemas at first), from the English Wikipedia’s yearly lists (from 1968), in order of how many editions have an article about them. The events “in those days” are the ones on the neighbouring days’ lists that carry the year of birth, passed through the same filter as the tour.
The day of birth, year included
The Moon, the star sign and the constellation are worked out by the page itself, for noon Universal Time on the day. The lit part of the Moon is rounded and can differ by a few per cent from that at the hour of birth. The sign follows the usual zodiac of twelve equal parts starting at the March equinox; the constellation is the one the Sun actually stood in front of, by the borders set by the International Astronomical Union, and within a day of a border the page does not name it. When the Sun changes sign while it is that day anywhere on Earth, the page gives the moment of crossing, rounded to ten minutes and accurate to within about a quarter of an hour, and the clock time in a few cities, with the time zone and summer time of that year.
The year in the Chinese calendar is the one your device’s own calendar gives for the date, checked against the Hong Kong Observatory’s tables. “All your birthdays” uses the same sources as the rest of the chapter for the same day in every year since the birth: the temperature, well-known launches that took place on that very day, matches of the teams the edition follows, snow deeper than 10 cm and strong geomagnetic storms. The three things at the top and the four on the picture are chosen in a fixed order (the song, the animal, a full Moon, a well-known launch before an ordinary earthquake); on the picture you can change them.
When the link carries a year of birth, the page adds a few things about that exact day. The weather is the Met Office’s Central England temperature record and the readings from New York’s Central Park; the “usual high” is the average of the daily highs of 1961–1990 for that date, with two days either side. The carbon dioxide figure is the monthly mean at the Mauna Loa observatory, where measurements begin in March 1958.
The earthquake is the one with the largest magnitude in the USGS catalogue for that day, counted in Universal Time. Before the 1960s the catalogue has gaps even above magnitude 5.5, so in the older years many days have no earthquake. The page gives only the magnitude and the place: the country the epicentre falls in or, when the epicentre is at sea within 300 km of a coast, the nearest country; farther out, only the ocean.
The launches are those that reached orbit or left for the Moon and the planets, from Jonathan McDowell’s GCAT catalogue. If nothing left that day, the page shows the nearest launch within three days before or after, and says how many days away it was. The geomagnetic storm appears only when the Kp index reached at least 5 in one of the day’s eight three-hour intervals.
The animal comes from GBIF: an observation made by a person (the animal seen or heard, or its tracks), dated to that exact day, with coordinates and a CC0 or CC BY licence. Only a few hundred well-known species are searched (mammals, birds, turtles, butterflies); of those noted that day, mammals and species with articles in many Wikipedia editions come first; birds noted almost every day, and species used recently, wait their turn. Observations dated 1 January are left out, because records without a day are often filed there. An observation shows that the animal was recorded there, not how many animals there were.
The matches are those between national teams. Only matches of England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, the Republic of Ireland, the United States, Canada and Australia are shown, along with those at the big final tournaments. The picture to send is drawn in the page from the day’s globe and the facts above, and stays on your device until you send it.
Sources
- Events, births and holidays: the day’s page on Wikipedia, text under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Coordinates, places of birth and the number of editions: Wikidata (CC0).
- The Earth by day: NASA Blue Marble Next Generation. The Earth by night: NASA Black Marble 2016.
- Borders and regions: Natural Earth.
- World population and births per year: UN World Population Prospects 2024.
- Charts and films: Wikipedia’s lists for Billboard, the UK Singles Chart, Los 40 Principales, Romanian Top 100, Airplay 100 and American films by year (CC BY-SA 4.0).
- Weather: Met Office Hadley Centre, HadCET (Open Government Licence) and NOAA GHCN-Daily, New York Central Park. Carbon dioxide: NOAA Global Monitoring Laboratory, Mauna Loa.
- Earthquakes: the USGS catalogue. Launches: Jonathan McDowell, GCAT (CC BY). Kp index: GFZ Potsdam (CC BY 4.0). Matches: International football results, Mart Jürisoo (CC0).
- Animal observations: GBIF, with a link to each record; species names come from Wikidata.