May 5th, 1888

Born on May 5th, 1888

Age in days, weeks and months
Wow, over 49,000 days old!

Why not celebrate an alternative birthday? In 337 days, exactly on March 28th, 2025, people who were born on May 5th, 1888 will be 50,000 days old!

... in seconds, minutes and hours

What happened on May 5th?

May 5th, 2019

Aeroflot Flight 1492 was struck by lightning after leaving Moscow's Sheremetyevo International Airport and caught fire during the subsequent emergency landing attempt, killing 41 people on board.

May 5th, 2007

Kenya Airways Flight 507 crashed immediately after takeoff from Douala International Airport in Cameroon, resulting in the deaths of all 114 people aboard.

May 5th, 1992

The Twenty-seventh Amendment to the United States Constitution was ratified, 202 years after it was first proposed.

May 5th, 1981

After a 66-day hunger strike, Irish republican Bobby Sands died of starvation in HM Prison Maze.

May 5th, 1980

The British Special Air Service recaptured the Iranian embassy in London after a six-day siege by Iranian Arab separatists.

May 5th, 1961

Project Mercury: American astronaut Alan Shepard (pictured) made a sub-orbital spaceflight on board Freedom 7, becoming the second person to travel into outer space.

May 5th, 1960

The Netherlands Carillon was inaugurated in Arlington, Virginia, on the 15th anniversary of Dutch Liberation Day.

May 5th, 1945

World War II: The citizens of Prague spontaneously rose up against the city's German occupiers.

May 5th, 1940

World War II: A squad of 250 Norwegian volunteers defending Hegra Fortress surrendered to a superior Nazi force after a 25-day siege.

May 5th, 1904

Pitching for the Boston Americans, Cy Young threw the first perfect game in modern professional baseball.

May 5th, 1891

Carnegie Hall (interior pictured) in New York City, built by the philanthropist Andrew Carnegie, officially opened with a concert conducted by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky.

May 5th, 1864

American Civil War: Union Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant's Overland Campaign in Virginia began with the inconclusive Battle of the Wilderness (pictured) in Spotsylvania County.

May 5th, 1654

Cromwell's Act of Grace, which pardoned the people of Scotland for any crimes committed during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms, was proclaimed in Edinburgh.

May 5th, 1646

First English Civil War: Charles I surrendered himself to Scottish Covenanter leader David Leslie near Newark, England.

May 5th, 1860

Led by Italian general Giuseppe Garibaldi, the volunteer Expedition of the Thousand set sail from Genoa on a campaign to conquer the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies.

Birthdays
... of famous people, actors, celebrities and stars on May 5th

Born on May 5th, 1888

82

Cuno Raabe

German politician (1888-1971)

*May 5th, 1888, Fulda †May 3rd, 1971, Gersfeld

Same Day
Who's birthday is on May 5th?

78

Sylvia Pankhurst

English feminist and socialist (1882–1960)

*May 5th, 1882, Manchester †September 27th, 1960, Addis Ababa

35

Adele

British singer

*May 5th, 1988, Tottenham

64

Karl Marx

German-born philosopher (1818–1883)

*May 5th, 1818, Trier †March 14th, 1883, London

79

John Rhys-Davies

British actor

*May 5th, 1944, Ammanford

44

Vincent Kartheiser

American actor

*May 5th, 1979, Minneapolis

88

Eddi Arent

German actor and comedian

*May 5th, 1925, Wrzeszcz †May 28th, 2013, Munich

57

Nellie Bly

American journalist

*May 5th, 1864, Burrell Township †January 27th, 1922, New York City

41

Vanessa Bryant

American philanthropist

*May 5th, 1982, Huntington Beach

70

Lene Køppen

Badminton player

*May 5th, 1953, Copenhagen

66

Christopher Morley

American journalist, novelist, essayist and poet

*May 5th, 1890, Bryn Mawr †March 28th, 1957, Roslyn Estates

88

Richard Arlt

German Resistance member

*May 5th, 1911, Witoszyn Górny †August 25th, 1999

50

Andreas Bausewein

German politician

*May 5th, 1973, Erfurt

65

Wolfgang Hellmich

German politician

*May 5th, 1958, Welver

57

Chan Oi Ni

Hong Kong badminton player

*May 5th, 1966, Hong Kong

52

Marlene Thomsen

Badminton player

*May 5th, 1971, Vejle

52

Helene Kirkegaard

Badminton player

*May 5th, 1971, Præstevang Parish

42

Søren Kierkegaard

Danish theologian, philosopher, poet and social critic (1813–1855)

*May 5th, 1813, Copenhagen †November 11th, 1855, Copenhagen

41

Kaveh Mehrabi

Badminton player

*May 5th, 1982, Tehran

35

Sylvina Kurniawan

Australian badminton player

*May 5th, 1988, Surabaya

54

Mervyn S. Bennion

United States Navy Medal of Honor recipient (1887-1941)

*May 5th, 1887, Utah †December 7th, 1941, Pearl Harbor

Same year
Born in 1888

85

Oswald Menghin

Austrian prehistorian

*April 19th, 1888, Merano †November 29th, 1973, Buenos Aires

81

Mary Barratt Due

Norwegian pianist

*April 9th, 1888, Bergen †December 24th, 1969, Oslo

76

T. S. Eliot

US-born British poet (1888–1965)

*September 26th, 1888, St. Louis †January 4th, 1965, Kensington

101

Irving Berlin

American composer and lyricist (1888–1989)

*May 11th, 1888, Talačyn †September 22nd, 1989, New York City

65

Eugene O'Neill

American playwright (1888–1953)

*October 16th, 1888, New York City †November 27th, 1953, Boston

88

Edith Evans

British actress (1888–1976)

*February 8th, 1888, London †October 14th, 1976, Cranbrook

77

Clemence Dane

English novelist (1888-1965)

*February 21st, 1888, London Borough of Lewisham †March 28th, 1965, London

58

Antoinette Perry

American actress, stage director and co-founder of the American Theatre Wing

*June 27th, 1888, Denver †June 28th, 1946, Manhattan

81

Otto Stern

German-American physicist (1888–1969)

*February 17th, 1888, Żory †August 17th, 1969, Berkeley

57

John Logie Baird

Scottish inventor, demonstrating the world's first working television

*August 14th, 1888, Helensburgh †June 14th, 1946, Bexhill-on-Sea

85

Sol Hurok

Ukraine-born American impresario

*April 9th, 1888, Pogar †March 5th, 1974, New York City

88

Hermann Pünder

German politician (1888-1976)

*April 1st, 1888, Trier †October 3rd, 1976, Fulda

87

Hans Thirring

Austrian physicist (1888-1976)

*March 23rd, 1888, Vienna †March 22nd, 1976, Vienna

53

José Raúl Capablanca

Cuban chess player (1888-1942)

*November 6th, 1888, Havana †March 8th, 1942, New York City

72

George Relph

British stage and film actor (1888-1960)

*January 27th, 1888, Cullercoats †April 24th, 1960, London

88

Paul Morand

French writer (1888-1976)

*March 13th, 1888, 8th arrondissement of Paris †July 23rd, 1976, Paris

83

Maurice Chevalier

French singer, actor, and entertainer (1888–1972)

*September 12th, 1888, Paris †January 1st, 1972, Paris

73

Werner Jaeger

German-american classical philologist (1888-1961)

*July 30th, 1888, Lobberich †October 19th, 1961, Cambridge

90

Giorgio de Chirico

Italian artist (1888–1978)

*July 10th, 1888, Volos †November 20th, 1978, Rome

70

Maxwell Anderson

American playwright and writer (1888–1959)

*December 15th, 1888, Atlantic †February 28th, 1959, Stamford

Birthdays of famous people

Public holidays on May 5th

Fixed holidays (Christian feast day) which are celebrated on May 5th.

Date as a Roman numeral / digit

Leap year

Yes: 1888 is a leap year, therefore has a 29th of February with an additional leap day and a total of 366 days (instead of the usual 365 days in a normal year).

Calendar
May 1888