5 February in history

9 events that happened on 5 February, from 2 BCE to 1971.

  1. ✦ Anniversary of the day

    2 BCE 2,027 years ago

    The Senate grants Augustus the title pater patriae

    The Roman Senate gave Augustus the title pater patriae, 'father of the country', which was then inscribed in Rome, including in the Senate chambers in the Forum Romanum. Under the Republic it had been awarded only to Camillus and Cicero.

    Roman Senate

  2. 62 CE 1,964 years ago

    Earthquake strikes Pompeii and Herculaneum

    A strong earthquake badly damaged towns around the Bay of Naples. Pompeii was still being repaired seventeen years later when Vesuvius buried it in 79.

  3. 756 CE 1,270 years ago

    An Lushan proclaims himself emperor of Yan at Luoyang

    The rebel Tang general An Lushan declared himself emperor at Luoyang on the Lunar New Year, founding the state of Yan, and named Zhang Tongru and the surrendered Tang official Daxi Xun his chancellors. Yan collapsed in 763.

    An Lushan

  4. 1597 CE 429 years ago

    Twenty-six Christians crucified at Nagasaki

    On the orders of Toyotomi Hideyoshi, six Franciscan missionaries, Japanese Jesuits and lay converts were crucified on a hill at Nagasaki. They are honoured as the Twenty-Six Martyrs of Japan.

    Toyotomi HideyoshiNagasakiJesuits

  5. 1783 CE 243 years ago

    Calabrian earthquakes begin in southern Italy

    The first of five major shocks struck Calabria and Sicily, beginning a sequence that lasted weeks. Around 30,000 to 50,000 people died, and the disaster prompted early scientific study of earthquakes.

    Sicily

  6. 1852 CE 174 years ago

    New Hermitage museum opens to the public in St Petersburg

    Nicholas I opened the purpose-built New Hermitage to display the imperial art collections. The Hermitage is now one of the largest museums in the world.

  7. 1900 CE 126 years ago

    Britain and the United States sign the first Hay-Pauncefote Treaty

    The agreement gave the United States the right to build a canal across Central America. Rejected by the Senate, it was renegotiated in 1901, opening the way for the Panama Canal.

    United States

  8. 1924 CE 102 years ago

    BBC broadcasts the Greenwich time signal for the first time

    The six short 'pips', generated by the Royal Observatory at Greenwich, were broadcast to mark the hour. The signal is still heard on BBC radio today.

  9. 1971 CE 55 years ago

    Apollo 14 lands at Fra Mauro

    Alan Shepard and Edgar Mitchell landed in the lunar highlands, the target of the aborted Apollo 13. Shepard, America's first astronaut in space, became the fifth person to walk on the Moon.

Born on 5 February 3

Died on 5 February 4

Dates as the sources give them: in the Julian calendar before 1582, and in some countries for longer (Britain until 1752, Russia until 1918). Only people whose day of birth or death the records agree on are listed.

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