5 July in history

8 events that happened on 5 July, from 328 to 1962.

  1. ✦ Anniversary of the day

    328 CE 1,698 years ago

    Constantine's Bridge over the Danube is officially opened

    Constantine's Bridge, a Roman bridge over the Danube between Sucidava in present-day Romania and Oescus in Bulgaria, built by the architect Theophilus Patricius, was officially opened. Used to reconquer Dacia, it remained in use for four decades.

    DanubeRoman Empire

  2. 1316 CE 710 years ago

    Louis of Burgundy defeats Ferdinand of Majorca at Manolada

    At Manolada in the Peloponnese, Louis of Burgundy defeated and killed Ferdinand of Majorca, his rival for the Principality of Achaea. The result kept Achaea under Angevin supremacy and checked Ferdinand's allies, the Catalan Company occupying the Duchy of Athens.

    Battle of Manolada

  3. 1687 CE 339 years ago

    Isaac Newton publishes the Principia

    Newton's Philosophiae Naturalis Principia Mathematica was published in London. It set out the laws of motion and universal gravitation, giving physics the framework that dominated science for more than two centuries.

    London

  4. 1830 CE 196 years ago

    French forces capture Algiers

    The Dey of Algiers surrendered to a French expeditionary force, beginning 132 years of French rule in Algeria. The colonisation ended only after a long and bloody war of independence.

    AlgeriaAlgiers

  5. 1865 CE 161 years ago

    William Booth begins the mission that becomes the Salvation Army

    Methodist preacher William Booth began evangelising in London's East End, founding the Christian Mission. Renamed the Salvation Army in 1878, it grew into a worldwide church and charity.

    London

  6. 1946 CE 80 years ago

    Louis Réard unveils the bikini at a Paris swimming pool

    Engineer and designer Louis Réard presented his two-piece swimsuit at the Piscine Molitor, modelled by dancer Micheline Bernardini. He named it after Bikini Atoll, where atomic tests had just begun.

    Paris

  7. 1948 CE 78 years ago

    The National Health Service launches in Britain

    Aneurin Bevan's National Health Service began, offering comprehensive care free at the point of use to everyone in Britain. It became one of the defining institutions of the post-war welfare state.

  8. 1962 CE 64 years ago

    Algeria becomes independent from France

    Algeria proclaimed independence, 132 years to the day after French troops took Algiers. It followed an eight-year war of liberation and a referendum in which Algerians voted overwhelmingly for independence.

    AlgeriaAlgiers

Born on 5 July 6

Died on 5 July 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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