On This Day: 5 September

5 September in Indian history

• 1986Pan Am Flight 73 from Mumbai, India with 358 people on board is hijacked at Karachi International Airport.India
• 1877American Indian Wars: Oglala Sioux chief Crazy Horse is bayoneted by a United States soldier after resisting confinement in a guardhouse at Fort Robinson in Nebraska.India

5 September in world history

• 2020California wildfires: A pyrotechnic device at a gender reveal party ignited the El Dorado Fire, burning for 71 days and killing one firefighter.
• 1996Hurricane Fran makes landfall near Cape Fear, North Carolina as a Category 3 storm with 115 mph sustained winds. Fran caused over $3 billion in damage and killed 27 people.
• 1978Camp David Accords: Menachem Begin and Anwar Sadat begin peace discussions at Camp David, Maryland.
• 1977NASA launched the space probe Voyager 1, currently the farthest spacecraft from Earth, from Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.
• 1975Squeaky Fromme, a devotee of Charles Manson, attempted to assassinate U.S. president Gerald Ford in Sacramento, California.
• 1972The Palestinian militant group Black September took hostage eleven Israeli athletes and coaches at the Olympic Games in Munich, West Germany; all of the hostages were killed less than 24 hours later.
• 1970Vietnam War: Operation Jefferson Glenn begins: The United States 101st Airborne Division and the South Vietnamese 1st Infantry Division initiate a new operation in Thừa Thiên–Huế Province.
• 1948In France, Robert Schuman becomes President of the Council while being Foreign minister; as such, he is the French negotiator of the major treaties of the end of World War II.
• 1945Cold War: Igor Gouzenko, a Soviet Union embassy clerk, defects to Canada, exposing Soviet espionage in North America, signalling the beginning of the Cold War.
• 1943World War II: American and Australian airborne forces landed at Nadzab as part of the New Guinea campaign against Japan.
• 1938Chile: A group of youths affiliated with the fascist National Socialist Movement of Chile are executed after surrendering during a failed coup.
• 1937Spanish Civil War: Llanes falls to the Nationalists following a one-day siege.
• 1862American Civil War: The Army of Northern Virginia crosses the Potomac River at White's Ford in the Maryland Campaign.
• 1781Battle of the Chesapeake in the American Revolutionary War: The British Navy is repelled by the French Navy, contributing to the British surrender at Yorktown.
• 1774In response to the British Parliament's enactment of the so-called Intolerable Acts, representatives from twelve of the Thirteen Colonies convened the First Continental Congress at Carpenters' Hall in Philadelphia.
• 1661Fall of Nicolas Fouquet: Louis XIV's Superintendent of Finances is arrested in Nantes by D'Artagnan, captain of the king's musketeers.

Born on 5 September

• 1986Pragyan Ojha, Indian cricketerIndia
• 1936Bill Mazeroski, American baseball player and coach (died 2026)
• 1888Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, Indian philosopher and politician, 2nd President of India (died 1975)India
• 1881Otto Bauer, Austrian philosopher and politician, Foreign Minister of Austria (died 1938)
• 1872V. O. Chidambaram Pillai, Indian lawyer and politician (died 1936)India
• 989Fan Zhongyan, Chinese chancellor (died 1052)

Died on 5 September

• 2021Sarah Harding, English singer, member of Girls Aloud (born 1981)
• 2013Isamu Jordan, American journalist and academic (born 1975)
• 1995Salil Chowdhury, Indian music composer (born 1922)India
• 1986Neerja Bhanot, Indian flight purser, known for her heroic actions on Pan Am Flight 73, during which she was killed (born 1963)India

Frequently asked questions

What happened on 5 September in history?

2020: California wildfires: A pyrotechnic device at a gender reveal party ignited the El Dorado Fire, burning for 71 days and killing one firefighter. 1996: Hurricane Fran makes landfall near Cape Fear, North Carolina as a Category 3 storm with 115 mph sustained winds. Fran caused over $3 billion in damage and killed 27 people. 1986: Pan Am Flight 73 from Mumbai, India with 358 people on board is hijacked at Karachi International Airport. 1978: Camp David Accords: Menachem Begin and Anwar Sadat begin peace discussions at Camp David, Maryland.

What happened on 5 September in Indian history?

1986: Pan Am Flight 73 from Mumbai, India with 358 people on board is hijacked at Karachi International Airport. 1877: American Indian Wars: Oglala Sioux chief Crazy Horse is bayoneted by a United States soldier after resisting confinement in a guardhouse at Fort Robinson in Nebraska.

Which famous people were born on 5 September?

Pragyan Ojha, Indian cricketer (1986); Bill Mazeroski, American baseball player and coach (died 2026) (1936); Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, Indian philosopher and politician, 2nd President of India (died 1975) (1888); Otto Bauer, Austrian philosopher and politician, Foreign Minister of Austria (died 1938) (1881).

Which day is observed on 5 September?

Teachers' Day; Teacher's Day (India); Earliest date on which Jeûne genevois can fall, while September 11 is the latest; celebrated on Thursday after the first Sunday of September; International Day of Charity; The flag-flying day for Denmark's deployed personnel (Denmark).