What Happened On This Day ? May 5
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1980
The British Special Air Service (SAS) terminate the Iranian Embassy siege in London
Six gunmen had held 26 people hostage for six days, demanding the release of Iranian Arab prisoners. Two of the hostages were killed.
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1955
West Germany regains full sovereignty after World War II
The Federal Republic of Germany had been established in 1949. Its provisional capital was Bonn. After the 1990 reunification of East and West Germany, Berlin was declared the country's capital.
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1949
The Council of Europe is founded
The organization was the first to work for European integration. It has 47 member countries and is a completely separate entity from the European Union (EU).
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1934
The first Three Stooges film is released
The comedy trio soon became famous, especially in the U.S., for their short films featuring slapstick humor.
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1904
Cy Young pitches the first perfect game in modern major league baseball
A game is considered perfect when none of the opposing players reach the first base. Young's team, the Boston Americans, won 3-0 over the Philadelphia Athletics.
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1988
Adele
English singer-songwriter, musician
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1943
Michael Palin
English actor, screenwriter
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1830
John Batterson Stetson
American businessman, founded the John B. Stetson Company
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1818
Karl Marx
German philosopher
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1813
Søren Kierkegaard
Danish philosopher, author
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2013
Greg Quill
Australian/Canadian singer-songwriter, journalist
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2000
Gino Bartali
Italian cyclist
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1995
Mikhail Botvinnik
Russian chess player
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1977
Ludwig Erhard
German politician, 2nd Chancellor of West Germany
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1821
Napoleon
Corsican/French military officer, political leader