Summary of the Day ✨ 5 July (05/07)
In a significant political shift, Keir Starmer became Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, ending 14 years of Conservative rule and marking a return to Labour leadership, while simultaneously in space exploration, NASA’s Juno probe began its survey of Jupiter. On the same day, Europe bid farewell to its Ariane 5 rocket with its final launch carrying advanced communications satellites, and London celebrated the inauguration of The Shard, which became Europe’s tallest building at 310 meters.
Historical Events 📜
- 2024: Keir Starmer is appointed Prime Minister by Charles III, becoming the first Labour prime minister since Gordon Brown in 2010 and the first one to win a general election since Tony Blair at the 2005 general election
- 2023: The last Ariane 5 rocket is launched, carrying the Heinrich Hertz and Syracuse 4B satellites.
- 2022: British government ministers Sajid Javid and Rishi Sunak resign from the second Johnson ministry, beginning the July 2022 United Kingdom government crisis.
- 2016: The Juno space probe arrives at Jupiter and begins a 20-month survey of the planet.
- 2012: The Shard in London is inaugurated as the tallest building in Europe, with a height of 310 metres (1,020 ft).
- 2009: A series of violent riots break out in Ürümqi, the capital city of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region in China.
- 2009: The largest hoard of Anglo-Saxon gold ever discovered in Britain, consisting of more than 1,500 items, is found near the village of Hammerwich, near Lichfield, Staffordshire.
- 2006: North Korea tests four short-range missiles, one medium-range missile and a long-range Taepodong-2. The long-range Taepodong-2 reportedly fails in mid-air over the Sea of Japan.
- 2004: The first direct Indonesian presidential election is held.
- 2003: The World Health Organization announces that the 2002–2004 SARS outbreak has been contained.
- 1999: U.S. President Bill Clinton imposes trade and economic sanctions against the Taliban regime in Afghanistan.
- 1997: Sri Lankan Civil War: Sri Lankan Tamil MP A. Thangathurai is shot dead at Sri Shanmuga Hindu Ladies College in Trincomalee.
- 1996: Dolly the sheep becomes the first mammal cloned from an adult cell.
- 1995: Armenia adopts its constitution, four years after its independence from the Soviet Union.
- 1994: Jeff Bezos founds Amazon.
Famous Births 👶
- 1999: Suzan Lamens, Dutch tennis player
- 1999: Kang Hye-won, South Korean actress and singer
- 1998: Emily Fox, American soccer player
- 1996: Aamir Jamal, Pakistani cricketer
- 1994: Jeon Jong-seo, South Korean actress
- 1994: Shohei Ohtani, Japanese baseball player
- 1993: Yaroslav Kosov, Russian ice hockey player
- 1993: Jorge Polanco, Dominican baseball player
- 1992: Alberto Moreno, Spanish footballer
- 1992: Chiara Scholl, American tennis player
- 1991: Jason Dolley, American actor, musician and Twitch streamer
- 1990: Abeba Aregawi, Ethiopian-Swedish runner
- 1989: Adam Cole, American wrestler
- 1989: Georgios Efrem, Cypriot footballer
- 1988: Samir Ujkani, Albanian footballer
Notable Deaths 🕊️
- 2024: Jon Landau, American film producer (born 1960)
- 2024: Bengt I. Samuelsson, Swedish biochemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1934)
- 2024: Vic Seixas, American tennis player (born 1923)
- 2021: Raffaella Carrà, Italian singer, dancer, television presenter and actress (born 1943)
- 2021: Richard Donner, American film director (born 1930)
- 2020: Nick Cordero, Canadian actor and singer (born 1978)
- 2015: Uffe Haagerup, Danish mathematician and academic (born 1949)
- 2015: Yoichiro Nambu, Japanese-American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1921)
- 2014: Rosemary Murphy, American actress (born 1925)
- 2014: Volodymyr Sabodan, Ukrainian metropolitan (born 1935)
- 2014: Hans-Ulrich Wehler, German historian and academic (born 1931)
- 2014: Brett Wiesner, American soccer player (born 1983)
- 2013: Bud Asher, American lawyer and politician (born 1925)
- 2013: David Cargo, American politician, 22nd Governor of New Mexico (born 1929)
- 2013: William Tebeau, American engineer, first African-American man to graduate from Oregon State University (born 1925)
Holidays & Observances 🎉
- Bloody Thursday (International Longshore and Warehouse Union)
- Christian feast day:
Anthony Maria Zaccaria, priest (died 1539) - Christian feast day:
Cyril and Methodius (a public holiday in Czech Republic and Slovakia) - Christian feast day:
Wexford Martyrs (Roman Catholic Church) - Christian feast day:
Zoe of Rome (Roman Catholic Church) - Christian feast day:
July 5 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics) - Fifth of July (New York), historic celebration of the abolition of slavery in New York in 1827.
- Independence Day (Algeria), celebrating the independence of Algeria from France in 1962.
- Independence Day (Cape Verde), celebrating the independence of Cape Verde from Portugal in 1975.
- Independence Day (Venezuela), celebrating the independence of Venezuela from Spain in 1811; also National Armed Forces Day.
- Tynwald Day, if July 5 is on a weekend, the holiday is the following Monday. (Isle of Man)