5 May in History

1215--Rebel barons renounce allegiance to King John, a prelude to the Magna Carta

1640--King Charles I dissolves the Short Parliament, a prelude to the English Civil War.

1789--In France, the Estates-Generale convenes for the first time since 1614.

1821--Emperor Napoleon I Bonaparte dies in exile on the island of Elba.

1862--The French invasion of Mexico is repulsed at the Battle of Puebla.

1945--the Netherlands and Denmark are liberated--Liberation Day in both countries.

1961--Alan Sheperd, in Mercury-Redstone 3, makes a sub-orbital flight.

1992--Alabama ratifies the 27th Amendment to the Constitution, bringing it into effect.