1922: Pandita Ramabai was a social reformer who worked to improve women’s status in Indian society. In Calcutta, Bengal, she was given the names ‘Pandita’ and ‘Saraswati’ in appreciation of her Sanskrit abilities. On April 5, 1922, Pandita Ramabai died of septic bronchitis.
1923: Inflatable tires
Firestone Tire and Rubber Company began manufacturing inflatable tyres on April 5, 1923.
1930: Mahatma Gandhi defies British law by making salt in India instead of buying it from the British.
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1933: The coronation day of Akenzua II, Oba of Benin, following the death of his father, Eweka II, in February. The Oba reigned until he died in 1978. He was passionate about education for all Edo children and the return of 3000 Benin bronzes stolen by Britain in the 1890s.
1951: Americans Julius and Ethel Rosenberg are sentenced to death for espionage.
1951: Ethel and Julius Rosenberg are sentenced to death. The U.S. couple was accused of passing information about nuclear weapons on to the Soviet Union. It later emerged that Ethel was not involved in her husband’s activities. Both were executed in 1953.
1955: Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill, the British leader who guided Great Britain and the Allies through the crisis of World War II, retires as prime minister of Great Britain. His political career spanned half a century.
1964: Automatic, driverless trains began operating on the London Underground.
1965: One of Nigeria’s most illustrious careers begins as 24-year-old musician, Victor Uwaifo forms his first band, The Melody Maestros. Between now and 1958, Uwaifo will develop the Akwete rhythm sound, and light up clubs and touring with it.
1986: A bomb kills 3 people at the La Belle in West Berlin. The attack on the nightclub, which was frequented by U.S. soldiers, was later blamed on the Libyan secret service. In retaliatory strikes, at least 15 people were killed in Libya.
1992: Abortion rights advocates march on Washington. A march and rally in support of reproductive justice for women draws several hundred thousand people to demonstrations in Washington, D.C. One of the largest protest marches in the nation’s capital, the pro-choice rally came as the U.S. Supreme Court was about to consider the constitutionality of a Pennsylvania state law that limited access to abortions.
1994: Grunge rock icon Kurt Cobain dies by suicide. Modern rock icon Kurt Cobain dies by suicide on April 5, 1994. His body was discovered inside his home in Seattle, Washington, three days later by Gary Smith, an electrician, who was installing a security system in the house. Despite indications that Cobain, the lead singer of Nirvana, killed himself, some skeptics questioned the circumstances of his death and pinned responsibility on his wife, Courtney Love.
1995: Archbishop Desmond Tutu of South Africa visits Nigeria to solicit the release of Moshood Abiola.
1998 The world’s largest suspension bridge opens to traffic. The Akashi Kaikyō Bridge in Japan features the world’s longest central span, measuring 1991 meters (6532 feet).
1999: Court of Appeal sitting in Abuja dismisses Chief Falae’s suit; confirms Obasanjo as president-elect following the election of February 27, 1999.
2008: American actor Charlton Heston—who possessed a commanding screen presence and was best known for such films as Ben-Hur (1959), The Ten Commandments (1956), and Planet of the Apes (1968)—died at the age of 84.
Births on This Day, April 5
Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, 77 years
Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, born in 1947. She is the Philippines 2nd female President (2001-2010) and the daughter of former President Diosdado Macapagal (1961-1965).
Educated in the US, she was the first elected female Vice President in 1998 but assumed the presidency after the controversial step down of President Joseph Estrada forced by the 2001 People Power Revolution.
Her administration was marked by greater economic prosperity for the country though marred by attempted military coups including the “Oakwood Mutiny” and allegations of corruption.
Colin Powell (5 April 1937- 18 October 2021)
Colin Luther Powell was born in 1937, was an American politician, statesman, diplomat, and United States Army officer who was the 65th United States Secretary of state from 2001 to 2005. He was the first Black secretary of state. He died at the age of 84.
1856: Booker T. Washington (April 5, 1856 – November 14, 1915)
Booker Taliaferro Washington, an American education pioneer and the first African American to appear on a US stamp, was born into slavery today in 1856 Virginia. He became an American educator, author, and orator. Washington was freed when U.S. troops reached the area during the Civil War. As a young man, he worked his way through Hampton Normal and Agricultural Institute and attended college at Wayland Seminary. Between 1890 and 1915, Washington was the primary leader in the African-American community and of the contemporary Black elite. He died at the age of 59.
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