Tsar Peter I of Russia ("Peter the Great") imposes a tax on beards as part of his efforts to modernize and Westernize the country. Officials were empowered to publicly and forcibly shave anyone who refused to pay. The tax was formally repealed in 1772 by Catherine the Great.
View Historical Events by Day:
What Happened Today in History on September 5
Explore the historical events that shaped our world on September 5th. From major milestones to cultural achievements, see what happened on this day in history. Dates for earlier events may be approximate.
Note: Sources for the historical content shown, include research and reviews of relevant Online History Resources or printed material. When possible, we show a link to a source which provides additional or unique perspective about the event.
We do our best to provide accurate information but would appreciate being notified if any incorrect information is found. You may do so by using our Feedback link.
The first session of the Continental Congress convenes at Carpenters' Hall in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Delegates from twelve of the thirteen American colonies, except for Georgia, convened to discuss their future under growing British aggression and to formulate a unified colonial response.
Georgia did not attend because it was in a conflict with Native American nations and relied on British military support, which it feared jeopardizing by joining the other colonies in protest of British policies. The colony had many Loyalists and was hesitant to break from Great Britain. The meeting was organized by the delegates after the British Navy implemented a blockade of Boston Harbor and the Parliament of Great Britain passed the punitive Intolerable Acts in response to the Boston Tea Party. The Congress session lasted until October 26, 1774. More
The Reign of Terror during the French Revolution begins as the revolutionary government, led by the Committee of Public Safety and Maximilien de Robespierre, executes thousands of perceived enemies of the state, conducts mass arrests, swift trials by the Revolutionary Tribunal, and frequent use of the guillotine. The Terror ended with Robespierre's own execution in Paris on July 28, 1794. More
Crazy Horse is fatally wounded four months after surrendering to U.S. troops under General George Crook at Camp Robinson in northwestern Nebraska. He was wounded by a military guard in a scuffle with soldiers who were trying to imprison him in a cell. He died shortly thereafter.
Construction on a Crazy Horse Memorial Monument carving was started in 1948 into the Harney Peak leucogranite on Thunder Mountain. The project is being constructed on private land and funded without Federal or local Government money. More.
Credit: Crazy Horse Memorial Org.
The First Battle of the Marne begins during World War I, resulting in a French and British victory pushing the Germans back from the Marne River and halting the German advance towards Paris, leading to the establishment of static trench warfare across the Western Front for the remainder of the war.
Lt. William Calley. is charged with the premeditated murder in the death of 109 Vietnamese civilians including women and children at My Lai. when he was commanding an army platoon. Calley, was convicted of murder in the My Lai Massacre and he was sentenced to be dismissed from the Army and to be confined at hard labor for life.
On August 1971, Lieutenant General Albert O. Connor, commanding general of Third U.S. Army, reduced Calley’s sentence to twenty years confinement. In April 1974, the Secretary of the Army, Howard H. Callaway, further reduced Calley’s sentence to ten years confinement, making Calley eligible for parole in 6 months. He was pardoned by President Richard Nixon in 1974 after serving about a third of his 10-year sentence and was released in November 1974 having served three years of house arrest for the murders. More
The Palestinian terrorist group Black September attacks the Israeli Olympic team at the Munich Summer Olympics, resulting in the deaths of 11 Israeli athletes and coaches.
Lynette "Squeaky" Fromme, a member of the Manson Family, attempts to assassinate President Gerald Ford in Sacramento, California. Fromme pointed a .45-caliber pistol at Ford but was immediately restrained by Secret Service agent Larry Buendorf before she could fire.
Her gun failed to fire because she had deliberately not chambered a round, though she had loaded the magazine. After Fromme’s assassination attempt, Ford went on to speak before the California legislature. The main topic of his speech was crime. Fromme was sentenced to life in prison for the crime and was eventually paroled in 2009 after serving 34 years.
The Voyager 1 spacecraft is launched by NASA to explore the outer solar system and later becomes the first human-made object to reach interstellar space. No spacecraft has gone farther than NASA's Voyager 1; it crossed into interstellar space in August 2012 and continues to collect data.
The ceasefire in the Iran-Iraq War is declared, ending eight years of conflict and marking the end of one of the longest and deadliest wars of the 20th century.