5 November in Indian and World History is celebrated, observed, and remembered for various reasons. 5 November is the birth anniversary of Chittaranjan Das, John Burdon Sanderson Haldane, Syed Sajjad Zaheer, Banarsi Das Gupta, Vandana Shiva, Karan Thapar, and Virat Kohli
5 November is also observed as the death anniversary of Bhupen Hazarika.
Birth Anniversary
5 November in Indian history is celebrated as the birth anniversary of the following personalities:
Chittaranjan Das (5 November 1870 – 16 June 1925), popularly called Deshbandhu (Friend of the Country or Nation), was an Indian freedom fighter, political activist and lawyer during the Indian Independence Movement and the Political Guru of Indian freedom fighter Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose. He is the founder-leader of the Swaraj Party in undivided Bengal during the period of British Colonial rule in India. His name is abbreviated as C. R. Das. He was closely associated with a number of literary societies and wrote poems, apart from numerous articles and essays.
John Burdon Sanderson Haldane (5 November 1892 – 1 December 1964), nicknamed “Jack” or “JBS”, was a British-Indian scientist who worked in physiology, genetics, evolutionary biology, and mathematics. With the innovative use of statistics in biology, he was one of the founders of neo-Darwinism. He served in the Great War and obtained the rank of captain. Despite his lack of an academic degree in the field, he taught biology at the University of Cambridge, the Royal Institution, and University College London. Renouncing his British citizenship, he became an Indian citizen in 1961 and worked at the Indian Statistical Institute for the rest of his life.
Syed Sajjad Zaheer (5 November 1905 – 13 September 1973) was an Indian Urdu writer, Marxist ideologue, and radical revolutionary who worked in both India and Pakistan. In the pre-independence era, he was a member of the Communist Party of India and the Progressive Writers’ Movement. Upon independence and partition, he moved to the newly created Pakistan and became a founding member of the Communist Party of Pakistan.
Banarsi Das Gupta (5 November 1917 – 29 August 2007) was an Indian politician who served as the 4th Chief Minister of Haryana state in India.
Vandana Shiva (born 5 November 1952) is an Indian scholar, environmental activist, food sovereignty advocate, ecofeminist and anti-globalization author. Based in Delhi, Shiva has written more than 20 books. She is often referred to as “Gandhi of grain” for her activism associated with the anti-GMO movement.
Karan Thapar (born 5 November 1955) is an Indian journalist, news presenter and interviewer working with The Wire. Thapar was associated with CNN-IBN and hosted The Devil’s Advocate and The Last Word. Some of the celebrities he has interviewed include Narendra Modi and Shah Rukh Khan. He was also associated with India Today, hosted the shows To the Point and Nothing But The Truth and is doing an exclusive series of Interviews with The Wire on his show Access Journalism.
Virat Kohli (born 5 November 1988) is an Indian international cricketer and the former captain of the Indian national cricket team. He currently represents Royal Challengers Bangalore in the IPL and Delhi in domestic cricket.
Death Anniversary
5 November in Indian history is observed as the death anniversary of the following personalities:
Bhupen Hazarika (8 September 1926 – 5 November 2011) was an Indian playback singer, lyricist, musician, poet, actor, artist, editor, filmmaker, professor, and politician from Assam, widely known as Sudha Kontho. He received the National Film Award for Best Music Direction in 1975, the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award (1987), Padma Shri (1977), Padma Bhushan (2001), Dada Saheb Phalke Award (1992), the highest award for cinema in India and Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowship (2008), the highest award of the Sangeet Natak Akademi. He was posthumously awarded both the Padma Vibhushan, India’s second-highest civilian award, in 2012, and the Bharat Ratna, India’s highest civilian award, in 2019.
Notable events on 5 November in Indian and World History
5 November 1912 – Woodrow Wilson is elected the 28th President of the United States, defeating incumbent William Howard Taft.
5 November 1913 – King Otto of Bavaria is deposed by his cousin, Prince Regent Ludwig, who assumes the title Ludwig III.
5 November 1914 – World War I: France and the British Empire declare war on the Ottoman Empire.
5 November 1916 – The Kingdom of Poland is proclaimed by the Act of 5th November of the emperors of Germany and Austria-Hungary.
5 November 1916 – The Everett massacre takes place in Everett, Washington as political differences lead to a shoot-out between the Industrial Workers of the World organizers and local police.
5 November 1917 – Lenin calls for the October Revolution.
5 November 1917 – Tikhon is elected the Patriarch of Moscow and of the Russian Orthodox Church.
5 November 1925 – Secret agent Sidney Reilly, the first “super-spy” of the 20th century, is executed by the OGPU, the secret police of the Soviet Union.
5 November 1926 – John Berger, an English art critic, and Nobel Prize Laureate, was born.
5 November 1940 – World War II: The British armed merchant cruiser HMS Jervis Bay is sunk by the German pocket battleship Admiral Scheer.
5 November 1940 – Franklin D. Roosevelt is the first and only President of the United States to be elected to a third term.
5 November 1943 – World War II: Bombing of the Vatican.
5 November 1950 – Korean War: British and Australian forces from the 27th British Commonwealth Brigade successfully halted the advancing Chinese 117th Division during the Battle of Pakchon.
5 November 1955 – After being destroyed in World War II, the rebuilt Vienna State Opera reopens with a performance of Beethoven’s Fidelio.
5 November 1956 – Suez Crisis: British and French paratroopers land in Egypt after a week-long bombing campaign.
5 November 1968 – Richard Nixon is elected as 37th President of the United States.
5 November 1970 – The Military Assistance Command, Vietnam reports the lowest weekly American soldier death toll in five years (24).
5 November 1983 – The Byford Dolphin diving bell accident kills five and leaves one severely injured.
5 November 1986 – USS Rentz, USS Reeves and USS Oldendorf visit Qingdao, China; the first US naval visit to China since 1949.
5 November 1990 – Rabbi Meir Kahane, founder of the far-right Kach movement, is shot dead after a speech at a New York City hotel.
5 November 1991 – Tropical Storm Thelma causes flash floods in the Philippine city of Ormoc, killing more than 4,900 people.
5 November 1995 – André Dallaire attempts to assassinate Prime Minister Jean Chrétien of Canada. He is thwarted when the Prime Minister’s wife locks the door.
5 November 1996 – Pakistani President Farooq Leghari dismisses the government of Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto and dissolves the National Assembly.
5 November 1996 – Bill Clinton is reelected President of the United States.
5 November 2006 – Saddam Hussein, the former president of Iraq, and his co-defendants Barzan Ibrahim al-Tikriti and Awad Hamed al-Bandar, are sentenced to death in the al-Dujail trial for their roles in the 1982 massacre of 148 Shia Muslims.
5 November 2007 – China’s first lunar satellite, Chang’e 1, goes into orbit around the Moon.
5 November 2007 – The Android mobile operating system is unveiled by Google.
5 November 2009 – U.S. Army Major Nidal Hasan murders 13 and wounds 32 at Fort Hood, Texas in the deadliest mass shooting at a U.S. military installation.
5 November 2013 – India launches the Mars Orbiter Mission, its first interplanetary probe.
5 November 2015 – An iron ore tailings dam bursts in the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais, flooding a valley, causing mudslides in the nearby village of Bento Rodrigues, and causing at least 17 deaths and two missing.
5 November 2015 – Rona Ambrose takes over after Stephen Harper as the Leader of the Conservative Party of Canada.
5 November 2017 – Devin Patrick Kelley kills 26 and injures 22 in a church in Sutherland Springs, Texas.
5 November 2021 – The Astroworld Festival crowd crush resulted in 10 deaths and 25 people being hospitalized.
5 November Historical Significance
On November 5th, several significant events have unfolded throughout history. One of the most notable occurrences is the Gunpowder Plot of 1605 in England, where a group of Catholic conspirators, including Guy Fawkes, attempted to assassinate King James I and blow up the British Parliament. This event is commemorated annually in the United Kingdom as Guy Fawkes Night or Bonfire Night. Additionally, on November 5, 1872, suffragist Susan B. Anthony cast her ballot in the U.S. presidential election, becoming the first woman to vote legally in the country. In more recent history, November 5, 1994, marks the day when former Prime Minister of Israel Yitzhak Rabin was assassinated, a tragic event that had significant implications for the Middle East peace process. Overall, November 5th stands as a day marked by political intrigue, activism, and remembrance of pivotal moments in various nations’ histories.
Important Days of 5 November in History
Guy Fawkes Night (Bonfire Night): This commemorates the failed Gunpowder Plot of 1605 in England, where Guy Fawkes attempted to blow up the Houses of Parliament. It’s marked with bonfires, fireworks, and the burning of effigies of Guy Fawkes.
World Tsunami Awareness Day: This day aims to raise awareness about the dangers of tsunamis and promote measures to reduce the risks associated with them. It was established by the United Nations in 2015.
National Doughnut Day (United States): While it’s celebrated on various dates throughout the year in different countries, some regions in the United States observe National Doughnut Day on November 5th, honoring the tasty pastry.