November 5: Facts & Historical Events On This Day - The Fact Site

November 5th is a special day, as it’s the day we celebrate Love Your Red Hair Day as well as Gunpowder Day.

Today marks the 309th day of the year. We now have only 56 days remaining in 2026.

You’re about to unearth some of the major historical events that occurred on this special day in history.

Did you know that on this day, November 5, 1935, Parker Brothers started marketing the Monopoly board game? It was initially called “The Landlord’s Game,” but its name and some rules were changed through many revisions.

Keep reading for more fun & interesting facts about November 5th in history!

Historical Events

What memorable events happened on November 5 in history? Keep reading to find out!

2024

Donald Trump was reelected as President of the United States of America.

Trump's win shocked the Democrats, who were sure Kamala Harris would be the nation's next President.

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2021

ABBA released “Voyage,” their ninth and final studio album.

Their previous album, "The Visitors," came out in 1981, over 40 years before "Voyage." The group split in 1983, stating they'd never perform together again. However, they reunited in 2016 and recorded two songs for "Voyage" in 2018.

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2015

Japan recognized its first legal same-sex couple.

Koyuki Higashi and Hiroko Matsuhara were officially the first same-sex couple to register their relationship in Tokyo, Japan.

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2014

The epic science fiction film Interstellar was released.

With a runtime of 169 minutes, Interstellar is one of Christopher Nolan's most memorable movies.

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2007

Spacecraft Change 1 entered lunar orbit at 02:15 UT and became the first Chinese spacecraft to orbit the moon successfully.

Change 1 was launched on October 24, 2007, to collect data from mapping the moon's surface. After having orbited the moon over 589 times, it landed on the moon's surface on March 1, 2009. It became the first Chinese space mission to make contact with the moon.

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Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare was released in North America for PC, PS3, and Xbox 360.

This award-winning game was set in the modern era instead of World War II. This new direction for Call of Duty was clearly the right choice, as Call of Duty 4 was the highest-selling Xbox game in 2007.

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2006

Saddam Hussein was sentenced to death after being found guilty of crimes against humanity.

It took the Iraqi Special Tribunal more than two years to lay the charges on the former Iraq President. Several incidents during the trial slowed down the process, including the attempted assassination of Saddam's lawyers and the replacement of one of the judges.

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1956

The first television show with an African American host, “The Nat King Cole Show,” aired on NBC.

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1935

Parker Brothers released the Monopoly board game.

First developed as "The Landlord's Game" by Elizabeth Magie Phillips, it was intended to be a teaching tool about the pitfalls of capitalism and monopolies. She sold the rights to Parker Brothers for $500.

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1930

Sinclair Lewis won the Nobel Prize for Literature for his novel “Babbitt.”

A satire about the American middle class and the life of a typical office worker at the time. "...without hesitation, he considers it God's purpose that man should work, increase his income, and enjoy modern improvements."

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1895

George B. Selden was granted the patent for a gasoline internal combustion engine car.

His many amendments to his patent caused a 16-year delay in the patent's approval.

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Utah State ratified the women’s right to vote in their state constitution.

It was the first state in America to guarantee women's suffrage.

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1883

The musical “Cordelia’s Aspirations” was performed for the first time at Theatre Comique, New York, US.

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1605

Guy Fawkes was arrested while attempting to blow up the Houses of Parliament in London, England.

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1500

Astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus observed a total lunar eclipse in Rome, Italy.

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1499

The 15th-century Breton-French-Latin dictionary called the Catholicon was published.

Although Jehan Lagadeuc wrote the trilingual dictionary in 1464, it wasn't published until 30 years later.

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Famous Births

Is today your birthday? If so, did you know that Seth Gilliam was also born on this day? Here are more famous people born on this day.

1955

Kris Jenner

American Media Personality

Age

70 years old

Born IN

California, USA

1992

Odell Beckham Jr.

American Footballer

Age

33 years old

Born IN

Louisiana, USA

1987

Kevin Jonas

American Musician

Age

38 years old

Born IN

New Jersey, USA

1968

Seth Gilliam

American Actor

Age

57 years old

Born IN

New York, USA

Birthday & Zodiac

People who were born on this day share the Scorpio star sign.

As soon as a Scorpio finds their purpose, they charge at it like a scorpion seizing its prey. When Scorpios have a goal, nothing gets in their way, and they are well-known for achieving incredible feats through their well-adapted strategy and persistence.

People born in November all have the Topaz birthstone. The ancient Greeks believed that topaz could make a wearer invisible.

Anyone born on Nov 5 would likely have been conceived around February 12 in the same year.

A baby that is conceived on November 5th, 2026, will likely be due around July 29th, 2027.

Quotes

Here are the most famous or noteworthy quotes said on this day throughout history.

1958

“If the use of leisure time is confined to looking at TV for a few extra hours every day, we will deteriorate as a people.”

Eleanor Roosevelt

(American First Lady)

Special Holidays

If you're looking for something to do today, maybe these special holidays might just help to cure your boredom!

United States

National Love Your Red Hair Day

At some point along the line, red hair got a bad rap, and that’s caused many redheads to be ashamed of their fiery hair. Today, we're here to tell you to ignore the haters and embrace how awesome your hair looks! And to you non-red heads reading this, stop being jealous already!

United Kingdom

Gunpowder Day

Remember, remember, the fifth of November, gunpowder, treason, and plot! Gunpowder Day celebrates the complete and utter failure of Guy Fawkes and his co-conspirators’ attempt to blow up the English parliament. Celebrate today with a bonfire and by letting off lots of fireworks!

Fact Of The Day

In 1946, Babe Ruth became one of the first patients to receive experimental chemotherapy with teropterin as part of treatment for his nasopharyngeal cancer.

Check out our daily facts page for fresh, random facts updated every day!

Days Until

Your countdown to 2026's upcoming special days!

• Veterans Day

  6 days

• World Kindness Day

  8 days

• Thanksgiving

  21 days

• Black Friday

  22 days

• Cyber Monday

  25 days

• Christmas Day

  50 days

• New Year's Day

  57 days