What Happened on April 5

Historical Events

1946 – 100th Grand National: Capt. Robert Petre wins aboard 25/1 shot Lovely Cottage; first true GN since 1940 due to World War II; last on a Friday
1950 – Prague espionage trial against bishops and priests begins
1981 – Philadelphia Flyers amass a record 2,621 penalty minutes
1983 – France throws out 47 Soviet diplomats
2005 – The Washington Nationals lose their inaugural season opener, 8-4 to the Philadelphia Phillies; first team to represent the nation’s capital since the Washington Senators left after the 1971 season
2012 – Severe storms in Argentina kill 14 people

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Famous Birthdays

1825 – David Rumph Jones, American Major General (Confederate Army), born in Orangeburg, South Carolina (d. 1863)
1939 – Ronald “Ronnie” White, American singer (The Miracles – “Shop Around”), born in Detroit, Michigan (d. 1995)
1944 – Ann Maxwell, American sci-fi author (Jaws of Menx), born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin
1951 – Rennie Stennett, Panamanian baseball infielder (World Series 1979; SF Giants; one of 3 players to collect 7 hits in a MLB game), born in Colón, Panama (d. 2021)
1953 – John Buchanan, Australian cricketer (Qld batsman 78-79, Shield coach 1995), born in Ipswich, Queensland
1979 – Timo Hildebrand, German footballer

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Famous Deaths

1419 – Vincent Ferrer, Spanish missionary and saint, dies at 69
1673 – Francois Caron, admiral/governor (Formosa), drowns at about 72
1884 – John Wisden, English cricket all-rounder (launched Wisden Cricketers’ Almanack 1864; Sussex CCC, Kent CCC, Middlesex CCC), dies at 57
1981 – Bob “Bear” Hite, rocker (Canned Heat), dies of a heart attack at 36
2015 – Richard Dysart, American actor (Leland MacKenzie-LA Law, The Last Days of Patton), dies at 86
2022 – Paul Siebel, American folk singer and songwriter (Louise; Spanish Johnny), dies from complications of pulmonary fibrosis at 84

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