What Happened On
"Fire in the Sky" UFO Abduction
November 5, 1975
According to Travis Walton, he was abducted from a group of loggers and held for five days by aliens aboard a UFO. His story won a National Enquirer prize of $5,000 and provided the basis for the movie Fire in the Sky (1993).
Flux Capacitor Invented
November 5, 1955
According to the Back to the Future movie franchise, Dr. Emmett L. Brown (Doc) conceives of the idea for his flux capacitor when he slipped on the edge of his toilet while hanging a clock in his bathroom and hit his head on the sink. The flux capacitor requires 1.21 gigawatts of electrical power and as the DeLorean time machine nears 88 mph, light coming from the flux capacitor begins pulsing more rapidly until it becomes a steady stream. This coupled with the DeLorean's stainless steel body is what makes time travel possible.
Ironically, while the Back to the Future DeLorean had to achieve 88 mph, a factory DeLorean's speedometer only went to 85 mph as it was the law in the U.S. at the time that automobile speedometers could only go up to 85 mph. The car used in the Back to the Future movies had a sticker placed over the speedometer that went up to 95 mph. This law was in effect from 1979 to 1982.
First NBA Player to Shatter a Backboard
November 5, 1946
Chuck Connors (who went on to star in TV's The Rifleman), playing for the Boston Celtics, shatters a backboard during the pre-game warm-up; it broke due to improper installation.
Connors also played baseball for the Brooklyn Dodgers and Chicago Cubs.
U.S. Automobile Patent
November 5, 1895
U.S. patent #549160A for the gas-powered automobile is granted to George B. Selden. He collected royalties from U.S. automobile makers until Henry Ford contested his patent and won in 1911 after an eight-year legal battle. Ford won the case on the basis that the engine used in automobiles was not based on the Brayton engine, which Selden had improved, but on the Otto engine.
First U.S. President?
November 5, 1781
John Hanson is elected president of the Continental Congress. For this, he is sometimes referred to as the first U.S. president.
Freedom of the Press
November 5, 1733
The first issue of John Peter Zenger's The New-York Weekly Journal is published. Its criticisms of the governor of New York caused Zenger to be arrested for libel. His acquittal helped establish freedom of the press in America. His lawyers attempted to establish the precedent that a statement, even if defamatory, is not libelous if it can be proved.
Oldest Heavyweight Boxing Champion
November 5, 1994
45-year-old George Foreman KOs Michael Moorer in the 10th round of the title fight.
Chess
November 5, 1992
Bobby Fischer beats Boris Spassky (10 games to 5) and takes the $5,000,000 prize in their chess rematch.
First American to Win the Nobel Prize for Literature
November 5, 1930
Sinclair Lewis wins for his novel Babbitt (1922, a satirical novel about American culture).
Statue of Morris Frank and Buddy
Photo Credit: Kritzolina
Statue of Morris Frank and BuddyPhoto Credit: Kritzolina
First Seeing Eye Dog in the U.S.
November 5, 1927
An article appears in The Saturday Evening Post by Dorothy Eustis describing how Swiss shepherds were training dogs to lead the blind. This led American Morris Frank, who was blind, to visit Eustis where he received his own seeing eye dog, Buddy. With Eustis' financial backing, Morris returned to the U.S. with Buddy and cofounded The Seeing Eye to train guide dogs.
First Catapult Launch of an Airplane from a Ship Underway
November 5, 1915
A U.S. Navy Curtiss Model AB-2 flown by Lt. Cmdr. Henry Mustin is launched from the USS North Carolina.
First Airplane Flight Across the U.S.
November 5, 1911
Calbraith P. Rodgers arrives in Pasadena, California. He had started from Sheepshead Bay, New York on September 17th.
Letters From a Farmer
November 5, 1767
The first of the Letters From a Farmer in Pennsylvania by John Dickinson appear, expressing opposition to the Townshend Acts of 1767.
Fawkes and members of the Gunpowder Plot being hanged, drawn, and quartered
Fawkes and members of the Gunpowder Plot being hanged, drawn, and quartered
Gunpowder Plot
November 5, 1605
Guy Fawkes is arrested for setting up 36 barrels of gunpowder in an attempt to blow up King James I and the English Parliament. They were going to blow up the House of Lords during the State Opening of Parliament. Fawkes was in charge of the explosives, but after authorities were tipped off by an anonymous letter, he was discovered guarding 36 barrels of gunpowder. It was enough to reduce the House of Lords to rubble. Fawkes and his fellow conspirators were then tried and executed.
Birthdays
Roy Rogers (Leonard Franklin Slye)
Born November 5, 1911 d. 1998
American singing cowboy, who appeared in movies and TV with Dale Evans and Trigger. TV: The Roy Rogers Show (1951-57).
Ella Wheeler Wilcox
Born November 5, 1850 d. 1919
American poet. "Laugh and the world laughs with you, weep and you weep alone" is from her poem Solitude.
Quote: "To sin by silence, when we should protest, makes cowards out of men."
Quote: "Who climbs the mountain does not always climb.
The winding road slants downward many a time;
Yet each descent is higher than the last."
Tatum O'Neal
Born November 5, 1963
American Oscar-winning actress. Film: Paper Moon (1973, Oscar - the youngest person ever to win one).
Bryan Adams
Born November 5, 1959
Canadian singer, songwriter. Songs: Summer of '69, Cuts Like a Knife, and Run to You.
Photo Credit: Christie Jenkins Photography
Photo Credit: Christie Jenkins Photography
Jon-Erik Hexum
Born November 5, 1957 d. 1984
American actor. He shot himself playing Russian Roulette with a blank gun on the set of the TV series Cover Up. He was unaware that the explosion from blanks is deadly at close range. He died six days later from his injuries. TV: Voyagers! (1982-83, time traveler Phineas Bogg) and Cover Up (1984, Mac Harper).
Peter "Herman" Noone
Born November 5, 1947
English singer, with Herman's Hermits. Music: I'm Into Something Good (1964, #1 in UK), Mrs Brown You've Got a Lovely Daughter (1965, #1), I'm Henry VIII, I Am (1965, #1), and There's a Kind of Hush (1967).
Sam Shepard
Born November 5, 1943 d. 2017
American Obie-Pulitzer-winning playwright, actor. Plays: Curse of the Starving Class (1977, Obie), Fool For Love (1984, Obie), and True West (1985, Obie). Film: The Right Stuff (1983, as Chuck Yeager). Writings: Buried Child (1978, Pulitzer Prize).
Art Garfunkel
Born November 5, 1941
American singer with Simon and Garfunkel. Music: Bridge Over Troubled Water and Mrs. Robinson.
Photo Credit: Edge4life42
Photo Credit: Edge4life42
Ike Turner (Izear Luster Turner Jr.)
Born November 5, 1931 d. 2007
American Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Grammy-winning singer, guitarist, with wife Tina Turner. Music: Rocket 88 (1951, is considered by many to be the first rock and roll song) and Proud Mary. Quote: "One of two things happen when you hit a woman. Either she heads for the door or she's all yours."
Vivien Leigh
Born November 5, 1913 d. 1967
British Oscar-winning actress. Film: Gone with the Wind (1939, Oscar, Scarlett O'Hara) and A Streetcar Named Desire (1951, Oscar).
Paul Dehn
Born November 5, 1912 d. 1976
British Oscar-winning playwright, screenwriter. He wrote four Planet of the Apes sequels and co-scripted Goldfinger (1964).
Joel McCrea
Born November 5, 1905 d. 1990
American western actor.
Raymond Loewy
Born November 5, 1893 d. 1986
French inventor, designer, the father of streamlining. He designed the U.S. Postal Service logo.
James Ward Packard
Born November 5, 1863 d. 1928
American inventor, automobile maker.
Ida M. Tarbell
Born November 5, 1857 d. 1944
American author. Writings: The History of the Standard Oil Company (1904), for which U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt called her a "muckraker."
Eugene Victor Debs
Born November 5, 1855 d. 1926
American labor organizer. First president of the American Railway Union (1893) and founder of the Social Democrat Party of America (1897).
Deaths
Jill Clayburgh
Died November 5, 2010 b. 1944
American actress. Film: An Unmarried Woman (1978). TV: Search For Tomorrow (1969, brain tumor victim Grace Bolton).
Jimmie Davis
Died November 5, 2000 b. 1899
American politician, governor of Louisiana (1944-48, 1960-64), and Country Music Hall of Famer. Music: You Are My Sunshine and Where the Old Red River Flows.
Fred MacMurray
Died November 5, 1991 b. 1908
American actor. Film: The star of numerous Disney movies, such as The Shaggy Dog (1959) and The Absent-Minded Professor (1961). TV: My Three Sons (1960-72, dad Steve Douglas). His face served as the model for Captain Marvel in the comic books (1939).
Al Capp (Alfred Gerald Caplin)
Died November 5, 1979 b. 1909
American cartoonist. Creator of Li'l Abner (1934).
Ward Bond
Died November 5, 1960 b. 1903
American actor. TV: Wagon Train (Major Adams).
Mack Sennett (Michael Sinnott)
Died November 5, 1960 b. 1880
Canadian-born American Oscar-winning director, producer, actor. He was the creator of the Keystone Kops and was known as the "King of Comedy." He produced over 1,000 silent films.
George M. Cohan
Died November 5, 1942 b. 1878
American playwright, songwriter. Music: Over There, You're a Grand Old Flag, and I'm a Yankee Doodle Dandy. Note: He told people his birthday was July 4.
Father of American Mapmaking
Henry Gannett
Died November 5, 1914 b. 1846
American geographer, "Father of American Mapmaking." He co-founded the National Geographic Society (1883).