What Happened on April 5?

April 5 is National Deep Dish Pizza Day — celebrating Chicago's famous thick-crust pie — on the same date Booker T. Washington was born, Winston Churchill left 10 Downing Street, and Chiang Kai-shek died in Taiwan.

• 1242 — Alexander Nevsky defeats the Teutonic Knights at the Battle on the Ice

  On April 5, 1242, Prince Alexander Nevsky of Novgorod defeated Teutonic Knights on the frozen Lake Peipus — a medieval battle Russians still celebrate as a defense of homeland. Read the full story →

• 1614 — Pocahontas marries John Rolfe in Virginia

  Pocahontas, a Powhatan woman also called Matoaka, married English colonist John Rolfe on April 5, 1614 — a union that briefly eased tensions between settlers and her people. Read the full story →

• 1792 — President George Washington casts the first presidential veto

  On April 5, 1792, George Washington rejected a congressional apportionment bill — exercising the veto power the Constitution gave presidents for the first time. Read the full story →

• 1856 — Educator Booker T. Washington is born in Virginia

  Booker T. Washington was born enslaved in Franklin County, Virginia, on April 5, 1856 — and became one of America's most influential educators and authors after Emancipation. Read the full story →

• 1955 — Winston Churchill resigns as British prime minister

  Winston Churchill — Britain's wartime leader who rallied the nation against Nazi Germany — stepped down as prime minister on April 5, 1955, at age 80 due to failing health. Read the full story →

Famous birthdays

Booker T. Washington (1856–1915) · Bette Davis (1908–1989) · Colin Powell (1937–2021) · Pharrell Williams (1973)

Days & observances

National Deep Dish Pizza Day · National Caramel Day · National Read a Road Map Day · Gold Star Wives Day