What Happened on March 5?

March 5 marks the Boston Massacre of 1770 — the deadly street clash that helped spark the American Revolution and made Crispus Attucks a symbol of liberty!

• 1770 — Boston Massacre: British soldiers kill five colonists

  Outside Boston's Custom House, nervous British soldiers fired into a jeering crowd, killing five men — including Crispus Attucks, remembered as the first to die in the fight for American independence. Read the full story →

• 1946 — Churchill delivers his 'Iron Curtain' speech

  At a small college in Missouri, former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill warned that an 'iron curtain' had divided Europe — coining the phrase that defined the Cold War. Read the full story →

Famous birthdays

Howard Pyle (1853–1911) · Gerardus Mercator (1512–1594) · Rex Harrison (1908–1990)

Days & observances

National Cheese Doodle Day · Learn What Your Name Means Day