What Happened on September 5?

On September 5, 1774, delegates opened the First Continental Congress in Philadelphia. The same date later saw America's first Labor Day parade, a peace treaty that won Teddy Roosevelt the Nobel Prize, Cassius Clay's Olympic gold, and Voyager 1's launch toward the stars.

• 1698 — Peter the Great begins enforcing a tax on beards in Russia

  In September 1698, Tsar Peter I returned from Europe and pressed reforms that included taxing Russian men who kept traditional beards. Read the full story →

• 1774 — Delegates open the First Continental Congress in Philadelphia

  Fifty-six delegates from twelve of the thirteen colonies gathered at Carpenters' Hall to plan a united response to Britain's punishing Coercive Acts. Read the full story →

• 1882 — New York workers hold America's first Labor Day parade

  Some 10,000 workers marched from City Hall up Broadway in the very first Labor Day celebration, ending with picnics, speeches, and fireworks. Read the full story →

• 1905 — Treaty of Portsmouth ends the Russo-Japanese War

  Russian and Japanese envoys signed a peace treaty at a New Hampshire navy yard — a deal President Theodore Roosevelt brokered, earning the first Nobel Peace Prize ever given to an American. Read the full story →

• 1960 — 18-year-old Cassius Clay wins Olympic boxing gold in Rome

  Before the world knew him as Muhammad Ali, teenager Cassius Clay outboxed Poland's Zbigniew Pietrzykowski to take light heavyweight gold at the Rome Games. Read the full story →

Famous birthdays

Freddie Mercury (1946–1991) · Raquel Welch (1940–2023) · Werner Herzog (1942) · Michael Keaton (1951)

Days & observances

International Day of Charity · Portsmouth Peace Treaty Day · National Cheese Pizza Day · Be Late for Something Day