Important Events From This day in History – 5th October

Today in History

• 2000 – Bulldozer Revolution in former Federal Republic of Yugoslavia

  President Slobodan Milosevic was overthrown after hundreds of thousands of protesters gathered in Belgrade to protest against recently held elections. While largely peaceful, the protesters burnt down the Parliament building. Milosevic resigned and stepped down from his office two days later.

• 1984 – First Canadian to go into space

  Marc Garneau flew as the payload specialist on STS-41-G, the 6th flight of NASA’s Space Shuttle Challenger. The flight that launched on this day was also the first space mission to have 2 women – Sally Ride and Kathryn Sullivan.

• 1969 – Monty Python’s Flying Circus makes its debut

  The British sketch comedy series lasted for a year on the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC). The show was a commentary on daily life in Britain and had several recurring themes and characters played by Eric Idle, Graham Chapman John Cleese, Michael Palin, Terry Gilliam, and Terry Jones. The sketches are often thought to have had a strong influence on television comedy around the world.

• 1962 – James Bond makes his theatrical debut

  The fictional British spy with the code name 007 was featured on the big screen for the first time in Dr. No. Based on the 1958 Ian Fleming novel of the same name, the movie starred Sean Connery as James Bond.

• 1947 – First televised presidential speech in the United States

  Harry Truman, the 33rd President of the US, called on Americans to use less grain to help Europe which was still reeling from the effects of the Second World War. He asked people to avoid eating meat on Tuesdays and eggs and poultry on Thursdays, and to consume 1 less slice of bread every day.