This Day In History, September 5th.
Five Historical Events That Happened on September 5th
French Revolution, 1793: The Committee of Public Safety is established, ushering in the Reign of Terror.
1774 - First Continental Congress: On September 5, 1774, the First Continental Congress convened in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The conference was organized in reaction to the British Parliament's Intolerable Acts, which were imposed in response to the Boston Tea Party.
On September 5, 1836, Sam Houston was chosen as the first president of the Republic of Texas, which had recently acquired independence from Mexico.
1972 - Palestinian terrorists kidnap Israeli athletes and coaches during the Munich Olympics: On September 5, 1972, members of the Palestinian terrorist group Black September burst into the Olympic Village in Munich, Germany, and kidnapped Israeli athletes and coaches. The siege ended tragically, with all of the hostages and numerous militants dead.
Pan Am Flight 73 was hijacked by four armed men on September 5, 1986, at Karachi International Airport in Pakistan. The hijackers kept the passengers and crew hostage for more than 16 hours, killing 20 passengers and crew members and injuring over 100 others.
1793 - French Revolution: The Reign of Terror begins with the establishment of the Committee of Public Safety.
The National Convention, France's then-governing body, established the Committee to address both internal and external dangers to the revolution. The Committee, under the direction of Maximilien Robespierre, adopted a policy of harsh repression and executed hundreds of persons who were considered to be opponents of the revolution. The Committee was abolished and Robespierre himself was put to death in July 1794, ending the Reign of Terror.
The First Continental Congress met in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on September 5th, 1774. The meeting was called in response to the Intolerable Acts passed by the British Parliament in response to the Boston Tea Party.
In 1774, Joseph Priestley, an English scientist and theologian, discovered oxygen. He was studying gas qualities when he discovered a gas that could relight a blazing splint, which he dubbed "dephlogisticated air." Later, another chemist named Antoine Lavoisier termed the gas "oxygen" and established it as an important component in respiration and combustion. Priestley's discovery of oxygen had a significant influence on chemistry and helped create the groundwork for contemporary medicine and biology.
On September 5th, 1836, Sam Houston was elected as the first president of the Republic of Texas, which had just gained independence from Mexico.
Sam Houston was a pivotal player in the Texas Revolution, which lasted from 1835 to 1836 and resulted in Texas' independence from Mexico. On September 5, 1836, he was chosen as the Republic of Texas' first president. Houston was president of Texas for two non-consecutive terms, from 1836 to 1838 and from 1841 to 1844. He was a key figure in the United States' annexation of Texas in 1845, and he later served as a U.S. senator and governor of Texas.
On September 5th, 1972, members of the Palestinian terrorist group Black September broke into the Olympic Village in Munich, Germany, and took Israeli athletes and coaches hostage. The siege ended in tragedy, with all of the hostages and several of the terrorists being killed.
On September 5th, 1972, eight members of the Palestinian terrorist group Black September stormed into the Olympic Village in Munich, Germany, and kidnapped eleven Israeli athletes and instructors. The attackers sought the release of around 230 Palestinian inmates detained in Israeli prisons, as well as two German extremists. The hostages were transferred to the airport after a failed rescue effort by German police, where a bungled rescue attempt by German security forces ended in the deaths of all eleven hostages, one German police officer, and five terrorists. The Munich Olympics murder stunned the globe and prompted heightened security measures at major sporting events.
On September 5th, 1986, Pan Am Flight 73 was hijacked by four armed men at Karachi airport in Pakistan. The hijackers held the passengers and crew hostage for over 16 hours, during which time 20 passengers and crew members were killed and over 100 were injured
Four armed men from the Abu Nidal Organization hijacked Pan Am Flight 73 at Karachi Airport in Pakistan on September 5, 1986. The plane was flying from Mumbai, India, to New York City, stopping in Karachi and Frankfurt. For more than 16 hours, the hijackers kept the passengers and crew hostage, demanding the release of inmates jailed in Cyprus and the United States. They massacred 20 passengers and crew members and wounded over 100 others during the hijacking before being overcome by Pakistani security forces. The hijacking of Pan Am Flight 73 is regarded as one of the worst terrorist attacks on an airplane in history.