| 5 July 1293 | Papal States, Italy [administration] | Peter, the hermit of Monte Murrone, is elected Pope Celestine V. |
| 5 July 1295 | Scotland, France [treaties] | Scotland and France seal a treaty of alliance (the ‘Auld Alliance’). |
| 5 July 1755 | England [births and deaths] | Sarah Siddons, English tragic actor, born in Brecon, Brecknockshire, Wales (–1831). |
| 5–6 July 1809 | France, Austrian Empire [Napoleonic Wars (1803–15)] | The French emperor Napoleon I defeats the Austrian army under Archduke Charles in the Battle of Wagram, near Vienna, although the Austrian army retreats in good order. |
| 5 July 1810 | USA [births and deaths] | P(hineas) T(aylor) Barnum, US showman and promoter who popularizes the three-ring circus, born in Bethel, Connecticut (–1891). |
| 5 July 1889 | France [births and deaths] | Jean Cocteau, French writer, actor, and painter, born in Maisons-Lafitte, near Paris, France (–1963). |
| 5 July 1943 | USSR, Germany [World War II (1939–45)] | German forces of Army Group Centre and Army Group South mount their last major offensive on the Eastern Front against well-prepared Soviet positions north and south of a huge salient around Kursk, USSR. Kursk is the largest tank battle in history, and fatally weakens German forces on the Eastern Front. |
| 5 July 1946 | France [everyday life] | French designer Louis Réard launches the bikini, naming it after the nuclear-test site Bikini Atoll. |
| 5 July 1954 | UK [television] | BBC Television News, with newsreader Richard Baker, starts on British television. Initially, in the interests of impartiality, newsreaders were not allowed to be seen on screen and merely provided a voice-over. |
| 5–6 July 1960 | Congo Republic [revolution] | The army in the newly independent Congo Republic mutinies, and Europeans in the country flee from the Léopoldville (now Kinshasa) area to Brazzaville (French Congo). |
| 5 July 1975 | Cape Verde, Portugal [decolonization] | The Cape Verde Islands gain their independence from Portugal. |
| 5 July 1977 | Pakistan [law and government] | A coup ousts Zulfikar Ali Bhutto as prime minister of Pakistan. He is replaced by General Zia ul-Haq, Bhutto's former army chief of staff. |
| 5 July 1980 | UK, Sweden [tennis] | The Swedish tennis player Björn Borg wins his fifth consecutive men's singles title at the Wimbledon championships in London, England. |
| 5–20 July 1986 | USSR, USA [sports] | The first Goodwill Games are held in Moscow, USSR, conceived by US entrepreneur Ted Turner to promote goodwill between the USA and USSR following the boycotts of the 1980 and 1984 Olympic Games. Over 3,000 athletes from 79 countries compete in 18 different sports. |
| 5 July 2006 | UK [physiology] | Sixty-two-year-old Patricia Rashbrook becomes Britain's oldest mother as she gives birth to a son by Caesarean section after having fertility treatment. |
