March 5 in History

• 1798

  March 5, 1798:

  Napoleon invades Switzerland and brings the country’s Confederation of the Thirteen Cantons (its ancient ruling system) to an end.

• 1953

  March 5, 1953:

  Joseph Stalin, the Soviet Union’s leader, dies of a heart attack in Moscow.

• 1963

  March 5, 1963:

  Arthur K Melin receives a patent for the hula hoop, then known as the hoop toy.

• March 5, 1963:

  American singer Patsy Cline is killed in a plane crash at just 30 years old.

• 1966

  March 5, 1966:

  Staff Sergeant Barry Sadler’s single, “Ballad of the Green Berets” reaches the top of the Billboard 100 chart.

• 1971

  March 5, 1971:

  Led Zeppelin’s “Stairway to Heaven” is performed live for the first time in Belfast.

• 1979

  March 5, 1979:

  Voyager 1, the US space probe flies by Jupiter’s innermost satellites, observing nine active volcanoes.

• 2002

  March 5, 2002:

  The American reality television series, “The Osbournes” makes its debut on MTV.

• 2006

  March 5, 2006:

  The David Attenborough-narrated “Planet Earth” documentary series premieres on BBC.