Cinco de Mayo (Spanish for "fifth of May") is a holiday celebrated in the United States and primarily limited to the state of Puebla in Mexico. The holiday commemorates the Mexican army's unlikely victory over French forces at the Battle of Puebla on May 5, 1862, under the leadership of Mexican General Ignacio Zaragoza Seguín. Cinco de Mayo is not "an obligatory federal holiday" in Mexico, but rather a holiday that can be observed voluntarily. While Cinco de Mayo has limited significance nationwide in Mexico, the date is observed in the United States (also voluntarily) and other locations around the world as a celebration of Mexican heritage and pride. Cinco de Mayo is not Mexico's Independence Day, which actually is September 16, the most important national patriotic holiday in Mexico.
Other events...
- 1834- Charles Darwin's expedition begins at Rio Santa Cruz.
- 1862- French army intervenes in Puebla, Mexico: Cinco de Mayo.
- 1916- U.S. Marines invade Dominican Republic, stay until 1924.
- 1920- U.S. President Wilson makes Communist Labor Party illegal.
- 1936- Edward Ravenscroft patents screw-on bottle cap with a pour lip.
- 1944- Gandhi freed from prison.
- 1947- Mississippi Valley flooding kills 16 and causes $850M in damage.
- 1955- West Germany granted full sovereignty by 3 occupying powers.
- 1961- Alan Shepard becomes 1st American in space (aboard Freedom 7).
- 1965- 1st large-scale U.S. Army ground units arrive in South Vietnam.
- 1987- Congress begins Iran-Contra hearings.
- 2000- Conjunction of Sun, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn and Moon
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