1781 245 years ago Notable Births July 5 2 sources

Stamford Raffles, English politician, founded Singapore (died 1826)

On July 5, in the year 1781, Stamford Raffles, English politician, founded Singapore (died 1826). This event is recorded as a Notable Births event in the history of July 5, one of 424 recorded events on this date across all of history.

1 notable person is associated with this event, including Stamford Raffles. Learn more below.

Sir Thomas Stamford Bingley Raffles was a British colonial official who served as the governor of the Dutch East Indies between 1811 and 1816 and lieutenant-governor of Bencoolen between 1818 and 1824. Raffles was involved in the capture of the Indonesian island of Java from the Dutch during the Napoleonic Wars. It was returned under the Anglo–Dutch Treaty of 1824. He also wrote The History of Java in 1817, describing the history of the island from ancient times. The Rafflesia flowers were named after him.

Key Facts

  • This event took place on July 5, 1781 (AD era).
  • It is categorised as a Notable Births event in recorded history.
  • Referenced in 2 Wikipedia articles.
  • 1 notable person is recorded as involved in or associated with this event.
  • Wikipedia source last updated on 15 June 2026.

On This Date in History 424

Type Year Date Event
Historical Events 2024 Jul 5 Keir Starmer is appointed Prime Minister by Charles III, becoming the first Labour prime minister since Gordon Brown…
Notable Deaths 2024 Jul 5 Jon Landau, American film producer (born 1960)
Notable Deaths 2024 Jul 5 Bengt I. Samuelsson, Swedish biochemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1934)
Notable Deaths 2024 Jul 5 Vic Seixas, American tennis player (born 1923)
Historical Events 2023 Jul 5 The last Ariane 5 rocket is launched, carrying the Heinrich Hertz and Syracuse 4B satellites.
Historical Events 2022 Jul 5 British government ministers Sajid Javid and Rishi Sunak resign from the second Johnson ministry, beginning the July…
Notable Deaths 2021 Jul 5 Raffaella Carrà, Italian singer, dancer, television presenter and actress (born 1943)
Notable Deaths 2021 Jul 5 Richard Donner, American film director (born 1930)
Notable Deaths 2020 Jul 5 Nick Cordero, Canadian actor and singer (born 1978)
Historical Events 2016 Jul 5 The Juno space probe arrives at Jupiter and begins a 20-month survey of the planet.
Notable Deaths 2015 Jul 5 Uffe Haagerup, Danish mathematician and academic (born 1949)
Notable Deaths 2015 Jul 5 Yoichiro Nambu, Japanese-American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1921)
Notable Deaths 2014 Jul 5 Rosemary Murphy, American actress (born 1925)
Notable Deaths 2014 Jul 5 Volodymyr Sabodan, Ukrainian metropolitan (born 1935)
Notable Deaths 2014 Jul 5 Hans-Ulrich Wehler, German historian and academic (born 1931)
Notable Deaths 2014 Jul 5 Brett Wiesner, American soccer player (born 1983)
Notable Deaths 2013 Jul 5 Bud Asher, American lawyer and politician (born 1925)
Notable Deaths 2013 Jul 5 David Cargo, American politician, 22nd Governor of New Mexico (born 1929)
Notable Deaths 2013 Jul 5 William Tebeau, American engineer, first African-American man to graduate from Oregon State University (born 1925)
Notable Deaths 2013 Jul 5 Lambert Jackson Woodburne, South African admiral (born 1939)
Historical Events 2012 Jul 5 The Shard in London is inaugurated as the tallest building in Europe, with a height of 310 metres (1,020 ft).
Notable Deaths 2012 Jul 5 Rob Goris, Belgian cyclist (born 1982)
Notable Deaths 2012 Jul 5 Gerrit Komrij, Dutch author, poet, and playwright (born 1944)
Notable Deaths 2012 Jul 5 Colin Marshall, Baron Marshall of Knightsbridge, English businessman and politician (born 1933)
Notable Deaths 2012 Jul 5 Ruud van Hemert, Dutch actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (born 1938)
Selected Events 2012 Jul 5 The Shard (pictured) in London was inaugurated as the tallest building in Europe, with a height of 310 m (1,020 ft),…
Notable Deaths 2011 Jul 5 Cy Twombly, American-Italian painter, sculptor, and photographer (born 1928)
Notable Deaths 2010 Jul 5 Bob Probert, Canadian ice hockey player and radio host (born 1965)
Historical Events 2009 Jul 5 A series of violent riots break out in Ürümqi, the capital city of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region in China.
Historical Events 2009 Jul 5 The largest hoard of Anglo-Saxon gold ever discovered in Britain, consisting of more than 1,500 items, is found near…
Selected Events 2009 Jul 5 A series of violent riots broke out in Ürümqi, the capital city of Xinjiang in China.
Selected Events 2009 Jul 5 The Staffordshire Hoard, the largest collection of Anglo-Saxon gold ever discovered, consisting of more than 1,500…
Notable Deaths 2008 Jul 5 Hasan Doğan, Turkish businessman (born 1956)
Notable Deaths 2007 Jul 5 Régine Crespin, French soprano (born 1927)
Notable Deaths 2007 Jul 5 George Melly, English singer-songwriter and critic (born 1926)
Historical Events 2006 Jul 5 North Korea tests four short-range missiles, one medium-range missile and a long-range Taepodong-2. The long-range…
Notable Deaths 2006 Jul 5 Gert Fredriksson, Swedish canoe racer (born 1919)
Notable Deaths 2006 Jul 5 Thirunalloor Karunakaran, Indian poet and scholar (born 1924)
Notable Deaths 2006 Jul 5 Kenneth Lay, American businessman (born 1942)
Notable Deaths 2006 Jul 5 Amzie Strickland, American actress (born 1919)
Selected Events 2006 Jul 5 The United Nations Security Council held an emergency meeting hours after North Korea reportedly tested at least seven…
Notable Births 2005 Jul 5 Sombr, American singer and songwriter
Notable Deaths 2005 Jul 5 James Stockdale, American admiral (born 1923)
Historical Events 2004 Jul 5 The first direct Indonesian presidential election is held.
Notable Deaths 2004 Jul 5 Hugh Shearer, Jamaican journalist and politician, 3rd Prime Minister of Jamaica (born 1923)
Notable Deaths 2004 Jul 5 Rodger Ward, American race car driver and sportscaster (born 1921)
Selected Events 2004 Jul 5 Indonesia held its first direct presidential elections, which resulted in the election of Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono as…
Historical Events 2003 Jul 5 The World Health Organization announces that the 2002–2004 SARS outbreak has been contained.
Notable Births 2003 Jul 5 Junior Caminero, Dominican baseball player
Notable Deaths 2002 Jul 5 Katy Jurado, Mexican actress (born 1924)

This article draws on content from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

People Involved

Stamford Raffles

British colonial official (1781–1826)

birth

More on July 5

1898

Georgios Grivas, Greek general (died 1974)

Georgios Grivas, also known by his nickname Digenis, was a Greek Cypriot officer of the Hellenic Army and founder and leader of the Greek and Greek Cypriot paramilitary organisati…

Georgios Grivas, Greek general (died 1974)

Browse Further

📅 All events on July 5 424 events 📖 All events in 1781 🏷 More Notable Births events
0

Comments 0

Sign in to join the discussion.