This Day in History: 0000-05-05

5 May – Having discovered a better way to weave straw with silk and thread, Mary Kies became the first woman to be awarded a US patent (1809).
5 May – The Music Hall in New York City, now known as Carnegie Hall, opened for its first public performance with Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky as its guest conductor (1891).
5 May – Mexican forces under General Ignacio Zaragoza defeated an invading French army at the Battle of Puebla, a victory commemorated annually in Cinco De Mayo (1862).
5-7 May – Union and Confederate forces fought to a bloody draw in the Battle of the Wilderness near Spotsylvania, Virginia (1864).