1. On June 5, 1776, the state of New Jersey became the third colony to declare independence from Great Britain, following Virginia and Massachusetts.
2. On June 5, 1833, the Camden and Amboy Railroad Company was chartered in New Jersey, becoming one of the first railroads in the United States.
3. On June 5, 1933, the Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO), a federation of labor unions, was founded in Atlantic City, New Jersey.
4. On June 5, 1968, Senator Robert F. Kennedy was shot and killed at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles, California. Kennedy, who was born in Massachusetts, had campaigned extensively in New Jersey during his bid for the Democratic presidential nomination.
5. On June 5, 2013, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie announced that he would hold a special election to fill the Senate seat left vacant by the death of Frank Lautenberg. The election was held on October 16, 2013, with Democrat Cory Booker winning the seat.