1. In 1669, the Virginia House of Burgesses passed a law requiring all servants to be white, ending the legal practice of owning African slaves indentured as servants for life.

2. On October 5, 1776, British General William Howe landed his troops at New York City, beginning the Battle of Long Island. Virginia troops played a significant role in the battle, with Ethan Allen and the Green Mountain Boys joining Virginia militiamen in an unsuccessful attempt to capture British-held Montreal.

3. On October 5, 1813, former Virginia governor James Barbour assumed command of Virginia militia forces defending Norfolk during the War of 1812.

4. In 1877, Virginia-born Helen Keller, who was born deaf and blind, met her lifelong teacher Anne Sullivan for the first time at the Perkins School for the Blind in Boston. Keller would go on to become a renowned author and activist.

5. On October 5, 1986, Virginia Military Institute became the first state-supported military college to admit women. The move came after the United States Supreme Court ruled in favor of VMI admitting women in the landmark case United States v. Virginia.