August 5
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Template:Linked-title is the 217th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (218th in leap years), with 148 days remaining.
Events
- 642 - Battle of Maserfeld - Penda of Mercia defeats and kills Oswald of Bernicia.
- 1100 - Henry I crowned King of England in Westminster Abbey.
- 1305 - William Wallace, who led Scottish resistance to England, is captured by the English near Glasgow and transported to London for trial and execution.
- 1388 - Battle of Otterburn, border skirmish between the Scottish and the English in Northern England.
- 1583 - Sir Humphrey Gilbert establishes first English colony in North America, at what is now St John's, Newfoundland.
- 1620 - The Mayflower departs Southampton, England.
- 1689 - 1,500 Iroquois attack village of Lachine, in New France.
- 1716 - Battle of Petrovaradin
- 1763 - Pontiac's War: Battle of Bushy Run - British forces led by Henry Bouquet defeat Chief Pontiac's Indians at Bushy Run.
- 1772 - First Partition of Poland begins.
- 1812 - War of 1812: Tecumseh's Indian force ambushes Thomas Van Horne's 200 Americans at Brownstone Creek, causing them to flee and retreat.
- 1858 - Cyrus West Field and others complete the first transatlantic telegraph cable after several unsuccessful attempts. It operated for less than a month.
- 1860 - Carl IV of Sweden-Norway is crowned king of Norway, in Trondheim.
- 1861 - American Civil War: In order to help pay for the war effort, the United States government issues the first income tax as part of the Revenue Act of 1861 (3% of all incomes over US $800; rescinded in 1872).
- 1861 - The United States Army abolished flogging.
- 1862 - American Civil War: Battle of Baton Rouge - Along the Mississippi River near Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Confederate troops drive Union forces back into the city.
- 1864 - American Civil War: Battle of Mobile Bay begins - At Mobile Bay near Mobile, Alabama, Admiral David Farragut leads a Union flotilla through Confederate defenses and seals one of the last major Southern ports.
- 1870 - Franco-Prussian War: The Battle of Spicheren is fought, resulting in a Prussian victory.
- 1874 - Japan launches its postal savings system, modeled after a similar system in England.
- 1882 - Standard Oil of New Jersey is established.
- 1882 - Martial law is enacted in Japan.
- 1884 - The cornerstone for the Statue of Liberty is laid on Bedloe's Island in New York Harbor.
- 1888 - Bertha Benz drives from Mannheim to Pforzheim in the first long distance automobile trip.
- 1901 - Peter O'Connor sets the first IAAF recognised long jump world record of 24ft 11¾ins. The record will stand for 20 years.
- 1912 - Japan's first taxicab service begins in Ginza, Tokyo.
- 1914 - In Cleveland, Ohio, the first electric traffic light is installed.
- 1940 - World War II : Latvia is annexed by the Soviet Union.
- 1943 - World War II: During the Battle of Troina, at around 11 A.M, Mount Etna erupted sending much ash and lave miles into the sky.
- 1944 - World War II: Possibly the biggest prison breakout in history occurs as 545 Japanese POWs attempt to escape outside the town of Cowra, NSW, Australia. Most are killed but many escape and later commit suicide. Five Australian guards also die.
- 1944 - Holocaust: Polish insurgents liberate a German labor camp in Warsaw, freeing 348 Jewish prisoners.
- 1949 - In Ecuador an earthquake destroys 50 towns and kills more than 6000.
- 1957 - American Bandstand, a show dedicated to the teenage "baby-boomers" by playing the songs and showing popular dances of the time, debuts on the ABC television network.
- 1960 - Burkina Faso, then known as "Upper Volta", becomes independent from France.
- 1962 - Marilyn Monroe is found dead in her home.
- 1962 - Nelson Mandela is jailed. He would not be released until 1990.
- 1963 - United States, United Kingdom, and Soviet Union sign a nuclear test ban treaty.
- 1964 - Vietnam War: Operation Pierce Arrow - American aircraft from carriers USS Ticonderoga and USS Constellation bomb North Vietnam in retaliation for strikes attacked US destroyers in the Gulf of Tonkin.
- 1969 - Mariner program: Mariner 7 makes its closest fly-by of Mars (3,524 kilometers).
- 1974 - Vietnam War: The U.S. Congress places a $1 billion dollar limit on military aid to South Vietnam.
- 1979 - In Afghanistan, Maoists undertake an attempted military uprising.
- 1981 - Ronald Reagan fires 11,359 striking air-traffic controllers who ignored his order for them to return to work.
- 1993 - Popular trading card game Magic: The Gathering is released. First collectible card game to date.
- 1995 - The city of Knin, a significant Serb stronghold, is captured by Croatian forces during Operation Storm. The date is celebrated as the day of victory (Victory and Homeland Thanksgiving Day) in Croatia.
- 1999 - Mark McGwire becomes the 16th member of the 500 home run club with a home run at Busch Stadium in St. Louis, Missouri.
- 2001 - The Cleveland Indians defeat the Seattle Mariners 15-14 in a record-setting game known as the Impossible Return.
- 2003 - A car bomb explodes in the Indonesian capital of Jakarta outside the Marriott Hotel killing 12 and injuring 150.
Births
- 1301 - Edmund of Woodstock, 1st Earl of Kent, English politician (d. 1330)
- 1397? - Guillaume Dufay, Franco-Flemish composer and theorist (d. 1474)
- 1623 - Antonio Cesti, Italian composer (d. 1669)
- 1641 - John Hathorne, American magistrate (d. 1717)
- 1662 - James Anderson, Scottish historian (d. 1728)
- 1694 - Leonardo Leo, Italian composer (d. 1744)
- 1802 - Niels Henrik Abel, Norwegian mathematician (d. 1829)
- 1813 - Ivar Aasen, Norwegian poet and language reformer (d. 1896)
- 1815 - Edward John Eyre, English explorer (d. 1901)
- 1827 - Deodoro da Fonseca, first Brazilian president (d.1892)
- 1850 - Guy de Maupassant, French author (d. 1893)
- 1862 - Joseph Merrick, The Elephant Man (d. 1890)
- 1866 - Carl Harries, German chemist (d. 1923)
- 1866 - Harry Trott, Australian cricketer (d. 1917)
- 1872 - Oswaldo Cruz, Brazilian physician (d. 1917)
- 1877 - Tom Thomson, Canadian painter (d. 1917)
- 1889 - Conrad Aiken, American writer (d. 1973)
- 1890 - Erich Kleiber, Austrian-born conductor (d. 1956)
- 1890 - Naum Gabo (born Naum Pevsner), sculptor (d. 1977)
- 1897 - Aksel Larsen, Danish politician (d. 1972)
- 1901 - Claude Autant-Lara, French film director (d. 2000)
- 1906 - John Huston, American director (d. 1987)
- 1906 - Wassily Leontief, Russian economist, Nobel Prize Laureate (d. 1999)
- 1906 - Joan Hickson, British actress (d. 1998)
- 1908 - Harold Holt, 17th Prime Minister of Australia (d. 1967)
- 1911 - Robert Taylor, American actor (d. 1969)
- 1912 - Abbé Pierre, French catholic priest
- 1914 - David Brian, American actor (d. 1993)
- 1918 - Betty Oliphant, Canadian ballerina (d. 2004)
- 1918 - Tom Drake, American actor (d. 1982)
- 1923 - Devan Nair, President of Singapore
- 1930 - Neil Armstrong, astronaut
- 1934 - Wendell Berry, writer and farmer
- 1935 - John Saxon, American actor
- 1937 - Herb Brooks, American ice hockey coach (d. 2003)
- 1939 - Princess Irene of the Netherlands
- 1943 - Nelson Briles, American baseball player (d. 2005)
- 1946 - Loni Anderson, American actress
- 1946 - Ron Silliman, American poet
- 1947 - Rick Derringer, American musician
- 1947 - Angry Anderson, Australian entertainer
- 1947 - Bernie Carbo, American baseball player
- 1951 - John Jarratt, Australian actor
- 1953 - Rick Mahler, American baseball player (d. 2005)
- 1953 - Samantha Sang, Australian singer
- 1956 - Maureen McCormick, American actress
- 1959 - Pete Burns, British singer
- 1960 - Seth Swirsky, American songwriter
- 1961 - Tawny Kitaen, American actress
- 1961 - Clayton Rohner, American actor
- 1961 - Mark O'Connor, American violinist
- 1962 - Patrick Ewing, American basketball player
- 1964 - Adam Yauch, American musician
- 1966 - Jonathan Silverman, American actor
- 1968 - John Olerud, American baseball player
- 1968 - Oleg Luzhny, Ukrainian footballer
- 1968 - Tokimitsu Ishizawa, Japanese professional wrestler
- 1968 - Terri Clark, American singer
- 1972 - Christian Olde Wolbers, Belgian bassist (Fear Factory)
- 1974 - Antoine Sibierski, French footballer
- 1974 - Alvin Ceccoli, Australian footballer
- 1975 - Kajol Mukherjee, Indian actress
- 1975 - Ami Foster, American actress
- 1976 - Jeff Friesen, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1976 - Kwon Sang-woo, South Korean actor
- 1977 - Mark Mulder, American baseball player
- 1978 - Nektaria Karantzi, Greek singer
- 1978 - Kim Gevaert, Belgian sprint athlete
- 1979 - David Healy, Northern Irish footballer
- 1980 - Wayne Bridge, English footballer
- 1980 - Jason Čulina, Australian footballer
- 1981 - Carl Crawford, baseball player
- 1981 - Rachel Scott, American murder victim (d. 1999)
- 1981 - Kō Shibasaki, Japanese singer
- 1981 - Travis McCoy, Amercian singer (Gym Class Heroes)
- 1982 - LoLo Jones, American track and field athlete
- 1982 - Ryu Seung Min, Korean table tennis player
- 1982 - Tobias Regner, German singer
- 1983 - Dawn Richard, American singer (Danity Kane)
- 1985 - Salomon Kalou, Ivory Coast footballer
81992 - Eric Harrison, The coolest gangsta ever and biggest pimp in the world
- 1993 - Suzuka Ohgo, Japanese actress
- 2000 - Maya Bond, Japanese-born American singer and musician
Deaths
- 882 - King Louis III of France (b. 863)
- 1063 - Gruffydd ap Llywelyn, King of Gwynedd
- 1364 - Emperor Kogon of Japan (b. 1313)
- 1572 - Isaac Luria, Palestinian-born Kabbalist (b. 1534)
- 1579 - Stanislaus Hosius, Polish Catholic cardinal (b. 1504)
- 1633 - Archbishop George Abbot, Archbishop of Canterbury (b. 1562)
- 1678 - Juan García de Zéspedes, Mexican musician and composer (b. 1619)
- 1743 - John Hervey, Lord Hervey, English statesman and writer (b. 1696)
- 1778 - Charles Clémencet, French historian (b. 1703)
- 1792 - Frederick North, Lord North, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (b. 1732)
- 1799 - Richard Howe, British admiral (b. 1726)
- 1868 - Jacques Boucher de Crèvecœur de Perthes, French archaeologist (b. 1788)
- 1880 - Ferdinand Ritter von Hebra, Austrian physician (b. 1816)
- 1895 - Friedrich Engels, German philosopher (b. 1820)
- 1911 - Bob Caruthers, baseball player (b. 1864)
- 1923 - Vatroslav Jagić, Croatian slavist (b. 1835)
- 1929 - Millicent Fawcett, British suffragist and feminist (b. 1847)
- 1946 - Wilhelm Marx, Chancellor of Germany (b. 1863)
- 1952 - Sameera Moussa, Egyptian nuclear scientist (b. 1917)
- 1955 - Carmen Miranda, Portuguese actress and singer (b. 1909)
- 1957 - Heinrich Otto Wieland, German chemist, Nobel Prize Laureate (b. 1877)
- 1959 - Edgar Guest, English poet (b. 1881)
- 1960 - Arthur Meighen, 9th Prime Minister of Canada (b. 1874)
- 1962 - Marilyn Monroe, American actress (b. 1926)
- 1963 - Salvador Bacarisse, Spanish composer (b. 1898)
- 1964 - Art Ross, professional ice hockey player and executive (b. 1886) (Art Ross Trophy)
- 1978 - Jesse Haines, baseball player (b. 1893)
- 1984 - Richard Burton, British actor (b. 1925)
- 1991 - Paul Brown, American football coach (b. 1908)
- 1991 - Soichiro Honda, founder of the Honda Motor Company (b. 1906)
- 1992 - Jeff Porcaro, American drummer (b. 1954)
- 1998 - Todor Zhivkov, Bulgarian Communist dictator from 1956 to 1989 (b. 1911)
- 2000 - Sir Alec Guinness, British actor (b. 1914)
- 2000 - Otto Buchsbaum, writer and ecological activist (b. 1920)
- 2002 - Josh Ryan Evans, American actor (b. 1982)
- 2002 - Chick Hearn, American basketball announcer (b. 1916)
- 2002 - Franco Lucentini, Italian writer (b. 1920)
- 2005 - Polina Astakhova, Russian gymnast (b. 1936)
- 2005 - Jim O'Hora, American football coach (b. 1915)
- 2005 - Raul Roco, Philippine senator (b. 1941)
- 2006 - Susan Butcher, American Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race champion (b. 1954)
Holidays and observances
Liturgical feasts
- Saint Abel (died 750)
- Saint Afra, martyr [Augsburg (rare)]
- Saint Afra and companions, virgins, martyrs [France]
- Saint Cassianus, bishop of Autun, confessor [France]
- Saint Dominic, confessor [medieval date, in Paris; nowadays August 4]
- Saint Fredulph, confessor [Saintes]
- Saint Jonius, priest, martyr [Paris]
- Feast of Mary "ad nives"; Dedication of Santa Maria Maggiore bin Rome [common]
- Saint Memmius, bishop of Châlons-sur-Marne, confessor [Metz, France; Paris, as Menge]
- Saint Ormisdas, pope, confessor [Bamberg]
- Saint Oswald of Northumbria, king, martyr [common; England] (died 642)
- Saint Sixtus II, pope [Paris]
- Saint Venantius, bishop of Viviers [Viviers]
- Saint Nonna of Nianza