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What happened in history on this day: August 5?
On August 5 in ...
- 1264 - Anti-Jewish riots break out in Arnstadt Germany.
- 1540 - Birth of Joseph Justice Scaliger proposed Julian dating.
- 1583 - Gilbert claims Newfoundland (first English colony in North America).
- 1604 - Birth of John Eliot "Apostle to Indians," Bible translator.
- 1624 - Birth of William Jamestown Virginia, first black child born in English America.
- 1749 - Birth of Thomas Lynch signed Declaration of Independence.
- 1772 - First partition of Poland, between Austria, Prussia and Russia.
- 1775 - First Spanish ship, San Carlos, enters San Francisco Bay.
- 1811 - Birth of Ambroise Thomas in Metz, France; composer (Mignon).
- 1837 - First ascent of Mount Marcy (5,344 feet) highest in Adirondack, New York.
- 1850 - Birth of Guy de Maupassant in France; author (Boule de Suif).
- 1858 - After several unsuccessful attempts, Cyrus West Field and others complete the first transatlantic telegraph cable.
- 1861 - US Army abolishes flogging.
- 1864 - Spectrum of a comet observed for first time, by Giovanni Donati.
- 1864 - Battle of Mobile Bay, Alabama; Admiral David Farragut orders "Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead!".
- 1876 - Birth of Mary R Beard in Indianapolis, Indiana, USA; historian (Woman as a Force in History).
- 1882 - Standard Oil of New Jersey is established.
- 1884 - Cornerstone for Statue of Liberty laid on Bedloe's Island (New York City).
- 1888 - Bertha Benz, wife of inventor Karl Benz, drives from Mannheim to Pforzheim, Germany in the first long distance automobile trip.
- 1888 - Death of Philip Henry Sheridan, US four-star general, Union Army.
- 1890 - Birth of Erich Kleiber in Vienna, Austria; conductor (NBC Symphony 1945-46).
- 1899 - Birth of Conrad Aiken; US poet/short story writer/critic (Selected Poems).
- 1901 - Peter O'Connor of Ireland sets long jump record at 24 feet 11.75 inches.
- 1906 - Birth of John Huston in Nevada, Missouri, USA; director/writer (African Queen, Chinatown).
- 1908 - Birth of Harold Holt; Prime Minister of Australia (1966-67); supported US in Vietnam.
- 1911 - Birth of Robert Taylor in Filley, Nebraska, USA; actor (Death Valley Days).
- 1912 - Japan's first taxicab service begins in Ginza, Tokyo.
- 1914 - First electric traffic light is installed, at Euclid Ave. and East 105th Street, Cleveland, Ohio, USA.
- 1914 - Birth of Anita Colby in Washington, DC, USA; model/actress (Pepsi Cola Playhouse).
- 1914 - Birth of David Brian in New York City, New York, USA; actor (Accussed of Murder, Dawn at Sorocco, Mr. District Attorney radio and TV show).
- 1914 - US, Nicaragua sign treaty granting canal rights to US.
- 1920 - Birth of Selma Diamond in London, Ontario, Canada; comedienne (Selma - Night Court).
- 1921 - First radio baseball broadcast, Harold Arlin on KDKA radio Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh Pirates beat Philadelphia Phillies 8-5.
- 1923 - First American to swim the English Channel (Henry Sullivan).
- 1924 - Comic strip Little Orphan Annie by Harold Gray, debuts.
- 1925 - Birth of Felice Bryant in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA; songwriter ("All I Have To Do Is Dream", "Bye Bye Love", "Wake Up Little Susie", "Raining In My Heart").
- 1926 - Magician Harry Houdini stays in a coffin under water for 1.5 hours.
- 1927 - Philadelphia Phillies' Cy Williams hits for the cycle in just four at bats.
- 1930 - Birth of Neil Armstrong in Ohio, USA; X-15 pilot, first moonwalker (Gemini 8, Apollo 11).
- 1933 - Birth of Joan Weldon in San Francisco, California, USA; actress (So This is Love, Them).
- 1935 - Birth of John Saxon in Brooklyn, New York, USA; actor (Falcon Crest TV show, The Bold Ones: the New Doctors TV show, Bees, Nightmare on Elm Street, Electric Horseman).
- 1936 - At Berlin Olympics, Jesse Owens wins his third Olympic medal.
- 1936 - Birth of John Dancy in Jackson, Texas, USA; newscaster (Prime Time Sunday).
- 1937 - Ranger (US) beats Endeavour II (England) in 17th America's Cup.
- 1938 - Birth of Ja'net Dubois in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; actress (Willona - Good Times).
- 1940 - Birth of Rick Huxley; guitarist (Dave Clark Five - "Glad All Over").
- 1940 - Saint Louis Browns' John Whitehead no-hits Detroit Tigers, 4-0 in six innings.
- 1941 - Birth of Leonid D Kizim; cosmonaut (Soyuz T-3, T-10, T-15).
- 1944 - (0200 hours) In Cowra, Australia, over 900 Japanese prisoners-of-war stage a mass escape. They set their quarters on fire, and rush the barbed wire fences and gun posts. 378 escape, but all are recaptured in following days. In total, 234 are killed, 108 wounded, and four Australian guards are killed.
- 1946 - Birth of Loni Anderson in Saint Paul, Minnesota, USA; actress (Jennifer - WKRP in Cincinnati).
- 1946 - Birth of Erika Slezak in Hollywood, California, USA; actress (Viki - One Life to Live).
- 1947 - Birth of Rick Derringer; rocker ("I am the Real American" (Hulk Hogan's theme)).
- 1950 - Birth of Holly Palance in Los Angeles, California, USA; actress (Thorn Birds, Ripley's Believe It).
- 1950 - Birth of Rose Mittermaier in the German Federal Republic; slalom/downhill (Olympic-gold-1976).
- 1953 - Birth of Samantha Sang; singer ("Emotion").
- 1953 - Operation "Big Switch": Korean War prisoners exchanged at Panmunjom.
- 1954 - Birth of Eddie "Fingers" Ojeda in The Bronx, New York, USA; rocker (Twisted Sister - "We're Not Gonna Take It").
- 1954 - Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada hosts the British Empire Games.
- 1954 - Boxing Hall of Fame's first election selects 24 modern and 15 pioneers.
- 1956 - Birth of Maureen McCormick; actress (The Brady Bunch).
- 1957 - ABC Television debuts the American Bandstand TV show, hosted by Bob Horn.
- 1959 - Birth of Pete Burns; rocker (Dead or Alive - "Spin Me Round").
- 1959 - Birth of Pat Smear; guitarist (Foo Fighters).
- 1959 - Chicago Cardinals (NFL) beat Toronto Argonauts (Canadian Football League) 55-26 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
- 1960 - Birth of Mike Nocito; rocker (Johnny Hates Jazz - "Turn Back the Clock").
- 1960 - Detroit Tigers trade manager Jimmy Dykes for Cleveland Indians' manager Joe Gordon.
- 1960 - Upper Volta (Burkina Faso) gains independence from France.
- 1961 - 118 degrees F (48 degrees C), Ice Harbor Dam, Washington (state record).
- 1961 - Birth of Tawny Kitaen (Coverdale); actress (Bachelor Party, Witchboard, Santa Barbara, Capitol).
- 1961 - Chicago Bears (NFL) beat Montreal Alouettes (Canadian Football League) 34-16 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
- 1961 - Sir Sidney Holland, Prime Minister of New Zealand (1949-57), dies at age 67.
- 1962 - Birth of Patrick Ewing in Kingston, Jamaica; NBA center (New York Knicks), 1992 Summer Olympics.
- 1962 - Death of Marilyn Monroe AKA Norma Jean Baker Mortenson at age 36 of a drug overdose in Los Angeles, California, USA; actress.
- 1962 - Nelson Mandela is arrested for incitement and illegally leaving South Africa.
- 1963 - Craig Breedlove sets world auto speed record at 407.45 MPH.
- 1964 - Birth of Adam Yauch; rappe (The Beastie Boys).
- 1964 - US begins bombing North Vietnam.
- 1966 - The Beatles release "Yellow Submarine" and "Eleanor Rigby" in United Kingdom.
- 1966 - Birth of Jonathan Silverman in Los Angeles, California, USA; actor (Brighton Beach Memoirs, The Single Guy).
- 1966 - Martin Luther King Junior stoned during Chicago march.
- 1967 - First time an AFL team beats an NFL team, Denver Broncos beats Detroit Lions 13-7.
- 1967 - Pirate Radio Station 333 (Radio Britain) and Radio London close down.
- 1968 - Birth of John Garrett Olerud in Seattle, Washington, USA; baseball player (Toronto Blue Jays, New York Mets, American League Batting Crown 1993).
- 1969 - Pittsburgh Pirates' player Willie Stargell becomes the first player to hit a home run completely out of Dodger Stadium, travelling 512 feet.
- 1969 - Mariner 7 flies past Mars.
- 1972 - Frederic Tozere, actor (Mr Phillips - Stanley), dies at age 71.
- 1973 - Atlanta Braves' Phil Niekro no-hits San Diego Padres, 9-0.
- 1973 - USSR launches Mars 6.
- 1975 - Birth of Eicca Toppinen; cellist (Apocalyptica).
- 1975 - Birth of Ami Foster; actress (Margaux - Punky Brewster).
- 1975 - Philadelphia Phillies' first eight batters get hits for a major league record, win 13-5.
- 1978 - Death of Queenie Smith at age 79, American actress/dancer (Funny Side) (born 1898).
- 1978 - New Orleans Saints beat Philadelphia Eagles 14-7 in Mexico City (NFL expo).
- 1979 - The Polisario Front signs a peace treaty with Mauritania. Mauritania withdraws from the Western Sahara territory it had occupied, and cedes it to the SADR.
- 1979 - Willie Mays, Warren Giles and Hack Wilson are inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame.
- 1980 - New York Mets' Doug Flynn ties record of three triples in a game.
- 1981 - Ronald Reagan fires 11,359 striking air-traffic controllers who ignored his order for them to return to work.
- 1984 - Howard Culver, actor (Howie - Gunsmoke), dies at age 66.
- 1984 - Joan Benoit (US) wins first Olympic marathon for women (2:24:52).
- 1984 - Death of Richard Burton AKA Richard Walter Jenkins Junior at age 58 of a cerebral hemorrhage in Geneva, Switzerland; actor (Cleopatra), narrator (Winston Churchill - The Valiant Years).
- 1984 - Toronto Blue Jays' Cliff Johnson sets record with 19 pinch hit home runs.
- 1985 - Baseball players go on strike for two days.
- 1985 - Chicago White Sox player Tom Seaver wins game 300 over New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium.
- 1985 - Flexible-wing glider altitude record (214,250 feet) set by Larry Tudor.
- 1986 - San Francisco Giants' pitcher Steve Carlton throws his 4000th strike-out.
- 1986 - Ingrid Kristiansen of Norway sets the 5km woman's record (14:37.33).
- 1988 - The Malaysian constitutional crisis culminates in the ouster of the Lord President of Malaysia, Salleh Abas.
- 1991 - Paul Brown, American NFL founder and coach (Cleveland Browns, Cincinnati Bengals), dies at age 82 (born 1908).
- 1991 - Sergei Bubka of USSR sets pole vault record (20.25 inches) in Malmö, Sweden.
- 1991 - Soichiro Hondo, CEO and founder (Honda), dies of liver cancer at age 84.
- 1992 - Death of Jeff Porcaro at age 38 of cardiac arrest; drummer (Toto).
- 1992 - Walt Disney World welcomes its 400-millionth guest.
- 1994 - Groups of protesters spread from Havana, Cuba's Castillo de la Punta ("Point Castle"), creating the first protests against Fidel Castro's government since 1959.
- 1995 - Croatian forces take Knin and continue to advance.
- 1997 - The UPN TV network airs the last episode of the Social Studies show.
- 1998 - Iraq officially suspends all cooperation with UNSCOM teams.
- 2000 - Death of Alec Guinness de Cuffe AKA Alec Guiness at age 86 of liver cancer at his home in southern England; actor (Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy TV show).
- 2001 - The Cleveland Indians defeat the Seattle Mariners 15-14 in a record-setting baseball game known as the Impossible Return.
- 2007 - Death of Aaron Jean-Marie Cardinal Lustiger, French Cardinal Archbishop of Paris, France (born 1926).
- 2009 - Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is sworn in for a second term as Iran's president.
- 2009 - Death of Baitullah Mehsud, by missile fired by US drone in South Waziristan, leader of Tehrik-Taliban in Pakistan.
- 2010 - Death of Godfrey Binaisa, 5th President of Uganda (born 1920).
- 2011 - NASA announces that its Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter has captured photographic evidence of possible liquid water on Mars during warm seasons.
- 2011 - Juno, the first solar-powered spacecraft on a mission to Jupiter, is launched from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.
- 2014 - (to August 9) In Rosemont, Illinois, USA the American Numismatic Association holds the 2014 World's Fair of Money. Some auction highlights:
- USA 1861 Liberty Head Paquet reverse double eagle: US$1,645,000;
- USA 1792 half disme, Specimen-67 PCGS, 2nd best known: US$1,292,500;
- USA 1797 Draped Bust half dollar, MS-65+ PCGS: US$1,292,500;
- USA 1804 dollar: US$1,888,000.
- 2015 - Debris found on Réunion Island is confirmed to be that of Malaysian Airlines Flight 370, missing since March 2014.
- 2016 - (to August 21) The 2016 Summer Olympics are held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
- 2017 - The UN Security Council unanimously approves fresh sanctions on North Korean trade and investment.
- 2017 - Mauritania holds a constitutional referendum for approval of proposed amendments to the constitution.
- 2019 - India revokes the part of its constitution that gives Indian-administered Kashmir special status.
- 2019 - Hong Kong is hit by its first general strike since 1967.
- 2020 - U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Alex Azar travels to Taiwan, the highest U.S. official visit to the country in 40 years. Officials of the People's Republic of China condemn the visit.
- 2020 - General election in Sri Lanka. The United National Party drops from 106 to 1 member in parliament. The Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna party gets 145 seats.
- 2021 - The Tigray Defense Forces seize the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Lalibela.
- 2021 - Death of Yevhen Marchuk, 4th Prime Minister of Ukraine (born 1941).
- 2023 - Death of Bryan Randall at age 57 from ALS; model (Hugo Boss, Saint Laurent), photographer.
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