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What happened in history on this day: August 5?
On August 5 in ...
- 1837 - First ascent of Mount Marcy (5,344 feet) highest in Adirondack, New York.
- 1858 - After several unsuccessful attempts, Cyrus West Field and others complete the first transatlantic telegraph cable.
- 1861 - US Army abolishes flogging.
- 1864 - Battle of Mobile Bay, Alabama; Admiral David Farragut orders "Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead!".
- 1882 - Standard Oil of New Jersey is established.
- 1884 - Cornerstone for Statue of Liberty laid on Bedloe's Island (New York City).
- 1909 - US Senate confirms Abram Piatt Andrew as Mint Director.
- 1914 - First electric traffic light is installed, at Euclid Ave. and East 105th Street, Cleveland, Ohio, USA.
- 1914 - US, Nicaragua sign treaty granting canal rights to US.
- 1939 - An Act bans further striking of any US commemorative coin authorized before March 1, 1939.
- 1953 - Operation "Big Switch": Korean War prisoners exchanged at Panmunjom.
- 1961 - 118 degrees F (48 degrees C), Ice Harbor Dam, Washington (state record).
- 1964 - US begins bombing North Vietnam.
- 1966 - Martin Luther King Junior stoned during Chicago march.
- 1981 - Ronald Reagan fires 11,359 striking air-traffic controllers who ignored his order for them to return to work.
- 1988 - Mario Biaggi (Representative-Democrat-New York), convicted of racketeering, resigns seat.
- 1992 - Walt Disney World welcomes its 400-millionth guest.
- 2009 - Death of Baitullah Mehsud, by missile fired by US drone in South Waziristan, leader of Tehrik-Taliban in Pakistan.
- 2010 - Elena Kagan is approved by the US Senate for a post on the US Supreme Court, by a vote of 63-37.
- 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.
- 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.
Births on August 5
- 1876 - Birth of Mary R Beard in Indianapolis, Indiana, USA; historian (Woman as a Force in History).
- 1906 - Birth of John Huston in Nevada, Missouri, USA; director/writer (African Queen, Chinatown).
- 1911 - Birth of Robert Taylor in Filley, Nebraska, USA; actor (Death Valley Days).
- 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).
- 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").
- 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 - Birth of John Dancy in Jackson, Texas, USA; newscaster (Prime Time Sunday).
- 1938 - Birth of Ja'net Dubois in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; actress (Willona - Good Times).
- 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).
- 1950 - Birth of Holly Palance in Los Angeles, California, USA; actress (Thorn Birds, Ripley's Believe It).
- 1954 - Birth of Eddie "Fingers" Ojeda in The Bronx, New York, USA; rocker (Twisted Sister - "We're Not Gonna Take It").
- 1966 - Birth of Jonathan Silverman in Los Angeles, California, USA; actor (Brighton Beach Memoirs, The Single Guy).
- 1968 - Birth of John Garrett Olerud in Seattle, Washington, USA; baseball player (Toronto Blue Jays, New York Mets, American League Batting Crown 1993).
Deaths on August 5
- 1888 - Death of Philip Henry Sheridan, US four-star general, Union Army.
- 1962 - Death of Marilyn Monroe AKA Norma Jean Baker Mortenson at age 36 of a drug overdose in Los Angeles, California, USA; actress.
- 1978 - Death of Queenie Smith at age 79, American actress/dancer (Funny Side) (born 1898).
- 1991 - Paul Brown, American NFL founder and coach (Cleveland Browns, Cincinnati Bengals), dies at age 82 (born 1908).
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