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- 0642 Battle of Maserfeld - Penda of Mercia defeats and kills Oswald of Bernicia.
- 0882 France's Louis III dies at St Denis August 5 at age 19, and his brother Carloman becomes sole king
- 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 Gilbert claims Newfoundland (1st English colony in North America)
- 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.
- 1689 A band of 1,500 Iroquois surround the village of Lachine, Quebec during a violent thunderstorm and set fire to the houses; they then massacre 24 inhabitants and kidnap 90; 42 of the 90 are never seen again; they also kill about 200 more settlers and capture 100 in raids in the vicinity.
- 1716 Battle of Petrovaradin
- 1735 Freedom of the press: New York Weekly Journal writer John Peter Zenger is acquitted of seditious libel against the royal governor of New York, on the basis that what he published was true.
- 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.
- 1772 Poland loses one-third of her territory and half her population as she is partitioned among Russia, Austria, and Prussia.
- 1775 First Spanish ship, San Carlos, enters Sab Francisco Bay
- 1812 War of 1812: Tecumseh's Indian force ambushes Thomas Van Horne's 200 Americans at Brownstone Creek, causing them to flee and retreat.
- 1845 In Australia's worst shipping disaster, 407 die when the Cataraqui is wrecked off King Island.
- 1850 Australia Government Act grants representative governments to South Australia, Tasmania and Victoria, which is separated from New South Wales.
- 1858 Cyrus West Field and others complete the first transatlantic telegraph cable after several unsuccessful attempts. It operated for less than a month.
- 1858 First transatlantic telegraph cable laid
- 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 US Army abolishes flogging
- 1861 US levies its first Income Tax (3% of incomes over $800)
- 1864 Spectrum of a comet observed for first time, by Giovanni Donati
- 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.
- 1879 First game of night football at Melbourne Cricket Ground, under gas-lights.
- 1882 Authorizing of first steel warships, beginning of the modern Navy in US
- 1882 Martial law is enacted in Japan.
- 1882 Standard Oil of New Jersey is established.
- 1884 Cornerstone for Statue of Liberty laid on Bedloe's Island (NYC)
- 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 of Ireland, sets then long jump record at 24' 11 3/4"
- 1901 Peter O'Connor sets the first IAAF recognised long jump world record of 24ft 11ins. The record will stand for 20 years.
- 1909 Canadian Pacific completes the Kicking Horse grade relocation on the main line between Hector and Field, B.C. by substituting two spiral tunnels and lengthened line on a grade of 2.2% compensated, for the old "Big Hill" straight grade of 4.5%.
- 1912 Japan's first taxicab service begins in Ginza, Tokyo.
- 1914 First German vessel captured in Australian waters in Port Phillip Bay
- 1914 First traffic light installed in Cleveland Ohio
- 1914 In Cleveland, Ohio, the first electric traffic light is installed.
- 1914 US, Nicaragua sign treaty granting canal rights to US
- 1921 First radio baseball broadcast
- 1923 First American to swim the English Channel (Henry Sullivan)
- 1924 Comic strip "Little Orphan Annie," first shown
- 1925 Plaid Cymru is formed with the aim of disseminating knowledge of the Welsh language, which is in danger of dying out.
- 1926 Houdini stays in a coffin under water for over 1 hour
- 1936 At Berlin Olympics, Jesse Owens wins his 3rd Olympic medal
- 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 lava miles into the sky.
- 1944 Holocaust: Polish insurgents liberate a German labor camp in Warsaw, freeing 348 Jewish prisoners.
- 1944 Mass break out of Japanese prisoners of war from Cowra Camp, NSW
- 1944 More than 1,000 Japanese prisoners of war unsuccessfully attempt to escape from Camp in Cowra, New South Wales: 234 are killed, 108 wounded.
- 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.
- 1949 In Ecuador an earthquake destroys 50 towns and kills more than 6000.
- 1949 Visitor posting - Dennis Patrick Ryan was born in Millard Fillmore Hospital in Buffalo, New York - USA
- 1953 Operation Big Switch begins - exchange of prisoners of war of Korean Conflict
- 1957 "American Bandstand," goes on network TV (ABC)
- 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.
- 1961 Ice Harbor Dam, Washington reaches 118 degrees F (state record)
- 1962 Death of Marilyn Monroe. Her death is a greatly debated conspiricy theory - USA
- 1962 First quasar located by radio
- 1962 Nelson Mandela arrested for incitement & illigally leaving South Africa. He would not be released until 1990.
- 1963 Britain, US & Russia sign nuclear test ban treaty
- 1963 United States, United Kingdom, and Soviet Union sign a nuclear test ban treaty.
- 1963 World auto speed record set at 407.45 MPH
- 1964 US begins bombing North Vietnam
- 1965 Cook Islands in South Pacific granted internal self-government by New Zealand
- 1965 Linda McGill becomes first Australian woman to swim the English Channel.
- 1965 Number one hit on UK music charts - The Beatles - Help!
- 1966 Martin Luther King Jr stoned during Chicago march
- 1969 Mariner 7 flies past Mars
- 1969 Mariner program: Mariner 7 makes its closest fly-by of Mars (3,524 kilometers).
- 1973 USSR launches Mars 6
- 1974 Joan Jett forms her rock group the Runaways
- 1974 Vietnam War: The U.S. Congress places a $1 billion dollar limit on military aid to South Vietnam.
- 1976 Visitor posting - Aug 5 1976 Kelly Smith was born on her grandparents wedding anniversary
- 1979 In Afghanistan, Maoists undertake an attempted military uprising.
- 1981 Pres Regan fires 11,500 air traffic controllers on strike
- 1981 Ronald Reagan fires 11,359 striking air-traffic controllers who ignored his order for them to return to work.
- 1981 Visitor posting - Alvaro Roberto Moreira, born August 5, 1981
- 1985 Flexible-wing glider altitude record set
- 1986 Visitor posting - Rafael Pereznegron touched down and blessed this earth with his presence for the first time. - Mexico
- 1988 Mario Biaggi politician convicted of racketeering
- 1989 General elections are held in Nicaragua, Sandinista Front wins the majority.
- 1989 Number one hit on UK music charts - Jive Bunny & The Mastermixers - Swing The Mood
- 1991 Sergei Bubka of USSR sets pole vault record in Malmo Sweden
- 1993 Visitor posting - Mary Scherbing was born in Minnesota - 8/5/1993 - USA
- 1994 Visitor posting - Dazha Marie Holliday birthday - USA
- 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 Woman in Corpus Christi TX was driving her nearly new Toyota Camry at 35 MPH when suddenly it accelerated to 70 mph or more, and she found herself about to plow into vehicles ahead. She managed to stop it. - USA
- 2000 Sir Alec Guinness, revered as one of Britain's most versatile actors, dies at 86.
- 2000 Visitor posting - August 5, 2000 Happy Birthday Nicole, from Aunt LaLa
- 2000 Visitor posting - Robert and Ruth married. May 13, Robert Hunter Jr. born in Lansthul Germany
- 2003 A car bomb explodes in the Indonesian capital of Jakarta outside the Marriott Hotel killing 12 and injuring 150.
- 2008 Visitor posting - Len Merritt "Mighty Man of God" suddenly left this earth to be with Jesus - Australia
- 2009 11 men drown when a boat sinks on the Nile near Khartoum, Sudan.
- 2009 A Chinese teenager sent to an internet addiction rehabilitation camp is allegedly beaten to death by its counsellors. (
- 2009 A court in Moscow opens a new trial into the murder of Russian journalist Anna Politkovskaya.
- 2009 A dog featured in an American film called I Love You, Man, which was named after assassinated Egyptian President Anwar El Sadat, leads to a court case as bloggers complain that their country has been insulted.
- 2009 An anthem sung by FC Schalke 04's fans draws Islamic protests because of its reference to the Prophet Muhammad.
- 2009 Austrian police probe the shooting of two adolescents who allegedly broke into a supermarket and died by police.
- 2009 Belgian Justice Minister Stefaan De Clerck is under fire after three men with criminal records escape from a courthouse in Brussls. The escape follows the helicopter breakout of three inmates, including one of Belgium's most dangerous criminals, and the ladder breakout of six more convicts all in the space of twelve days.
- 2009 Bolivian President Evo Morales expresses concern in La Paz about the possibility that the “Pinochetistas” in Chile and the “fascist right” in Argentina could win the general elections in those countries and that it "would be very serious for Latin American democracy and for South America".
- 2009 Brazilian President Lula da Silva says his country is “now advising the International Monetary Fund, IMF”.
- 2009 Chansa Kabwela, the news editor of the The Post, goes on trial in Zambia after being accused of distributing obscene images.
- 2009 Eight people are injured when an Airbus A320 plane catches fire on one of its engines at Paris-Orly Airport. The fire is quickly brought under control.
- 2009 Former Argentine President Fernando de la Rúa is indicted in a bribery case.
- 2009 Former Lieutenant Governor of the Northern Mariana Islands Timothy P. Villagomez is sentenced to seven years in prison for political corruption.
- 2009 Former Madagascar leader Marc Ravalomanana is hopeful that a relaunch of peace talks between the country's rival factions will bring progress toward a return of political stability.
- 2009 Fourteen people are shot at a women's dance class in LA Fitness gymnasium in Collier Township, Pennsylvania, United States. Three women die, as does the gunman.
- 2009 Iraq's government announces that all Bremer walls will be removed from Baghdad within forty days.
- 2009 Ireland's Health Service Executive threatens several pharmacies with High Court injunctions if they do not adhere with their contracts to dispense drugs.
- 2009 Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is officially sworn in as President of Iran for a second term. (Press TV)
- 2009 Part-nationalised UK lender Lloyds Banking Group reports pre-tax losses of £4 billion for the first half of this year.
- 2009 Police fire teargas at protesters rallying in support of Lubna al-Hussein, the Sudanese woman facing 40 lashes for wearing trousers in public.
- 2009 Romanians who fled Belfast following racist attacks return to Northern Ireland.
- 2009 The 40th Pacific Islands Forum leaders' meeting opens in Cairns, Australia. (
- 2009 The United States White House defends its decision to award its Presidential Medal of Freedom to former President of Ireland Mary Robinson.
- 2009 The funeral of Corazon Aquino, the first female President of an Asian country and the Philippines, takes place in the Philippines.
- 2009 Thirty-three people are reported missing following the sinking of the Princess Ashika ferry in Tonga.
- 2009 Three more men are charged with plotting a suicide attack on a military base in Australia.
- 2009 Two United States journalists, Laura Ling and Euna Lee, who had been detained by North Korea, return home with former U.S. President Bill Clinton. (
- 2009 Visitor posting - Charlotte MiKayla Alcala was born in Fort Bragg, North Carolina - USA
- 2009 Visitor posting - David and Amy kiss for the 1st time! - USA
- 2009 personal posting - August 5th 2009-Trey Rice dislocates his ankle and cracks his fibula in 2 places at practice. He has surgery the next day on his birthday! -Corinth, Mississippi
- 2010 Visitor posting - Bill Netter of Clawson, Michigan, met Lhenny A. Sou, from Tagum City, Philippines, at Rosy O Grady's Bar in Royal Oak, Michigan. That was the beginning of a very loving life together!! - USA [email protected]
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