August 5

August 5 is the 217th day of the year (218th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. 148 days remain until the end of the year.

Events

• AD 25 – Guangwu claims the throne as Chinese emperor, restoring the Han dynasty after the collapse of the short-lived Xin dynasty.
• 135 – Roman armies enter Betar, slaughtering thousands and ending the bar Kokhba revolt.
• 642 – Battle of Maserfield: Penda of Mercia defeats and kills Oswald of Northumbria.
• 910 – The last major Danish army to raid England for nearly a century is defeated at the Battle of Tettenhall by the allied forces of Mercia and Wessex, led by King Edward the Elder and Æthelred, Lord of the Mercians.
• 939 – The Battle of Alhandic is fought between Ramiro II of León and Abd-ar-Rahman III at Zamora in the context of the Spanish Reconquista. The battle resulted in a victory for the Emirate of Córdoba.
• 1068 – Byzantine–Norman wars: Italo-Normans begin a nearly-three-year siege of Bari.
• 1100 – Henry I is crowned King of England in Westminster Abbey.
• 1278 – Spanish Reconquista: the forces of the Kingdom of Castile initiate the ultimately futile Siege of Algeciras against the Emirate of Granada.
• 1305 – William Wallace, who led the Scottish resistance against England, is captured by the English near Glasgow and transported to London where he is put on trial and executed.
• 1388 – The Battle of Otterburn, a border skirmish between the Scottish and the English in Northern England, is fought near Otterburn.
• 1506 – The Grand Duchy of Lithuania defeated the Crimean Khanate in the Battle of Kletsk.
• 1583 – Sir Humphrey Gilbert establishes the first English colony in North America, at what is now St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador.
• 1600 – The Gowrie Conspiracy against King James VI of Scotland (later to become King James I of England) takes place.
• 1620 – The Mayflower departs from Southampton, England, carrying would-be settlers, on its first attempt to reach North America; it is forced to dock in Dartmouth when its companion ship, the Speedwell, springs a leak.
• 1689 – Beaver Wars: Fifteen hundred Iroquois attack Lachine in New France.
• 1716 – Austro-Turkish War (1716–1718): One-fifth of a Turkish army and the Grand Vizier are killed in the 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 had 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.
• 1781 – The Battle of Dogger Bank takes place.
• 1796 – The Battle of Castiglione in Napoleon's first Italian campaigns of the French Revolutionary Wars.
• 1816 – The British Admiralty dismisses Francis Ronalds's new invention of the first working electric telegraph as "wholly unnecessary", preferring to continue using the semaphore.
• 1824 – Greek War of Independence: Constantine Kanaris leads a Greek fleet to victory against Ottoman and Egyptian naval forces in the Battle of Samos.
• 1858 – Cyrus West Field and others complete the first transatlantic telegraph cable after several unsuccessful attempts. It will operate for less than a month.
• 1860 – Charles XV of Sweden 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 levies 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 abolishes flogging.
• 1862 – American Civil War: Battle of Baton Rouge: Along the Mississippi River near Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Confederate troops attempt to take the city, but are driven back by fire from Union gunboats.
• 1864 – American Civil War: The 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.
• 1874 – Japan launches its postal savings system, modeled after a similar system in the United Kingdom.
• 1884 – The cornerstone for the Statue of Liberty is laid on Bedloe's Island (now Liberty Island) in New York Harbor.
• 1888 – Bertha Benz drives from Mannheim to Pforzheim and back in the first long distance automobile trip, commemorated as the Bertha Benz Memorial Route since 2008.
• 1901 – Peter O'Connor sets the first IAAF recognised long jump world record of 24 ft 11.75 in (7.6137 m), a record that would stand for 20 years.
• 1906 – Persian Constitutional Revolution: Mozaffar ad-Din Shah Qajar, King of Iran, agrees to convert the government to a constitutional monarchy.
• 1914 – World War I: The German minelayer SS Königin Luise lays a minefield about 40 miles (64 km) off the Thames Estuary (Lowestoft). She is intercepted and sunk by the British light-cruiser HMS Amphion.
• 1914 – World War I: The guns of Point Nepean fort at Port Phillip Heads in Victoria (Australia) fire across the bows of the Norddeutscher Lloyd steamer SS Pfalz which is attempting to leave the Port of Melbourne in ignorance of the declaration of war and she is detained; this is said to be the first Allied shot of the War.
• 1914 – In Cleveland, Ohio, the first electric traffic light is installed.
• 1916 – World War I: Battle of Romani: Allied forces, under the command of Archibald Murray, defeat an attacking Ottoman army under the command of Friedrich Freiherr Kress von Kressenstein, securing the Suez Canal and beginning the Ottoman retreat from the Sinai Peninsula.
• 1925 – Plaid Cymru is formed with the aim of disseminating knowledge of the Welsh language that is at the time in danger of dying out.
• 1926 – Harry Houdini performs his greatest feat, spending 91 minutes underwater in a sealed tank before escaping.
• 1940 – World War II: The Soviet Union formally annexes Latvia.
• 1944 – World War II: At least 1,104 Japanese POWs in Australia attempt to escape from a camp at Cowra, New South Wales; 545 temporarily succeed but are later either killed, commit suicide, or are recaptured.
• 1944 – World War II: Polish insurgents liberate a German labor camp (Gęsiówka) in Warsaw, freeing 348 Jewish prisoners.
• 1944 – World War II: The Nazis begin a week-long massacre of between 40,000 and 50,000 civilians and prisoners of war in Wola, Poland.
• 1949 – In Ecuador, an earthquake destroys 50 towns and kills more than 6,000.
• 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 – Apartheid: Nelson Mandela is jailed. He would not be released until 1990.
• 1962 – American actress Marilyn Monroe is found dead at her home from a drug overdose.
• 1963 – Cold War: The United States, the United Kingdom, and the Soviet Union sign the Partial 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 against U.S. destroyers in the Gulf of Tonkin.
• 1965 – The Indo-Pakistani War of 1965 begins as Pakistani soldiers cross the Line of Control dressed as locals.
• 1971 – The first Pacific Islands Forum (then known as the "South Pacific Forum") is held in Wellington, New Zealand, with the aim of enhancing cooperation between the independent countries of the Pacific Ocean.
• 1973 – Mars 6 is launched from the USSR.
• 1974 – Vietnam War: The U.S. Congress places a $1 billion limit on military aid to South Vietnam.
• 1979 – In Afghanistan, Maoists undertake the Bala Hissar uprising against the Leninist government.
• 1981 – President Ronald Reagan fires 11,359 striking air-traffic controllers who ignored his order for them to return to work.
• 1984 – A Biman Bangladesh Airlines Fokker F27 Friendship crashes on approach to Zia International Airport, in Dhaka, Bangladesh, killing all 49 people on board.
• 1989 – General elections are held in Nicaragua with the Sandinista National Liberation Front winning a majority.
• 1995 – Yugoslav Wars: The city of Knin, Croatia, a significant Serb stronghold, is captured by Croatian forces during Operation Storm. The date is celebrated in Croatia as Victory Day.
• 2003 – A car bomb explodes in the Indonesian capital of Jakarta outside the Marriott Hotel killing 12 and injuring 150.
• 2010 – The Copiapó mining accident occurs, trapping 33 Chilean miners approximately 2,300 ft (700 m) below the ground for 69 days.
• 2010 – Ten members of International Assistance Mission Nuristan Eye Camp team are killed by persons unknown in Kuran wa Munjan District of Badakhshan Province, Afghanistan.
• 2012 – The Wisconsin Sikh temple shooting took place in Oak Creek, Wisconsin, killing six victims; the perpetrator committed suicide after being wounded by police.
• 2015 – The Environmental Protection Agency at Gold King Mine waste water spill releases three million gallons of heavy metal toxin tailings and waste water into the Animas River in Colorado.

Births

• 79 BC – Tullia, Roman daughter of Cicero (d. 45 BC)
• 1262 – Ladislaus IV of Hungary (d. 1290)
• 1301 – Edmund of Woodstock, 1st Earl of Kent, English politician, Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports (d. 1330)
• 1397 – Guillaume Dufay, Belgian-Italian composer and theorist (d. 1474)
• 1461 – Alexander Jagiellon, Polish king (d. 1506)
• 1540 – Joseph Justus Scaliger, French philologist and historian (d. 1609)
• 1607 – Antonio Barberini, Italian cardinal (d. 1671)
• 1623 – Antonio Cesti, Italian organist and composer (d. 1669)
• 1626 – Richard Ottley, English politician (d. 1670)
• 1662 – James Anderson, Scottish lawyer and historian (d. 1728)
• 1681 – Vitus Bering, Danish explorer (d. 1741)
• 1694 – Leonardo Leo, Italian composer (d. 1744)
• 1749 – Thomas Lynch Jr., American commander and politician (d. 1779)
• 1797 – Friedrich August Kummer, German cellist and composer (d. 1879)
• 1802 – Niels Henrik Abel, Norwegian mathematician and theorist (d. 1829)
• 1811 – Ambroise Thomas, French composer (d. 1896)
• 1813 – Ivar Aasen, Norwegian poet and linguist (d. 1896)
• 1815 – Edward John Eyre, English explorer and politician, Governor of Jamaica (d. 1901)
• 1827 – Deodoro da Fonseca, Brazilian field marshal and politician, 1st President of Brazil (d. 1892)
• 1828 – Louise of the Netherlands (d. 1871)
• 1833 – Carola of Vasa (d. 1907)
• 1843 – James Scott Skinner, Scottish violinist and composer (d. 1927)
• 1844 – Ilya Repin, Russian painter and sculptor (d. 1930)
• 1850 – Guy de Maupassant, French short story writer, novelist, and poet (d. 1893)
• 1860 – Louis Wain, English artist (d. 1939)
• 1862 – Joseph Merrick, English man with severe deformities (d. 1890)
• 1866 – Carl Harries, German chemist and academic (d. 1923)
• 1866 – Harry Trott, Australian cricketer (d. 1917)
• 1868 – Oskar Merikanto, Finnish pianist and composer (d. 1924)
• 1872 – Oswaldo Cruz, Brazilian physician, bacteriologist, and epidemiologist, founded the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation (d. 1917)
• 1874 – Wesley Clair Mitchell, American economist and academic (d. 1948)
• 1874 – Horace Rawlins, English golfer (d. 1935)
• 1876 – Mary Ritter Beard, American historian and activist (d. 1958)
• 1877 – Tom Thomson, Canadian painter (d. 1917)
• 1880 – Gertrude Rush, American lawyer and jurist (d. 1962)
• 1880 – Ruth Sawyer, American author and educator (d. 1970)
• 1882 – Anne Acheson, Irish sculptor (d. 1962)
• 1887 – Reginald Owen, English-American actor and singer (d. 1972)
• 1889 – Conrad Aiken, American novelist, short story writer, critic, and poet (d. 1973)
• 1890 – Naum Gabo, Russian-American sculptor (d. 1977)
• 1890 – Erich Kleiber, Austrian conductor and director (d. 1956)
• 1897 – Roberta Dodd Crawford, American soprano and educator (d. 1954)
• 1897 – Aksel Larsen, Danish lawyer and politician (d. 1972)
• 1900 – Rudolf Schottlaender, German philosopher, classical philologist and translator (d. 1988)
• 1901 – Claude Autant-Lara, French director, screenwriter, and politician (d. 2000)
• 1904 – Kenneth V. Thimann, English-American botanist and microbiologist (d. 1997)
• 1906 – Joan Hickson, English actress (d. 1998)
• 1906 – John Huston, American actor, director, and screenwriter (d. 1987)
• 1906 – Wassily Leontief, German-American economist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1999)
• 1908 – Harold Holt, Australian lawyer and politician, 17th Prime Minister of Australia (d. 1967)
• 1908 – Jose Garcia Villa, Filipino short story writer and poet (d. 1997)
• 1910 – Bruno Coquatrix, French songwriter and manager (d. 1979)
• 1910 – Herminio Masantonio, Argentinian footballer (d. 1956)
• 1911 – Robert Taylor, American actor and singer (d. 1969)
• 1912 – Abbé Pierre, French priest and humanitarian (d. 2007)
• 1914 – Parley Baer, American actor (d. 2002)
• 1916 – Peter Viereck, American poet and academic (d. 2006)
• 1918 – Tom Drake, American actor and singer (d. 1982)
• 1918 – Betty Oliphant, English-Canadian ballerina, co-founded Canada's National Ballet School (d. 2004)
• 1920 – George Tooker, American painter and academic (d. 2011)
• 1921 – Terry Becker, American actor, director, and producer (d. 2014)
• 1922 – L. Tom Perry, American businessman and religious leader (d. 2015)
• 1922 – Frank Stranahan, American golfer (d. 2013)
• 1923 – Devan Nair, Malaysian-Singaporean union leader and politician, 3rd President of Singapore (d. 2005)
• 1926 – Betsy Jolas, French composer
• 1926 – Jeri Southern, American jazz singer and pianist (d. 1991)
• 1927 – John H. Moore II, American lawyer and judge (d. 2013)
• 1929 – Don Matheson, American soldier, police officer, and actor (d. 2014)
• 1930 – Neil Armstrong, American pilot, engineer, and astronaut (d. 2012)
• 1930 – Damita Jo DeBlanc, American comedian, actress, and singer (d. 1998)
• 1930 – Richie Ginther, American race car driver (d. 1989)
• 1930 – Michal Kováč, Slovak lawyer and politician, 1st President of Slovakia
• 1931 – Tom Hafey, Australian footballer and coach (d. 2014)
• 1932 – Tera de Marez Oyens, Dutch pianist and composer (d. 1996)
• 1932 – Vladimir Fedoseyev, Russian conductor
• 1934 – Karl Johan Åström, Swedish engineer and theorist
• 1934 – Wendell Berry, American novelist, short story writer, poet, and essayist
• 1934 – Gay Byrne, Irish radio and television host
• 1935 – Michael Ballhaus, German director and cinematographer (d. 2017)
• 1935 – Peter Inge, Baron Inge, English field marshal
• 1935 – John Saxon, American actor
• 1935 – Roy Benavidez, American Master Sergeant and Medal of Honor Winner (d. 1998)
• 1936 – Nikolai Baturin, Estonian author and playwright
• 1937 – Herb Brooks, American ice hockey player and coach (d. 2003)
• 1937 – Brian G. Marsden, English-American astronomer and academic (d. 2010)
• 1939 – Roger Clark, English race car driver (d. 1998)
• 1939 – Carmen Salinas, Mexican actress and politician (PRI)
• 1940 – Bobby Braddock, American country music songwriter, musician, and producer
• 1940 – Roman Gabriel, American football player, coach, and actor
• 1940 – Rick Huxley, English bass player (d. 2013)
• 1941 – Bob Clark, American director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2007)
• 1941 – Leonid Kizim, Ukrainian general, pilot, and astronaut (d. 2010)
• 1941 – Airto Moreira, Brazilian-American drummer and composer
• 1942 – Joe Boyd, American record producer, founded Hannibal Records
• 1943 – Nelson Briles, American baseball player and sportscaster (d. 2005)
• 1943 – Sammi Smith, American country music singer-songwriter (d. 2005)
• 1944 – Christopher Gunning, English composer
• 1945 – Loni Anderson, American actress
• 1946 – Bruce Coslet, American football player and coach
• 1946 – Rick van der Linden, Dutch keyboard player and songwriter (d. 2006)
• 1946 – Bob McCarthy, Australian rugby league player and coach
• 1946 – Erika Slezak, American actress
• 1946 – Xavier Trias, Spanish pediatrician and politician, 118th Mayor of Barcelona
• 1947 – Angry Anderson, Australian singer & actor
• 1947 – Bernie Carbo, American baseball player
• 1947 – France A. Córdova, American astrophysicist and academic
• 1947 – Rick Derringer, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
• 1947 – Greg Leskiw, Canadian guitarist and songwriter
• 1948 – Ray Clemence, English footballer and manager
• 1948 – Barbara Flynn, English actress
• 1948 – David Hungate, American bass guitarist, producer, and arranger
• 1948 – Shin Takamatsu, Japanese architect and academic
• 1950 – Luiz Gushiken, Brazilian trade union leader and politician (d. 2013)
• 1950 – Mahendra Karma, Indian lawyer and politician (d. 2013)
• 1951 – Samantha Sang, Australian pop singer
• 1952 – Tamás Faragó, Hungarian water polo player
• 1952 – John Jarratt, Australian actor and producer
• 1952 – Louis Walsh, Irish talent manager
• 1953 – Rick Mahler, American baseball player and coach (d. 2005)
• 1955 – Eddie Ojeda, American guitarist and songwriter
• 1956 – Christopher Chessun, English Anglican bishop
• 1956 – Jerry Ciccoritti, Canadian actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
• 1957 – Larry Corowa, Australian rugby league player
• 1957 – David Gill, English businessman
• 1957 – Faith Prince, American actress and singer
• 1959 – Pete Burns, English singer-songwriter (d. 2016)
• 1959 – Pat Smear, American guitarist and songwriter
• 1960 – David Baldacci, American lawyer and author
• 1961 – Janet McTeer, English actress
• 1961 – Athula Samarasekera, Sri Lankan cricketer and coach
• 1961 – Tim Wilson, American comedian, singer-songwriter, and guitarist (d. 2014)
• 1962 – Patrick Ewing, Jamaican-American basketball player and coach
• 1962 – Otis Thorpe, American basketball player
• 1963 – Steve Lee, Swiss singer-songwriter (d. 2010)
• 1963 – Ingmar De Vos, Belgian sports administrator
• 1964 – Rory Morrison, English journalist (d. 2013)
• 1964 – Adam Yauch, American rapper and director (d. 2012)
• 1965 – Jeff Coffin, American saxophonist and composer
• 1965 – Motoi Sakuraba, Japanese keyboard player and composer
• 1966 – Jennifer Finch, American singer, bass player, and photographer
• 1966 – Jonathan Silverman, American actor and producer
• 1967 – Matthew Caws, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
• 1968 – Terri Clark, Canadian singer-songwriter and guitarist
• 1968 – Kendo Kashin, Japanese wrestler and mixed martial artist
• 1968 – Marine Le Pen, French lawyer and politician
• 1968 – Oleh Luzhny, Ukrainian footballer and manager
• 1968 – Colin McRae, Scottish race car driver (d. 2007)
• 1968 – John Olerud, American baseball player
• 1969 – Jackie Doyle-Price, English politician
• 1969 – Vasbert Drakes, Barbadian cricketer
• 1969 – Venkatesh Prasad, Indian cricketer and coach
• 1969 – Robert Scott, Australian rower
• 1970 – James Gunn, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
• 1971 – Valdis Dombrovskis, Latvian academic and politician, 11th Prime Minister of Latvia
• 1972 – Ikuto Hidaka, Japanese wrestler
• 1972 – Aaqib Javed, Pakistani cricketer and coach
• 1972 – Darren Shahlavi, English-American actor and martial artist (d. 2015)
• 1972 – Jon Sleightholme, English rugby player
• 1972 – Theodore Whitmore, Jamaican footballer and manager
• 1972 – Christian Olde Wolbers, Belgian-American guitarist, songwriter, and producer
• 1973 – Paul Carige, Australian rugby league player
• 1973 – Justin Marshall, New Zealand rugby player and sportscaster
• 1974 – Alvin Ceccoli, Australian footballer
• 1974 – Kajol, Indian film actress
• 1974 – Olle Kullinger, Swedish footballer
• 1974 – Antoine Sibierski, French footballer
• 1975 – Dan Hipgrave, English guitarist and journalist
• 1975 – Josep Jufré, Spanish cyclist
• 1975 – Eicca Toppinen, Finnish cellist and composer
• 1976 – Jeff Friesen, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1976 – Marians Pahars, Latvian footballer and manager
• 1976 – Eugen Trică, Romanian footballer and manager
• 1977 – Eric Hinske, American baseball player and coach
• 1977 – Mark Mulder, American baseball player and sportscaster
• 1977 – Michael Walsh, English footballer
• 1978 – Cosmin Bărcăuan, Romanian footballer and manager
• 1978 – Kim Gevaert, Belgian sprinter
• 1979 – David Healy, Irish footballer
• 1980 – Wayne Bridge, English footballer
• 1980 – Salvador Cabañas, Paraguayan footballer
• 1980 – Jason Culina, Australian footballer
• 1981 – David Clarke, English ice hockey player
• 1981 – Carl Crawford, American baseball player
• 1981 – Maik Franz, German footballer
• 1981 – Erik Guay, Canadian skier
• 1981 – Travie McCoy, American rapper, singer, and songwriter
• 1981 – Anna Rawson, Australian golfer
• 1981 – Rachel Scott, American murder victim, inspired the Rachel's Challenge (d. 1999)
• 1982 – Jamie Houston, English-German rugby player
• 1982 – Lolo Jones, American hurdler
• 1982 – Michele Pazienza, Italian footballer
• 1982 – Tobias Regner, German singer-songwriter
• 1982 – Jeff Robson, Australian rugby league player
• 1982 – Pete Sell, American mixed martial artist
• 1984 – Steve Matai, New Zealand rugby league player
• 1984 – Helene Fischer, German singer-songwriter
• 1985 – Laurent Ciman, Belgian footballer
• 1985 – Salomon Kalou, Ivorian footballer
• 1985 – Gil Vermouth, Israeli footballer
• 1985 – Erkan Zengin, Swedish footballer
• 1986 – Paula Creamer, American golfer
• 1986 – Kathrin Zettel, Austrian skier
• 1987 – Genelia D'Souza, Indian actress
• 1988 – Michael Jamieson, Scottish-English swimmer
• 1988 – Federica Pellegrini, Italian swimmer
• 1989 – Ryan Bertrand, English footballer
• 1989 – Mathieu Manset, French footballer
• 1989 – Jessica Nigri, American model and actress
• 1991 – Esteban Gutiérrez, Mexican race car driver
• 1991 – Konrad Hurrell, Tongan rugby league player
• 1991 – Andreas Weimann, Austrian footballer
• 1995 – Pierre-Emile Højbjerg, Danish footballer
• 1996 – Takakeishō Mitsunobu, Japanese sumo wrestler
• 1997 – Jack Cogger, Australian rugby league player
• 1998 – Mimi Keene, English actress
• 1998 – Kanon Suzuki, Japanese singer and actress (Morning Musume)

Deaths

• 553 – Xiao Ji, prince of the Liang dynasty (b. 508)
• 642 – Eowa, king of Mercia
• 642 – Oswald, king of Northumbria (b. 604)
• 824 – Heizei, Japanese emperor (b. 773)
• 877 – Ubayd Allah ibn Yahya ibn Khaqan, Abbasid vizier
• 882 – Louis III, Frankish king (b. 863)
• 890 – Ranulf II, duke of Aquitaine (b. 850)
• 910 – Eowils and Halfdan, joint kings of Northumbria
• 910 – Ingwær, king of Northumbria
• 917 – Euthymius I of Constantinople (b. 834)
• 940 – Li Decheng, Chinese general (b. 863)
• 1063 – Gruffydd ap Llywelyn, King of Gwynedd
• 1364 – Kōgon, Japanese emperor (b. 1313)
• 1415 – Richard of Conisburgh, 3rd Earl of Cambridge (b. 1375)
• 1415 – Henry Scrope, 3rd Baron Scrope of Masham (b. 1370)
• 1447 – John Holland, 2nd Duke of Exeter (b. 1395)
• 1579 – Stanislaus Hosius, Polish cardinal (b. 1504)
• 1600 – John Ruthven, 3rd Earl of Gowrie, Scottish conspirator (b. 1577)
• 1610 – Alonso García de Ramón, Spanish soldier and politician, Royal Governor of Chile (b. 1552)
• 1633 – George Abbot, English archbishop and academic (b. 1562)
• 1678 – Juan García de Zéspedes, Mexican tenor and composer (b. 1619)
• 1729 – Thomas Newcomen, English engineer, invented the eponymous Newcomen atmospheric engine (b. 1664)
• 1743 – John Hervey, 2nd Baron Hervey, English courtier and politician, Vice-Chamberlain of the Household (b. 1696)
• 1778 – Charles Clémencet, French historian and author (b. 1703)
• 1778 – Thomas Linley the younger, English composer (b. 1756)
• 1792 – Frederick North, Lord North, English politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (b. 1732)
• 1799 – Richard Howe, 1st Earl Howe, English admiral and politician (b. 1726)
• 1868 – Jacques Boucher de Crèvecœur de Perthes, French archaeologist and historian (b. 1788)
• 1877 – Robert Williams (known as Trebor Mai), Welsh poet (b. 1830)
• 1880 – Ferdinand Ritter von Hebra, Austrian physician and dermatologist (b. 1816)
• 1881 – Spotted Tail, American tribal chief (b. 1823)
• 1895 – Friedrich Engels, German philosopher (b. 1820)
• 1901 – Victoria, Princess Royal of the United Kingdom (b. 1840)
• 1904 – George Dibbs, Australian politician, 10th Premier of New South Wales (b. 1834)
• 1911 – Bob Caruthers, American baseball player and umpire (b. 1864)
• 1916 – George Butterworth, British composer, killed at the Battle of the Somme (b. 1885)
• 1921 – Dimitrios Rallis, Greek lawyer and politician, 78th Prime Minister of Greece (b. 1844)
• 1929 – Millicent Fawcett, English trade union leader and activist (b. 1847)
• 1933 – Charles Harold Davis, American painter and academic (b. 1856)
• 1935 – David Townsend, American art director and set designer (b. 1891)
• 1939 – Béla Jankovich, Hungarian economist and politician, Minister of Education of Hungary (b. 1865)
• 1944 – Maurice Turnbull, Welsh cricketer and rugby player (b. 1906)
• 1946 – Wilhelm Marx, German lawyer and politician, 17th Chancellor of Germany (b. 1863)
• 1948 – Montagu Toller, English cricketer and lawyer (b. 1871)
• 1952 – Sameera Moussa, Egyptian physicist and academic (b. 1917)
• 1955 – Carmen Miranda, Portuguese-Brazilian actress and singer (b. 1909)
• 1957 – Heinrich Otto Wieland, German chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1877)
• 1959 – Edgar Guest, English-American journalist and poet (b. 1881)
• 1960 – Arthur Meighen, Canadian lawyer and politician, 9th Prime Minister of Canada (b. 1874)
• 1963 – Salvador Bacarisse, Spanish composer (b. 1898)
• 1964 – Art Ross, Canadian-American ice hockey player and coach (b. 1886)
• 1968 – Luther Perkins, American guitarist (b. 1928)
• 1978 – Jesse Haines, American baseball player and coach (b. 1893)
• 1980 – Harold L. Runnels, American soldier and politician (b. 1924)
• 1983 – Judy Canova, American actress and comedian (b. 1913)
• 1983 – Joan Robinson, English economist and author (b. 1903)
• 1984 – Richard Burton, Welsh-Swiss actor and producer (b. 1925)
• 1985 – Arnold Horween, American football player and coach (b. 1898)
• 1987 – Georg Gaßmann, German politician, Mayor of Marburg (b. 1910)
• 1991 – Paul Brown, American football player and coach (b. 1908)
• 1991 – Soichiro Honda, Japanese engineer and businessman, founded Honda (b. 1906)
• 1992 – Robert Muldoon, New Zealand politician, 31st Prime Minister of New Zealand (b. 1921)
• 1994 – Menachem Avidom, Israeli composer (b. 1908)
• 1994 – Alain de Changy, Belgian race car driver (b. 1922)
• 1998 – Otto Kretschmer, German commander (b. 1912)
• 1998 – Todor Zhivkov, Bulgarian commander and politician, 36th Prime Minister of Bulgaria (b. 1911)
• 2000 – Otto Buchsbaum, Austrian-Brazilian journalist and activist (b. 1920)
• 2000 – Tullio Crali, Montenegrin-Italian pilot and painter (b. 1910)
• 2000 – Lala Amarnath, Indian cricketer who scored India's first Test century (b. 1911)
• 2000 – Alec Guinness, English actor (b. 1914)
• 2001 – Otema Allimadi, Ugandan politician, 2nd Prime Minister of Uganda (b. 1929)
• 2001 – Christopher Skase, Australian-Spanish businessman (b. 1948)
• 2002 – Chick Hearn, American sportscaster (b. 1916)
• 2002 – Franco Lucentini, Italian journalist and author (b. 1920)
• 2002 – Darrell Porter, American baseball player (b. 1952)
• 2002 – Matt Robinson, American actor, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1937)
• 2005 – Polina Astakhova, Russian gymnast and coach (b. 1936)
• 2005 – Jim O'Hora, American football player and coach (b. 1915)
• 2005 – Raul Roco, Filipino lawyer and politician, 31st Filipino Secretary of Education (b. 1941)
• 2005 – Eddie Jenkins, Welsh footballer (b. 1909)
• 2007 – Jean-Marie Lustiger, French cardinal (b. 1926)
• 2007 – Florian Pittiș, Romanian actor, singer, director, and producer (b. 1943)
• 2008 – Neil Bartlett, English-American chemist and academic (b. 1932)
• 2008 – Reg Lindsay, Australian singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (b. 1929)
• 2009 – Budd Schulberg, American author, screenwriter, and producer (b. 1914)
• 2011 – Andrzej Lepper, Polish farmer and politician, Deputy Prime Minister of Poland (b. 1954)
• 2011 – Aziz Shavershian, Russian-born Australian Bodybuilder and internet sensation (b. 1989)
• 2012 – Erwin Axer, Polish director and screenwriter (b. 1917)
• 2012 – Michel Daerden, Belgian lawyer and politician (b. 1949)
• 2012 – Fred Matua, American football player (b. 1984)
• 2012 – Martin E. Segal, Russian-American businessman, co-founded Film Society of Lincoln Center (b. 1916)
• 2012 – Chavela Vargas, Costa Rican-Mexican singer-songwriter and actress (b. 1919)
• 2012 – Roland Charles Wagner, French author and translator (b. 1960)
• 2013 – Ruth Asawa, American sculptor and educator (b. 1926)
• 2013 – Shawn Burr, Canadian-American ice hockey player (b. 1966)
• 2013 – Willie Dunn, Canadian singer-songwriter and producer (b. 1942)
• 2013 – Roy Rubin, American basketball player and coach (b. 1925)
• 2013 – May Song Vang, American activist (b. 1951)
• 2013 – Rob Wyda, American commander and judge (b. 1959)
• 2014 – Harold J. Greene, American general (b. 1962)
• 2014 – Vladimir Orlov, Russian author (b. 1936)
• 2014 – Chapman Pincher, Indian-English historian, journalist, and author (b. 1914)
• 2014 – Jesse Leonard Steinfeld, American physician and academic, 11th Surgeon General of the United States (b. 1927)
• 2015 – Arthur Walter James, English journalist and politician (b. 1912)
• 2015 – Tony Millington, Welsh footballer (b. 1943)
• 2019 – Toni Morrison, American author, Pulitzer Prize winner, and Nobel laureate (b. 1931).

Holidays and observances

• Christian feast day:
  • Abel of Reims
  • Addai
  • Afra
  • Albrecht Dürer, Matthias Grünewald, and Lucas Cranach the Elder (Episcopal Church (USA))
  • Cassian of Autun
  • Dedication of the Basilica of St Mary Major (Catholic Church)
  • Emygdius
  • Memnius
  • Oswald of Northumbria
  • August 5 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
• Independence Day (Burkina Faso)
• Victory and Homeland Thanksgiving Day and the Day of Croatian defenders (Croatia)

External links

• BBC: On This Day
• The New York Times: On This Day
• Today in Canadian History