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On This Day · The 217th day of the year

August 5

A look at August 5 through the almanac — historic events, famous birthdays including Neil Armstrong and Guy de Maupassant, and the day's notable deaths and observances.

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Events

10 notable moments
  1. 1984

    Biman Bangladesh Airlines

    A Biman Bangladesh Airlines Fokker F27 Friendship crashes on approach to Zia International Airport, in Dhaka, Bangladesh, killing all 49 people on board.

    National airline of Bangladesh
  2. 1981

    Ronald Reagan

    President Ronald Reagan fires 11,359 striking air-traffic controllers who ignored his order for them to return to work.

    President of the United
  3. 1962

    Marilyn Monroe

    American actress Marilyn Monroe is found dead at her home from a drug overdose.

    American actress and model
  4. 1914

    World War I

    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.

    1914–1918 global conflict
  5. 1888

    Bertha Benz

    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.

    German automobile pioneer, with
  6. 1689

    Beaver Wars

    Beaver Wars: Fifteen hundred Iroquois attack Lachine in New France.

    Series of 17th century
  7. 1600

    John Ruthven, 3rd Earl of Gowrie

    The Gowrie Conspiracy against King James VI of Scotland (later to become King James I of England) takes place at Gowrie House (Perth, Scotland).

    16th-century Scottish nobleman
  8. 1460

    Capture of Roxburgh (1460)

    The Kingdom of Scotland captures Roxburgh, one of the last English strongholds in Scotland, following a siege.

    Siege during Anglo-Scottish Wars
  9. 1100

    Henry I of England

    Henry I is crowned King of England in Westminster Abbey.

    King of England from
  10. 25

    AD 25

    Guangwu claims the throne as Emperor of China, restoring the Han dynasty after the collapse of the short-lived Xin dynasty.

    Calendar year
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Famous birthday twins

Born on August 5

Neil Armstrong

b. 1930

American pilot, engineer, and astronaut, first man to walk on the Moon

Guy de Maupassant

b. 1850

French short story writer, novelist, and poet

Marine Le Pen

b. 1968

French lawyer and politician

Paula Creamer

b. 1986

American golfer

Esteban Gutiérrez

b. 1991

Mexican race car driver

Marians Pahars

b. 1976

Latvian footballer and manager

Jesse Williams (actor)

b. 1980

American actor, director, producer, and political activist

Wassily Leontief

b. 1905

German-American economist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate

Deaths

  • 2019Toni Morrison, American author, Pulitzer Prize winner, and Nobel laureate .
  • 1998Todor Zhivkov, Bulgarian commander and politician, 36th Prime Minister of Bulgaria
  • 1998Otto Kretschmer, German naval officer and submariner
  • 1895Friedrich Engels, German philosopher
  • 1600John Ruthven, 3rd Earl of Gowrie, Scottish conspirator
  • 1579Stanislaus Hosius, Polish cardinal

Holidays & observances

  • —Christian feast day: Abel of Reims
  • —Christian feast day: Addai
  • —Christian feast day: Afra
  • —Christian feast day: Cassian of Autun
  • —Christian feast day: Dedication of the Basilica of St Mary Major (Catholic Church)
  • —Christian feast day: Emygdius
  • —Christian feast day: Margaret the Barefooted
  • —Christian feast day: Memnius

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