Date·Lore

On This Day · The 217th day of the year

August 5

August 5 carries 10 recorded events spanning between 25 and 1984. Guangwu claims the throne as Emperor of China, restoring the Han dynasty after the collapse of the short-lived Xin dynasty.

♌ZodiacLeo ◈BirthstonePeridot ❀Birth flowerGladiolus

Compiled & reviewed by · Last reviewed July 13, 2026

What happened on August 5?

August 5 is the 217th day of the year. It marks 10 notable events in history, dated between 25 and 1984. Famous people born on August 5 include Neil Armstrong, Guy de Maupassant and Marine Le Pen.

The shape of the day

Few dates reach as far back as August 5: its recorded history runs unusually deep, stretching to 25. Its center of gravity is the 20th century, and conflict is a recurring thread.

Leo is the sign for August 5 — read more on the Leo page, or see August's birthstone & birth flower.

Released on August 5

Movies, games, albums & shows

2025

  • Game Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba - The Hinokami Chronicles 2

2024

  • Game Fields of Mistria

2022

  • Game Boneraiser Minions
  • TV The Sandman

2021

  • Game Jupiter Hell
  • Game Death Trash

Release data from TMDB & IGDB.

Events

10 notable moments
  1. 25

    AD 25

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

  2. 1100

    Henry I of England

    Henry I is crowned King of England in Westminster Abbey.

  3. 1460

    Capture of Roxburgh (1460)

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

  4. 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).

  5. 1689

    Beaver Wars

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

  6. 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.

  7. 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.

  8. 1962

    Marilyn Monroe

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

  9. 1981

    Ronald Reagan

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

  10. 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.

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
  • 1998Todor Zhivkov
  • 1998Otto Kretschmer
  • 1895Friedrich Engels
  • 1600John Ruthven, 3rd Earl of Gowrie
  • 1579Stanislaus Hosius

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

Historical facts, event summaries, and biographical lines above are adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike (CC BY-SA) license. DateLore adds curation, structure, and original editorial commentary. DateLore is not affiliated with the Wikimedia Foundation.

About the author

Roman Tailor compiles and reviews every date on DateLore. He's the writer and editor behind the site's editorial essays and the day-by-day almanac. Corrections and questions are welcome — read more about DateLore or get in touch.

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