August 5

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

Events

• 642 – Battle of Maserfield – Penda of Mercia defeats and kills Oswald of Northumbria.
• 910 – The last major Danish army to raid England is defeated at the Battle of Tettenhall by the allied forces of Mercia and Wessex, led by King Edward the Elder and Earl Aethelred of Mercia.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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 on its first attempt to reach North America.
• 1689 – 1,500 Iroquois attack the village of Lachine in New France.
• 1716 – The Battle of Petrovaradin takes place.
• 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.
• 1772 – The First Partition of Poland begins.
• 1781 – The Battle of Dogger Bank takes place.
• 1824 – Greek War of Independence: Constantine Kanaris leads a Greek fleet to victory against Ottoman and Egyptian ships 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States government levies the first income tax as part of the Revenue Act of 1861 (3% of all incomes over US $800; rescinded in 1872).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.
• 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 the United Kingdom.
• 1882 – The Standard Oil of New Jersey is established.
• 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) The record will 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 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 – 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.
• 1941 – World War II: The Battle of Smolensk concludes with Germany capturing about 300,000 Soviet Red Army prisoners.
• 1944 – World War II: possibly the biggest prison breakout in history occurs as 545 Japanese POWs attempt to escape outside the town of Cowra, New South Wales, Australia.
• 1944 – World War II: Polish insurgents liberate a German labor camp in Warsaw, freeing 348 Jewish prisoners.
• 1944 – World War II: The Nazis begin a week-long massacre of anywhere between 40,000 and 100,000 civilians and prisoners of war in Wola, Poland.
• 1949 – In Ecuador, an earthquake destroys 50 towns and kills more than 6,000.
• 1949 – The Mann Gulch fire kills 13 firefighters in Montana.
• 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 – Nelson Mandela is jailed. He would not be released until 1990.
• 1963 – The United States, the United Kingdom, and the Soviet Union sign a 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.
• 1969 – Mariner program: Mariner 7 makes its closest fly-by of Mars (3,524 kilometers).
• 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.
• 1974 – Vietnam War: the U.S. Congress places a $1 billion dollar limit on military aid to South Vietnam.
• 1979 – In Afghanistan, Maoists undertake an attempted military uprising.
• 1981 – Ronald Reagan fires 11,359 striking air-traffic controllers who ignored his order for them to return to work.
• 1989 – General elections are held in Nicaragua with the Sandinista National Liberation Front winning a majority.
• 1995 – The city of Knin, 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 – 2010 Copiapó mining accident occurs, trapping 33 Chilean miners approximately 2,300 ft (700 m) below the ground.
• 2010 – Ten members of International Assistance Mission Nuristan Eye Camp team are killed by persons unknown in Kuran wa Munjan District of Badakhshan Province in Afghanistan.
• 2012 – The Oak Creek shooting took place at a Sikh temple in Oak Creek, Wisconsin, killing six people; the perpetrator was shot dead by police.

Births

• 1301 – Edmund of Woodstock, 1st Earl of Kent, English politician (d. 1330)
• 1397 – Guillaume Dufay, Franco-Flemish composer and theorist (d. 1474)
• 1461 – Alexander Jagiellon, Polish king (d. 1506)
• 1540 – Joseph Justus Scaliger, French philologist and historian (d. 1609)
• 1565 – Paola Massarenghi, Italian composer (d. 1565)
• 1623 – Antonio Cesti, Italian composer (d. 1669)
• 1641 – John Hathorne, American merchant and magistrate (d. 1717)
• 1662 – James Anderson, Scottish historian (d. 1728)
• 1694 – Leonardo Leo, Italian composer (d. 1744)
• 1742 – Jean-Baptiste Krumpholz, Czech composer and harpist (d. 1790)
• 1749 – Thomas Lynch, Jr., American politician, signer of the United States Declaration of Independence (d. 1779)
• 1797 – Friedrich August Kummer, German composer (d. 1879)
• 1802 – Niels Henrik Abel, Norwegian mathematician (d. 1829)
• 1811 – Ambroise Thomas, French composer (d. 1896)
• 1813 – Ivar Aasen, Norwegian poet and linguist (d. 1896)
• 1815 – Edward John Eyre, English explorer (d. 1901)
• 1827 – Deodoro da Fonseca, Brazilian 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 composer (d. 1927)
• 1844 – Ilya Repin, Russian painter and sculptor (d. 1930)
• 1850 – Guy de Maupassant, French writer (d. 1893)
• 1862 – Joseph Merrick, English man with severe deformities (d. 1890)
• 1866 – Carl Harries, German chemist (d. 1923)
• 1866 – Harry Trott, Australian cricketer (d. 1917)
• 1868 – Oskar Merikanto, Finnish composer (d. 1924)
• 1872 – Oswaldo Cruz, Brazilian physician (d. 1917)
• 1874 – Wesley Clair Mitchell, American economist (d. 1948)
• 1876 – Mary Ritter Beard, American historian (d. 1958)
• 1877 – Tom Thomson, Canadian painter (d. 1917)
• 1879 – Wladimir Aïtoff, French rugby player (d. 1963)
• 1880 – Gertrude Rush, American lawyer (d. 1962)
• 1887 – Reginald Owen, English actor (d. 1972)
• 1888 – Victor Francen, Belgian-French actor (d. 1977)
• 1889 – Conrad Aiken, American writer (d. 1973)
• 1890 – Naum Gabo, Russian sculptor (d. 1977)
• 1890 – Erich Kleiber, Austrian conductor (d. 1956)
• 1897 – Aksel Larsen, Danish politician (d. 1972)
• 1901 – Claude Autant-Lara, French director (d. 2000)
• 1904 – Kenneth V. Thimann, English-American botanist and microbiologist (d. 1997)
• 1906 – Joan Hickson, English actress (d. 1998)
• 1906 – John Huston, American director (d. 1987)
• 1906 – Wassily Leontief, Russian economist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1999)
• 1908 – Harold Holt, Australian politician, 17th Prime Minister of Australia (d. 1967)
• 1910 – Bruno Coquatrix, French songwriter and manager (d. 1979)
• 1911 – Robert Taylor, American actor (d. 1969)
• 1912 – Abbé Pierre, French priest (d. 2007)
• 1914 – Parley Baer, American actor (d. 2002)
• 1914 – David Brian, American actor (d. 1993)
• 1914 – Stjepan Šulek, Croatian composer and conductor (d. 1986)
• 1918 – Tom Drake, American actor (d. 1982)
• 1918 – Betty Oliphant, Canadian ballerina (d. 2004)
• 1920 – Selma Diamond, Canadian-American actress (d. 1985)
• 1922 – L. Tom Perry, American religious figure, Quorum of the Twelve Apostles
• 1923 – Devan Nair, Singaporean politician, 3rd President of Singapore (d. 2005)
• 1926 – Betsy Jolas, French composer
• 1927 – Gunnar Bucht, Swedish composer and musicologist
• 1929 – Ottó Boros, Hungarian water polo player (d. 1988)
• 1930 – Neil Armstrong, American pilot, engineer, and astronaut, first person to walk on the moon (d. 2012)
• 1930 – Michal Kováč, Slovakian politician
• 1932 – Vladimir Fedoseyev, Russian conductor
• 1932 – Tera de Marez Oyens, Dutch composer (d. 1996)
• 1934 – Karl Johan Åström, Swedish engineer and theorist
• 1934 – Wendell Berry, American poet, writer, and farmer
• 1934 – Gay Byrne, Irish television host
• 1934 – Vern Gosdin, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2009)
• 1935 – Michael Ballhaus, German cinematographer
• 1935 – John Saxon, American actor
• 1937 – Herb Brooks, American ice hockey player and coach (d. 2003)
• 1937 – Brian G. Marsden, English astronomer (d. 2010)
• 1939 – Princess Irene of the Netherlands
• 1939 – Roger Clark, English race car driver (d. 1998)
• 1940 – Roman Gabriel, American football player
• 1940 – Rick Huxley, English bass player (The Dave Clark Five) (d. 2013)
• 1941 – Bob Clark, American director (d. 2007)
• 1941 – Leonid Kizim, Soviet astronaut (d. 2010)
• 1941 – Airto Moreira, Brazilian drummer and composer
• 1943 – Nelson Briles, American baseball player (d. 2005)
• 1943 – Sammi Smith, American singer-songwriter (d. 2005)
• 1945 – Csaba Giczy, Hungarian canoe racer
• 1945 – Loni Anderson, American actress
• 1946 – Bruce Coslet, American football player and coach
• 1946 – Ron Silliman, American poet
• 1946 – Erika Slezak, American actress
• 1946 – Rick van der Linden, Dutch keyboard player and composer (Ekseption and Trace) (d. 2006)
• 1947 – Angry Anderson, Australian singer-songwriter and actor (Rose Tattoo, The Party Boys, and Buster Brown)
• 1947 – Bernie Carbo, American baseball player
• 1947 – Rick Derringer, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (The McCoys)
• 1947 – Greg Leskiw, Canadian guitarist and songwriter (The Guess Who)
• 1948 – Ray Clemence, English footballer
• 1948 – Carole Laure, Canadian actress and singer
• 1950 – Goldie Rogers, Canadian wrestler (d. 2012)
• 1951 – John Jarratt, Australian actor
• 1952 – Tamás Faragó, Hungarian water polo player
• 1952 – Louis Walsh, Irish talent manager
• 1953 – Rick Mahler, American baseball player (d. 2005)
• 1953 – Samantha Sang, Australian singer
• 1955 – Eddie Ojeda, American guitarist and songwriter (Twisted Sister)
• 1956 – Jerry Ciccoritti, Canadian director
• 1956 – Maureen McCormick, American actress
• 1957 – Greg Feith, American Senior Air Safety Investigator
• 1957 – David Gill, English accountant and businessman
• 1957 – Faith Prince, American actress
• 1957 – Clayton Rohner, American actor
• 1959 – Pete Burns, English singer-songwriter, and author (Dead or Alive)
• 1959 – Pat Smear, American guitarist (Germs, Nirvana, Foo Fighters, and Adolescents)
• 1960 – Seth Swirsky, American singer-songwriter and director
• 1961 – Tawny Kitaen, American actress
• 1961 – Janet McTeer, English actress
• 1961 – Mark O'Connor, American violinist and composer
• 1961 – Athula Samarasekera, Sri Lankan cricketer
• 1962 – Patrick Ewing, Jamaican-American basketball player
• 1962 – Richard de Groen, New Zealand cricketer
• 1962 – Otis Thorpe, American basketball player
• 1963 – Steve Lee, Swiss singer-songwriter Gotthard (d. 2010)
• 1964 – Adam Yauch, American rapper, songwriter, and director (Beastie Boys) (d. 2012)
• 1965 – Jeff Coffin, American saxophonist and composer (Béla Fleck and the Flecktones)
• 1965 – Motoi Sakuraba, Japanese composer
• 1965 – Scott William Winters, American actor
• 1966 – Jennifer Finch, American singer, bass player, and photographer (L7)
• 1966 – Jonathan Silverman, American actor
• 1967 – Matthew Caws, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (Nada Surf)
• 1967 – Thomas Lang, Austrian drummer and producer (stOrk and Vienna Art Orchestra)
• 1968 – Terri Clark, Canadian singer-songwriter and guitarist
• 1968 – Funkmaster Flex, American rapper, producer, and radio host
• 1968 – Kendo Kashin, Japanese wrestler
• 1968 – Marine Le Pen, French politician
• 1968 – Oleh Luzhnyi, Ukrainian footballer
• 1968 – Colin McRae, Scottish race car driver (d. 2007)
• 1968 – John Olerud, American baseball player
• 1969 – Vasbert Drakes, Barbadian cricketer
• 1969 – Venkatesh Prasad, Indian cricketer
• 1969 – Robert Scott, Australian rower
• 1969 – Paola Volpato, Chilean actress
• 1970 – James Gunn, American director, screenwriter, producer, and actor
• 1971 – DJ Ajax, Australian DJ and producer (d. 2013)
• 1971 – Jared Hasselhoff, American bass player and songwriter (Bloodhound Gang)
• 1972 – Ikuto Hidaka, Japanese wrestler
• 1972 – Aaqib Javed, Pakistani cricketer
• 1972 – Theodore Whitmore, Jamaican footballer
• 1972 – Christian Olde Wolbers, Belgian musician, songwriter, and producer (Fear Factory, Arkaea, Kush, and Beowülf)
• 1973 – Sanwar Hossain, Bangladeshi cricketer
• 1973 – Sean Sherk, American mixed martial artist
• 1974 – Alvin Ceccoli, Australian footballer
• 1974 – Olle Kullinger, Swedish footballer
• 1974 – Antoine Sibierski, French footballer
• 1975 – Kajol, Indian actress
• 1975 – Antony Cotton, English actor
• 1975 – Ami Foster, American actress
• 1975 – Iddo Goldberg, Israeli-English actor
• 1975 – Haim Goldenberg, Israeli-Canadian mentalist
• 1975 – Dan Hipgrave, English guitarist and journalist (Toploader)
• 1975 – Eicca Toppinen, Finnish cellist, songwriter, and composer (Apocalyptica)
• 1976 – Jeff Friesen, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1976 – Marian Pahars, Latvian footballer
• 1976 – Kwon Sang-woo, South Korean actor
• 1977 – Eric Hinske, American baseball player
• 1977 – Soraya Jiménez, Mexican weightlifter (d. 2013)
• 1977 – Mark Mulder, American baseball player
• 1977 – Michael Walsh, English footballer
• 1978 – Rita Faltoyano, Hungarian porn actress
• 1978 – Kim Gevaert, Belgian sprinter
• 1978 – Nektaria Karantzi, Greek singer
• 1979 – David Healy, Irish footballer
• 1980 – Wayne Bridge, English footballer
• 1980 – Salvador Cabañas, Paraguayan footballer
• 1980 – Jason Culina, Australian footballer
• 1980 – Kaylani Lei, Singaporean porn actress
• 1980 – Vatsal Sheth, Indian actor
• 1980 – Ali Umar, Maldivian footballer
• 1980 – Sophie Winkleman, English actress
• 1981 – Zion, Puerto Rican singer (Zion & Lennox)
• 1981 – David Clarke, English ice hockey player
• 1981 – Carl Crawford, American baseball player
• 1981 – Maik Franz, German footballer
• 1981 – Erik Guay, Canadian skier
• 1981 – Alester Maregwede, Zimbabwean cricketer
• 1981 – Rachel Scott, American student, victim of the Columbine High School massacre and inspiration for the Rachel's Challenge (d. 1999)
• 1981 – Kou Shibasaki, Japanese singer and actress
• 1981 – Cory Williams, American comedian and actor
• 1982 – Jamie Houston, English-German rugby player
• 1982 – Lolo Jones, American hurdler
• 1982 – Michele Pazienza, Italian footballer
• 1982 – Tobias Regner, German singer-songwriter
• 1982 – Pete Sell, American mixed martial artist
• 1982 – Ryu Seung-Min, South Korean table tennis player
• 1983 – Korey Hall, American football player
• 1983 – Dawn Richard, American singer-songwriter and dancer (Danity Kane and Diddy – Dirty Money)
• 1985 – Laurent Ciman, Belgian footballer
• 1985 – Megan Joy, American singer-songwriter and actress
• 1985 – Salomon Kalou, Ivorian footballer
• 1986 – Paula Creamer, American golfer
• 1986 – Cassie Davis, Australian singer-songwriter and producer
• 1986 – Brendan Ryan Barrett, American actor
• 1987 – Lexi Belle, American porn actress
• 1987 – Genelia D'Souza, Indian actress
• 1987 – Xenia Tchoumitcheva, Swiss model and actress
• 1988 – Federica Pellegrini, Italian swimmer
• 1988 – Michael Jamieson, Scottish/British swimmer
• 1988 – Kendra Spears, American model
• 1989 – Mathieu Manset, French footballer
• 1991 – Esteban Gutierrez, Mexican Formula 1 Racing Driver
• 1993 – Patrick McBrearty, Irish Gaelic footballer
• 1993 – Suzuka Ohgo, Japanese actress
• 1997 – Olivia Holt, American actress
• 1997 – Adam Irigoyen, American actor and dancer
• 1998 – Kanon Suzuki, Japanese singer (Morning Musume)
• 2000 – Maya Bond, Japanese-American singer-songwriter and drummer

Deaths

• 882 – Louis III of France (b. 863)
• 1063 – Gruffydd ap Llywelyn, Welsh ruler, King of Gwynedd (b. 1007)
• 1364 – Emperor Kōgon of Japan (b. 1313)
• 1579 – Stanislaus Hosius, Polish cardinal (b. 1504)
• 1610 – Alonso García de Ramón, Spanish soldier, Royal Governor of Chile (b. 1552)
• 1633 – George Abbot, English Archbishop of Canterbury (b. 1562)
• 1678 – Juan García de Zéspedes, Mexican tenor and composer (b. 1619)
• 1729 – Thomas Newcomen, English engineer, invented the Newcomen steam engine (b. 1664)
• 1743 – John Hervey, 2nd Baron Hervey, English statesman and writer (b. 1696)
• 1778 – Charles Clémencet, French historian (b. 1703)
• 1792 – Frederick North, Lord North, English politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (b. 1732)
• 1799 – Richard Howe, 1st Earl Howe, English navy admiral (b. 1726)
• 1868 – Jacques Boucher de Crèvecœur de Perthes, French archaeologist (b. 1788)
• 1877 – Gustav, Prince of Vasa (b. 1799)
• 1880 – Ferdinand Ritter von Hebra, Austrian physician (b. 1816)
• 1888 – Anna Bates, Canadian giant (b. 1846)
• 1895 – Friedrich Engels, German philosopher (b. 1820)
• 1901 – Victoria, Princess Royal, English daughter of Queen Victoria (b. 1840)
• 1911 – Bob Caruthers, American baseball player (b. 1864)
• 1921 – Dimitrios Rallis, Greek politician, Prime Minister of Greece (b. 1844)
• 1923 – Vatroslav Jagić, Croatian linguist (b. 1835)
• 1925 – Jennie Lee, American actress (b. 1848)
• 1929 – Millicent Fawcett, English activist (b. 1847)
• 1935 – David Townsend, American art director (b. 1891)
• 1939 – Béla Jankovich, Hungarian politician (b. 1865)
• 1944 – Maurice Turnbull, English cricketer (b. 1906)
• 1946 – Wilhelm Marx, German lawyer and politician, 17th Chancellor of Germany (b. 1863)
• 1948 – Montagu Toller, English cricket player (b. 1871)
• 1952 – Sameera Moussa, Egyptian scientist (b. 1917)
• 1955 – Carmen Miranda, Portuguese actress and singer (b. 1909)
• 1957 – Heinrich Otto Wieland, German chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1877)
• 1959 – Edgar Guest, English poet (b. 1881)
• 1960 – Arthur Meighen, Canadian politician, 9th Prime Minister of Canada (b. 1874)
• 1962 – Marilyn Monroe, American actress (b. 1926)
• 1963 – Salvador Bacarisse, Spanish composer (b. 1898)
• 1964 – Art Ross, Canadian ice hockey player and executive (b. 1886)
• 1967 – György Bródy, Hungarian water polo player (b. 1908)
• 1968 – Luther Perkins American guitarist (The Tennessee Three) (b. 1928)
• 1978 – Jesse Haines, American baseball player (b. 1893)
• 1980 – Harold L. Runnels, American politician (b. 1924)
• 1983 – Judy Canova, American actress (b. 1913)
• 1983 – Joan Robinson, English economist (b. 1903)
• 1984 – Richard Burton, Welsh actor (b. 1925)
• 1985 – Arnold Horween, Harvard Crimson and NFL football player (b. 1898)
• 1987 – Georg Gaßmann, German politician (b. 1910)
• 1991 – Paul Brown, American football coach (b. 1908)
• 1991 – Soichiro Honda, Japanese engineer and businessman, founded Honda (b. 1906)
• 1992 – Jeff Porcaro, American drummer, songwriter, and producer (Toto and Clover) (b. 1954)
• 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 dictator (b. 1911)
• 2000 – Otto Buchsbaum, Austrian-Brazilian writer and activist (b. 1920)
• 2000 – Tullio Crali, Italian artist (b. 1910)
• 2000 – Alec Guinness, English actor (b. 1914)
• 2001 – Otema Allimadi, Ugandan politician, Prime Minister of Uganda (b. 1929)
• 2001 – Christopher Skase, Australian businessman (b. 1948)
• 2002 – Josh Ryan Evans, American actor (b. 1982)
• 2002 – Chick Hearn, American sportscaster (b. 1916)
• 2002 – Franco Lucentini, Italian writer (b. 1920)
• 2002 – Matt Robinson, American actor (b. 1937)
• 2005 – Polina Astakhova, Russian gymnast (b. 1936)
• 2005 – Jim O'Hora, American football coach (b. 1915)
• 2005 – Raul Roco, Filipino politician (b. 1941)
• 2006 – Susan Butcher, American sled dog racer (b. 1954)
• 2007 – Jean-Marie Lustiger, French cardinal (b. 1926)
• 2007 – Florian Pittiș, Romanian actor, singer, director, and producer (b. 1943)
• 2008 – Neil Bartlett, English chemist (b. 1932)
• 2008 – Reg Lindsay, Australian singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (b. 1929)
• 2009 – Budd Schulberg, American screenwriter and novelist (b. 1914)
• 2011 – Andrzej Lepper, Polish politician Deputy Prime Minister of Poland (b. 1954)
• 2011 – Aziz Shavershian, Australian bodybuilder and model (b. 1989)
• 2012 – Erwin Axer, Polish director and writer (b. 1917)
• 2012 – Sister Boom Boom, American drag queen performer and activist (b. 1955)
• 2012 – Michel Daerden, Belgian 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 – Kirk Urso, American soccer player (b. 1990)
• 2012 – Chavela Vargas, Costa Rican singer (b. 1919)
• 2012 – Roland Charles Wagner, French author (b. 1960)
• 2012 – Péter Zwack, Hungarian businessman and diplomat (b. 1927)

Holidays and observances

• Barsi Bhagat Puran Singh (Sikhism)
• Christian Feast Day:
  • Abel of Reims
  • Addai
  • Afra
  • Cassian of Autun
  • Dedication of Saint Mary Major (Catholic Church)
  • Emygdius
  • Memnius
  • Oswald of Northumbria
  • August 5 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)

• Independence Day, celebrates the independence of Burkina Faso from France in 1960.
• International Beer Day
• The beginning of Bogotá's Carnival (Bogotá)
• 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
• On This Day in Canada

---