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This day in history

This day in history: 5 August

Events, births and deaths on this date, ordered by how many people look them up.

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Born on this day · Died on this day236 · 116

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Key facts

430 historical events, births and deaths are listed for 5 August.
Entries come from Wikipedia’s day pages and are ordered by page views.
2024: Following the non-cooperation movement against the government of Bangladesh, Bangladeshi prime minister Sheikh Hasina resigns and flees the country, ending her rule of 15 consecutive years and a total of almost two decades. The date is also

Holidays and observances

Christian feast day: Abel of Reims

Christian feast day: Addai

Christian feast day: Afra

Christian feast day: August 5 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)

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

Christian feast day: Nonna of Nazianzus

Christian feast day: Oswald of Northumbria

Independence Day (Burkina Faso)

Events

2024Following the non-cooperation movement against the government of Bangladesh, Bangladeshi prime minister Sheikh Hasina resigns and flees the country, ending her rule of 15 consecutive years and a total of almost two decades. The date is also

2021Australia's second most populous state Victoria enters its sixth COVID-19 lockdown, enacting stage four restrictions statewide in reaction to six new COVID-19 cases recorded that morning.

2019The revocation of the special status of Jammu and Kashmir (state) occurred and the state was bifurcated into two union territories (Jammu and Kashmir (union territory) and Ladakh).

2015The 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.

2012The Wisconsin Sikh temple shooting took place in Oak Creek, Wisconsin, killing six victims; the perpetrator committed suicide after being wounded by police.

2010Ten members of International Assistance Mission Nuristan Eye Camp team are killed by persons unknown in Kuran wa Munjan District of Badakhshan Province, Afghanistan.

2010The Copiapó mining accident occurs, trapping 33 Chilean miners approximately 2,300 ft (700 m) below the ground for 69 days.

2008The New England Revolution win the 2008 North American SuperLiga final against the Houston Dynamo.

2003A car bomb explodes in the Indonesian capital of Jakarta outside the Marriott Hotel killing 12 and injuring 150.

1995Yugoslav Wars: The city of Knin, Croatia, a significant Serb stronghold, is taken by Croatian forces during Operation Storm. The date is celebrated in Croatia as Victory Day.

1984A Biman Bangladesh Airlines Fokker F27 Friendship crashes on approach to Zia International Airport, in Dhaka, Bangladesh, killing all 49 people on board.

1981President Ronald Reagan fires 11,359 striking air-traffic controllers who ignored his order for them to return to work.

1979In Afghanistan, Maoists undertake the Bala Hissar uprising against the Leninist government.

1974Watergate scandal: President Richard Nixon, under orders of the US Supreme Court, releases the "Smoking Gun" tape, recorded on June 23, 1972, clearly revealing his actions in covering up and interfering investigations into the break-in. His

1973Mars 6 is launched from the USSR.

1971The 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.

1969The Lonesome Cowboys police raid occurs in Atlanta, Georgia, leading to the creation of the Georgia Gay Liberation Front.

1966A group of red guards at Experimental High in Beijing, including Deng Rong and Liu Pingping, daughters of Deng Xiaoping and Liu Shaoqi respectively, beat the deputy vice principal, Bian Zhongyun, to death with sticks after accusing her of c

1965The Indo-Pakistani war of 1965 begins as Pakistani soldiers cross the Line of Control dressed as locals.

1964Vietnam 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.

1963Cold War: The United States, the United Kingdom, and the Soviet Union sign the Partial Nuclear Test Ban Treaty.

1962American actress Marilyn Monroe is found dead at her home from a drug overdose.

1962Apartheid: Nelson Mandela is jailed. He would not be released until 1990.

1960Burkina Faso, then known as Upper Volta, becomes independent from France.

1957American 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.

1949In Ecuador, an earthquake destroys 50 towns and kills more than 6,000.

1949In Montana, 12 smokejumper firefighters and a US Forest Service fire guard are killed in the Mann Gulch Fire.

1944World 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.

1944World War II: Polish insurgents liberate a German labor camp (Gęsiówka) in Warsaw, freeing 348 Jewish prisoners.

1944World War II: The Nazis begin a week-long massacre of between 40,000 and 50,000 civilians and prisoners of war in Wola, Poland.

1940World War II: The Soviet Union formally annexes Latvia.

1939The Thirteen Roses: Thirteen female members of the Unified Socialist Youth are executed by Francoist forces in Madrid, Spain.

1931Judge and Nazi Party member Werner Best drafts the Boxheim Documents, which described a violent takeover of the government by the NSDAP.

1926Harry Houdini performs his greatest feat, spending 91 minutes underwater in a sealed tank before escaping.

1925Plaid Cymru is formed with the aim of disseminating knowledge of the Welsh language that is at the time in danger of dying out.

1916World 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

1914In Cleveland, Ohio, the first electric traffic light is installed.

1914World 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.

1914World 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

1906Persian Constitutional Revolution: Mozaffar ad-Din Shah Qajar, King of Iran, agrees to convert the government to a constitutional monarchy.

Born on this day

2008Hudson Meek, American actor (died 2024)

2004Gavi, Spanish footballer

2003Toni Shaw, British Paralympic swimmer

2001Anthony Edwards, American basketball player

2000Tom Gilbert, Australian rugby league player

1999Kim Si-hyeon, South Korean singer

1998Adam Doueihi, Australian-Lebanese rugby league player

1997Jack Cogger, Australian rugby league player

1997Olivia Holt, American actress and singer

1997Wang Yibo, Chinese dancer, singer and actor

1997Yungblud, English musician and actor

1996Cho Seung-youn, South Korean singer-songwriter and rapper

1996Takakeishō Mitsunobu, Japanese sumo wrestler

1995Pierre-Emile Højbjerg, Danish footballer

1994Natalia García, Spanish rhythmic gymnast

1991Andreas Weimann, Austrian footballer

1991Daniëlle van de Donk, Dutch footballer

1991Esteban Gutiérrez, Mexican race car driver

1991Konrad Hurrell, Tongan rugby league player

1991Wi Ha-joon, South Korean actor

1989Mathieu Manset, French footballer

1989Ryan Bertrand, English footballer

1988Federica Pellegrini, Italian swimmer

1988Michael Jamieson, Scottish-English swimmer

1987Orce Gjorgjievski, Macedonian politician

1986Kathrin Zettel, Austrian skier

1986Paula Creamer, American golfer

1985Erkan Zengin, Swedish footballer

1985Gil Vermouth, Israeli footballer

1985Laurent Ciman, Belgian footballer

1985Salomon Kalou, Ivorian footballer

1984Steve Matai, New Zealand rugby league player

1982Jamie Houston, English-German rugby player

1982Jeff Robson, Australian rugby league player

1982Lolo Jones, American hurdler

1982Michele Pazienza, Italian footballer

1982Pete Sell, American mixed martial artist

1981Anna Rawson, Australian golfer

1981Carl Crawford, American baseball player

1981David Clarke, English ice hockey player

Died on this day

2025Col Joye, Australian singer-songwriter and guitarist (born 1937)

2022Ali Haydar, Syrian army officer (born 1932)

2022Cherie Gil, Filipino actress (born 1963)

2022Dillon Quirke, Irish hurler (born 1998)

2022Issey Miyake, Japanese fashion designer (born 1938)

2022Judith Durham, Australian singer-songwriter (born 1943)

2020Hawa Abdi, Somali human rights activist and physician (born 1947)

2019Toni Morrison, American author, Pulitzer Prize winner, and Nobel laureate (born 1931).

2018Alan Rabinowitz, American zoologist (born 1953)

2015Arthur Walter James, English journalist and politician (born 1912)

2015Tony Millington, Welsh footballer (born 1943)

2014Chapman Pincher, Indian-English historian, journalist, and author (born 1914)

2014Harold J. Greene, American general (born 1962)

2014Jesse Leonard Steinfeld, American physician and academic, 11th Surgeon General of the United States (born 1927)

2014Vladimir Orlov, Russian author (born 1936)

2013May Song Vang, American activist (born 1951)

2013Rob Wyda, American commander and judge (born 1959)

2013Roy Rubin, American basketball player and coach (born 1925)

2013Ruth Asawa, American sculptor and educator (born 1926)

2013Shawn Burr, Canadian-American ice hockey player (born 1966)

2013Willie Dunn, Canadian singer-songwriter and producer (born 1942)

2012Chavela Vargas, Costa Rican-Mexican singer-songwriter and actress (born 1919)

2012Erwin Axer, Polish director and screenwriter (born 1917)

2012Fred Matua, American football player (born 1984)

2012Martin E. Segal, Russian-American businessman, co-founded Film Society of Lincoln Center (born 1916)

2012Michel Daerden, Belgian lawyer and politician (born 1949)

2012Roland Charles Wagner, French author and translator (born 1960)

2011Andrzej Lepper, Polish farmer and politician, Deputy Prime Minister of Poland (born 1954)

2011Aziz Shavershian, Australian bodybuilder (born 1989)

2009Budd Schulberg, American author, screenwriter, and producer (born 1914)

Quote of the day

“Peace comes from within. Do not seek it without.”

attributed to the Buddha

Questions people ask

Where do the entries come from?

From Wikipedia’s on-this-day pages for this language, updated once a day and ordered by how often each article is read.

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