On August 5th...

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1583 Humphrey Gilbert claimed Newfoundland for England.

1604 John Eliot, missionary to the Indians, was baptized.

1729 Inventor Thomas Newcomen died.

1763 British forces led by Henry Bouquet defeated Chief Pontiac's Indians at Bushy Run.

1792 King Louis XVI of France formally accepted the authority of the National Assembly.

1819 U.S. Congressman Preston S. Brooks was born.

1846 Oregon Territory was divided between the United States and the United Kingdom at the 49th Parallel.

1850 Writer Guy de Maupassant was born.

1858 The Atlantic Cable was completed.
1858 French chef Alexis Benoît Soyer died.

1861 The United States levied its first income tax.

1864 Union forces won the Battle of Mobile Bay.

1867 Union General Philip Henry Sheridan died.

1882 Standard Oil of New Jersey was established.

1875 Cartoonist Clare A. Briggs was born.

1891 American Express issued the world's first traveler's cheques.

1895 Friedrich Engels, author of The Communist Manifesto, died.

1906 Film director John Huston was born.

1914 Cleveland, Ohio, became the first U.S. city to have traffic lights.
1914 The United States and Nicaragua signed a treaty granting the U.S. rights to build a canal.

1921 The first ever radio coverage of a major league baseball game was provided by KDKA of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

1924 The comic strip "Little Orphan Annie" debuted.

1930 Astronaut Neil Armstrong was born.

1943 The Women's Airforce Service Pilots (WASP) were organized.

1946 Actress Loni Anderson was born.

1947 Rock musician Rick Derringer was born.

1955 Dancer Carmen Miranda died.

1956 Actress Maureen McCormick was born.

1957 "American Bandstand" premiered on ABC-TV.
1957 The comic strip "Andy Capp" debuted.

1960 Upper Volta gained independence from France.

1961 The Minnesota Vikings played their first game.

1962 Basketball player Patrick Ewing was born.
1962 Actress Marilyn Monroe died.

1967 Bobby Gentry released "Ode to Billy Joe."

1972 The Moody Blues released "Nights in White Satin."

1984 Actor Richard Burton died.

1991 Soichiro Honda, founder of the Honda Motor Company, died.

2000 Actor Alec Guinness died.

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This page was last updated on August 04, 2018.