Date Name Location / Topic
Aug5Friday

Homeland Thanksgiving Day

Aug5Friday

The Day of Our Lady of Africa

Spain (Ceuta)
Aug5Friday

National Underwear Day

Aug5Friday

National Work Like A Dog Day

Aug5Friday

National Oyster Day

Aug5Friday

International Beer Day

Aug5Friday

Celebrations of San Salvador

Aug5Friday

National Day

Aug5Friday

Umuganura Day

Aug5Friday

Constitution Day

Aug5Friday

Varalakshmi Vrat

Historical Events on August 5

  • 25 AD: After the end of the Xin Dynasty, Guangwu becomes emperor and restores the Han Dynasty.
  • 135 AD: Roman armies slaughter thousand in Betar as they try to end the Kokhba Revolt.
  • 642: Penda of Mercia defeats Oswald of Northumbria during the Battle of Masefield.
  • 1068: A siege of Bari by Italo-Normans occurs during the Byzantine Norman Wars.
  • 1100: Henry I becomes King of England.
  • 1860: Charles XV is crowned king of Norway in Trondheim.
  • 1861: The U.S government levies the first income tax to help pay for the American Civil War.
  • 1862: Confederate troops attempt to take Baton Rouge, Louisiana but are driven out by Union gunboats.
  • 1864: The Battle of Mobile Bay begins in Mobile, Alabama.
  • 1884: The Statue of Liberty’s cornerstone is laid on Bedloe’s Island in New York Harbor.
  • 1914: The German mine-layer the SS Königin Luise is sunk by the British cruise the HMS Amphion.
  • 1914: The first electric traffic light is installed in Cleveland, Ohio.
  • 1926: Harry Houdini spends 91 minutes in an underwater sealed tank before escaping.
  • 1940: The Soviet Union annexes Latvia.
  • 1941: The Battle of Smolensk ends with Germany capturing 300,000 Soviet soldiers.
  • 1944: Over 1100 Japanese prisoners-of-war in Australia attempt to escape from a camp in Cowra, New South Wales.
  • 1944: Over 340 Jewish prisoners are freed when Polish insurgents liberate a German labor camp in Warsaw, Poland.
  • 1981:S President Ronald Reagan fires over 11,000 air traffic controllers who had been on strike for ignoring his orders for them to return back to their jobs.

Famous Birthdays on August 5

  • American lawyer and author David Baldacci is born in 1960.
  • English actress Janet McTeer is born in 1961.
  • Sri-Lankan cricketer and coach Athula Samarasekera is born in 1961.
  • American singer-songwriter Tim Wilson is born in 1961.
  • American baseball player and coach Eric Hinske is born in 1977.
  • English footballer Michael Walsh is born in 1977.
  • American baseball player Carl Crawford is born in 1981.