36 events · 20 births · 20 deaths · 8 observances. From 1506 to 2025.
Standout on August 5
Australia'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.
August 5 is the 217th day of the year. These facts are computed from the calendar, not copied from anywhere.
A dated happening — a battle, treaty, launch, discovery, disaster or decision — recorded on this calendar day.
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 known as 36 July.
Australia'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.
The 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).
United States Environmental Protection Agency personnel accidentally caused a spillage (aftermath pictured) of 3 million gallons (11 million litres) of mine waste water and tailings trapped inside the Gold King Mine near Silverton, Colorado.
The 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.
The Wisconsin Sikh temple shooting took place in Oak Creek, Wisconsin, killing six victims; the perpetrator committed suicide after being wounded by police.
Radio Network House (pictured), damaged in the 2011 Christchurch earthquake, becomes the first building to be demolished by implosion in New Zealand.
An American white supremacist carried out a mass shooting at a Sikh temple in Oak Creek, Wisconsin, killing six people and wounding four others.
NASA launched the Juno probe to Jupiter as part of the New Frontiers program.
The Copiapó mining accident occurs, trapping 33 Chilean miners approximately 2,300 ft (700 m) below the ground for 69 days.
Ten members of International Assistance Mission Nuristan Eye Camp team are killed by persons unknown in Kuran wa Munjan District of Badakhshan Province, Afghanistan.
The New England Revolution win the 2008 North American SuperLiga final against the Houston Dynamo.
A car bomb explodes in the Indonesian capital of Jakarta outside the Marriott Hotel killing 12 and injuring 150.
Yugoslav 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.
Wizards of the Coast released Magic: The Gathering, the first trading card game.
A Biman Bangladesh Airlines aircraft crashed while attempting to land in Dhaka, killing 49 people in the deadliest aviation accident in Bangladeshi history.
U.S. president Ronald Reagan fired the 11,345 striking members of the Professional Air Traffic Controllers Organization en masse.
In Afghanistan, Maoists undertake the Bala Hissar uprising against the Leninist government.
Watergate 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 political support vanishes completely.
Mars 6 is launched from the USSR.
Due to an athletics scandal, the National Collegiate Athletic Association applied the death penalty to the basketball program at the University of Southwestern Louisiana.
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.
Police raided a screening of the film Lonesome Cowboys in Atlanta, Georgia, leading to the creation of a Gay Liberation Front in that city.
A 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 counter-revolutionary revisionism, producing one of the first fatalities of the Cultural Revolution.
The Indo-Pakistani war of 1965 begins as Pakistani soldiers cross the Line of Control dressed as locals.
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.
American actress and model Marilyn Monroe was found dead of a barbiturate overdose in her home in Brentwood, Los Angeles.
An earthquake registering 6.4 Ms struck near Ambato, Ecuador, killing 5,050 people.
First World War: The British Empire's Sinai and Palestine campaign began with a victory at the Battle of Romani.
Bertha Benz made the first long-distance automobile trip, driving 106 km (66 mi) from Mannheim to Pforzheim, Germany, in a Benz Patent-Motorwagen.
Sir John Barrow, secretary at the Admiralty, rejected a proposal to use Francis Ronalds's electrical telegraph, deeming it "wholly unnecessary".
Russia, Prussia and Habsburg Austria began the First Partition of Poland, with the primary motive to restore the regional balance of power in Eastern Europe.
Austro-Turkish War: The Ottoman army were defeated in their attempt to capture the Habsburg-controlled Petrovaradin Fortress despite having twice the number of soldiers.
Beaver Wars: Aggravated by increased French incursions into their territory, a large force of Mohawk warriors substantially destroyed the settlement of Lachine in present-day Quebec.
Scottish nobleman John Ruthven, 3rd Earl of Gowrie, was killed during what was most likely a failed attempt to kidnap King James VI.
Muscovite–Lithuanian Wars: The Grand Duchy of Lithuania achieved one of the greatest Lithuanian victories against the Tatars at the Battle of Kletsk.
A notable person born on this day. Each links to a person page with their dates and story.
A notable person who died on this day.
Toni Morrison, American author, Pulitzer Prize winner, and Nobel laureate (born 1931).
Chapman Pincher, Indian-English historian, journalist, and author (born 1914)
Jesse Leonard Steinfeld, American physician and academic, 11th Surgeon General of the United States (born 1927)
A holiday, feast day, awareness day or national day observed every year on this date.
Christian feast day: Abel of Reims
Christian feast day: Afra
Christian feast day: Addai
Christian feast day: Emygdius
Christian feast day: Memnius
Christian feast day: Dedication of the Basilica of St Mary Major (Catholic Church)
Christian feast day: Cassian of Autun
Christian feast day: Margaret the Barefooted
Earliest: Muscovite–Lithuanian Wars (1506). Most recent: Col Joye (2025).
August 5 is the 217th day of the year, with 148 days left after it.
August 5 falls under Leo (July 23 – August 22), a fire sign ruled by Sun. The birthstone for the month is Peridot or Spinel or Sardonyx.
We record 84 entries for August 5: 36 events · 20 births · 20 deaths · 8 observances. From 1506 to 2025.
Hudson Meek (2008) is among the notable births on August 5. The births section lists the rest.
The day is filled the first time anyone opens it and then re-checked for new entries about every 90 days. Computed facts such as the weekday and the anniversaries update every year.
One short email a day from this calendar. Kept for this site only.
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