Today In History - August 5

1264 Anti-Jewish riots break out in Arnstadt, Germany
1772 The first partition of Poland: Austria, Prussia, and Russia
1775 The first Spanish ship, the San Carlos, enters San Francisco Bay
1837 The first ascent of Mt Marcy (5,344') is made
1846 Oregon country divided between the US and Britain at the 49th parallel
1858 Cyrus W. Field completes first transatlantic telegraph cable
1861 The US Army abolishes flogging
1861 The US levies its first Income Tax (3% of incomes over $800)
1864 Spectrum of a comet is observed for first time by Giovanni Donati
1864 Battle of Mobile Bay, Alabama: Admiral Farragut shouts "Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead!"
1884 The cornerstone for the Statue of Liberty is laid on Bedloe's Island (NYC)
1901 Peter O'Connor of Ireland sets a long jump record at 24' 11-3/4"
1914 The first electric traffic light is installed in Cleveland
1914 The US and Nicaragua sign a treaty granting canal rights to US
1921 The first radio baseball broadcast on KDKA
1923 The first American swims the English Channel: Henry Sullivan
1924 The comic strip "Little Orphan Annie," by Harold Gray, debuts
1926 Houdini stays in a coffin under water for over an hour
1936 At Berlin Olympics, Jesse Owens wins his 3rd Olympic medal
1945 The Atom Bomb is dropped on Hiroshima (It was on August 6th in Japan – one day later than in the US)
1953 Operation "Big Switch" – the Korean War prisoner exchange
1957 The hit TV series "American Bandstand," goes on network TV (ABC)
1962 The first quasar is located by radio
1962 Marilyn Monroe is found dead of an apparent self-inflicted drug overdose
1962 Nelson Mandela is arrested for incitement and illegally leaving S Africa
1963 Britain, the US, and the USSR sign a nuclear test ban treaty
1963 Craig Breedlove sets a new world auto speed record at 407.45 MPH
1964 Actress Anne Bancroft and comedian/writer Mel Brooks wed
1964 The US begins the bombing of North Vietnam
1966 Martin Luther King, Jr. is stoned during a Chicago march
1966 Beatles release "Yellow Submarine" and "Eleanor Rigby" in the UK
1967 Bobby Gentry releases her one and only hit "Ode to Billy Joe"
1969 The Mariner 7 flies past Mars
1972 The Moody Blues release "Nights in White Satin"
1973 The USSR launches the Mars 6
1974 Joan Jett forms her rock group the "Runaways"
1981 President Regan fires 11,500 striking air traffic controllers
1984 Joan Benoit (of the US) wins the first Olympic marathon for women
1984 Lou Pinella day at Yankee Stadium
1985 Professional baseball players go on strike for 2 days
1988 Mario Biaggi (Rep-D-New York) after being convicted of racketeering, resigns his seat

Today In History - August 5

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