August 5

Events

AD 25 – Guangwu claims the throne as emperor, restoring the Han dynasty after the collapse of the short-lived Xin dynasty.

135 – Roman armies capture Betar, brutally slaughtering thousands and effectively ending the bar Kokhba revolt.

642 – Battle of Maserfield: Penda of Mercia defeats and kills Oswald of Northumbria.

910 – The last major Danish army to raid England is defeated at the Battle of Tettenhall by the allied forces of Mercia and Wessex, led by King Edward the Elder and Æthelred, Lord of the Mercians.

939 – The Battle of Alhandic is fought between Ramiro II of León and Abd-ar-Rahman III at Zamora in the context of the Spanish Reconquista. The battle resulted in a victory for the Emirate of Córdoba.

1068 – Byzantine–Norman wars: Italo-Normans begin a nearly-three-year siege of Bari.

1100 – Henry I is crowned King of England in Westminster Abbey.

1278 – The Siege of Algeciras ends in the context of the Spanish Reconquista pitting the forces of the Kingdom of Castile against the Emirate of Granada. The battle resulted in a Granadan victory.

1305 – William Wallace, who led the Scottish resistance against England, is captured by the English near Glasgow and transported to London where he is put on trial and executed.

1388 – The Battle of Otterburn, a border skirmish between the Scottish and the English in Northern England, is fought near Otterburn.

1583 – Sir Humphrey Gilbert establishes the first English colony in North America, at what is now St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador.

1600 – The Gowrie Conspiracy against King James VI of Scotland (later to become King James I of England) takes place.

1620 – The Mayflower departs from Southampton, England on its first attempt to reach North America.

1689 – One thousand five hundred Iroquois attack the village of Lachine in New France.

1716 – The Battle of Petrovaradin takes place.

1735 – Freedom of the press: New York Weekly Journal writer John Peter Zenger is acquitted of seditious libel against the royal governor of New York, on the basis that what he had published was true.

1763 – Pontiac's War: Battle of Bushy Run: British forces led by Henry Bouquet defeat Chief Pontiac's Indians at Bushy Run.

1772 – The First Partition of Poland begins.

1781 – The Battle of Dogger Bank takes place.

1796 – The Battle of Castiglione in Napoleon's first Italian campaigns of the French Revolutionary Wars.

1816 – The British Admiralty dismisses Francis Ronalds's new invention of the first working electric telegraph as "wholly unnecessary", preferring to continue using the semaphore.

1824 – Greek War of Independence: Constantine Kanaris leads a Greek fleet to victory against Ottoman and Egyptian naval forces in the Battle of Samos.

1858 – Cyrus West Field and others complete the first transatlantic telegraph cable after several unsuccessful attempts. It will operate for less than a month.

1860 – Charles XV of Sweden of Sweden-Norway is crowned king of Norway in Trondheim.

1861 – American Civil War: In order to help pay for the war effort, the United States government levies the first income tax as part of the Revenue Act of 1861 (3% of all incomes over US $800; rescinded in 1872).

1861 – The United States Army abolishes flogging.

1862 – American Civil War: Battle of Baton Rouge: Along the Mississippi River near Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Confederate troops attempt to take the city, but are driven back by fire from Union gunboats.

1864 – American Civil War: The Battle of Mobile Bay begins at Mobile Bay near Mobile, Alabama, Admiral David Farragut leads a Union flotilla through Confederate defenses and seals one of the last major Southern ports.

1874 – Japan launches its postal savings system, modeled after a similar system in the United Kingdom.

1882 – The Standard Oil of New Jersey is established.

1884 – The cornerstone for the Statue of Liberty is laid on Bedloe's Island (now Liberty Island) in New York Harbor.

1888 – Bertha Benz drives from Mannheim to Pforzheim and back in the first long distance automobile trip, commemorated as the Bertha Benz Memorial Route since 2008.

1901 – Peter O'Connor sets the first IAAF recognised long jump world record of 24 ft 11.75 in (7.6137 m). The record will stand for 20 years.

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

1914 – World 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.

1914 – World 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 war and she is detained; this is said to be the first Allied shot of the War.

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

1916 – World 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 from the Sinai Peninsula.

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

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

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

1941 – World War II: The Battle of Smolensk concludes with Germany capturing about 300,000 Soviet Red Army prisoners.

1944 – World 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 killed, commit suicide, or are recaptured.

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

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

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

1957 – American 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.

1958 – Herbert Hoover eclipses John Adams as having the longest retirement of any former U.S President until that time. Hoover would live another six years, his record 31 years 7 months 16 days retirement has since been eclipsed by Jimmy Carter.

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

1962 – Apartheid in South Africa: Nelson Mandela is jailed. He would not be released until 1990.

1963 – The United States, the United Kingdom, and the Soviet Union sign a nuclear test ban treaty.

1964 – 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.

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

1971 – 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.

1974 – Vietnam War: The U.S. Congress places a $1 billion limit on military aid to South Vietnam.

1979 – In Afghanistan, Maoists undertake an attempted military uprising.

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

1989 – General elections are held in Nicaragua with the Sandinista National Liberation Front winning a majority.

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

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

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

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

2012 – The Oak Creek shooting took place at a Sikh temple in Oak Creek, Wisconsin, killing six people; the perpetrator was shot dead by police.

2015 – The Environmental Protection Agency at Gold King Mine waste water spill releases 3 million gallons of heavy metal toxin tailings and waste water into the Animas River in Colorado.

Births

79 BC – Tullia, Roman daughter of Cicero (d. 45 BC)

1301 – Edmund of Woodstock, 1st Earl of Kent, English politician, Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports (d. 1330)

1397 – Guillaume Dufay, Belgian-Italian composer and theorist (d. 1474)

1461 – Alexander Jagiellon, Polish king (d. 1506)

1540 – Joseph Justus Scaliger, French philologist and historian (d. 1609)

1623 – Antonio Cesti, Italian organist and composer (d. 1669)

1641 – John Hathorne, American merchant and jurist (d. 1717)

1662 – James Anderson, Scottish lawyer and historian (d. 1728)

1694 – Leonardo Leo, Italian composer (d. 1744)

1749 – Thomas Lynch, Jr., American commander and politician (d. 1779)

1797 – Friedrich August Kummer, German cellist and composer (d. 1879)

1802 – Niels Henrik Abel, Norwegian mathematician and theorist (d. 1829)

1811 – Ambroise Thomas, French composer (d. 1896)

1813 – Ivar Aasen, Norwegian poet and linguist (d. 1896)

1815 – Edward John Eyre, English explorer and politician, Governor of Jamaica (d. 1901)

1827 – Deodoro da Fonseca, Brazilian field marshal and politician, 1st President of Brazil (d. 1892)

1828 – Louise of the Netherlands (d. 1871)

1833 – Carola of Vasa (d. 1907)

1843 – James Scott Skinner, Scottish violinist and composer (d. 1927)

1844 – Ilya Repin, Russian painter and sculptor (d. 1930)

1850 – Guy de Maupassant, French short story writer, novelist, and poet (d. 1893)

1862 – Joseph Merrick, English man with severe deformities (d. 1890)

1866 – Carl Harries, German chemist and academic (d. 1923)

1866 – Harry Trott, Australian cricketer (d. 1917)

1868 – Oskar Merikanto, Finnish pianist and composer (d. 1924)

1872 – Oswaldo Cruz, Brazilian physician, bacteriologist, and epidemiologist, founded the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation (d. 1917)

1874 – Wesley Clair Mitchell, American economist and academic (d. 1948)

1874 – Horace Rawlins, English golfer (d. 1935)

1876 – Mary Ritter Beard, American historian and activist (d. 1958)

1877 – Tom Thomson, Canadian painter (d. 1917)

1880 – Gertrude Rush, American lawyer and jurist (d. 1962)

1880 – Ruth Sawyer, American author and educator (d. 1970)

1887 – Reginald Owen, English-American actor and singer (d. 1972)

1889 – Conrad Aiken, American novelist, short story writer, critic, and poet (d. 1973)

1890 – Naum Gabo, Russian-American sculptor (d. 1977)

1890 – Erich Kleiber, Austrian conductor and director (d. 1956)

1897 – Roberta Dodd Crawford, American soprano and educator (d. 1954)

1897 – Aksel Larsen, Danish lawyer and politician (d. 1972)

1901 – Claude Autant-Lara, French director, screenwriter, and politician (d. 2000)

1904 – Kenneth V. Thimann, English-American botanist and microbiologist (d. 1997)

1906 – Joan Hickson, English actress (d. 1998)

1906 – John Huston, American actor, director, and screenwriter (d. 1987)

1906 – Wassily Leontief, German-American economist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1999)

1908 – Harold Holt, Australian lawyer and politician, 17th Prime Minister of Australia (d. 1967)

1908 – Jose Garcia Villa, Filipino short story writer and poet (d. 1997)

1910 – Bruno Coquatrix, French songwriter and manager (d. 1979)

1910 – Herminio Masantonio, Argentinian footballer (d. 1956)

1911 – Robert Taylor, American actor and singer (d. 1969)

1912 – Abbé Pierre, French priest and humanitarian (d. 2007)

1914 – Parley Baer, American actor (d. 2002)

1916 – Peter Viereck, American poet and academic (d. 2006)

1918 – Tom Drake, American actor and singer (d. 1982)

1918 – Betty Oliphant, English-Canadian ballerina, co-founded the Canada's National Ballet School (d. 2004)

1920 – George Tooker, American painter and academic (d. 2011)

1921 – Terry Becker, American actor, director, and producer (d. 2014)

1922 – L. Tom Perry, American businessman and religious leader (d. 2015)

1922 – Frank Stranahan, American golfer (d. 2013)

1923 – Devan Nair, Malaysian-Singaporean union leader and politician, 3rd President of Singapore (d. 2005)

1926 – Betsy Jolas, French composer

1927 – John H. Moore II, American lawyer and judge (d. 2013)

1929 – Don Matheson, American soldier, police officer, and actor (d. 2014)

1930 – Neil Armstrong, American pilot, engineer, and astronaut (d. 2012)

1930 – Richie Ginther, American race car driver (d. 1989)

1930 – Michal Kováč, Slovak lawyer and politician, 1st President of Slovakia

1931 – Tom Hafey, Australian footballer and coach (d. 2014)

1932 – Tera de Marez Oyens, Dutch pianist and composer (d. 1996)

1932 – Vladimir Fedoseyev, Russian conductor

1934 – Karl Johan Åström, Swedish engineer and theorist

1934 – Wendell Berry, American novelist, short story writer, poet, and essayist

1934 – Gay Byrne, Irish radio and television host

1935 – Michael Ballhaus, German director and cinematographer

1935 – Peter Inge, Baron Inge, English field marshal

1935 – John Saxon, American actor

1935 – Roy Benavidez, American Master Sergeant and Medal of Honor Winner (d. 1998)

1936 – Nikolai Baturin, Estonian author and playwright

1937 – Herb Brooks, American ice hockey player and coach (d. 2003)

1937 – Brian G. Marsden, English-American astronomer and academic (d. 2010)

1939 – Roger Clark, English race car driver (d. 1998)

1940 – Roman Gabriel, American football player, coach, and actor

1941 – Bob Clark, American director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2007)

1941 – Leonid Kizim, Ukrainian general, pilot, and astronaut (d. 2010)

1941 – Airto Moreira, Brazilian-American drummer and composer

1942 – Joe Boyd, American record producer, founded Hannibal Records

1943 – Nelson Briles, American baseball player and sportscaster (d. 2005)

1944 – Christopher Gunning, English composer

1945 – Loni Anderson, American actress

1946 – Bruce Coslet, American football player and coach

1946 – Rick van der Linden, Dutch keyboard player and songwriter (d. 2006)

1946 – Bob McCarthy, Australian rugby league player and coach

1946 – Erika Slezak, American actress

1946 – Xavier Trias, Spanish pediatrician and politician, 118th Mayor of Barcelona

1947 – Bernie Carbo, American baseball player

1947 – France A. Córdova, American astrophysicist and academic

1947 – Rick Derringer, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer

1948 – Ray Clemence, English footballer and manager

1948 – Barbara Flynn, English actress

1948 – Shin Takamatsu, Japanese architect and academic

1950 – Luiz Gushiken, Brazilian trade union leader and politician (d. 2013)

1950 – Mahendra Karma, Indian lawyer and politician (d. 2013)

1952 – Tamás Faragó, Hungarian water polo player

1952 – John Jarratt, Australian actor and producer

1952 – Louis Walsh, Irish talent manager

1953 – Rick Mahler, American baseball player and coach (d. 2005)

1955 – Eddie Ojeda, American guitarist and songwriter

1956 – Christopher Chessun, English bishop

1956 – Jerry Ciccoritti, Canadian actor, director, producer, and screenwriter

1957 – David Gill, English businessman

1957 – Faith Prince, American actress and singer

1959 – Pete Burns, English singer-songwriter (d. 2016)

1959 – Pat Smear, American guitarist and songwriter

1960 – David Baldacci, American lawyer and author

1961 – Janet McTeer, English actress

1961 – Athula Samarasekera, Sri Lankan cricketer and coach

1961 – Tim Wilson, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2014)

1962 – Patrick Ewing, Jamaican-American basketball player and coach

1962 – Otis Thorpe, American basketball player

1963 – Steve Lee, Swiss singer-songwriter (d. 2010)

1964 – Rory Morrison, English journalist (d. 2013)

1964 – Adam Yauch, American rapper and director (d. 2012)

1965 – Jeff Coffin, American saxophonist and composer

1965 – Motoi Sakuraba, Japanese keyboard player and composer

1966 – Jennifer Finch, American singer, bass player, and photographer

1966 – Jonathan Silverman, American actor and producer

1967 – Matthew Caws, American singer-songwriter and guitarist

1968 – Terri Clark, Canadian singer-songwriter and guitarist

1968 – Funkmaster Flex, American rapper, producer, and radio host

1968 – Kendo Kashin, Japanese wrestler and mixed martial artist

1968 – Marine Le Pen, French lawyer and politician

1968 – Oleh Luzhny, Ukrainian footballer and manager

1968 – Colin McRae, Scottish race car driver (d. 2007)

1968 – John Olerud, American baseball player

1969 – Jackie Doyle-Price, English politician

1969 – Vasbert Drakes, Barbadian cricketer

1969 – Venkatesh Prasad, Indian cricketer and coach

1969 – Robert Scott, Australian rower

1970 – James Gunn, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter

1971 – Valdis Dombrovskis, Latvian academic and politician, 11th Prime Minister of Latvia

1971 – Jared Hasselhoff, American bass player and songwriter

1971 – Sally Nugent, English sports journalist

1972 – Ikuto Hidaka, Japanese wrestler

1972 – Aaqib Javed, Pakistani cricketer and coach

1972 – Darren Shahlavi, English-American actor and martial artist (d. 2015)

1972 – Jon Sleightholme, English rugby player

1972 – Theodore Whitmore, Jamaican footballer and manager

1972 – Christian Olde Wolbers, Belgian-American guitarist, songwriter, and producer

1973 – Justin Marshall, New Zealand rugby player and sportscaster

1974 – Alvin Ceccoli, Australian footballer

1974 – Julio César Enciso, Paraguayan footballer

1974 – Olle Kullinger, Swedish footballer

1974 – Antoine Sibierski, French footballer

1975 – Dan Hipgrave, English guitarist and journalist

1975 – Josep Jufré, Catalan cyclist

1975 – Eicca Toppinen, Finnish cellist and composer

1976 – Jeff Friesen, Canadian ice hockey player

1976 – Marians Pahars, Latvian footballer and manager

1976 – Eugen Trică, Romanian footballer and manager

1977 – Eric Hinske, American baseball player and coach

1977 – Soraya Jiménez, Mexican weightlifter (d. 2013)

1977 – Mark Mulder, American baseball player and sportscaster

1977 – Michael Walsh, English footballer

1978 – Cosmin Bărcăuan, Romanian footballer and manager

1978 – Carolina Duer, Argentinian boxer

1978 – Rita Faltoyano, Hungarian actress

1978 – Kim Gevaert, Belgian sprinter

1979 – David Healy, Irish footballer

1980 – Wayne Bridge, English footballer

1980 – Salvador Cabañas, Paraguayan footballer

1980 – Jason Culina, Australian footballer

1981 – David Clarke, English ice hockey player

1981 – Carl Crawford, American baseball player

1981 – Maik Franz, German footballer

1981 – Erik Guay, Canadian skier

1981 – Anna Rawson, Australian golfer

1981 – Jesse Williams, American actor

1982 – Jamie Houston, English-German rugby player

1982 – Lolo Jones, American hurdler

1982 – Michele Pazienza, Italian footballer

1982 – Tobias Regner, German singer-songwriter

1982 – Jeff Robson, Australian rugby league player

1982 – Pete Sell, American mixed martial artist

1982 – Ryu Seung-min, South Korean table tennis player

1983 – Korey Hall, American football player

1983 – Dawn Richard, American singer-songwriter and dancer

1984 – Steve Matai, New Zealand rugby league player

1984 – Helene Fischer, German singer-songwriter

1985 – Laurent Ciman, Belgian footballer

1985 – Salomon Kalou, Ivorian footballer

1985 – Gil Vermouth, Israeli footballer

1985 – Erkan Zengin, Swedish footballer

1986 – Paula Creamer, American golfer

1987 – Genelia D'Souza, Indian actress

1988 – Michael Jamieson, Scottish-English swimmer

1988 – Eddie Nolan, Irish footballer

1988 – Federica Pellegrini, Italian swimmer

1988 – Kaimar Saag, Estonian footballer

1989 – Ryan Bertrand, English footballer

1989 – Mathieu Manset, French footballer

1991 – Esteban Gutiérrez, Mexican race car driver

1991 – Konrad Hurrell, Tongan rugby league player

1991 – Andreas Weimann, Austrian footballer

1995 – Pierre-Emile Højbjerg, Danish footballer

Deaths

553 – Xiao Ji, prince of the Liang dynasty (b. 508)

642 – Eowa of Mercia

642 – Oswald of Northumbria (b. 604)

824 – Heizei, Japanese emperor (b. 773)

877 – Ubayd Allah ibn Yahya ibn Khaqan, vizier of the Abbasid Caliphate

882 – Louis III, Frankish king (b. 863)

890 – Ranulf II, duke of Aquitaine (b. 850)

910 – Eowils and Halfdan, joint kings of Northumbria

917 – Euthymius I of Constantinople (b. 834)

1063 – Gruffydd ap Llywelyn, King of Gwynedd

1364 – Kōgon, Japanese emperor (b. 1313)

1415 – Richard of Conisburgh, 3rd Earl of Cambridge (b. 1375)

1415 – Henry Scrope, 3rd Baron Scrope of Masham (b. 1370)

1447 – John Holland, 2nd Duke of Exeter (b. 1395)

1579 – Stanislaus Hosius, Polish cardinal (b. 1504)

1610 – Alonso García de Ramón, Spanish soldier and politician, Royal Governor of Chile (b. 1552)

1633 – George Abbot, English archbishop and academic (b. 1562)

1678 – Juan García de Zéspedes, Mexican tenor and composer (b. 1619)

1729 – Thomas Newcomen, English engineer, invented the eponymous Newcomen atmospheric engine (b. 1664)

1743 – John Hervey, 2nd Baron Hervey, English courtier and politician, Vice-Chamberlain of the Household (b. 1696)

1778 – Charles Clémencet, French historian and author (b. 1703)

1778 – Thomas Linley the younger, English composer (b. 1756)

1792 – Frederick North, Lord North, English politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (b. 1732)

1799 – Richard Howe, 1st Earl Howe, English admiral and politician (b. 1726)

1868 – Jacques Boucher de Crèvecœur de Perthes, French archaeologist and historian (b. 1788)

1877 – Robert Williams (known as Trebor Mai), Welsh poet (b. 1830)

1880 – Ferdinand Ritter von Hebra, Austrian physician and dermatologist (b. 1816)

1881 – Spotted Tail, American tribal chief (b. 1823)

1895 – Friedrich Engels, German philosopher (b. 1820)

1901 – Victoria, Princess Royal of the United Kingdom (b. 1840)

1911 – Bob Caruthers, American baseball player and umpire (b. 1864)

1916 – George Butterworth, British composer, killed at the Battle of the Somme (b. 1885)

1921 – Dimitrios Rallis, Greek lawyer and politician, 78th Prime Minister of Greece (b. 1844)

1929 – Millicent Fawcett, English trade union leader and activist (b. 1847)

1933 – Charles Harold Davis, American painter and academic (b. 1856)

1935 – David Townsend, American art director and set designer (b. 1891)

1939 – Béla Jankovich, Hungarian economist and politician, Minister of Education of Hungary (b. 1865)

1944 – Maurice Turnbull, Welsh cricketer and rugby player (b. 1906)

1946 – Wilhelm Marx, German lawyer and politician, 17th Chancellor of Germany (b. 1863)

1948 – Montagu Toller, English cricketer and lawyer (b. 1871)

1952 – Sameera Moussa, Egyptian physicist and academic (b. 1917)

1955 – Carmen Miranda, Portuguese-Brazilian actress and singer (b. 1909)

1957 – Heinrich Otto Wieland, German chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1877)

1959 – Edgar Guest, English-American journalist and poet (b. 1881)

1960 – Arthur Meighen, Canadian lawyer and politician, 9th Prime Minister of Canada (b. 1874)

1962 – Marilyn Monroe, American model and actress (b. 1926)

1963 – Salvador Bacarisse, Spanish composer (b. 1898)

1964 – Art Ross, Canadian-American ice hockey player and coach (b. 1886)

1967 – György Bródy, Hungarian water polo player (b. 1908)

1968 – Luther Perkins, American guitarist (b. 1928)

1978 – Jesse Haines, American baseball player and coach (b. 1893)

1980 – Harold L. Runnels, American soldier and politician (b. 1924)

1983 – Judy Canova, American actress and comedian (b. 1913)

1983 – Joan Robinson, English economist and author (b. 1903)

1984 – Richard Burton, Welsh-Swiss actor and producer (b. 1925)

1985 – Arnold Horween, American football player and coach (b. 1898)

1987 – Georg Gaßmann, German politician, Mayor of Marburg (b. 1910)

1991 – Paul Brown, American football player and coach (b. 1908)

1991 – Soichiro Honda, Japanese engineer and businessman, founded Honda (b. 1906)

1992 – Robert Muldoon, New Zealand sergeant, accountant, and politician, 31st Prime Minister of New Zealand (b. 1921)

1994 – Menachem Avidom, Israeli composer (b. 1908)

1994 – Alain de Changy, Belgian race car driver (b. 1922)

1998 – Otto Kretschmer, German commander (b. 1912)

1998 – Todor Zhivkov, Bulgarian commander and politician, 36th Prime Minister of Bulgaria (b. 1911)

2000 – Otto Buchsbaum, Austrian-Brazilian journalist and activist (b. 1920)

2000 – Tullio Crali, Montenegrin-Italian pilot and painter (b. 1910)

2000 – Alec Guinness, English actor (b. 1914)

2001 – Otema Allimadi, Ugandan politician, 2nd Prime Minister of Uganda (b. 1929)

2001 – Christopher Skase, Australian-Spanish businessman (b. 1948)

2002 – Chick Hearn, American sportscaster (b. 1916)

2002 – Franco Lucentini, Italian journalist and author (b. 1920)

2002 – Matt Robinson, American actor, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1937)

2005 – Polina Astakhova, Russian gymnast and coach (b. 1936)

2005 – Jim O'Hora, American football player and coach (b. 1915)

2005 – Raul Roco, Filipino lawyer and politician, 31st Filipino Secretary of Education (b. 1941)

2007 – Jean-Marie Lustiger, French cardinal (b. 1926)

2007 – Florian Pittiș, Romanian actor, singer, director, and producer (b. 1943)

2008 – Neil Bartlett, English-American chemist and academic (b. 1932)

2008 – Reg Lindsay, Australian singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (b. 1929)

2009 – Budd Schulberg, American author, screenwriter, and producer (b. 1914)

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

2011 – Aziz Shavershian, Russian-born Australian Bodybuilder and internet sensation (b. 1989)

2012 – Erwin Axer, Polish director and screenwriter (b. 1917)

2012 – Michel Daerden, Belgian lawyer and politician (b. 1949)

2012 – Fred Matua, American football player (b. 1984)

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

2012 – Chavela Vargas, Costa Rican-Mexican singer-songwriter and actress (b. 1919)

2012 – Roland Charles Wagner, French author and translator (b. 1960)

2013 – Ruth Asawa, American sculptor and educator (b. 1926)

2013 – Shawn Burr, Canadian-American ice hockey player (b. 1966)

2013 – George Duke, American singer-songwriter, keyboard player, and producer (b. 1946)

2013 – Willie Dunn, Canadian singer-songwriter and producer (b. 1942)

2013 – Roy Rubin, American basketball player and coach (b. 1925)

2013 – May Song Vang, American activist (b. 1951)

2013 – Rob Wyda, American commander and judge (b. 1959)

2014 – Harold J. Greene, American general (b. 1962)

2014 – Vladimir Orlov, Russian author (b. 1936)

2014 – Chapman Pincher, Indian-English historian, journalist, and author (b. 1914)

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

2015 – Arthur Walter James, English journalist and politician (b. 1912)

2015 – Tony Millington, Welsh footballer (b. 1943)

Holidays and observances

Christian feast day:

Abel of Reims

Addai

Afra

Albrecht Dürer, Matthias Grünewald, and Lucas Cranach the Elder (Episcopal Church (USA))

Cassian of Autun

Dedication of the Basilica of St Mary Major (Roman Catholic Church)

Emygdius

Memnius

Oswald of Northumbria

August 5 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)

Independence Day (Burkina Faso)

Victory and Homeland Thanksgiving Day and the Day of Croatian defenders (Croatia)