Today In History [5th August, 2015]

A chronological timetable of historical events that occurred on this day in history. Historical facts of the day in the areas of military, politics, science, music, sports, arts, entertainment and more. Discover what happened today in history.

Today in History
August 5

1391		Castilian sailors in Barcelona, Spain set fire to a Jewish ghetto, killing 100 people and setting off four days of violence against Jews.
1763		Colonel Henry Bouquet decisively defeats the Indians at the Battle of Bushy Run in Pennsylvania during Pontiac’s rebellion.
1762		Russia, Prussia and Austria sign a treaty agreeing on the partition of Poland.
1815		A peace treaty with Tripoli–which follows treaties with Algeria and Tunis–brings an end to the Barbary Wars.
1858		The first transatlantic cable is completed.
1861		Congress adopts the nation’s first income tax to finance the Civil War.
1864		The Union Navy captures Mobile Bay in Alabama.
1892		Harriet Tubman receives a pension from Congress for her work as a nurse, spy and scout during the Civil War.
1914		The British Expeditionary Force mobilizes for World War I.
1914		The first electric traffic signal lights are installed in Cleveland, Ohio.
1915		The Austro-German Army takes Warsaw, in present-day Poland, on the Eastern Front.
1916		The British navy defeats the Ottomans at the naval battle off Port Said, Egypt.
1921		Mustapha Kemal is appointed virtual ruler of the Ottoman Empire.
1941		The German army completes taking 410,000 Russian prisoners in Uman and Smolensk pockets in the Soviet Union.
1951		The United Nations Command suspends armistice talks with the North Koreans when armed troops are spotted in neutral areas.
1962		Actress Marilyn Monroe dies under mysterious circumstances.
1964		President Lyndon Johnson begins bombing North Vietnam in retaliation for Gulf of Tonkin incident and asks Congress to go to war against North Vietnam.
1974		President Richard Nixon admits he ordered a cover-up for political as well as national security reasons.
1981		President Ronald Reagan fires 11,500 striking air traffic controllers.
1992		Four police officers indicted on civil rights charges in the beating of Rodney King.
1995		Croatian forces capture the city of Knin, a Serb stronghold, during Operation Storm.
1997		Mastermind of the 1993 World Trade Center bombing, Ramzi Yousef, goes on trial.
2012		A gunman in Oak Creek, Wisconsin, opens fire in a Sikh temple, killing six before committing suicide.
Born on August 5
1850		Guy de Maupassant, short story writer and author of "The Necklace."
1876		Mary Ritter Beard, American historian and writer.
1906		John Houston, film director of such movies as The Treasure of the Sierra Madre and The Maltese Falcon.
1908		Miriam Rothschild, English scientist and writer.
1923		Richard G. Kleindienst, one of the key officials who helped elect Richard Nixon to the presidency in 1969.
1930		Neil Armstrong, the first man to walk on the moon.
1975		Ami Foster, television actress (Punky Brewster); nominated eight times for Young Actress Award.