5 August 1389

A Wednesday in history

Weekday

Wednesday

Season

Summer (N. Hemisphere)

Century

14th century

Records

428

  1. 2015

    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.

    Source
  2. 2013

    A python killed two boys in Campbellton, New Brunswick, Canada.

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  3. 2012

    Radio Network House (pictured), damaged in the 2011 Christchurch earthquake, becomes the first building to be demolished by implosion in New Zealand.

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  4. 2012

    An American white supremacist carried out a mass shooting at a Sikh temple in Oak Creek, Wisconsin, killing six people and wounding four others.

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  5. 2011

    NASA launched the Juno probe to Jupiter as part of the New Frontiers program.

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  6. 1993

    Wizards of the Coast released Magic: The Gathering, the first trading card game.

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  7. 1984

    A Biman Bangladesh Airlines aircraft crashed while attempting to land in Dhaka, killing 49 people in the deadliest aviation accident in Bangladeshi history.

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  8. 1981

    U.S. president Ronald Reagan fired the 11,345 striking members of the Professional Air Traffic Controllers Organization en masse.

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  9. 1973

    Due to an athletics scandal, the National Collegiate Athletic Association applied the death penalty to the basketball program at the University of Southwestern Louisiana.

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  10. 1969

    Police raided a screening of the film Lonesome Cowboys in Atlanta, Georgia, leading to the creation of a Gay Liberation Front in that city.

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  11. 1962

    American actress and model Marilyn Monroe was found dead of a barbiturate overdose in her home in Brentwood, Los Angeles.

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  12. 1949

    An earthquake registering 6.4 Ms struck near Ambato, Ecuador, killing 5,050 people.

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  13. 1916

    First World War: The British Empire's Sinai and Palestine campaign began with a victory at the Battle of Romani.

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  14. 1888

    Bertha Benz made the first long-distance automobile trip, driving 106 km (66 mi) from Mannheim to Pforzheim, Germany, in a Benz Patent-Motorwagen.

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  15. 1816

    Sir John Barrow, secretary at the Admiralty, rejected a proposal to use Francis Ronalds's electrical telegraph, deeming it "wholly unnecessary".

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  16. 1772

    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.

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  17. 1716

    Austro-Turkish War: The Ottoman army were defeated in their attempt to capture the Habsburgs-controlled Petrovaradin Fortress despite having double the number of soldiers.

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  18. 1689

    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.

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  19. 1600

    Scottish nobleman John Ruthven, 3rd Earl of Gowrie, was killed during what was most likely a failed attempt to kidnap King James VI.

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  20. 1506

    Muscovite–Lithuanian Wars: The Grand Duchy of Lithuania achieved one of the greatest Lithuanian victories against the Tatars at the Battle of Kletsk.

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  21. 1460

    The Kingdom of Scotland captures Roxburgh, one of the last English strongholds in Scotland, following a siege.

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  22. 1100

    Henry I was crowned King of England in Westminster Abbey.

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  23. 25

    Liu Xiu proclaimed himself the monarch of the Han dynasty as Emperor Guangwu.

    Source

Photo archive

24 historic images from this day — tap to open the gallery.

What was life like?

Prices, jobs, food, music and everyday routine — the world as it felt to live in.

Sources & fact check

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