Today in History

1852
The 1st U.S. intercollegiate sporting event took place on Lake Winnipesaukee,N.H. when Harvard's heavy weight rowing crew beat Yale by 2 lengths over 2 miles
1926
traffic lights are installed at Piccadilly Circus in London
1936
U.S. sprinter, Jesse Owens wins the 1st of his 4 gold medals in the 100 meter dash in 10.3 secs with Adolph Hitler watching from the stands at Berlin Summer Olympic Games
1963
Warner Brothers Records releases Allan Sherman's novelty single' Hello Muddah/Hello Faddah'{A Letter From Camp} lyrics by Sherman, music from Amilcare Ponchielli's 'Dance Of The Hours'.Sherman got the idea from a letter from his son, Robert who was at a summer camp. The song is from his album' My Son,The Nut' hit #1 on Billboard album charts, stay there for 8 weeks. The song won a Grammy in 1964 Best Comedy Performance
1997
Sky Tower opens in Auckland, NZ standing at 1,076 ft{328 meters},the tallest free standing structure in Southern Hemisphere
 

4th August

1704 Gibraltar was captured for the British by Admiral Sir George Rooke.

1870 The British Red Cross Society was founded, by Lord Wantage.

1972 Ugandan President Idi Amin declared that all Ugandan Asians holding British passports would be expelled from the country within 90 days. This order targeted an estimated 50,000 to 80,000 individuals, who were given a three-month deadline to leave.

2000 Celebrations took place all over the United Kingdom to mark the 100th birthday of Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother.

2012 The annual stinging nettle-eating competition started in 1986, was held at The Bottle Inn pub at Marshwood near Bridport in Dorset. The current record at the event for the most amount of nettles eaten in one hour is 76ft (23m).

2014 People in the UK were encouraged to turn off their lights between 10pm and 11pm, leaving only a single light or candle for a symbolic act of reflection and hope in commemoration of the 100th anniversary of World War 1. 🕯️
 
1970- Jim Morrison of the Doors, is arrested in Los Angeles for Public Drunkenness
1973- Maureen McGovern's, The Morning After (the song from the movie The Poseidon Adventure) hits #1 for the first of two weeks.
1968- Newport pop Festival, attracts 100,000 people.
1964- The Kinks release the song You Really Got Me, in the United Kingdom.
 

August 4, 1693, is traditionally celebrated as the day Dom PĂ©rignon, a French Benedictine monk, is credited with inventing Champagne. Working in the Abbey of Saint-Vincent at Hautvillers, Dom PĂ©rignon sought to improve the local wines.

Legend has it that upon tasting his sparkling creation, he exclaimed, “Come quickly, I am tasting the stars!” While the process of making Champagne evolved over time and involved contributions from many, Dom Pérignon’s work significantly advanced the methods of production, contributing to the iconic status of Champagne in the world of wine.
 
On This Day In History, August 5th

2009 General Abdel Aziz sworn in as President of Mauritania
General Abdel Aziz, who came to power in a coup in 2008, was sworn in as the President of Mauritania after elections in 2009.

1963 Partial Nuclear Test Ban Treaty is Signed
Also known as the Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, the document was signed by the Soviet Union, the United Kingdom, and the United States in Moscow. The treaty, which came as a response to the heightening tensions due to the frequent testing of nuclear weapons by the these 3 countries during the Cold War, banned the testing of nuclear weapons anywhere on land, over water or in space. Underground testing was still allowed under the treaty, until it was also banned in 1996 after the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty came into force.

1962 Nelson Mandela is Arrested
The South African anti-apartheid activist and adherent of nonviolence was arrested by the government at Rivonia, a suburb of Johannesburg. After a year-long trial, Mandela was imprisoned at the infamous Robben Island prison where we spent the next 18 years. He was released from prison in 1990 after spending 28 years as a political prisoner. In the early 1990s, after intense international and domestic pressure, in part from the efforts of Mandela, the South African government started taking steps to end apartheid – a government policy of racial segregation and discrimination. As a result, Mandela was elected the country’s first black president in 1994.

1960 Burkina Faso gains its Independence
The landlocked West African country, known as Upper Vota until 1984, became a French protectorate in the late 19th century. In 1958, the Republic of Upper Volta was created as a self-governing French colony. After independence, Maurice Yaméogo became the first president of the country, whose name was changed to Burkina Faso in 1984.

1940 Latvian Soviet Socialist Republic is established
The Soviet Union added Latvia to the union as the Latvian Soviet Socialist Republic.
 
Births On This Day, August 5th 🎂

1979 David Healy
Irish footballer

1968 Marine Le Pen
French politician

1930 Neil Armstrong
American pilot, engineer, astronaut, first person to walk on the moon

1906 John Huston
American director

1850 Guy de Maupassant
French writer

Deaths On This Day, August 5th

1991 Paul Brown
American football coach, executive

1984 Richard Burton
Welsh actor

1964 Art Ross
Canadian ice hockey player

1962 Marilyn Monroe
American model, actress, singer

1895 Friedrich Engels
German philosopher
 
5th August

910 The last major Viking army was defeated at the Battle of Tettenhall by the allied forces of Mercia and Wessex. The outcome of the battle secured the English kingdom but also marked a turning point in Viking incursions into England. The Lady of the Mercians, also known as Aethelflaed, daughter of Alfred the Great, won the fight against the Vikings. Aethelflaed was later chosen as her husband's successor and took control of Mercia, one of the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms, now known as the Midlands.

1100 Henry I was crowned King of England in Westminster Abbey.

1305 William Wallace, Scottish hero and champion of Scottish independence, was captured by the English, found guilty of treason and sentenced to death in London.

1963 A Nuclear Test Ban Treaty was signed in Moscow by Russia, the United States and Britain.

1983 Twenty two members of the IRA were jailed for a total of more than 4,000 years following Northern Ireland's biggest-ever terrorist trial.
 

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