What Happened Today in History on August 5

Henry I is crowned King of England at Westminster Abbey, succeeding his brother King William II, who had died in a hunting accident in the New Forest three days before. Henry swiftly seized the treasury at Winchester and was crowned to legitimize his rule, issuing a Charter of Liberties to appease the barons and secure his position.

Sir Humphrey Gilbert, a British navigator and explorer takes possession of the area around St. John’s harbor, Newfoundland in the name of the Queen. He was later lost at sea in a storm off the Azores on his return trip to England.

President Abraham Lincoln signs the first income tax bill; the Revenue act of 1861, establishing a 3% flat rate on annual incomes of $800 or more and some import tariffs, and property taxes. The Bill was enacted during the Civil War as a temporary measure to help finance the war effort. This initial income tax was fairly ineffective as it lacked a strong enforcement mechanism. It was repealed in 1862 and replaced with a different revenue act.

Battle of Mobile Bay -- Admiral David G. Farragut, leads a fleet of fourteen wooden ships and four ironclads and delivers a much needed victory for the Union and immortalizes the phase "Damn the torpedoes! - Full speed ahead!”.  Expand +

The first electric traffic signal is installed in Cleveland, Ohio, at the intersection of Euclid Avenue and East 105th Street, by the American Traffic Signal Company. It was manually operated by a nearby police officer and It had two light colors, red and green. It also had a manual buzzer to announce the change from one color to the other. There had been previously reported traffic light installations but this one is believed to be the first permanently installed electric traffic light. Detroit and New York added the yellow between red and green in 1920. More

Burkina Faso Independence Day. Effective date of the agreement with France signed on 11 July and creation of the independent Republic of Upper Volta. On 4 August 1984, it changed its name to Burkina Faso.

The Limited Nuclear Test Ban Treaty was signed by the United States, Great Britain, and the Soviet Union. After Senate approval, the treaty that went into effect on October 10, 1963, banned nuclear weapons testing in the atmosphere, in outer space, and under water. More

The turret of the Civil War ironclad USS Monitor is lifted out of the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Hatteras N.C. The historic warship sank on December 31 1862 during a storm as it was being towed around Cape Hatteras on its way to Beaufort, North Carolina, to join a fleet being assembled for an attack on Charleston. Many of the sailors were rescued, but 16 of its crew members perished, More

Standard & Poor’s credit rating agency downgrades the United States debt from its highest rating of AAA to a lesser AA+ rating, marking the first-ever decline of credit worthiness for the U.S. The agency cited America’s $14 trillion outstanding debt and an ineffective political leadership 5o address the debt reduction. This downgraded rating remains in effect as of August 5, 2025

NASA's Juno spacecraft launches on a mission to study the planet Jupiter

The Summer Olympics are held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, showcasing athletes from around the world.

India revokes the special autonomous status of Jammu and Kashmir, escalating tensions between India and Pakistan over the disputed region.