August 05
1861
For the first time, the U.S. government levied an income tax.
1884
The cornerstone for the Statue of Liberty was laid on Bedloe’s Island.
1914
The first electric traffic lights were installed in Cleveland, Ohio.
1962
Marilyn Monroe died.
1963
The United States, Britain, and the Soviet Union signed the Limited Test Ban Treaty, which prohibited nuclear weapon tests in the atmosphere, in outer space, and underwater.
1969
The U.S. space probe Mariner 7 transmitted pictures of Mars.
1984
Joan Benoit won the first Olympic women’s marathon.
2002
The gun turret of the Civil War ironclad USS Monitor was raised from the ocean floor.
2003
The Rev. Gene Robinson was approved as the first openly gay bishop by the U.S. Episcopal Church.
2012
The plutonium-powered rover Curiosity successfully lands on Mars. Larger than earlier rovers, Curiosity will spend two years examining the land, looking for evidence that conditions on Mars are fit for life.
Birthdays
Neil Armstrong
1930–2012, American astronaut born in Wapakoneta, Ohio. First man on the moon.
Guy de Maupassant
author (1850)
Conrad Aiken
author (1889)
John Huston
filmmaker (1906)
Patrick Ewing
basketball player (1962)