WHAT HAPPENED ON 5. AUGUST
Want to find out what all happened on 5. August

Charles XV of Sweden of Sweden-Norway is crowned king of Norway in Trondheim. (5. August 1860)

American Civil War: In order to help pay for the war effort, the United States government levies the first income tax as part of the Revenue Act of 1861 (3% of all incomes over US $800; rescinded in 1872). (5. August 1861)

The United States Army abolishes flogging. (5. August 1861)

American Civil War: Battle of Baton Rouge – along the Mississippi River near Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Confederate troops attempt to take the city, but are driven back by fire from Union gunboats. (5. August 1862)

American Civil War: The Battle of Mobile Bay begins – at Mobile Bay near Mobile, Alabama, Admiral David Farragut leads a Union flotilla through Confederate defenses and seals one of the last major Southern ports. (5. August 1864)

Japan launches its postal savings system, modeled after a similar system in the United Kingdom. (5. August 1874)

The Standard Oil of New Jersey is established. (5. August 1882)

The cornerstone for the Statue of Liberty is laid on Bedloe's Island (now Liberty Island) in New York Harbor. (5. August 1884)

Bertha Benz drives from Mannheim to Pforzheim and back in the first long distance automobile trip, commemorated as the Bertha Benz Memorial Route since 2008. (5. August 1888)

Peter O'Connor sets the first IAAF recognised long jump world record of 24 ft 11.75 in (7.6137 m) The record will stand for 20 years. (5. August 1901)

Persian Constitutional Revolution: Mozaffar ad-Din Shah Qajar, King of Iran, agrees to convert the government to a constitutional monarchy. (5. August 1906)

World War I: The German minelayer Königin Luise lays a minefield about 40 miles (64 km) off the Thames Estuary (Lowestoft). She is intercepted and sunk by the British light-cruiser HMS Amphion. (5. August 1914)

In Cleveland, Ohio, the first electric traffic light is installed. (5. August 1914)

World War I: Battle of Romani – Allied forces, under the command of Archibald Murray, defeat an attacking Ottoman army under the command of Friedrich Freiherr Kress von Kressenstein, securing the Suez Canal and beginning the Ottoman retreat from the Sinai Peninsula. (5. August 1916)

Plaid Cymru is formed with the aim of disseminating knowledge of the Welsh language that is at the time in danger of dying out. (5. August 1925)

Harry Houdini performs his greatest feat, spending 91 minutes underwater in a sealed tank before escaping. (5. August 1926)

World War II: The Soviet Union formally annexes Latvia. (5. August 1940)

World War II: The Battle of Smolensk concludes with Germany capturing about 300,000 Soviet Red Army prisoners. (5. August 1941)

World War II: Possibly the biggest prison breakout in history occurs as 545 Japanese POWs attempt to escape outside the town of Cowra, New South Wales, Australia. (5. August 1944)

World War II: Polish insurgents liberate a German labor camp in Warsaw, freeing 348 Jewish prisoners. (5. August 1944)