What Happened On
Fairness Doctrine Abolished
August 5, 1987
The FCC Fairness Doctrine is abolished by a 4-0 vote of the Federal Communication Commission (FCC). It was introduced in 1949, and required the holders of broadcast licenses both to present controversial issues of public importance and to do so in a manner that fairly reflected differing viewpoints. This applied to both television and radio.
The repeal of the fairness doctrine enabled the rise of talk radio that has been described as "unfiltered" divisive and/or vicious.
Death of Marilyn Monroe
August 5, 1962
Marilyn Monroe's housekeeper wakes in the middle of the night and sees Monroe's bedroom light on. Unable to get a response from inside the locked room, she called Monroe's psychiatrist, who came over and broke down the door only to find her lifeless nude body on the bed. The cause of death was acute barbiturate poisoning. She had several times the lethal dose in her blood. Empty bottles containing these medicines were found next to her bed.
American Bandstand
August 5, 1957
The music-performance and dance television show American Bandstand hosted by Dick Clark debuts on ABC TV. It was previously a local show in Philadelphia.
From Here to Eternity
August 5, 1953
The movie based on the novel by James Jones is released. It would win eight Academy Awards (with 13 nominations) and included the iconic beach scene with Burt Lancaster and Deborah Kerr. In 1954, the book From Here to Eternity was declared unmailable by the U.S. Post Office.
Little Orphan Annie
August 5, 1924
The comic strip Little Orphan Annie, by Harold Gray, debuts. He is considered to be the first American cartoonist to use a comic strip to express a political philosophy. Gray had a strong dislike for Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal and unions, and this was often expressed in his comics. Gray's comic strip was inspired from the poem Little Orphant Annie (1885), by James Whitcomb Riley.
Damn the Torpedoes! Full Speed Ahead
August 5, 1864
Union Admiral David Farragut makes his famous proclamation "Damn the torpedoes! Four bells. Captain Drayton, go ahead! Jouett, full speed!", (paraphrased as "Damn the torpedoes! Full speed ahead") during the Civil War battle of Mobile Bay.
First U.S. Income Tax
August 5, 1861
U.S. President Abraham Lincoln signs into law a 3% tax on incomes over $800, effective January 1, 1861. It was repealed and replaced with another income tax in 1862.
Family and Medical Leave Act
August 5, 1993
The law providing workers with up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave for certain family and medical emergencies goes into effect.
Watergate
August 5, 1974
U.S. President Richard Nixon releases transcripts of conversations showing his involvement in the Watergate break-in cover-up activities.
Jesse Owens
August 5, 1936
The black American track star Jesse Owens upsets Adolf Hitler's theory of Aryan superiority by winning his third gold medal, for the 200-meter race. He went on to win a total of four.
National Labor Board
August 5, 1933
Established to mediate disputes regarding U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt's Reemployment Agreement.
First Baseball Game Broadcast Over Radio
August 5, 1921
KDKA of Pittsburgh broadcasts the Pittsburgh Pirates beating the Philadelphia Phillies (8-5).
First U.S. Electric Traffic Light
August 5, 1914
Cleveland, Ohio installs a light at the intersection of Euclid Ave. and East 105th St.
It had two colors, red and green, and a buzzer to provide a warning for color changes.
First Transatlantic Telegraph Cable
August 5, 1858
American financier Cyrus West Field completes the laying of the cable connecting Ireland and Newfoundland. It failed September 1st.
First English Colony in North America
August 5, 1583
While on a search for a Northwest Passage to the Far East, English explorer Sir Humphrey Gilbert lands and establishes a colony at St. Johns, Newfoundland.
Birthdays
Neil Alden Armstrong
Born August 5, 1930 d. 2012
American astronaut. First man to walk on the Moon (1969). "That's one small step for [a] man, one giant leap for mankind."
Armstrong was also NASA's first civilian astronaut to fly in space, during his first spaceflight as command pilot of Gemini 8 in 1966.
As a Navy pilot, Armstrong flew 78 missions over Korea during the Korean War.
Elephant Man
Joseph Merrick
Born August 5, 1862 d. 1890
The Elephant Man.
'Tis true my form is something odd,
But blaming me is blaming God;
Could I create myself anew
I would not fail in pleasing you.
If I could reach from pole to pole
Or grasp the ocean with a span,
I would be measured by the soul;
The mind's the standard of the man.
- poem used by Merrick, adapted from "False Greatness" by Isaac Watts.
Although his condition has not been definitively diagnosed, some believe he had Proteus Syndrome. According to the pamphlet used for his exhibition, at about five years old he started to develop "thick lumpy skin… like that of an elephant, and almost the same colour." His family said this was the result of his mother being knocked over and frightened by a fairground elephant while she was pregnant with Joseph. The belief that the emotional experiences of pregnant women could have lasting physical effects on their unborn children was still common in that time. Merrick held this belief for his entire life.
Patrick Ewing
Born August 5, 1962
Jamaican-born basketball player, 1986 NBA Rookie of the Year, led the U.S. Olympic basketball team to gold medals in 1984 and 1992.
Maureen McCormick
Born August 5, 1956
American actress. TV: The Brady Bunch (1969-74, Marsha) and Vacation in Hell (1979, also starring Priscilla Barnes and Barbara Feldon).
Photo Credit: Alan Light
Photo Credit: Alan Light
Loni Anderson
Born August 5, 1946
American actress. TV: WKRP in Cincinnati (1978-82, Jennifer Marlowe).
Erika Slezak
Born August 5, 1946
American actress. TV: One Life to Live (Victoria Lord).
Sammi Smith
Born August 5, 1943 d. 2005
American country singer. She was one of the few women of "outlaw country" music in its early days. Music: Help Me Make It Through The Night (1971, #1, Grammy).
John Saxon (Carmine Orrico)
Born August 5, 1935 d. 2020
American actor. TV: The Bold Ones: The New Doctors (1969-72, Dr. Ted Stuart) and Falcon Crest (1982-88, Tony Cumson). Film: Enter the Dragon (1973), Black Christmas (1974), and A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984).
Billie Hayes
Born August 5, 1925 d. 2021
American actress. TV: H.R. Pufnstuf (1969-70, Witchiepoo). She played Mammy Yokum in the Broadway (1956), film (1959), and TV (1971) versions of Li'l Abner.
Anita Colby (Anita Couniham)
Born August 5, 1914 d. 1992
one of America's first super-models, known as "The Face." She was the first model to earn $100 per hour. She turned down marriage proposals from Clark Gable and James Stewart.
John Huston
Born August 5, 1906 d. 1987
American Oscar-winning, director, writer, The Maltese Falcon (1941) and African Queen (1952).
Guy de Maupassant
Born August 5, 1850 d. 1893
French short-story writer, novelist. Writings: Boule de suif (1880) and Pierre et Jean (1888).
Edward John Eyre
Born August 5, 1815 d. 1901
British colonial governor, explorer of the Australian continent. He was governor of St. Vincent (1854-60), Antigua (1860-62), and Jamaica (1862-65), and for whom Lake Eyre in South Australia is named.
Thomas Lynch, Jr.
Born August 5, 1749 d. 1779
American politician, signer of the Declaration of Independence.
Joseph Justus Scaliger
Born August 5, 1540 d. 1609
French scholar, founder of modern chronology. He created the Julian Period calendar - which starts on January 1, 4713 B.C.
Deaths
Sold Murder Victims as BBQ
Joe Metheny
Died August 5, 2017 b. 1955
American serial killer. He claims to have chopped up several of his victims and used them as meat in a roadside BBQ stand he operated. He said his BBQ was delicious and no one can tell the difference between pork and human flesh when they are mixed together. The 450-pound (204 kg) murderer claims to have killed seven people and that he started his killing spree when his crack-addicted wife ran off with their son. He went under a bridge where he thought she would be, but she wasn't there, so he killed and chopped up two men who were there. Later that night, he lured two women under the bridge and killed them. An old man who was fishing happened to see him, so he killed him too. Two and a half weeks later he was arrested and charged with the murders of the two men he chopped up and spent 18 months in jail awaiting trial; however, the case was thrown out due to lack of evidence. He then lured two more women to his trailer and chopped up their bodies for meat which he used in an open-pit BBQ stand he operated. When he ran out his special ingredient, he lured another women to his trailer for the purpose of chopping her up, but she managed to escape and summoned authorities. They found the remains of his victims buried around his property.
Marilyn Monroe (Norma Jean Mortenson Baker)
Died August 5, 1962 b. 1926
American actress. Film: Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953), How To Marry a Millionaire (1953), and Some Like it Hot (1959).
Cook (left) and photo allegedly taken at North Pole
Cook (left) and photo allegedly taken at North Pole
Frederick A. Cook
Died August 5, 1940 b. 1865
American explorer, physician. He claims to have reached the North Pole in 1908, a year before Robert Peary reached the pole. However, his claims are disputed, and Peary is generally regarded as the first to reach the pole.
Tallest Married Couple
Anna Swan
Died August 5, 1888 b. 1846
Canadian giant, 7 feet 11 inches (2.42 m) tall. She and her husband, Martin Van Buren Bates at 7 feet 7.5 inches (2.324 m), were the tallest married couple. They were billed as "The Giants of Seville."
Toni Morrison (Chloe Anthony Wofford)
Died August 5, 2019 b. 1931
American Nobel-Pulitzer-winning author. Writings: Song of Solomon (1978), Beloved (1987, Pulitzer), and Jazz (1992). She was the first black woman to win the Nobel Prize in Literature (1993).
Charlotte Rae (Charlotte Rae Lubotsky)
Died August 5, 2018 b. 1926
American actress. TV: Diff'rent Strokes (Edna) and Facts of Life (Edna).
Sir Alec Guinness
Died August 5, 2000 b. 1914
English Oscar-winning actor. Film: The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957, Oscar), Lawrence of Arabia (1962), Doctor Zhivago (1965), and Star Wars (1977, Obi-Wan Kenobi).
Jeff Porcaro
Died August 5, 1992 b. 1954
American drummer, with the group Toto. Music: Rosanna (1982) and Africa (1982, #1). He died of an allergic reaction to pesticides after spraying his yard.
Soichiro Honda
Died August 5, 1991 b. 1906
Japanese motorcycle and automobile maker.
Richard Burton (Richard Jenkins, Jr.)
Died August 5, 1984 b. 1925
British Tony-winning actor. Film: Cleopatra (1963, Mark Antony), The Spy Who Came in from the Cold (1965), and Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1966). TV: Wuthering Heights (Heathcliff).
Carmen Miranda - The Brazilian Bombshell
Carmen Miranda (Maria do Carmo Miranda da Cunha)
Died August 5, 1955 b. 1909
Portuguese-born Brazilian dancer, actress. The "Brazilian Bombshell," known for her fruit-bearing headgear. She was the highest-paid performer of the 40s. She also experienced a famous wardrobe malfunction that exposed her pubic area.
Dame Millicent Garrett Fawcett
Died August 5, 1929 b. 1847
English feminist, leader of English women's movement.
Saint Oswald
Died August 5, 642 b. circa 604
King of Northumbria (c635-642), killed in battle against the pagan Penda.