Today in History – September 5th

Published September 5, 2012 |

1548, Catherine Parr, Sixth wife of Henry VIII of England (b. c.1512) died.
1698, In effort to Westernize his nobility, Tsar Peter I of Russia imposes tax on beards for all men except clergy and peasantry.
1725, Wedding of Louis XV and Maria Leszczynska.
1774, 1st Continental Congress assembles in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
1793, French Revolution the French National Convention initiates the Reign of Terror.
1800, Napoleon surrenders Malta to Great Britain.
1812, War of 1812: Siege of Fort Wayne begins when Chief Winamac’s forces attack 2 soldiers returning from fort’s outhouses.
1836, Sam Houston is elected as the 1st president of the Republic of Texas.
1839, UK declared 1st Opium War on the Qing Dynasty of China.
1846, Jack Daniel, Distiller (d. 1911) was born.
1847, Jesse James, American outlaw (d. 1882) was born.
1862, American Civil War: the Potomac River is crossed at White’s Ford in the Maryland Campaign.
1862, James Glaisher and Henry Tracey Coxwell break world record for altitude whilst collecting data in their balloon.
1873, Cornelius Vanderbilt III, American inventor, engineer, soldier (d. 1942) was born.
1877, Oglala Sioux chief Crazy Horse is bayoneted by US soldier after resisting confinement in guardhouse at Ft Robinson in NE.
1882, The 1st US Labor Day parade is held in New York City.
1887, Fire at Theatre Royal in Exeter, England killed 186
1897, Arthur Nielsen, American market analyst (d. 1980) was born.
1905, Russo-Japanese War: In New Hampshire, Treaty of Portsmouth, mediated by US President Theodore Roosevelt, ends the war.
1912, Frank Thomas, American animator (d. 2004) was born.
1916, Frank Shuster, Canadian comedian (Wayne and Shuster) (d. 2002) was born.
1918, Decree “On Red Terror” is published in Russia
1932, The French Upper Volta is broken apart between Ivory Coast, French Sudan, and Niger.
1941, Whole territory of Estonia is occupied by Nazi Germany.
1944, Belgium, Netherlands and Luxembourg constitute Benelux.
1946, Freddie Mercury, Zanzibar-born English singer and songwriter (Queen) (d. 1991) was born.
1948, In France, Robert Schuman becomes President of the Council while being Foreign minister.
1957, Cuba: Fulgencio Batista bombs the revolt in Cienfuegos.
1960, boxer Muhammad Ali is awarded gold medal for his 1st place in light heavyweight boxing competition at Olympic Games in Rome.
1969, US Army Lt Wm Calley is charged with 6 specifications of premeditated murder for death of 109 Vietnamese civilians in My Lai
1975, Sacramento, California: Lynette Fromme attempts to assassinate US President Gerald Ford.
1977, Voyager program: Voyager 1 is launched after a brief delay.
1978, Camp David Accords: Menachem Begin and Anwar Sadat begin peace process at Camp David, Maryland.
1984, STS-41-D: The Space Shuttle Discovery lands after its maiden voyage.
1997, Mother Teresa, Albanian-born missionary and humanitarian, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize (b. 1910) died.
1999, Allen Funt, American radio and television personality (b. 1914) died.

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Chris Rivait

Chris loves history and hopes that Yesteeyear becomes a place where everyone can share their history knowledge. Chris owns an Internet Marketing company, Arrivait Marketing. He has a wonderful wife and four great children.