Today In History
Today is Monday, Aug. 5, the 217th day of 2019. There are 148 days left in the year.
TODAY’S HIGHLIGHT
› 1962: Actress Marilyn Monroe, 36, was found dead in her Los Angeles home; her death was ruled a probable suicide from “acute barbiturate poisoning.”
ON THIS DATE
› 1864: During the Civil War, Union Adm. David G. Farragut led his fleet to victory in the Battle of Mobile Bay, Alabama.
› 1933: President Franklin D. Roosevelt established the National Labor Board, which was later replaced with the National Labor Relations Board.
› 1936: Jesse Owens of the United States won the 200-meter dash at the Berlin Olympics, collecting the third of his four gold medals.
› 1953: Operation Big Switch began as remaining prisoners taken during the Korean War were exchanged at Panmunjom.
› 1962: South African anti-apartheid activist Nelson Mandela was arrested on charges of leaving the country without a passport and inciting workers to strike; it was the beginning of 27 years of imprisonment.
› 1964: U.S. Navy pilot Everett Alvarez Jr. became the first American flier to be shot down and captured by North Vietnam; he was held prisoner until February 1973.
› 1967: The U.S. space probe Mariner 7 flew by Mars, sending back photographs and scientific data.
› 1974: The White House released transcripts of subpoenaed tape recordings showing that President Richard Nixon and his chief of staff, H.R. Haldeman, had discussed a plan in June 1972 to use the CIA to thwart the FBI’s Watergate investigation; revelation of the tape sparked Nixon’s resignation.
› 1991: Democratic congressional leaders formally launched an investigation into whether the 1980 Reagan-Bush campaign had secretly conspired with Iran to delay release of American hostages until after the presidential election, thereby preventing an “October surprise” that supposedly would have benefited President Jimmy Carter. (A task force later concluded there was “no credible evidence” of such a deal.)
› 2002: The coral-encrusted gun turret of the Civil War ironclad USS Monitor was raised from the floor of the Atlantic, nearly 140 years after the historic warship sank during a storm.
TODAY’S BIRTHDAYS
Actor John Saxon is 83. College Football Hall of Famer and former NFL player Roman Gabriel is
79. Country songwriter Bobby Braddock is 79. Actress Loni Anderson is
74. Actress Erika Slezak is 73. Rock singer Rick Derringer is 72. Actress Holly Palance is 69. Pop singer Samantha Sang is
68. Rock musician Eddie Ojeda (Twisted Sister) is 64. Actress-singer Maureen McCormick is 63. Rock musician Pat Smear is 60. Author David Baldacci is 59. Actress Tawney Kitaen is 58. Actress Janet McTeer is 58. Country musician Mark O’Connor is 58. Basketball Hall of Famer Patrick Ewing is
57. Director-screenwriter James Gunn is 53. Actor Jonathan Silverman is
53. Country singer Terri Clark is 51. Retired MLB All-Star John Olerud is 51. Actress Stephanie Szostak is 48. Rock musician Eicca Toppinen (Apocalyptica) is 44. Country musician Will Sellers (Old Dominion) is 41. Actor Jesse Williams is
39. Actor Brendon Ryan Barrett is 33. Actress Meegan Warner (TV: “TURN: Washington’s Spies”) is
28. Actress/singer Olivia Holt is 22. Actor Albert Tsai is 15. Actor Devin Trey Campbell is 11.