On This Day in History - August 5th - Almanac

Today is Sunday, Aug. 5, the 217th day of 2018 with 148 to follow.

The moon is waning. Morning stars are Mars, Neptune, Saturn and Uranus. Evening stars are Jupiter, Mars, Neptune, Saturn, Uranus and Venus.

Those born on this date are under the sign of Leo. They include French novelist Guy de Maupassant in 1850; film director John Huston in 1906; astronaut Neil Armstrong, first man to step on the moon, in 1930; hockey Hall of Fame member Herb Brooks in 1937; actor Loni Anderson in 1945 (age 73); actor Maureen McCormick in 1956 (age 62); Dead or Alive singer Pete Burns in 1959; basketball Hall of Fame member Patrick Ewing in 1962 (age 56); actor Jonathan Silverman in 1966 (age 52); director James Gunn in 1966 (age 52); rapper Adam Yauch (Beastie Boys) in 1964; actor Jesse Williams in 1981 (age 37); Olympic runner Lolo Jones in 1982 (age 36); actor Adam Irigoyen in 1997 (age 21); actor Olivia Holt in 1997 (age 21).

On this date in history:

In 1833, Chicago, with a population of about 200, was incorporated as a village.

In 1858, after several unsuccessful attempts, the first telegraph line across the Atlantic Ocean was completed.

In 1861, U.S. President Abraham Lincoln approved the first federal income tax. A wartime measure, it was rescinded in 1872.

In 1949, an estimated 6,000 people were killed and about 20,000 injured in an earthquake that destroyed dozens of towns in Ecuador.

In 1957, Dick Clark's American Bandstand began airing nationally. Clark, who hosted the show for decades, as well as New Year's Rockin' Eve, died April 2012.

In 1962, Marilyn Monroe died of an overdose of barbiturates. She was 35.

In 1974, U.S. President Richard Nixon admitted ordering the Watergate investigation halted six days after the break-in. Nixon said he expected to be impeached.

In 1981, by executive order, U.S. President Ronald Reagan fired 11,359 air-traffic controllers on strike over failed negotiations to raise their pay and shorten their workweek.

In 1991, Iraq said it misled U.N. inspectors about secret biological weapons and also admitted extracting plutonium from fuel at a nuclear plant.

In 2003, U.S. Episcopal officials approved election of the church's first openly gay bishop, V. Gene Robinson of New Hampshire.

In 2007, U.S. President George W. Bush signed into law a bill to allow government eavesdropping of telephone conversations and email of U.S. citizens without a warrant if there's "reasonable belief" that one party isn't in the United States.

In 2009, former U.S. Rep. William Jefferson, D-La., was convicted on 11 counts of conspiracy, bribery, wire fraud, money laundering and racketeering for allegedly helping U.S. firms arrange business deals in Africa. He began serving a 13-year federal prison sentence in 2012.

In 2010, the U.S. Senate cleared the way for Solicitor General Elena Kagan to become the newest member of the Supreme Court when it voted 63-37 to confirm her nomination by President Barack Obama. She was sworn in two days later to succeed the retiring John Stevens.

In 2012, a gunman police described as a white supremacist shot six people to death, wounded four others, then killed himself at a Sikh temple in Oak Creek, Wis.

In 2014, an Afghan soldier emerged from a hiding place at a training camp in Afghanistan and opened fire on American and European military officers, killing U.S. Maj. Gen. Harold J. Greene and injuring more than a dozen other service members.

In 2016, the Summer Olympics opening ceremony kicked off in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

A thought for the day: "When you find peace within yourself, you become the kind of person who can live at peace with others." -- Peace Pilgrim