August 5: Independence Day for Burkina Faso ( 1960)
- 1305 - William Wallace, leader of the Scottish resistance against England, was captured near Glasgow and transported to London for trial and execution.
- 1858 - Cyrus West Field and colleagues completed the first transatlantic telegraph cable.
- 1860 - Carl IV of Sweden-Norway was crowned king of Norway, in Trondheim.
- 1861 - The United States government issued its first income tax: 3% of all incomes over US $800 (later rescinded in 1872).
- 1914 - The first electric traffic light was installed in Cleveland, Ohio.