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Highlight in History
On Aug. 5, 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
In 1864, during the Civil War, Union Adm. David G. Farragut led his fleet to victory in the Battle of Mobile Bay, Ala.
In 1884, the cornerstone for the Statue of Liberty’s pedestal was laid on Bedloe’s Island in New York Harbor.
In 1912, the Progressive Party, also known as the “Bull Moose Party,” convened in Chicago. (The party was formed by former President Theodore Roosevelt following a split in the Republican Party.)
In 1921, a baseball game was broadcast for the first time as KDKA radio announcer Harold Arlin described the action between the Pittsburgh Pirates and the Philadelphia Phillies from Forbes Field. (The Pirates won, 8-5.)
In 1924, the comic strip “Little Orphan Annie” by Harold Gray made its debut.
In 1936, Jesse Owens of the United States won the 200-meter dash at the Berlin Olympics, collecting the third of his four gold medals.
In 1953, Operation Big Switch began as prisoners taken during the Korean conflict were exchanged at Panmunjom.
In 1961, the amusement park Six Flags Over Texas had its official grand opening day in Arlington.
In 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.
In 1963, the United States, Britain and the Soviet Union signed a treaty in Moscow banning nuclear tests in the atmosphere, in space and underwater.
In 1969, the United States space probe Mariner 7 flew by Mars, sending back photographs and scientific data.
In 1981, the federal government began firing air traffic controllers who had gone out on strike.
Ten years ago
Israeli helicopters fired missiles at a suspected weapons factory in Gaza City following attacks that killed 13 people in 24 hours. 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. Death claimed Los Angeles Lakers play-by-play announcer Chick Hearn at age 85; former “Sesame Street” cast member Matt Robinson at age 65; and soap opera actor Joshua Ryan Evans at age 20.
Five years ago
President George W. Bush and Afghan President Hamid Karzai began meeting at Camp David to discuss security issues in Afghanistan. Lorena Ochoa won the Women’s British Open — the first women’s professional tournament played at venerable St. Andrews — for her first major title. Cardinal Jean-Marie Lustiger, one of the most influential Roman Catholic figures in France, died in Paris at age 80.
One year ago
Standard & Poor’s lowered the United States’ AAA credit rating by one notch to AA-plus. A federal jury convicted three New Orleans police officers, a former officer and a retired sergeant of civil rights violations in the 2005 shooting deaths of a teenager and a mentally disabled man crossing a bridge following Hurricane Katrina. A solar-powered robotic space explorer named Juno rocketed toward Jupiter on a five-year quest to discover the secret recipe for making planets.
National, International News
Related Photos
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In this Monday Aug. 5, 2002 file photo, the turret of the Civil War ironclad USS Monitor is lifted out of the ocean off the coast of Hatteras, N.C. The Associated Press
Discussion
Today in History for Sunday, Aug. 5, 2012
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