On This Day August 5

1993
Family and Medical Leave Act: The law providing workers with up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave for certain family and medical emergencies goes into effect.

1974
Watergate: Pres. Nixon releases transcripts of conversations showing his involvement in the Watergate break-in cover-up activities.

1936
Jesse Owens: The black American track star upsets Hitler's theory of Aryan superiority by winning his third gold medal, for the 200-meter race. He went on to win a total of four.

1933
National Labor Board: Established to mediate disputes regarding Pres. Roosevelt's Reemployment Agreement.

1921
First baseball game broadcast over radio, KDKA of Pittsburgh broadcasts the Pittsburgh Pirates beating the Philadelphia Phillies (8-5).

1914
First U.S. electric traffic light: Cleveland, Ohio installs a light at the intersection of Euclid Ave. and East 105th St.

1864
Damn the torpedoes! Full speed ahead: Union Admiral David Farragut makes his famous proclamation during the Civil War battle of Mobile Bay.

1861
First U.S. income tax: Pres. Lincoln signs into law a 3% tax on incomes over $800, effective January 1, 1861. It was rescinded in 1872.

1858
First transatlantic telegraph cable: American financier Cyrus West Field completes the laying of the cable connecting Ireland and Newfoundland. It failed September 1st.

1583
First English Colony in North America: While on a search for a Northwest Passage to the Far East, English explorer Sir Humphrey Gilbert lands and establishes a colony at St. Johns, Newfoundland.

1962
Patrick Ewing, Jamaican-born basketball player, 1986 NBA Rookie of the Year, led the U.S. Olympic basketball team to gold medals in 1984 and 1992.

1945
Loni Anderson, American actress. TV: WKRP in Cincinnati (Jennifer Marlowe).

1943
Sammi Smith, American country singer. Music: Help Me Make It Through The Night (1971, #1, Grammy).

1935
John Saxon, American actor. TV: The Bold Ones (Dr. Ted Stuart) and Falcon Crest (Tony Cumson).

1914 d. 1992
Anita Colby (Anita Couniham), one of America's first super-models, known as "The Face." She was the first model to earn $100 per hour. She turned down marriage proposals from Clark Gable and James Stewart.

1906 d. 1987
John Huston, American Oscar-winning, director, writer, The Maltese Falcon (1941) and African Queen (1952).

1862 d. 1890
John Merrick (Joseph Carey Merrick), The Elephant Man. In 2003, DNA testing showed that he actually suffered from Proteus Syndrome.

1850 d. 1893
Guy de Maupassant, French short-story writer, novelist. Writings: Boule de suif (1880) and Pierre et Jean (1888).

1815 d. 1901
Edward John Eyre, British colonial governor, explorer, governor of St. Vincent (1854-60), Antigua (1860-62), and Jamaica (1864-66), and for whom Lake Eyre in South Australia is named.

1749 d. 1779
Thomas Lynch, American politician, signer of the Declaration of Independence.

1540 d. 1609
Joseph Justus Scaliger, French scholar, founder of modern chronology. He created the Julian Period calendar - it starts on January 1, 4713 B.C.

2000 b. 1914
Sir Alec Guinness, English Oscar-winning actor. Film: The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957, Oscar), Lawrence of Arabia (1962), Doctor Zhivago (1965), and Star Wars (1977, Obi-Wan Kenobi).

1992 b. 1954
Jeff Porcaro, American drummer, with the group Toto. Music: Rosanna (1982) and Africa (1982, #1). He died of an allergic reaction to pesticide after spraying his yard.

1984 b. 1925
Richard Burton (Richard Jenkins, Jr.), British Tony-winning actor. Film: Cleopatra (1963, Mark Antony), The Spy Who Came in from the Cold (1965), and Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1966). TV: Wuthering Heights (Heathcliff).

1962 b. 1926
Marilyn Monroe (Norma Jean Mortenson Baker), American actress. Film: Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953), How To Marry a Millionaire (1953), and Some Like it Hot (1959).

1955 b. 1909
Carmen Miranda (Maria do Carmo Miranda Da Cunha), Portuguese-born Brazilian dancer, actress, the "Brazilian Bombshell," known for her fruit-bearing headgear. She was the highest-paid performer of the 40s. She also experienced a famous wardrobe malfunction that exposed her pubic area.

1929 b. 1847
Dame Millicent Garrett Fawcett, English feminist, leader of English women's movement.

1888 b. 1846
Anna Swan, Canadian giant, 7' 5½" tall. She and her husband, Martin Van Buren Bates at 7' 4", were billed as the "The Giants of Seville."

642 b. circa 604
Saint Oswald, King of Northumbria (c635-642), killed in battle against the pagan Penda.

August 5

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