What happened on this day in history: Henry I is crowned King of England in 1100, Neil Armstrong is born in 1930, and other noteworthy events from August 5th.
1100: Henry I Becomes King Of England
Henry I, the youngest son of William the Conqueror, is crowned king of England after his brother dies in a hunting accident. Henry brought peace to England and in 1106, bested his eldest brother to become the Duke of Normandy. Ultimately, he was succeeded by his nephew, Stephen of Blois, although he had planned for his daughter Matilda to take the throne, which resulted in a period of civil war called the Anarchy.
1620: The Mayflower Makes Its Failed First Attempt To Depart England
Public DomainMayflower in Plymouth Harbor by William Halsall. 1882.
The Mayflower, carrying 102 passengers hoping to reach North America, attempts to depart from Southampton, England. However, the ship had to abandon its journey just a week later. Its companion ship, the Speedwell, sprung a leak, so the two ships returned to port. Frustrated with the time lost, the Mayflower left without the Speedwell a month later.
1930: Neil Armstrong Is Born
NASANeil Armstrong was commander of the Apollo 11 mission that landed humans on the Moon for the first time.
Neil Armstrong, the first person to ever walk on the Moon, is born in Wapakoneta, Ohio. Armstrong’s interest in aviation began when he took his first airplane ride at age six. After he graduated with a degree in aeronautical engineering in 1955, he was hired as a pilot by the agency that would become NASA. Eventually, Armstrong became a household name on July 20, 1969, when he stepped out of Apollo 11 onto the Moon’s surface and said, “That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.”
1962: Marilyn Monroe’s Body Is Discovered
Keystone/Getty ImagesMedical attendants remove the body of Marilyn Monroe from her home.
World-famous actress and pop culture icon Marilyn Monroe is discovered dead by her housekeeper, Eunice Murray, in Los Angeles. During the early morning hours, Murray had a bad feeling about Monroe’s safety, who had been acting strangely the night before. Peaking through a window, Murray saw Monroe lying face down on her bed clutching a phone receiver. Tests conducted on Monroe’s body found that she had died of a barbiturate overdose in an apparent suicide, though questions remain to this day.
2009: Dalia Dippolito Is Arrested For Trying To Have Her Husband Killed
Police call Dalia Dippolito and inform her that her husband Mike has been murdered — but it was all a set-up. Dalia broke down when police told her of her husband’s death, but in reality she had hired a hitman to have him killed. That hitman turned out to be an undercover cop, who led officers in a sting operation against her. Meanwhile, her husband Mike Dippolito was alive and well. In the end, Dalia Dippolito was sentenced to 16 years in prison.
