Updated July 5, 2014, 9:28 am
On July 5, 1975, Arthur Ashe became the first black man to win a Wimbledon singles title as he defeated Jimmy Connors.
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On July 5, 1810, P. T. Barnum, the great American showman, was born. Following his death on April 7, 1891, his obituary appeared in The Times.
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On This Date
| 1810 | Sowman and promoter Phineas T. Barnum was born in Bethel, Conn. |
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| 1811 | Venezuela declared independence from Spain. |
| 1830 | The French occupied the North African city of Algiers. |
| 1865 | William Booth founded the Salvation Army in London. |
| 1935 | President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the National Labor Relations Act, which allowed labor to organize for the purpose of collective bargaining. |
| 1946 | The bikini made its debut during an outdoor fashion show at the Molitor Pool in Paris. |
| 1948 | Britain's National Health Service Act went into effect, providing government-financed medical and dental care. |
| 1975 | The Cape Verde Islands became independent after 500 years of Portuguese rule. |
| 1975 | Arthur Ashe became the first African-American man to win a Wimbledon singles title as he defeated Jimmy Connors. |
| 1991 | Regulators in eight countries shut down the Bank of Credit and Commerce International, charging it with fraud, drug money laundering and illegal infiltration into the U.S. banking system. |
| 1997 | Martina Hingis, 16, became the youngest Wimbledom singles champion in 110 years. |
| 2002 | Baseball Hall of Famer Ted Williams died at age 83. |
| 2006 | North Korea test-fired seven missiles into the Sea of Japan, including at least one believed capable of reaching the U.S. mainland. |
| 2006 | Enron founder Kenneth Lay, facing decades in prison, died of heart disease at age 64. |
| 2009 | The worst ethnic violence in decades in China erupted in the far western Xinjiang region. Some 200 people were killed. |
| 2005 | Roger Federer of Switzerland won Wimbledon for his record 15th Grand Slam tennis title. |
| 2011 | A jury in Orlando, Fla., found Casey Anthony, 25, not guilty of murder, manslaughter and child abuse in the 2008 disappearance and death of her 2-year-old daughter, Caylee. |
Historic Birthdays
P. T. Barnum 7/5/1810 - 4/7/1891 American showman.Go to obituary »
| 69 | David Farragut 7/5/1801 - 8/14/1870 American Civil War admiral |
|---|---|
| 59 | Robert Fitzroy 7/5/1805 - 4/30/1865 English naval officer; commanded the H.M.S. Beagle |
| 48 | Cecil Rhodes 7/5/1853 - 3/26/1902 English financier and empire builder of South Africa |
| 84 | Edouard Herriot 7/5/1872 - 3/26/1957 French premier (1924-5, 1926, 1932) |
| 71 | Judah Leon Magnes 7/5/1877 - 10/27/1948 American founder of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem |
| 66 | Dwight Davis 7/5/1879 - 11/28/1945 American tennis player |
| 80 | Wanda Landowska 7/5/1879 - 8/16/1959 Polish-born harpsichordist |
| 101 | Willem Drees 7/5/1886 - 5/14/1988 Dutch prime minister (1948-58) |
| 95 | John Howard Northrop 7/5/1891 - 5/27/1987 American Nobel Prize-winning biochemist (1946) |
| 82 | Henry Cabot Lodge 7/5/1902 - 2/27/1985 American diplomat and U.S. senator from Massachusetts (1937-44, 1947-52) |
| 62 | Georges Pompidou 7/5/1911 - 4/2/1974 French premier (1962-8) and president (1969-74) |
| 30 | Manolete 7/5/1917 - 8/29/1947 Spanish bullfighter |