Saturday, August 7, 2021

This Date in History, August 5: Sir William Wallace, Chicago and Cleveland's Lights

From the August 5, 2021 Chicago tribune "On August 5..."

Some very interesting things happening this date in history.

1305:  Sir William Wallace who unsuccessfully led Scottish resistance to the English in 1298, was captured near Glasgow by the English; he was executed for treason on August 23, 1305.  (From the movie "Braveheart.")

1833:  Chicago was incorporated as a village with population of 200.  (And, they weren't killing each other back then.)

1861:  The U.S. government levied an income tax for the first time.  Incomes of more than $800 were taxed at the rate of 3 percent.  (Funds needed to fight the Civil War.)

1884:  The cornerstone of the Statue of Liberty was laid on Bedloe's (now Liberty) Island near the entrance of New York Harbor.

1914:  The first electric traffic lights were installed in Cleveland, Ohio.

--Cooter


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