Events on August 5 in history

SS Pfalz (1913) (August 5, 1914)

World War I: The guns of Point Nepean fort at Port Phillip Heads in Victoria (Australia) fire across the bows of the Norddeutscher Lloyd steamer SS Pfalz which is attempting to leave the Port of Melbourne in ignorance of the declaration of war and she is detained; this is said to be the first Allied shot of the War.

Pfalz was a 6,557-ton cargo steamer operated by German shipping company Norddeutscher Lloyd. The ship became the target of the first shot fired by Australian forces in World War I, soon after departing the Port of Melbourne in Australia.

References

SS Pfalz (1913)

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Events on 1914

28 Jun

Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria
Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria and his wife Sophie are assassinated in Sarajevo; this is the casus belli of World War I.
26 Jul

Bulgaria
Serbia and Bulgaria interrupt diplomatic relationship.
5 Aug

Traffic light
In Cleveland, Ohio, the first electric traffic light is installed.
15 Aug

Frank Lloyd Wright
A servant of American architect Frank Lloyd Wright murders seven people and sets fire to the living quarters of Wright's Wisconsin home, Taliesin.
1 Sep

Petrograd
St. Petersburg, Russia, changes its name to Petrograd.

Events on August 5 in history

SS Pfalz (1913) (August 5, 1914)

References

Choose Another Date

Events on 1914

Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria

Bulgaria

Traffic light

Frank Lloyd Wright

Petrograd