642 A.D.
Death of Saint Oswald, King of Northumbria who was murdered at the age of 37 by Penda a rival king of Mercia. Oswald was known for his generosity to the poor.
1305 A.D.
Pope Clement V becomes the 198th successor of Peter. Some Vatican archives show this French pontiff was elected June 5, 1305 - others November 14, 1305, and still others on this day August 5, 1305. Regardless, Clement was the first pope to be submitted to the Captivity of Avignon due to the influence of Philip the Fair of France. During his nine year reign he called the 15th Ecumenical Council and founded the University of Oxford.
1498 A.D.
Christopher Columbus lands on the shores of South America, becoming the first European to set foot on the continent and bringing the faith to South America.
1503 A.D.
Pope Alexander IV is invited to dine with his cousin Cesare Borgia and Cardinal Adriano Castellesi by a family member who poisons the three. Cesare survived, but the cardinal and the Pope both died, the latter two weeks later on August 18.
1871 A.D.
Pope Pius IX issues his thirtieth encyclical commemorating his twenty-fifth anniversary as Pope entitled Saepe Venerabiles Fratres.
1898 A.D.
Pope Leo XIII releases his 67th encyclical in the twentieth year of his pontificate on civil marriage law entitled Quam religiosa.