[Daily article] August 5: Stamata Revithi

Stamata Revithi was a Greek woman who ran the 40-kilometre marathon
during the 1896 Summer Olympics. The Games excluded women from
competition, but Revithi insisted that she be allowed to run. Revithi
ran one day after the men had completed the official race, and although
she finished the marathon in approximately 5 hours and 30 minutes and
found witnesses to sign their names and verify the running time, she was
not allowed to enter the Panathinaiko Stadium at the end of the race.
She intended to present her documentation to the Hellenic Olympic
Committee in the hopes that they would recognize her achievement, but it
is not known whether or not she did so. No known record survives of
Revithi's life after her run. According to contemporary sources, a
second woman, Melpomene, also ran the 1896 marathon race. There is
debate among Olympic historians as to whether or not Revithi and
Melpomene are the same person.

Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stamata_Revithi>

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Today's selected anniversaries:

641 or 642:

King Penda of Mercia defeated and killed King Oswald of
Northumbria at the Battle of Maserfield, traditionally believed to have
been fought in Oswestry, Shropshire, England.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Maserfield>

1888:

Bertha Benz made the first long-distance automobile trip, going