Today is Monday, August fifth, the 218th day of the 12 months 2024. There are 148 days left within the 12 months.
Today in history:
On August 5, 1962, South African anti-apartheid activist Nelson Mandela was arrested on charges of leaving the country with no passport and inciting staff to strike. This was the start of a 27-year prison sentence.
Also on this date:
In 1861, Abraham Lincoln signed the Revenue Act of 1861, which imposed the primary income tax on Americans (a flat 3% tax on anyone earning greater than $800 a 12 months) to fund the Union's efforts within the Civil War.
In 1884, the muse stone for the pedestal of the Statue of Liberty was laid on Bedloe's Island in New York Harbor.
In 1914, what’s believed to be the primary electric traffic light system was installed in Cleveland, Ohio, on the intersection of East a hundred and fifth Street and Euclid Avenue.
In 1936, American Jesse Owens won the 200-meter race on the Olympic Games in Berlin, taking home the third of his 4 gold medals.
In 1953, Operation Big Switch began with the exchange of the last soldiers captured through the Korean War in Panmunjom.
In 1957, the music and dance show “American Bandstand,” hosted by Dick Clark, made its national debut on ABC-TV, marking the start of a 30-year run.
In 1962, 36-year-old Marilyn Monroe was found dead in her Los Angeles home. Her death was ruled a probable suicide attributable to “acute barbiturate poisoning.”
In 1964, US Navy pilot Everett Alvarez Jr. became the primary American aviator to be shot down and captured by North Vietnam; he was held captive until February 1973.
In 1974, the White House released transcripts of tape recordings showing that President Richard Nixon and his chief of staff, HR Haldeman, had discussed a plan to make use of the CIA to thwart the FBI's Watergate investigation in June 1972. The release of the recordings led to Nixon's resignation.
In 2010, 33 staff were trapped in a copper mine in northern Chile when a tunnel collapsed (all were rescued after 69 days of entrapment).
In 2011, the solar-powered space robot Juno rocketed toward Jupiter to spend five years discovering the key recipe for planet formation. (Juno reached Jupiter on July 4, 2016.)
Today's birthdays:
- Country songwriter Bobby Braddock is 84.
- Actress Loni Anderson is 79.
- Actress Erika Slezak is 78.
- Rock singer Rick Derringer is 77.
- Actress Holly Palance is 74.
- Pop singer Samantha Sang is 73.
- Rock musician Eddie Ojeda (Twisted Sister) is 69.
- Actress and singer Maureen McCormick is 68.
- Rock musician Pat Smear is 65.
- Author David Baldacci is 64.
- Actress Janet McTeer is 63.
- Patrick Ewing, a member of the Basketball Hall of Fame, is 62.
- Actor Mark Strong is 61.
- Director and screenwriter James Gunn is 58.
- Actor Jonathan Silverman is 58.
- Actor Jesse Williams is 44.
- Actor Brendon Ryan Barrett is 38.
- Actress Meegan Warner is 33.
- Actress/singer Olivia Holt is 27.
- Actor Albert Tsai is 20.
- Actor Devin Trey Campbell is 16.
Originally published:
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