Today in History: August 5, Nelson Mandela arrested

Today is Wednesday, Aug. 5, the 217th day of 2026. There are 148 days left in the year.

Today in history:

On Aug. 5, 1962, South African anti-apartheid activist Nelson Mandela was arrested on charges of leaving the country without a valid passport and inciting workers to strike; it was the beginning of 27 years of imprisonment.

Also on this date:

In 1861, Abraham Lincoln signed the Revenue Act of 1861, which levied the first income tax on Americans (a flat tax of 3% on those making over $800/year) to help fund the Union’s Civil War effort.

In 1864, during the Civil War, Union Adm. David G. Farragut led his fleet to victory in the Battle of Mobile Bay, Alabama.

In 1884, the cornerstone for the Statue of Liberty’s pedestal was laid on Bedloe’s Island in New York Harbor.

In 1914, the first electric traffic light system was installed in Cleveland, Ohio, at the intersection of East 105th Street and Euclid Avenue.

In 1936, Jesse Owens of the United States won the 200-meter dash at the Berlin Olympics, collecting the third of his four gold medals.

In 1953, Operation Big Switch began as prisoners taken during the Korean War were exchanged at Panmunjom.

In 1957, the music and dance show “American Bandstand,” hosted by Dick Clark, made its national network debut, beginning a 30-year run on ABC.

In 1962, Marilyn Monroe, 36, was found dead in her Los Angeles home; her death was ruled a probable suicide from “acute barbiturate poisoning.”

In 1964, U.S. Navy pilot Everett Alvarez Jr. became the first American flyer to be shot down and captured by North Vietnam; he was held prisoner until February 1973.

In 1974, the White House released transcripts of subpoenaed tape recordings showing that President Richard Nixon and his chief of staff, H.R. Haldeman, had discussed a plan in June 1972 to use the CIA to thwart the FBI’s Watergate investigation; revelation of the tape sparked Nixon’s resignation.

In 2010, 33 workers were trapped in a copper mine in northern Chile after a tunnel caved in (all were rescued 69 days later).

In 2011, the sun-powered robotic explorer Juno rocketed toward Jupiter on a five-year quest to discover the secret recipe for making planets. (Juno reached Jupiter on July 4, 2016.)

In 2024, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who had ruled Bangladesh for 15 years, fled to India after weeks of student-led protests in which more than 800 people were killed and about 1,400 were injured.

Today’s Birthdays: Country music songwriter Bobby Braddock is 86. Pop singer Samantha Sang is 75. Actor-singer Maureen McCormick is 70. Rock musician Pat Smear is 67. Author David Baldacci is 66. Actor Janet McTeer is 65. Basketball Hall of Famer Patrick Ewing is 64. Actor Mark Strong is 63. Director-screenwriter James Gunn is 60. Actor Jonathan Silverman is 60. Actor Jesse Williams is 45. Actor/singer Olivia Holt is 29. NBA guard Anthony Edwards is 25. Actor Albert Tsai is 22.