American Bandstand, a show dedicated to the teenage “baby-boomers” by playing the songs and showing popular dances of the time, debuts on the ABC television network.

American Bandstand was a popular American music-performance and dance television show that aired from 1952 to 1989. Created and hosted by Dick Clark, the show featured teenagers dancing to Top 40 music and live performances by popular musical acts of the time. It played a significant role in shaping American pop culture and music trends.

Origins: The show began as a local program called “Bandstand” in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1952. Dick Clark became the host in 1956, and the show was renamed “American Bandstand.”

Format: The show featured teenagers dancing to the latest hit songs, with a few musical performances by popular artists. Dick Clark’s interviews with the performers and the audience were a staple of the program.

Influence: American Bandstand introduced new music and dance trends to a nationwide audience. It helped launch the careers of many famous musicians and bands, including Elvis Presley, Buddy Holly, and the Beach Boys.

Cultural Impact: The show played a crucial role in integrating American television during the Civil Rights Movement by featuring black artists and allowing racially mixed audiences.

Longevity: American Bandstand was one of the longest-running television shows of its time, spanning almost four decades. It adapted to changing music styles and cultural shifts, maintaining its popularity across generations.

End of an Era: The show moved from its original Philadelphia location to Los Angeles in 1964. It eventually went off the air in 1989, marking the end of an era for music television.

Nelson Mandela is jailed. He would not be released until 1990.

Nelson Mandela was jailed primarily for his involvement in the anti-apartheid struggle in South Africa. Apartheid was a system of racial segregation and discrimination enforced by the South African government from 1948 to the early 1990s, which institutionalized racial inequalities and denied basic human rights to the non-white population, particularly Black South Africans.

Mandela, a prominent leader of the African National Congress (ANC), was arrested and imprisoned for his role in advocating for the rights of Black South Africans and opposing apartheid policies. He was involved in various activities aimed at challenging the racial injustices of the system, including acts of civil disobedience, protests, and even acts of sabotage.

In 1962, Mandela was arrested and subsequently sentenced to life imprisonment in 1964 for his involvement in planning acts of sabotage against government installations. He spent a total of 27 years in prison, most of it on Robben Island, before he was released in 1990. His imprisonment transformed him into a global symbol of resistance against apartheid, and his release marked a significant turning point in the struggle against racial segregation in South Africa.

Mandela’s long incarceration did not deter his commitment to peaceful negotiation and reconciliation. Following his release, he played a pivotal role in negotiating an end to apartheid and the establishment of a multiracial democratic government in South Africa. In 1994, Nelson Mandela became the country’s first Black president in its first fully representative democratic elections, and he continued to work towards national unity, social justice, and human rights until his retirement from politics in 1999.

The Mayflower departs from Southampton, England, carrying would-be settlers, on its first attempt to reach North America; it is forced to dock in Dartmouth when its companion ship, the Speedwell, springs a leak.

In Cleveland, Ohio, the first electric traffic light is installed on 5 August, 1914.

The Battle of Dogger Bank takes place.

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Mars 6 is launched from the USSR.

The Mars 6 spacecraft carried an array of instruments to study Mars. The lander was equipped with a thermometer and barometer to determine the surface conditions, an accelerometer and radio altimeter for descent, and instruments to analyse the surface material including a mass spectrometer. The coast stage, or bus, carried a magnetometer, plasma traps, cosmic ray and micrometeoroid detectors, and an instrument to study proton and electron fluxes from the Sun.

Built by Lavochkin, Mars 6 was the first of two 3MP spacecraft launched to Mars in 1973 and was followed by Mars 7. Two orbiters, Mars 4 and Mars 5, were launched earlier in the 1973 Mars launch window and were expected to relay data for the two landers. However, Mars 4 failed to enter orbit, and Mars 5 failed after a few days in orbit.

Mars 6 was launched by a Proton-K carrier rocket with a Blok D upper stage, flying from Baikonur Cosmodrome Site 81/23. The launch occurred at 17:45:48 UTC on 5 August 1973, with the first three stages placing the spacecraft and upper stage into a low Earth parking orbit before the Blok D fired to propel Mars 6 into heliocentric orbit bound for Mars. The spacecraft performed a course correction on 13 August 1973.

Mars 6’s lander separated from the flyby bus on 12 March 1974 at an altitude of 48,000 kilometres 30,000 mi from the surface of Mars. The bus made a flyby with a closest approach of 1,600 kilometres 990 mi. The lander encountered the atmosphere of Mars at 09:05:53 UTC, slowing from 5,600 to 600 metres per second 12,500 to 1,300 mph as it passed through the upper atmosphere. A parachute was then deployed to further slow the probe’s descent, and retrorockets were intended to fire during the last seconds before the probe reached the ground.

The spacecraft returned data for 224 seconds during its descent through the Martian atmosphere. However, at 09:11:05 UTC, with the spacecraft about to fire its retrorockets in preparation for landing, all contact was lost. Due to a design flaw, a chip aboard the spacecraft had degraded during the mission, and a large amount of the data which had been returned was unusable.

The Mayflower departs from Southampton, England on its first try to reach North America.

American Bandstand debuts on the ABC television network.

Harry Houdini spends 91 minutes underwater in a sealed tank before escaping.