August 6
is the 218th day of the year in the
Gregorian Calendar (219th in
leap years), with 147 days remaining.
*
1538 -
Bogotá,
Colombia, founded by
Gonzalo Jiménez de Quesada.
*
1787 - Sixty proof sheets of the
Constitution of the United States are delivered to the
Constitutional Convention.
*
1806 -
Francis II, the last
Holy Roman Emperor, abdicates, thus ending the
Holy Roman Empire.
*
1819 -
Norwich University founded in
Vermont as the first private military school in the
United States.
*
1825 -
Bolivia gains independence from
Spain.
*
1845 -
Russian Geographical Society is founded in
Saint Petersburg.
*
1861 -
British annexation of
Lagos,
Nigeria.
*
1862 -
American Civil War: The
Confederate ironclad CSS Arkansas is scuttled on the
Mississippi River after suffering damage in a battle with
USS Essex near
Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
*
1890 - At
Auburn Prison in
New York, the first
execution by
electric chair is performed, with murderer
William Kemmler as the subject.
*
1901 -
Kiowa land in
Oklahoma is opened for white settlement, effectively dissolving the contiguous
reservation.
*
1909 -
Alice Ramsey and three friends become the first women to complete a transcontinental auto trip.
*
1912 - The
Bull Moose Party meets at the
Chicago Coliseum.
*
1914 -
World War I:
First Battle of the Atlantic - Two days after
Britain declared war on
Germany over the German invasion of
Belgium, ten
German U-boats leave their base in
Heligoland to attack
Royal Navy warships in the
North Sea.
*1914 -
World War I:
Serbia declares war on
Germany;
Austria declares war on
Russia.
*1914 -
Denis Patrick Dowd Jr. enlists in the
French Foreign Legion, becoming the first
American to fight in
World War I.
*
1915 -
World War I:
Battle of Sari Bair - The
Allies mount a diversionary attack timed to coincide with a major Allied landing of reinforcements at
Suvla Bay.
*
1923 -
Henry Sullivan swims the
English Channel.
*
1926 -
Gertrude Ederle becomes first woman to swim across the
English Channel.
*1926 - In
New York, the
Warner Brothers'
Vitaphone system premieres with the movie
Don Juan starring
John Barrymore.
*1926 -
Harry Houdini performs his greatest feat, spending 91 minutes underwater in a sealed tank before escaping.
*
1941 - A curfew is imposed on
US gas stations in preparation for the upcoming war.
*
1942 -
Queen Wilhelmina is the first reigning queen to address a joint session of the
United States congress.
*
1945 -
World War II: the
Atomic bombing of Hiroshima. An
atomic bomb codenamed
Little Boy is dropped by the
American B-29 Enola Gay on the city of
Hiroshima in
Japan at 8:16 a.m., killing 80,000 outright with another 60,000 dead by the end of the year due to
fallout sickness. Ultimately, about 200,000 die due to the atomic bomb.
*
1956 - After going bankrupt in
1955, the
American broadcaster
DuMont Television Network has its final broadcast, a boxing match from
St. Nicholas Arena.
*
1960 -
Cuban Revolution: In response to a
United States embargo,
Cuba nationalizes
American and foreign-owned property in the nation.
*
1962 -
Jamaica becomes independent.
*
1965 -
US President Lyndon B. Johnson signs the
Voting Rights Act of 1965 into
United States law.
*
1966 -
Braniff Airlines Flight 250 crashes in
Falls City, NE killing all 42 on board.
*
1976 -
Zulfikar Ali Bhutto lays foundation-stone of
Port Qasim,
Karachi.
*
1984 -
Pop star
Prince releases
Purple Rain, the album which would launch him to superstardom.
*
1986 - A low-pressure system that redeveloped off the
New South Wales coast dumps a record 328 millimetres (13 inches) of rain in a day on
Sydney.
*
1988 - "
Tompkins Square Park Police Riot" in
New York City. A riot erupted in Tompkins Square Park when police brutally attempted to enforce a newly-passed curfew for the park. Bystanders, artists, residents, homeless people and political activists were caught up in the police action that took place on the night of August 6th and the early morning of August 7th.
*
1990 -
Gulf War: The
United Nations Security Council orders a global
trade embargo against
Iraq in response to
Iraq's invasion of
Kuwait.
*
1991 -
Tim Berners-Lee releases files describing his idea for the
World Wide Web.
*1991 -
Doi Takako, chair of the
Social Democratic Party (Japan), becomes
Japan's first female speaker of the
House of Representatives.
*
1993 -
Louis Freeh is confirmed by the
United States Senate to be the director of the
Federal Bureau of Investigation.
*1993 -
The Fugitive opens in theaters, starring
Harrison Ford and
Tommy Lee Jones.
*
1996 -
NASA announces that the
ALH 84001 meteorite, thought to originate from
Mars, contains evidence of primitive life-forms.
*
1997 -
Microsoft buys $150 million worth of shares of financially troubled
Apple Computer.
*1997 -
Korean Air Flight 801, a
Boeing 747-300, crashes into the jungle on
Guam on approach to airport, killing 228.
*
2000 - The
Roman Catholic Church's
Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, under
Prefect Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger, publishes
Dominus Iesus, notable for its lack of the
filioque clause in the
Latin text of the
Nicene Creed.
*
2001 -
White House briefing entitled
Bin Laden Determined to Strike in U.S. delivered to
George W. Bush. This document foreshadowed the
September 11, 2001 attacks.
*
2002 -
Marquis de la Fayette is made
Honorary Citizen of the United States*2002 -
Manindra Agrawal et al prove the long standing
number theory conjecture in the article entitled "
Primes in P."
*
1180 -
Emperor Go-Toba of Japan (d.
1239)
*
1504 -
Matthew Parker,
Archbishop of Canterbury (d.
1575)
*
1619 -
Barbara Strozzi, Italian singer and composer (d.
1677)
*
1638 -
Nicolas Malebranche, French philosopher (d.
1715)
*
1644 -
Louise de la Vallière, French mistress of
Louis XIV of France (d.
1710)
*
1656 -
Claude de Forbin, French naval commander (d.
1733)
*
1697 -
Charles VII, Holy Roman Emperor (d.
1745)
*
1715 -
Luc de Clapiers, marquis de Vauvenargues, French writer (d.
1747)
*
1766 -
William Hyde Wollaston, English chemist (d.
1828)
*
1768 -
Jean-Baptiste Bessières, French marshal (d.
1813)
*
1809 -
Alfred Lord Tennyson, English poet (d.
1892)
*
1844 -
James Henry Greathead, British engineer (d.
1896)
* 1844 -
Alfred, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (d.
1900)
*
1861 -
Edith Roosevelt, American
First Lady (d.
1948)
*
1868 -
Paul Claudel, French poet (d.
1955)
*
1874 -
Charles Fort, American writer and researcher (d.
1932)
*
1877 -
Wallace H. White, Jr., American politican (d.
1952)
*
1880 -
Hans Moser, Austrian actor (d.
1964)
*
1881 -
Leo Carrillo, American actor (d.
1961)
* 1881 -
Alexander Fleming, Scottish scientist,
Nobel laureate (d.
1955)
* 1881 -
Louella Parsons, American gossip columnist (d.
1972)
*
1889 -
John Middleton Murry, English poet (d.
1957)
* 1889 -
George Kenney, American Air Force General (d.
1977)
*
1891 -
William Slim, British general (d.
1970)
*
1892 -
Hoot Gibson, American actor (d.
1962)
*
1893 -
Wright Patman, American politician (d.
1976)
*
1900 -
Cecil H. Green, American geophysicist (d.
2003)
*
1902 -
Dutch Schultz, American bootlegger (d.
1935)
*
1904 -
Henry Iba, basketball coach (d.
1993)
*
1908 -
Helen Jacobs, American tennis player (d.
1997)
* 1908 -
Will Lee, American actor (d.
1982)
*
1911 -
Lucille Ball, American actress (d.
1989)
*
1916 -
Richard Hofstadter, American historian (d.
1970)
*
1916 -
Dom Mintoff, Maltese
Prime Minister*
1917 -
Robert Mitchum, American actor (d.
1997)
*
1918 -
Norman Granz, American jazz musician and record producer (d.
2001)
*
1920 -
Ella Raines, American actress (d.
1988)
*
1922 - Sir
Freddie Laker, English entrepreneur (d.
2006)
*
1923 -
Jess Collins, American artist (d.
2004)
*
1928 -
Andy Warhol, American artist (d.
1987)
* 1928 -
Herb Moford, baseball player (d.
2005)
*
1930 -
Abbey Lincoln, American jazz singer
*
1932 -
Howard Hodgkin, British painter
*
1934 -
Piers Anthony, English writer
*
1937 -
Barbara Windsor, English actress
*
1938 -
Paul Bartel, American actor (d.
2000)
* 1938 -
Peter Bonerz, American actor
*
1940 -
Mukhu Aliyev, President of Dagestan
*
1941 -
Lyle Berman, American poker player
* 1941 -
Ray Culp, Baseball player
*
1943 -
Jon Postel, computer scientist (d.
1998)
*
1945 -
Andy Messersmith, baseball pitcher
*
1946 -
Allan Holdsworth, British musician
* 1946 -
Roh Moo-hyun, South Korean president
* 1946 -
Masaaki Sakai, Japanese comedian
*
1949 -
Alan Campbell, Northern Irish clergyman
* 1949 -
Clarence Richard Silva, Catholic Bishop of Honolulu
*
1950 -
Dorian Harewood, American actor
*
1951 -
Daryl Somers, Australian television personality
* 1951 -
Catherine Hicks, American actress
*
1957 -
Jim McGreevey, American politician
* 1957 -
Bob Horner, baseball player
*
1962 -
Michelle Yeoh, Malaysian actress
*
1963 -
Kevin Mitnick, computer hacker
*
1964 -
Moosie Drier, Actor and occasional director
*
1965 -
Yuki Kajiura, Japanese composer
* 1965 -
David Robinson, basketball Player
*
1967 -
Archbishop Alexy (Bondarenko)*
1967 -
Mike Greenberg, ESPN sportscaster
*
1969 -
Elliott Smith, American musician (d.
2003)
* 1969 -
Cactvs Chris, American/British musician
*
1970 -
M. Night Shyamalan, Indian-born film director and actor
*
1971 -
Merrin Dungey, American actress
*
1972 -
Geri Halliwell, British singer
*
1973 -
Asia Carrera, American pornographic actress
* 1973 -
Stuart O'Grady, Australian cyclist
*
1975 -
Jamie McGonnigal, American actor
*
1976 -
Melissa George, Australian actress
*
1978 -
Marisa Miller, American model
* 1978 -
Billy Klippert, Canadian singer
*
1981 -
Vitantonio Liuzzi, race car driver
* 1981 -
Liliana Domínguez, Mexican supermodel
*
1982 -
Adrianne Curry, American model
* 1982 -
Ryan Sypek, American actor
*
1983 -
Robin van Persie, Dutch football player
*
1984 -
Marcos Airosa, Angolan footballer
*
1985 -
Steve Williams, Single Circuit Stock Car Driver
*
258 - Saint
Pope Sixtus II*
523 - Saint
Pope Hormisdas*
1162 -
Ramon Berenguer IV, Count of Barcelona*
1195 -
Henry the Lion, Duke of Saxony and Bavaria (b.
1129)
*
1221 -
Saint Dominic, Spanish founder of the Dominicans (b.
1170)
*
1272 - King
Stephen V of Hungary*
1414 - King
Ladislas of Naples (b.
1377)
*
1458 -
Pope Callixtus III (b.
1378)
*
1623 -
Anne Hathaway (Shakespeare's wife) (b.
1556)
*
1628 -
Johannes Junius, Mayor of Bamberg (b.
1573)
*
1637 -
Ben Jonson, English writer (b.
1572)
*
1645 -
Lionel Cranfield, 1st Earl of Middlesex, English merchant (b.
1575)
*
1657 -
Bohdan Khmelnytsky, Polish-Lithuanian noble
*
1660 -
Diego Velázquez, Spanish painter (b.
1599)
*
1679 -
John Snell, English royalist (b.
1629)
*
1694 -
Antoine Arnauld, French philosopher and mathematician (b.
1612)
*
1695 -
François de Harlay de Champvallon, French Catholic archbishop (b.
1625)
*
1753 -
Georg Wilhelm Richmann, Russian physicist (struck by lightning) (b.
1711)
*
1759 -
Eugene Aram, English philologist (b.
1704)
*
1794 -
Henry Bathurst, 2nd Earl Bathurst, British politician (b.
1714)
*
1815 -
James A. Bayard (elder),
United States Senator from Delaware (b.
1767)
*
1828 -
Konstantin von Benckendorff, Russian general and statesman
*
1850 -
Edward Walsh, Irish poet (b.
1805)
*
1866 -
John Mason Neale, English divine, scholar and hymnwriter (b.
1818)
*
1893 -
Jean-Jacques Challet-Venel, member of the Swiss Federal Council (b.
1811)
*
1904 -
Eduard Hanslick, Austrian music critic (b.
1825)
*
1914 -
Ellen Louise Wilson,
first wife of President Woodrow Wilson (b.
1860)
*
1931 -
Bix Beiderbecke, American musician (b.
1903)
*
1942 -
Jonathan Campbell, American film pioneer (b.
1875)
*
1945 -
Prince Wu of Korea (b.
1912)
* 1945 -
Richard Bong, America's all time
Ace of Aces (b.
1920)
* 1945 -
Hiram Johnson, American politician (b.
1866)
*
1946 -
Tony Lazzeri, baseball player (b.
1903)
*
1959 -
Preston Sturges, American playwright, screenwriter, and director (b.
1898)
*
1964 - Sir
Cedric Hardwicke, English actor (b.
1893)
*
1966 -
Cordwainer Smith, American writer (b.
1913)
*
1969 -
Theodor Adorno, German sociologist and philosopher (b.
1903)
*
1973 -
Fulgencio Batista, Cuban dictator (b.
1901)
*
1973 -
Memphis Minnie, American blues singer (b.
1897)
*
1974 -
Gene Ammons, American jazz saxophonist (b.
1925)
*
1976 -
Gregor Piatigorsky, Russian cellist (b.
1903)
*
1978 -
Pope Paul VI (b.
1897)
*
1979 -
Feodor Felix Konrad Lynen, German biochemist,
Nobel Prize Laureate (b.
1911)
*
1983 -
Klaus Nomi, German singer (b.
1944)
*
1985 -
Forbes Burnham,
President of Guyana (b.
1923)
*
1987 -
Ira Eaker, American Air Force leader (b.
1896)
* 1987 -
Quinn Martin, American television producer (b.
1922)
*
1991 -
Harry Reasoner, American reporter (b.
1923)
*
1993 -
Tex Hughson, baseball player (b.
1916)
*
1994 -
Domenico Modugno, Italian singer and songwriter (b.
1928)
*
1998 -
Andre Weil, French mathematician (b.
1906)
*
2001 -
Jorge Amado de Faria, Brazilian writer (b.
1912)
* 2001 -
Dorothy Tutin, English actress (b.
1930)
*
2002 -
Edsger Dijkstra, Dutch computer scientist (b.
1930)
*
2004 -
Rick James, American musician (b.
1948)
*
2005 -
Keter Betts, American jazz bassist (b.
1928)
* 2005 -
Robin Cook, British politician (b.
1946)
* 2005 -
Ibrahim Ferrer, Cuban musician (
Buena Vista Social Club) (b.
1927)
*
Roman Catholicism - several feasts, including those of at least 3 saints:
**Feast of the
Transfiguration of Christ**St.
Joachim (father of
St. Mary, according to Catholic tradition)
**St.
Justus**St.
Pastor**St. Xystus/
Sixtus II*
Bolivia -
Independence Day.
*
Jamaica -
Independence Day.
*
United Arab Emirates -
H.H. Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan's
Accession Day.
*
Japan -
Toro Nagashi (
Hiroshima) - Floating lantern ceremony to honor those killed by the
U.S. atomic bomb in
Hiroshima.
*
BBC: On This Day*
The New York Times: On This DayAugust 5 -
August 7 -
July 6 -
September 6 --
listing of all days
