August 6 is the 218th day of the year (219th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 147 days remaining until the end of the year.
Today in history
1284 – Italian city of Pisa is defeated in Battle of Meloria by Genoa, ruining its naval power.
1538 – Bogotá, Colombia, is founded by Gonzalo Jiménez de Quesada.
1661 – The Treaty of The Hague is signed by Portugal and the Dutch Republic.
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 ending the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation.
1819 – Norwich University is founded in Vermont as the first private military school in the United States.
1825 – Bolivia gains independence from Spain.
1845 – The Russian Geographical Society is founded in Saint Petersburg.
1861 – The British annex 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.
1870 – Franco-Prussian War: Battle of Wœrth is fought, resulting in a decisive Prussian victory.
1890 – At Auburn Prison in New York murderer William Kemmler becomes the first person to be executed by electric chair.
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 the United Kingdom had declared war on Germany over the German invasion of Belgium, ten German U-boats leave their base in Helgoland to attack Royal Navy warships in the North Sea.
1914 – World War I: Serbia declares war on Germany; Austria declares war on Russia.
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.
1917 – World War I: Battle of Mărăşeşti between the Romanian and German armies begins.
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.
1930 – Judge Joseph Force Crater steps into a taxi in New York and disappears.
1942 – Queen Wilhelmina becomes the first reigning queen to address a joint session of the United States Congress.
1945 – World War II: Hiroshima is devastated when an atomic bomb, "Little Boy", is dropped by the United States B-29 Enola Gay. Around 70,000 people are killed instantly, and some tens of thousands died in subsequent years due to burns and radiation poisoning.
1956 – After going bankrupt in 1955, the American broadcaster DuMont Television Network makes 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.
1964 – Prometheus, the world's oldest tree, is cut down.
1965 – US President Lyndon B. Johnson signs the Voting Rights Act of 1965 into law.
1966 – Braniff Airlines Flight 250 crashes in Falls City, NE killing all 42 on board.
1976 – Zulfikar Ali Bhutto lays the foundation stone of Port Qasim, Karachi.
1986 – A low-pressure system that redeveloped off the New South Wales coast dumps a record 328 millimeters (13 inches) of rain in a day on Sydney.
1988 – The Tompkins Square Park Police Riot in New York City spurs reform of the NYPD, who were responsible for the melee that transpired the night of August 6-7.
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. WWW debuts as a publicly available service on the Internet.
1991 – Doi Takako, chair of the Social Democratic Party (Japan), becomes Japan's first female speaker of the House of Representatives.
1993 – According to a Japanese government and Tokyo Broadcasting System networks report, heavy rains and debris kill 72 in the Kagoshima and Aira areas, of Kyūshū, Japan.
1996 – NASA announces that the ALH 84001 meteorite, thought to originate from Mars, contains evidence of primitive life-forms.
1997 – Korean Air Flight 801, a Boeing 747-300, crashes into the jungle on Guam on approach to airport, killing 228.
2008 – A military junta led by Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz stages a coup d'état in Mauritania, overthrowing president Sidi Ould Cheikh Abdallahi
2009 – Funeral service held at Wells Cathedral for Harry Patch, the final British serviceman to have fought in the trenches of the First World War.
Births
1180 – Emperor Go-Toba of Japan (d. 1239)
1504 – Matthew Parker, Archbishop of Canterbury (d. 1575)
1609 – Richard Bennett, British Colonial Governor of Virginia (d. 1675)
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)
1666 – Maria Sofia of the Palatinate, queen of Portugal (d. 1699)
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)
1775 – Daniel O'Connell, Irish politician (d. 1847)
1809 – Alfred Lord Tennyson, English poet (d. 1892)
1826 – Thomas Alexander Browne, Australian writer (d. 1915)
1844 – Alfred, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (d. 1900)
1844 – James Henry Greathead, British engineer (d. 1896)
1861 – Edith Roosevelt, American First Lady of the United States (d. 1948)
1866 – Matthew Henson, Arctic explorer (d. 1955)
1868 – Paul Claudel, French poet (d. 1955)
1874 – Charles Fort, American writer and researcher (d. 1932)
1877 – Wallace H. White, Jr., American politician (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)
1887 – Dudley Benjafield, British racing driver (d. 1957)
1888 – Heinrich Schlusnus, German baritone (d. 1952)
1889 – George Kenney, American Air Force General (d. 1977)
1889 – John Middleton Murry, English poet (d. 1957)
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, American basketball coach (d. 1993)
1906 – Vic Dickenson, American trombonist (d. 1984)
1908 – Helen Jacobs, American tennis player (d. 1997)
1908 – Will Lee, American actor (d. 1982)
1910 – Charles Crichton, British film director (d. 1999)
1911 – Lucille Ball, American actress (d. 1989)
1911 – Norman Gordon, South African cricketer
1911 – Constance Fecher Heaven (aka Constance Fecher, Constance Heaven, Christina Merlin), British romance writer (d. 1995)
1914 – Arthur Charles Dobson, British racing driver (d. 1980)
1916 – Richard Hofstadter, American historian (d. 1970)
1916 – Dom Mintoff, Maltese Prime Minister
1917 – Robert Mitchum, American actor (d. 1997)
1918 – Norman Granz, American 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)
1925 – Barbara Bates, American actress (d. 1969)
1926 – Clem Labine, American baseball player (d. 2007)
1926 – Frank Finlay, British actor
1926 – Norman Wexler, American screenwriter (d. 1999)
1928 – Herb Moford, American baseball player (d. 2005)
1928 – Andy Warhol, American artist (d. 1987)
1929 – Roch La Salle, Canadian politician (d. 2007)
1930 – Abbey Lincoln, American jazz singer
1932 – Howard Hodgkin, British painter
1933 – A. G. Kripal Singh, Indian cricketer (d. 1987)
1934 – Piers Anthony, English writer
1934 – Chris Bonington, British mountaineer
1934 – Billy Boston, Welsh rugby league footballer
1937 – Baden Powell de Aquino, Brazilian guitarist (d. 2000)
1937 – Barbara Windsor, English actress
1938 – Paul Bartel, American actor (d. 2000)
1938 – Peter Bonerz, American actor
1940 – Mukhu Aliyev, Russian politician, President of Dagestan
1940 – Louise Sorel, American actress
1941 – Lyle Berman, American poker player
1941 – Ray Culp, American baseball player
1942 – George Jung, American convicted drug felon
1943 – Jon Postel, American computer scientist (d. 1998)
1945 – Ron Jones, British TV director (d. 1995)
1945 – Andy Messersmith, American baseball player
1946 – Allan Holdsworth, British musician
1946 – Roh Moo-hyun, South Korean politician (d. 2009)
1946 – Masaaki Sakai, Japanese comedian
1947 – Tony Dell, Australian cricketer
1949 – Dino Bravo, Canadian professional wrestler (d. 1993)
1949 – Alan Campbell, Northern Irish clergyman
1949 – Clarence Richard Silva, Catholic Bishop of Honolulu
1950 – Dorian Harewood, American actor
1951 – Catherine Hicks, American actress
1951 – Daryl Somers, Australian television personality
1952 – Vinnie Vincent, American musician (Kiss)
1953 – Iqbal Qasim, Pakistani cricketer
1954 – Paul Steigerwald, American sports announcer
1955 – Rusty Magee, American composer (d. 2003)
1957 – Bob Horner, American baseball player
1957 – Jim McGreevey, American politician
1960 – Dale Ellis, American basketball player
1962 – Marc Lavoine, French singer and actor
1962 – Michelle Yeoh, Chinese-Malaysian actress
1963 – Kevin Mitnick, American computer hacker
1964 – Moosie Drier, American actor and director
1965 – Yuki Kajiura, Japanese composer
1965 – Juliane Köhler, German actress
1965 – David Robinson, American basketball player
1965 – Mark Speight, British television presenter (d. 2008)
1965 – Vincent Wells, England cricketer
1967 – Archbishop Alexy (Bondarenko), Ukrainian-born theologian
1967 – Mike Greenberg, American sportscaster
1967 – Julie Snyder, Quebec talk show host and producer
1969 – Simon Doull, New Zealand cricketer
1969 – Elliott Smith, American musician (d. 2003)
1970 – M. Night Shyamalan, Indian/American film director
1970 – Erwin Thijs, Belgian cyclist
1971 – Merrin Dungey, American actress
1971 – Scott Minto, English footballer
1971 – Piyal Wijetunge, Sri Lankan cricketer
1972 – Geri Halliwell, British singer (Spice Girls)
1973 – Vera Farmiga, American actress
1973 – Karenna Gore Schiff, American author and political figure
1973 – Max Kellerman, American sportscaster
1973 – Stuart O'Grady, Australian cyclist
1974 – Ever Carradine, American actress
1974 – Luis Vizcaino, Dominican baseball player
1974 – Alvin Williams, American basketball player
1975 – Victor Zambrano, Venezuelan baseball player
1975 – Renate Götschl, Austrian alpine skier
1975 – Jamie McGonnigal, American actor
1976 – Melissa George, Australian actress
1976 – Soleil Moon Frye, American actress
1977 – Leandro Amaral, Brazilian footballer
1977 – Jennifer Lyons, American actress
1977 – Jimmy Nielsen, Danish footballer
1977 – Luciano Zavagno, Argentine footballer
1978 – Marisa Miller, American model
1978 – Brian Maillard, Swiss guitarist (Dominici)
1980 – Danny Collins, Welsh footballer
1980 – Wilber Pan, American/Taiwanese singer
1982 – Adrianne Curry, American model and reality television personality
1982 – Karl Davies, British actor
1982 – Justin Germano, American baseball player
1982 – Kevin van der Perren, Belgian figure skater
1982 – Ryan Sypek, American actor
1983 – Robin van Persie, Dutch footballer
1984 – Vedad Ibisevic, Bosnian Footballer
1984 – Tim Wallace, American ice hockey player
1985 – Garrett Weber-Gale, American Olympic swimmer
1985 – Bafétimbi Gomis, French Footballer
1987 – Rémy Riou, French Footballer
1987 – Matt Di Angelo English actor
1990 – Jon Benet Ramsey, American beauty pageant contestant and murder victim (d. 1996)
Deaths
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)
1881 – James White, co-founder of the Seventh-day Adventist Church (b. 1821)
1884 – Robert Spear Hudson, English businessman (b. 1812)
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)
1920 – Stefan Bastyr, Polish aviator, first flight in independent Poland (b. 1890)
1925 – Sir Surendranath Banerjea, leader, Indian National Congress (b. 1848)
1931 – Bix Beiderbecke, American musician (b. 1903)
1945 – Richard Bong, American ace fighter pilot and Medal of Honor recipient (b. 1920)
1945 – Hiram Johnson, American politician (b. 1866)
1945 – Prince Wu of Korea (b. 1912)
1946 – Tony Lazzeri, American 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 – Memphis Minnie, American blues singer (b. 1897)
1973 – Fulgencio Batista, Cuban president and de facto leader (b. 1901)
1974 – Gene Ammons, American jazz saxophonist (b. 1925)
1976 – Gregor Piatigorsky, Russian cellist (b. 1903)
1978 – Pope Paul VI (b. 1897)
1978 – Edward Durell Stone, American architect (b. 1902)
1979 – Feodor Felix Konrad Lynen, German biochemist, Nobel Prize Laureate (b. 1911)
1983 – Klaus Nomi, German singer (b. 1944)
1985 – Forbes Burnham, Guyanese visionary and leader of Guyana from 1964 to his death (b. 1923)
1986 – Emilio Fernández, Mexican actor, screenwriter and film director (b. 1904)
1987 – Ira Eaker, American Air Force leader (b. 1896)
1990 – Jacques Soustelle, French anthropologist (b. 1912)
1991 – Roland Michener, Canadian politician and governor general (b. 1900)
1991 – Shapour Bakhtiar, Iranian prime minister, assassinated in Paris (b. 1915)
1991 – Harry Reasoner, American television reporter (b. 1923)
1993 – Tex Hughson, American 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)
2001 – Wilhelm Mohnke, one of the original 120 members of the Nazi SS-Staff Guard (b. 1911)
2002 – Edsger Dijkstra, Dutch computer scientist (b. 1930)
2004 – Rick James, American musician (b. 1948)
2005 – Ibrahim Ferrer, Cuban musician (Buena Vista Social Club) (b. 1927)
2005 – Keter Betts, American jazz bassist (b. 1928)
2005 – Robin Cook, British politician (b. 1946)
2007 – Zsolt Daczi, Hungarian rock guitarist (Bikini, Omen, Carpathia Project Tirana Rockers, solo) (b. 1969)
2007 – Heinz Barth, German convicted war criminal (SS) (b. 1920)
2008 – Angelos Kitsos, Greek lawyer and script writer (b. 1934)
Holidays and observances
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.
