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.
Events
- 1538 - Bogotá, Colombia, is founded by Gonzalo Jiménez de Quesada.
- 1661 - 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, 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.
- 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 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.
- 1917 - World War I: The Battle of Mărăşeşti between the Romanian and German armies begins.
- 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.
- 1931 - Bix Beiderbecke dies at age 28 of an Alcohol seizure.
- 1942 - Queen Wilhelmina is 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 were 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 has its final broadcast, a boxing match from St. Nicholas Arena.
- 1958 - Sports: Australian runner Herb Elliot broke the world record for the mile at the Morton Stadium in Dublin, in a time of 3:54.5.
- 1960 - Cuban Revolution: In response to a United States embargo, Cuba nationalizes American and foreign-owned property in the nation.
- 1961 - Cosmonaut Gherman Titov makes the second successful manned orbital flight for the (USSR.
- 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 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.
- 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.
- 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 Japanese government and Tokyo Broadcasting System networks report, heavy massive rain and debris blow occurred at widely Kagoshima and Aira area, Kyūshū, Japan, killing 72.
- 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.
- 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.
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)
- 1844 - James Henry Greathead, British engineer (d. 1896)
- 1844 - Alfred, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (d. 1900)
- 1861 - Edith Roosevelt, American First Lady of the United States (d. 1948)
- 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 - 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, 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)
- 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 - Norman Wexler, American screenwriter (d. 1999)
- 1926 - Frank Finlay, British actor
- 1928 - Andy Warhol, American artist (d. 1987)
- 1928 - Herb Moford, American baseball player (d. 2005)
- 1929 - Roch La Salle, Canadian politician (d. 2007)
- 1930 - Abbey Lincoln, American jazz singer
- 1932 - Howard Hodgkin, British painter
- 1934 - Piers Anthony, English writer
- 1937 - Barbara Windsor, English actress
- 1937 - Baden Powell de Aquino, Brazilian guitarist (d. 2000)
- 1938 - Paul Bartel, American actor (d. 2000)
- 1938 - Peter Bonerz, American actor
- 1940 - Mukhu Aliyev, Dagestanian politician
- 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 - Andy Messersmith, American baseball player
- 1945 - Ron Jones, British TV director (d. 1995)
- 1946 - Allan Holdsworth, British musician
- 1946 - Roh Moo-hyun, South Korean politician
- 1946 - Masaaki Sakai, Japanese comedian
- 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 - Daryl Somers, Australian television personality
- 1951 - Catherine Hicks, American actress
- 1952 - Vinnie Vincent, American musician (ex-Kiss)
- 1954 - Paul Steigerwald, American sports announcer
- 1957 - Jim McGreevey, American politician
- 1957 - Bob Horner, American baseball player
- 1962 - Michelle Yeoh, Chinese-Malaysian actress
- 1962 - Marc Lavoine, French singer and actor
- 1963 - Kevin Mitnick, American computer hacker
- 1964 - Moosie Drier, American actor and director
- 1965 - Yuki Kajiura, Japanese composer
- 1965 - David Robinson, American basketball player
- 1965 - Mark Speight, British television presenter (d. 2008)
- 1965 - Juliane Köhler, German actress
- 1967 - Archbishop Alexy (Bondarenko)
- 1967 - Mike Greenberg, American sportscaster
- 1967 - Julie Snyder, Quebec talk show host and producer
- 1969 - Elliott Smith, American musician (d. 2003)
- 1970 - M. Night Shyamalan, Indian-born American film director
- 1970 - Erwin Thijs, Belgian cyclist
- 1971 - Merrin Dungey, American actress
- 1971 - Scott Minto, English footballer
- 1972 - Geri Halliwell, British singer (Spice Girls)
- 1973 - Vera Farmiga, American actress
- 1973 - Max Kellerman, American sportscaster
- 1973 - Stuart O'Grady, Australian cyclist
- 1974 - Luis Vizcaino, Dominican baseball player
- 1975 - Victor Zambrano, Venezuelan baseball player
- 1975 - Jamie McGonnigal, American actor
- 1975 - Renate Götschl, Austrian alpine skier
- 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 supermodel
- 1980 - Danny Collins, Welsh footballer
- 1980 - Wilber Pan, American-born Taiwanese singer
- 1982 - Adrianne Curry, American model and reality television personality
- 1982 - Justin Germano, American Major League Baseball Player
- 1982 - Karl Davies, British actor
- 1982 - Ryan Sypek, American actor
- 1982 - Kevin van der Perren, Belgian figure skater
- 1983 - Robin van Persie, Dutch footballer
- 1987 - Matt Di Angelo, English actor
- 1990 - Jon Benet Ramsey, Murdered child model (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)
- 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)
- 1979 - Feodor Felix Konrad Lynen, German biochemist, Nobel Prize Laureate (b. 1911)
- 1983 - Klaus Nomi, German singer (b. 1944)
- 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, Former 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)
Holidays and observances
Roman Catholicism
Eastern Orthodoxy
External links
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