What happened on August 6? There are more than 306 events that were made this day in history. Here are the important historical events, facts, and some myths about this day.
Interesting Facts & Myths About August 6
August 6 is the 219th day of the year 2024. There are 147 days remaining until the end of this year. The day of the week is Tuesday. This day falls under the 32nd week of the year 2024.
On this day in Copemish, Michigan 49625 sunrise occured at 06:35 AM and sunset occured at 09:03 PM (local time).
The zodiac sign of a person born on this day is Leo. The modern birthstone for this month is Peridot while the mystical birthstone is Diamond.
According to the Chinese calendar, there are 176 days remaining before the start of the next Chinese New Year (January 29, 2025).
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Historical Events For August 6
- 1284The Republic of Pisa is defeated in the Battle of Meloria by the Republic of Genoa, thus losing its naval dominance in the Mediterranean.
- 1506The Grand Duchy of Lithuania defeated the Crimean Khanate in the Battle of Kletsk
- 1538Bogotá, Colombia, is founded by Gonzalo Jiménez de Quesada.
- 1661The Treaty of The Hague is signed by Portugal and the Dutch Republic.
- 1777American Revolutionary War: The bloody Battle of Oriskany prevents American relief of the Siege of Fort Stanwix.
- 1787Sixty proof sheets of the Constitution of the United States are delivered to the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia.
- 1806Francis II, the last Holy Roman Emperor, abdicates ending the Holy Roman Empire.
- 1819Norwich University is founded in Vermont as the first private military school in the United States.
- 1825Bolivia gains independence from Spain.
- 1845The Russian Geographical Society is founded in Saint Petersburg.
- 1861The United Kingdom annexes Lagos, Nigeria.
- 1862American Civil War: the Confederate ironclad Ship CSS is scuttled on the Mississippi River after suffering damage in a battle with USS Essex near Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
- 1870Franco-Prussian War: the Battle of Wörth results in a decisive Prussian victory.
- 1890At Auburn Prison in New York, murderer William Kemmler becomes the first person to be executed by electric chair.
- 1901Kiowa land in Oklahoma is opened for white settlement, effectively dissolving the contiguous reservation.
- 1912The Bull Moose Party meets at the Chicago Coliseum.
- 1914World 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.
- 1914World War I: Serbia declares war on Germany; Austria declares war on Russia.
- 1915World 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.
- 1917World War I: Battle of Mărăşeşti between the Romanian and German armies begins.
- 1926Gertrude Ederle becomes the first woman to swim across the English Channel.
- 1926Harry Houdini performs his greatest feat, spending 91 minutes underwater in a sealed tank before escaping.
- 1926In New York City, the Warner Brothers’ Vitaphone system premieres with the movie Don Juan starring John Barrymore.
- 1930Judge Joseph Force Crater steps into a taxi in New York and disappears never to be seen again.
- 1940Estonia was illegally annexed by the Soviet Union.
- 1942Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands becomes the first reigning queen to address a joint session of the United States Congress.
- 1945World War II: Hiroshima is devastated when the 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 die in subsequent years from burns and radiation poisoning.
- 1953Venerable Pius XII establishes the Dioceses of Norwich and Bridgeport and makes the Diocese of Hartford an archdiocese.
- 1956After going bankrupt in 1955, the American broadcaster DuMont Television Network makes its final broadcast, a boxing match from St. Nicholas Arena in New York in the Boxing from St. Nicholas Arena series.
- 1960Cuban Revolution: Cuba nationalizes American and foreign-owned property in the nation.
- 1962Jamaica becomes independent from the United Kingdom.
- 1964Prometheus, a bristlecone pine and the world’s oldest tree, is cut down.
- 1965The largest swimming pool in Europe was opened in Fürstenfeld, Austria.
- 1965US President Lyndon B. Johnson signs the Voting Rights Act of 1965 into law.
- 1966Braniff Airlines Flight 250 crashes in Falls City, NE killing all 42 on board.
- 1976Zulfikar Ali Bhutto lays the foundation stone of Port Qasim, Karachi.
- 1986A 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.
- 1988The Tompkins Square Park Police Riot in New York City spurs a reform of the NYPD, held responsible for the event.
- 1990Gulf War: the United Nations Security Council orders a global trade embargo against Iraq in response to Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait.
- 1991Doi Takako, chair of the Social Democratic Party, becomes Japan’s first female speaker of the House of Representatives.
- 1991Tim Berners-Lee releases files describing his idea for the World Wide Web. WWW debuts as a publicly available service on the Internet.
- 1993Heavy rains and debris kill 72 in the Kagoshima and Aira areas of Kyūshū, Japan.
- 1996NASA announces that the ALH 84001 meteorite, thought to originate from Mars, contains evidence of primitive life-forms.
- 1997Korean Air Flight 801, a Boeing 747-300, crashes into the jungle on Guam on approach to airport, killing 228.
- 2001Erwadi fire incident, 28 mentally ill persons tied to chain were burnt to death at a faith based institution at Erwadi, Tamil Nadu.
- 2008A military junta led by Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz stages a coup d'état in Mauritania, overthrowing president Sidi Ould Cheikh Abdallahi.
- 2011A helicopter containing members of Navy SEAL 6 is shot down in Afghanistan killing 38.
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Who Were Born On August 6?
- 1180Emperor Go-Toba of Japan (d. 1239)
- 1504Matthew Parker, Archbishop of Canterbury (d. 1575)
- 1609Richard Bennett, British Colonial Governor of Virginia (d. 1675)
- 1619Barbara Strozzi (baptized), Italian singer and composer (d. 1677)
- 1638Nicolas Malebranche, French philosopher (d. 1715)
- 1644Louise de la Vallière, French mistress of Louis XIV of France (d. 1710)
- 1656Claude de Forbin, French naval commander (d. 1733)
- 1666Maria Sofia of Neuburg, German-born consort of Peter II of Portugal (d. 1699)
- 1697Charles VII, Holy Roman Emperor (d. 1745)
- 1715Luc de Clapiers, marquis de Vauvenargues, French writer (d. 1747)
- 1765Petros Mavromichalis, Greek leader in the Greek War of Independence and Prime Minister of Greece (d. 1848)
- 1766William Hyde Wollaston, English chemist (d. 1828)
- 1768Jean-Baptiste Bessières, French marshal (d. 1813)
- 1775Daniel O'Connell, Irish politician (d. 1847)
- 1809Alfred Lord Tennyson, English poet (d. 1892)
- 1826Thomas Alexander Browne, Australian writer (d. 1915)
- 1844Alfred, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (d. 1900)
- 1844James Henry Greathead, British engineer (d. 1896)
- 1861Edith Roosevelt, American First Lady of the United States (d. 1948)
- 1866Matthew Henson, American Arctic explorer (d. 1955)
- 1868Paul Claudel, French poet (d. 1955)
- 1874Charles Fort, American writer and researcher (d. 1932)
- 1877Wallace H. White, Jr., American politician (d. 1952)
- 1880Hans Moser, Austrian actor (d. 1964)
- 1881Leo Carrillo, American actor (d. 1961)
- 1881Louella Parsons, American gossip columnist (d. 1972)
- 1881Sir Alexander Fleming, Scottish scientist, Nobel laureate (d. 1955)
- 1882Ernst Eklund, Swedish actor (d. 1971)
- 1883Scott Nearing, American writer and educator (d. 1983)
- 1886Edward Ballantine, American composer (d. 1971)
- 1887Dudley Benjafield, British racing driver (d. 1957)
- 1888Heinrich Schlusnus, German baritone (d. 1952)
- 1889George Kenney, American Air Force General (d. 1977)
- 1889John Middleton Murry, English poet (d. 1957)
- 1891William Slim, British general (d. 1970)
- 1892Hoot Gibson, American actor (d. 1962)
- 1893Wright Patman, American politician (d. 1976)
- 1895Ernesto Lecuona, Cuban pianist and composer (d. 1963)
- 1900Cecil H. Green, American geophysicist (d. 2003)
- 1902Dutch Schultz, American organized crime figure (d. 1935)
- 1904Henry Iba, American basketball coach (d. 1993)
- 1904Jean Desses, Greek-Egyptian fashion designer (d. 1970)
- 1906Vic Dickenson, American trombonist (d. 1984)
- 1907László Heller, Hungarian engineer (d. 1980)
- 1908Helen Jacobs, American tennis player (d. 1997)
- 1908Lajos Vajda, Hungarian painter (d. 1941)
- 1908Will Lee, American actor (d. 1982)
- 1910Charles Crichton, British film director (d. 1999)
- 1911Constance Fecher Heaven, British romance writer (d. 1995)
- 1911Lucille Ball, American actress (d. 1989)
- 1911Norman Gordon, South African cricketer
- 1912Richard C. Miller, American photographer (d. 2010)
- 1916Dom Mintoff, Maltese politician
- 1916Richard Hofstadter, American historian (d. 1970)
- 1917Robert Mitchum, American actor (d. 1997)
- 1918Norman Granz, American record producer (d. 2001)
- 1920Ella Raines, American actress (d. 1988)
- 1922Sir Freddie Laker, English entrepreneur (d. 2006)
- 1923Jess Collins, American artist (d. 2004)
- 1924Samuel Bowers, American murder and Ku Klux Klan leader (d. 2006)
- 1925Barbara Bates, American actress (d. 1969)
- 1926Clem Labine, American baseball player (d. 2007)
- 1926Elisabeth Beresford, British author and creator of The Wombles (d. 2010)
- 1926Frank Finlay, British actor
- 1926János Rózsás, Hungarian writer
- 1926Norman Wexler, American screenwriter (d. 1999)
- 1928Andy Warhol, American artist (d. 1987)
- 1928Herb Moford, American baseball player (d. 2005)
- 1929Mike Elliott (saxophonist), Jamaican born ska, pop, jazz musician
- 1929Roch La Salle, Canadian politician (d. 2007)
- 1930Abbey Lincoln, American jazz singer (d. 2010)
- 1931Chalmers Johnson, American political scholar and author (d. 2010)
- 1932Howard Hodgkin, British painter
- 1933A. G. Kripal Singh, Indian cricketer (d. 1987)
- 1934Billy Boston, Welsh rugby league footballer
- 1934Chris Bonington, British mountaineer
- 1934Piers Anthony, English writer
- 1935Fortunato Baldelli, Cardinal, Major Penitentiary of the Apostolic Penitentiary
- 1937Baden Powell de Aquino, Brazilian guitarist (d. 2000)
- 1937Barbara Windsor, English actress
- 1938Paul Bartel, American actor (d. 2000)
- 1938Peter Bonerz, American actor
- 1940Louise Sorel, American actress
- 1940Mukhu Aliyev, Russian politician
- 1941Lyle Berman, American poker player
- 1941Ray Culp, American baseball player
- 1942George Jung, American convicted drug trafficker
- 1943Jon Postel, American computer scientist (d. 1998)
- 1944Inday Badiday, Filipina journalist and television personality (d. 2003)
- 1945Andy Messersmith, American baseball player
- 1945Ron Jones, British TV director (d. 1993)
- 1946Allan Holdsworth, British guitarist and composer
- 1946Masaaki Sakai, Japanese comedian
- 1947Tony Dell, Australian cricketer
- 1949Alan Campbell, Northern Irish clergyman
- 1949Clarence Richard Silva, American Catholic Bishop of Honolulu
- 1949Dino Bravo, Canadian professional wrestler (d. 1993)
- 1950Dorian Harewood, American actor
- 1951Catherine Hicks, American actress
- 1951Daryl Somers, Australian television personality
- 1952Pat MacDonald (musician), American musician and songwriter
- 1952Ton Scherpenzeel, Dutch keyboard player
- 1952Vinnie Vincent, American musician (Kiss)
- 1953Iqbal Qasim, Pakistani cricketer
- 1954Paul Steigerwald, American sports announcer
- 1955Gregory Bryant-Bey, American convicted murderer (d. 2008)
- 1955Rusty Magee, American composer (d. 2003)
- 1956Stepfanie Kramer, American actress
- 1957Bob Horner, American baseball player
- 1957Jim McGreevey, American politician
- 1958Randy DeBarge, American bass guitarist and singer
- 1959Rajendra Singh Indian water conservationist, Magsaysay Award (2001)
- 1960Dale Ellis, American basketball player
- 1962Marc Lavoine, French singer and actor
- 1962Michelle Yeoh, Malaysian-born Hong Kong actress
- 1963Charles Ingram, British game show contestant
- 1963Kevin Mitnick, American computer hacker
- 1964Gary Valenciano, Filipino singer
- 1964Moosie Drier, American actor and director
- 1965David Robinson, American basketball player
- 1965Juliane Köhler, German actress
- 1965Mark Speight, British television presenter (d. 2008)
- 1965Vincent Wells, England cricketer
- 1965Yuki Kajiura, Japanese composer
- 1967Archbishop Alexy Bondarenko, Ukrainian-born American theologian
- 1967Julie Snyder, Quebec talk show host and producer
- 1967Mike Greenberg, American sportscaster
- 1968Jack de Gier, Dutch footballer
- 1969Elliott Smith, American musician (d. 2003)
- 1969Simon Doull, New Zealand cricketer
- 1970Erwin Thijs, Belgian cyclist
- 1970M. Night Shyamalan, Indian-born American film director
- 1971Merrin Dungey, American actress
- 1971Piyal Wijetunge, Sri Lankan cricketer
- 1971Scott Minto, English footballer
- 1972Geri Halliwell, British singer (Spice Girls)
- 1972Ray Lucas, American Football player
- 1973Karenna Gore Schiff, American author and political figure
- 1973Max Kellerman, American sportscaster
- 1973Monica Goodling, American George W. Bush Administration appointee
- 1973Stuart O'Grady, Australian cyclist
- 1973Vera Farmiga, American actress
- 1974Alvin Williams, American basketball player
- 1974Bobby Petta, Dutch footballer
- 1974Ever Carradine, American actress
- 1974Luis Vizcaino, Dominican baseball player
- 1975Renate Götschl, Austrian alpine skier
- 1975Victor Zambrano, Venezuelan baseball player
- 1976Melissa George, Australian actress
- 1976Soleil Moon Frye, American actress
- 1977Jennifer Lyons, American actress
- 1977Jimmy Nielsen, Danish footballer
- 1977Leandro Amaral, Brazilian footballer
- 1977Luciano Zavagno, Argentine footballer
- 1978Brian Maillard, Swiss guitarist (Dominici)
- 1978Marisa Miller, American model
- 1978Peng Cheng-min, Taiwanese baseball player
- 1979Francesco Bellotti, Italian cyclist
- 1980András Horváth, Hungarian footballer
- 1980Danny Collins, Welsh footballer
- 1980Seneca Wallace, American football player
- 1980Wilber Pan, American-born Taiwanese singer and actor
- 1981Diána Póth, Hungarian figure skater
- 1982Adrianne Curry, American model and reality television personality
- 1982Kevin van der Perren, Belgian figure skater
- 1982Romola Garai, British actress and model
- 1983C. J. Mosley, American football player
- 1983Neil Harvey, Barbadian footballer
- 1983Robin van Persie, Dutch footballer
- 1984Vedad Ibisevic, Bosnian footballer
- 1985Bafétimbi Gomis, French footballer
- 1985Garrett Weber-Gale, American swimmer
- 1985Mickaël Delage, French cyclist
- 1986Raphael Pyrasch, German rugby player
- 1986Reby Sky, American glamour model, radio & television personality, dancer and professional wrestler
- 1987Joran van der Sloot, Dutch figure in the Natalee Holloway case
- 1988Jared Murillo, American dancer
- 1990JonBenét Ramsey, American beauty pageant contestant and murder victim (d. 1996)
- 1991Jiao Liuyang, Chinese swimmer
- 2001Ty Simpkins, American actor
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Who Died On August 6?
- 258Pope Sixtus II (birth date unknown)
- 523Pope Hormisdas (b. c. 450)
- 1162Ramon Berenguer IV, Count of Barcelona (b. c. 1113)
- 1195Henry the Lion, Duke of Saxony and Bavaria (b. 1129)
- 1221Saint Dominic, Spanish founder of the Dominican Order (b. 1170)
- 1272King Stephen V of Hungary (b. 1239)
- 1414King Ladislaus of Naples (b. 1377)
- 1458Pope Callixtus III (b. 1378)
- 1623Anne Hathaway, English wife of William Shakespeare (b. 1555 or 1556)
- 1628Johannes Junius, German Mayor of Bamberg, condemned to death at the Bamberg witch trials (b. 1573)
- 1637Ben Jonson, English writer (b. 1572)
- 1645Lionel Cranfield, 1st Earl of Middlesex, English merchant (b. 1575)
- 1657Bohdan Khmelnytsky, Ukrainian-born Polish-Lithuanian noble
- 1660Diego Velázquez, Spanish painter (b. 1599)
- 1679John Snell, English royalist (b. 1629)
- 1694Antoine Arnauld, French philosopher and mathematician (b. 1612)
- 1695François de Harlay de Champvallon, French Catholic archbishop (b. 1625)
- 1753Georg Wilhelm Richmann, Russian physicist (struck by lightning) (b. 1711)
- 1757Ádám Mányoki, Hungarian painter (b. 1673)
- 1759Eugene Aram, English philologist (b. 1704)
- 1794Henry Bathurst, 2nd Earl Bathurst, British politician (b. 1714)
- 1815James A. Bayard (elder), American Senator from Delaware (b. 1767)
- 1828Konstantin von Benckendorff, Russian general and statesman (b. 1785)
- 1850Edward Walsh, Irish poet (b. 1805)
- 1866John Mason Neale, English divine, scholar and hymnwriter (b. 1818)
- 1881James Springer White, American co-founder of the Seventh-day Adventist Church (b. 1821)
- 1884Robert Spear Hudson, English businessman (b. 1812)
- 1890William Kemmler, American axe murderer (b. 1860)
- 1893Jean-Jacques Challet-Venel, member of the Swiss Federal Council (b. 1811)
- 1904Eduard Hanslick, Austrian music critic (b. 1825)
- 1914Ellen Louise Wilson, first wife of U.S. President Woodrow Wilson (b. 1860)
- 1920Stefan Bastyr, Polish aviator, author of the first military flight in independent Poland (b. 1890)
- 1925Sir Surendranath Banerjea, Indian leader of the Indian National Congress (b. 1848)
- 1931Bix Beiderbecke, American jazz cornetist and pianist (b. 1903)
- 1945Hiram Johnson, American politician (b. 1866)
- 1945Richard Bong, American ace fighter pilot, Medal of Honor recipient (b. 1920)
- 1945Wu, Prince of Korea (b. 1912)
- 1946Tony Lazzeri, American baseball player (b. 1903)
- 1959Preston Sturges, American playwright, screenwriter, and director (b. 1898)
- 1964Sir Cedric Hardwicke, English actor (b. 1893)
- 1966Cordwainer Smith, American writer (b. 1913)
- 1969Theodor Adorno, German sociologist and philosopher (b. 1903)
- 1970Nikos Tsiforos, Greek screenwriter and film director (b. 1912)
- 1973Fulgencio Batista, Cuban president and de facto leader (b. 1901)
- 1973Memphis Minnie, American blues singer (b. 1897)
- 1974Gene Ammons, American jazz saxophonist (b. 1925)
- 1976Gregor Piatigorsky, Russian cellist (b. 1903)
- 1978Edward Durell Stone, American architect (b. 1902)
- 1978Pope Paul VI (b. 1897)
- 1979Feodor Felix Konrad Lynen, German biochemist, Nobel Laureate (b. 1911)
- 1983Klaus Nomi, German singer (b. 1944)
- 1985Forbes Burnham, Guyanese visionary, 3rd President and 1st Prime Minister of Guyana (b. 1923)
- 1986Emilio Fernández, Mexican actor, screenwriter and film director (b. 1904)
- 1987Ira Eaker, American Air Force leader (b. 1896)
- 1990Jacques Soustelle, French anthropologist (b. 1912)
- 1991Harry Reasoner, American television reporter (b. 1923)
- 1991Roland Michener, Canadian politician and governor general (b. 1900)
- 1991Shapour Bakhtiar, Iranian prime minister (assassinated) (b. 1915)
- 1992Leszek Błażyński, Polish boxer (b. 1949)
- 1993Tex Hughson, American baseball player (b. 1916)
- 1994Domenico Modugno, Italian singer and songwriter (b. 1928)
- 1998André Weil, French mathematician (b. 1906)
- 1999Rita Sakellariou, Greek singer (b. 1934)
- 2001Dorothy Tutin, English actress (b. 1930)
- 2001Jorge Amado, Brazilian writer (b. 1912)
- 2001Wilhelm Mohnke, one of the original 120 members of the Nazi SS-Staff Guard (b. 1911)
- 2002Edsger Dijkstra, Dutch computer scientist (b. 1930)
- 2004Rick James, American R&B singer and multi-instrumentalist (b. 1948)
- 2005Ibrahim Ferrer, Cuban singer (Buena Vista Social Club) (b. 1927)
- 2005Keter Betts, American jazz bassist (b. 1928)
- 2005Robin Cook, British politician (b. 1946)
- 2007Heinz Barth, German SS officer (b. 1920)
- 2007Zsolt Daczi, Hungarian rock guitarist (b. 1969)
- 2008Angelos Kitsos, Greek lawyer and script writer (b. 1934)
- 2009John Hughes, American film director (b. 1950)
- 2009Riccardo Cassin, Italian mountaineer (b. 1909)
- 2009W. S. Rendra, Indonesian poet and playwright (b. 1935)
- 2009Willy DeVille, American singer and songwriter (b. 1950)
- 2011Fe del Mundo, Filipino pediatrician and National Scientist (b. 1911)
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