Some of the significant events which took place on August 6 taken from the leaf of History:
258 – St Sixtus II ends his reign as Catholic Pope.
523 – St Hormisdas ends his reign as Catholic Pope.
768 – Antipope Constantine II deposed.
939 – Battle at Simancas – Spain beats Moors.
1181- Supernova observed by Chinese and Japanese astronomers.
1862 – The Madras High Court was inaugurated.
1906 – Chitranjan Das and other Congress leaders published the newspaper Vande Matram.
1926 – “Don Juan” starring John Barrymore is released, the 1st feature-length film to utilize the Vitaphone sound-on-disc sound system with a synchronized musical score and sound effects.
1948- Dutch super athlete Fanny Blankers-Koen wins London Olympics 200m in 24.4 to become 1st women to claim 3 individual track & field gold at a Games, having already won 100m & 80m hurdles.
1945 – Nuclear Bomb dropped on Hiroshima: An atomic bomb was used containing more power than 12,000 tons of TNT and producing more than 2,000 times the blast of the most powerful bomb ever dropped before was dropped on the city of Hiroshima, killing an estimated 140,000 people in the first use of a nuclear weapon in warfare. The bomb nicknamed “Little Boy” with 130 pounds of uranium-235 produced the equivalent to about 13 kilotons of TNT. On August 9, 1945 America dropped the second Atom bomb on Nagasaki effectively ending the war when Japan announced their surrender.
1904 – U.S.A. President Theodore Roosevelt: President Theodore Roosevelt was officially notified about his nomination for re-election by the Republican Party. The official ceremony took place at Sagamore Hill where Roosevelt had his rural residence. The president had been in the White House for three years.
1916 – Watermelons have proved to be the bane of existence for army officials, and have been banned by military brass in El Passo. Evidently, the offending melons have rinds which cannot be burned or properly disposed of, causing a plague of flies in the camp. Army fly experts warn that flies can breed disease.
1925 – With the growing numbers of public phone booths appearing in general stores around the country many are complaining that they do not believe the phone booths are in the public interest, and should not be in places where the public wish to shop.
1925- Surendranath Banerjee, one of the founders of modern India passes away. Banerjee was also the founder of one of India’s first political organization, the Indian National Association and eventually became a senior leader of the Indian National Congress. He was fondly referred to as Rastraguru (teacher of the Nation).
1926 – The American Gold Medalist swimmer (Gertrude “Trudy” Ederle) became the first woman to swim the English Channel from Cap Griz-Nez, France to Dover, England in 14 hours and 39 minutes breaking the previous record set by British Navy Captain Matthew Webb in 1875. Due to the extreme cold water she had covered her body in lard and petroleum jelly to insulate her from the cold waters of the Channel.
1926 – First woman to swim across the English Channel: Gertrude Ederle, an American Olympic swimmer swam across the English Channel a body of water between England and France, in 14 hours and 34 minutes. Only 5 other people, all men, had swum across the channel before Ederle.
1935 – In Hollywood, California Dr. Ralph Willard, a doctor who came from the state of Georgia in Russia, has successfully frozen a monkey named Jekal and brought it back to life. The doctor has also frozen guinea pigs and resuscitated them. However, when he wanted to experiment on dogs howls of protest came from humane societies.
1940 – Belgium has appealed to the US for help following a major famine in Belgium. Belgian exports 75 per cent of her wheat. Present supplies with severe rationing — 25 grams, or half a pound of bread per person per day – will last until September 1 or at least early October.” All industrial activity had stopped and 2,300,000 Belgians were refugees in France, displaced by the German army.
1945 – US bombs Hiroshima- In the first of the only two times nuclear weapons have been used in warfare, the United States dropped a nuclear bomb, nicknamed Little Boy on the industrial city of Hiroshima in Japan. Over 150,000 people were estimated killed by the resulting explosion. Japan had joined the Second World War in December 1941 on the side of the Axis powers. After the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings 3 days later on August 9, Japan surrendered to the Allies and ended the Pacific War.
1951 – A fourth straight day of fighting occurred between the allies and Korean forces in western Korea. The U.S. Eighth Army engaged the enemy at dawn and Korean forces launched a counter attack.
1961 – The Soviet Vostok II spacecraft with Major Gherman Titov spends a full day in orbit over the Earth.
1962 Jamaican Independence – The Caribbean island country was first colonized by the Spanish in the early 16th century. In 1655, the British invaded Spanish Jamaica and made it a colony after the Spanish surrendered. Jamaica soon became one of the most profitable colonies of the British Empire, especially after sugarcane was brought to the island by the English. The Jamaica Independence Act of July 1962, which was a result of anti-colonial sentiments that were spreading throughout the globe, gave Jamaica full independence by leaving the Federation of the West Indies.
1965 – President Lyndon Johnson signs the Voting Rights Act, guaranteeing African Americans the right to vote and making it illegal to impose restrictions on federal, state and local elections that were designed to disenfranchise black voters.
1969 – In the city of Hiroshima, Japanese ceremonies were held commemorating the 25th anniversary of dropping the H-bomb when 100,000 Japanese were killed. The attack on Hiroshima was the first time that an atomic bomb had been used in warfare. Shinto and Christian memorial services were held across the city and a minute of silence was observed. The atomic bomb was dropped by Americans on August 6, 1945. On August 6, 1969 antinuclear protests broke out in Hiroshima led by Japanese socialists and communists.
1971 – Chay Blyth docks his yacht British Steel at the Hamble in Hampshire on the south coast after a voyage of 292 days and becomes the first man to sail round the world non-stop in the “wrong” direction – east to west – against the prevailing winds and currents.
1977 – President Carter got approval in the house for a new energy bill which called for a move away from foreign oil and a more efficient use of energy by Americans. The goal was to save 2-3 million barrels a day. Some opposition was felt in the senate, especially around issues like taxing crude oil and natural gas.
1978 – Pope Paul VI, who led the Roman Catholic Church for 15 years, died after suffering a major heart attack.
1985 – In Tel Aviv, Israel, a suicide bomber astride a donkey exploded near a pro-Israeli site in Southern Lebanon. According to Israel Army Radio both the burrow and the bomber were killed and one Lebanese person was wounded.
1997 – Microsoft buys a minority stake in struggling Apple Computers for $150 million and they agree to share technology. The deal helped Apple on Wall Street, sending the company’s stock up to close at its highest price in over a year. Microsoft no longer owns Apple stock, but this was an important moment in the development of Apple as a major corporation.
2002 – Small pox vaccinations were given 30 years ago, so scientists worry that the modern generation does not have any immunity to this disease which is fatal in 30% of the cases. If a small pox pandemic broke out it could be as devastating as the Black Death in Medieval times. Although a terrorist attack using the small pox virus is possible, doctors feel that quarantine and post sickness vaccines could contain the outbreak.
2006 – After heavy monsoon rains in the region, a bridge in Mardan, Pakistan collapsed and killed forty people.
2007 – Russia and Afghanistan made a deal to cut 90% of the debt Afghanistan owes to Russia. The move marked an effort by Russia to show support for Afghanistan’s government as it worked with United States and NATO troops to combat Taliban rebels.
2007 – Six miners are trapped and lost when a mine at Crandel Canyon, Utah collapses and the tragedy is worsened when 2 rescue workers and a mine inspector are also lost when the tunnel they are digging to get to the trapped miners gives way.
2008 – The first freely-elected President of Mauritania was overthrown by the military on this day. The coup came a day after President Sidi Ould Cheikh Abdallahi tried to dismiss top military officers.
2011 – The United States’ credit rating was downgraded from AAA to AA+ by Standard & Poor’s credit rating agency. The downgrade was made by the agency after citing that problems with budget deficits have created a negative outlook for the USA’s economy. The company also stated that the recently approved budget deal did not go far enough to reduce the deficit.
2011 – 38 people were killed on A US Helicopter downed in Afghanistan with the Taliban claiming responsibility among those on the Chinook helicopter at least seventeen were members of SEAL Team 6.
2012 – NASA has successfully landed the Mars Curiosity rover on Mars. The scientific vehicle will go on a mission collecting data and traveling around the Gale crater that should take it about two years to complete.
2013 – A shootout between rival drug gangs has left seventeen people dead in the remote La Mosquitia, Honduras. Authorities thought that women and children could have been some of the victims and armed forces were sent to the area to investigate.
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