On Aug. 6, 1945, the United States dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan, that instantly killed an estimated 66,000 people in the first use of a nuclear weapon in warfare.
On Aug. 6, 1911, Lucille Ball, the American radio, television and film comedic actress, was born. Following her death on April 26, 1989, her obituary appeared in The Times.
On This Date
| 1825 | Bolivia declared its independence from Peru. |
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| 1890 | The electric chair was used for the first time, to execute a convicted murderer at Auburn State Prison in New York. |
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| 1890 | Hall of fame pitcher Cy Young made his major league debut with the Cleveland Spiders of the National League. |
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| 1914 | Austria-Hungary declared war against Russia, and Serbia declared war against Germany at the outbreak of World War I. |
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| 1926 | Gertrude Ederle of New York became the first American woman to swim the English Channel. |
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| 1962 | Jamaica became an independent dominion within the British Commonwealth. |
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| 1965 | President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Voting Rights Act. |
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| 1965 | The album "Help!" by the Beatles was released. |
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| 1978 | Pope Paul VI died at age 80. |
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| 1998 | Former White House intern Monica Lewinsky testified before a grand jury about her relationship with President Bill Clinton. |
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| 2001 | President George W. Bush received a memo entitled "Bin Laden Determined To Strike in U.S." as part of his daily intelligence briefing. |
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| 2007 | The Crandall Canyon Mine in central Utah collapsed, trapping six coal miners. (All six miners died, along with three rescuers.) |
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| 2008 | The government declared that Army scientist Bruce Ivins was solely responsible for the anthrax attacks that killed five in 2001. (Ivins had committed suicide on July 29.) |
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| 2008 | A U.S. military jury convicted Osama bin Laden's former driver, Salim Hamdan, of supporting terrorism in the first war crimes trial at Guantanamo Bay. |
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| 2009 | Sonia Sotomayor was confirmed as the first Hispanic Supreme Court justice by a Senate vote of 68-31. |
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Current Birthdays
Actress Vera Farmiga turns 38 years old today.
AP Photo/Peter Kramer
Writer-director M. Night Shyamalan ("The Sixth Sense") turns 41 years old today.
AP Photo/Peter Kramer
| 1951 | Catherine Hicks, Actress ("7th Heaven"), turns 60 |
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| 1956 | Stepfanie Kramer, Actress, turns 55 |
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| 1957 | Faith Prince, Actress, turns 54 |
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| 1965 | David Robinson, Basketball Hall of Famer, turns 46 |
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| 1972 | Geri Halliwell, Singer (Spice Girls), turns 39 |
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| 1974 | Ever Carradine, Actress, turns 37 |
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| 1976 | Soleil Moon Frye, Actress, turns 35 |
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Historic Birthdays
Lucille Ball8/6/1911 - 4/26/1989American radio, film and television actress.Go to obituary »
| 53 | Niccolo Salvi 8/6/1697 - 2/8/1751
Italian sculptor |
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| 83 | Alfred Tennyson 8/6/1809 - 10/6/1892
English poet; raised to the peerage in 1884 |
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| 89 | Andrew Taylor Still 8/6/1828 - 12/12/1917
American founder of osteopathy |
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| 54 | Frank Cobb 8/6/1869 - 12/21/1923
American journalist and editor of the New York World |
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| 73 | Sir Alexander Fleming 8/6/1881 - 3/11/1955
Scottish bacteriologist; discovered penicillin in 1928 |
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| 91 | Louella Parsons 8/6/1881 - 12/9/1972
American journalist and movie columnist |
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| 33 | Dutch Schultz 8/6/1902 - 10/24/1935
American bootlegger |
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| 67 | Ronald Duncan 8/6/1914 - 6/3/1982
English playwright, poet and writer |
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| 54 | Richard Hofstadter 8/6/1916 - 10/24/1970
American historian |
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| 79 | Robert Mitchum 8/6/1917 - 7/1/1997
American motion-picture star |
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| 61 | Jackie Presser 8/6/1926 - 7/9/1988
American Teamsters Union leader (1983-88) |
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| 58 | Andy Warhol 8/6/1928 - 2/22/1987
American artist best known for initiating the Pop art movement |
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