Today in History: August 6, the atomic bombing of Hiroshima
In this Aug. 6, 1945 photo released by the U.S. Army, a mushroom cloud billows about one hour after a nuclear bomb was detonated above Hiroshima, Japan. (AP Photo/U.S. Army via Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum)
Today in history:
On August 6, 1945, during World War II, the U.S. B-29 Superfortress Enola Gay dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan, resulting in an estimated 140,000 deaths.
Also on this date:
In 1806, Emperor Francis II abdicated, marking the end of the Holy Roman Empire after nearly a thousand years.
In 1825, Upper Peru became the autonomous republic of Bolivia.
In 1890, at Auburn Prison in Auburn, New York, William Kemmler became the first person to be executed via the electric chair.
In 1926, Gertrude Ederle became the first woman to swim across the English Channel.
In 1942, Queen Wilhemina of the Netherlands became the first reigning queen to address a joint session of Congress, telling lawmakers that despite Nazi occupation, her people’s motto remained, “No surrender.”
In 1945, during World War II, the U.S. B-29 Superfortress Enola Gay dropped an atomic bomb code-named “Little Boy” on Hiroshima, Japan, resulting in an estimated 140,000 deaths.
In 1962, Jamaica gained independence from the United Kingdom after 300 years of British rule.
U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson signs the Voting Rights Act of 1965 in a ceremony in the President’s Room near the Senate chambers in Washington, D.C., Aug. 6, 1965. Surrounding the president from left directly above his right hand, Vice President Hubert Humphrey; Speaker John McCormack; Rep. Emanuel Celler, D-N.Y.; first daughter Luci Johnson; and Sen. Everett Dirksen, R-Ill. Behind Humphrey is House Majority Leader Carl Albert of Oklahoma; and behind Celler is Sen. Carl Hayden, D-Ariz. (AP Photo)
U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson signs the Voting Rights Act of 1965 in a ceremony in the President’s Room near the Senate chambers in Washington, D.C., Aug. 6, 1965. Surrounding the president from left directly above his right hand, Vice President Hubert Humphrey; Speaker John McCormack; Rep. Emanuel Celler, D-N.Y.; first daughter Luci Johnson; and Sen. Everett Dirksen, R-Ill. Behind Humphrey is House Majority Leader Carl Albert of Oklahoma; and behind Celler is Sen. Carl Hayden, D-Ariz. (AP Photo)
In 1965, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Voting Rights Act, prohibiting racial discrimination in voting.
In 1991, the World Wide Web made its public debut as a means of accessing webpages over the Internet.
In 2011, insurgents shot down a U.S. military helicopter during fighting in eastern Afghanistan, killing 30 Americans, most of them belonging to the same elite Navy commando unit that had slain Osama bin Laden; seven Afghan commandos also died.
