What Happened on August 6th in History
60 historical events on this date
Franco-Prussian War: The Battle of Spicheren is fought, resulting in a German victory.
The Franco-Prussian War, occasionally known as the Franco-German War, and sometimes referred to in France as the War of 1870, was a conflict between France and the North German Confederation led by...
Franco-Prussian War: The Battle of Wörth results in a decisive German victory.
The Battle of Wörth, also known as the Battle of Reichshoffen or as the Battle of Frœschwiller, refers to the second battle of Wörth, which took place on 6 August 1870 in the opening stages of the...
Franco-Prussian War: The Battle of Spicheren is fought, resulting in a German victory.
The Franco-Prussian War, occasionally known as the Franco-German War, and sometimes referred to in France as the War of 1870, was a conflict between France and the North German Confederation led by...
Franco-Prussian War: The Battle of Wörth results in a decisive German victory.
The Battle of Wörth, also known as the Battle of Reichshoffen or as the Battle of Frœschwiller, refers to the second battle of Wörth, which took place on 6 August 1870 in the opening stages of the...
At Auburn Prison in New York, murderer William Kemmler becomes the first person to be executed by electric chair.
Auburn Correctional Facility is a state prison on State Street in Auburn, New York, United States. It was built on land that was once a Cayuga village. It is classified as a maximum security facility.
At Auburn Prison in New York, murderer William Kemmler becomes the first person to be executed by electric chair.
Auburn Correctional Facility is a state prison on State Street in Auburn, New York, United States. It was built on land that was once a Cayuga village. It is classified as a maximum security facility.
Kiowa land in Oklahoma is opened for white settlement, effectively dissolving the contiguous reservation.
Kiowa or Ǥáuigú people are a Native American tribe and an Indigenous people of the Great Plains of the United States. They migrated southward from western Montana into the Rocky Mountains in...
Kiowa land in Oklahoma is opened for white settlement, effectively dissolving the contiguous reservation.
Kiowa or Ǥáuigú people are a Native American tribe and an Indigenous people of the Great Plains of the United States. They migrated southward from western Montana into the Rocky Mountains in...
World War I: U-boat campaign: 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 Heligoland to attack Royal Navy warships in the North Sea.
World War I, or the First World War, also known as the Great War, was a global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies and the Central Powers. Major areas of conflict included Europe and the...
World War I: Serbia declares war on Germany; Austria declares war on Russia.
Serbia, officially the Republic of Serbia, is a landlocked country in Southeast and Central Europe. Located in the Balkans, it is bordered by Hungary in the north, Romania in the northeast, Bulgaria...
World War I: U-boat campaign: 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 Heligoland to attack Royal Navy warships in the North Sea.
World War I, or the First World War, also known as the Great War, was a global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies and the Central Powers. Major areas of conflict included Europe and the...
World War I: Serbia declares war on Germany; Austria declares war on Russia.
Serbia, officially the Republic of Serbia, is a landlocked country in Southeast and Central Europe. Located in the Balkans, it is bordered by Hungary in the north, Romania in the northeast, Bulgaria...
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.
The Battle of Sari Bair, also known as the August Offensive, represented the final attempt made by the British in August 1915 to seize control of the Gallipoli peninsula from the Ottoman Empire...
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.
The Battle of Sari Bair, also known as the August Offensive, represented the final attempt made by the British in August 1915 to seize control of the Gallipoli peninsula from the Ottoman Empire...
World War I: Battle of Mărășești between the Romanian and German armies begins.
The Battle of Mărășești was the last major battle fought by the Central Powers against the Kingdom of Romania and Russia on the Romanian front during World War I. Romania was mostly occupied by the...
World War I: Battle of Mărășești between the Romanian and German armies begins.
The Battle of Mărășești was the last major battle fought by the Central Powers against the Kingdom of Romania and Russia on the Romanian front during World War I. Romania was mostly occupied by the...
Gertrude Ederle becomes the first woman to swim across the English Channel.
Gertrude Caroline Ederle was an American competition swimmer, Olympic champion, and world record-holder in five events. On August 6, 1926, she became the first woman to swim across the English...
First public screening using the Vitaphone process
Vitaphone was a sound film system used for feature films and nearly 1,000 short films made by Warner Bros. Pictures and its sister studio First National from 1926 to 1931. Vitaphone is the last...
Gertrude Ederle becomes the first woman to swim across the English Channel.
Gertrude Caroline Ederle was an American competition swimmer, Olympic champion, and world record-holder in five events. On August 6, 1926, she became the first woman to swim across the English...
First public screening using the Vitaphone process
Vitaphone was a sound film system used for feature films and nearly 1,000 short films made by Warner Bros. Pictures and its sister studio First National from 1926 to 1931. Vitaphone is the last...
Estonia is annexed by the Soviet Union.
Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia, is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the Baltic...
Estonia is annexed by the Soviet Union.
Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia, is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the Baltic...
Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands becomes the first reigning queen to address a joint session of the United States Congress.
Wilhelmina was Queen of the Netherlands from 1890 until her abdication in 1948. She reigned for nearly 58 years, making her the longest-reigning monarch in Dutch history, as well as the...
Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands becomes the first reigning queen to address a joint session of the United States Congress.
Wilhelmina was Queen of the Netherlands from 1890 until her abdication in 1948. She reigned for nearly 58 years, making her the longest-reigning monarch in Dutch history, as well as the...
World War II: Hiroshima, Japan 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.
World War II, or the Second World War, was a global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies and the Axis powers. Nearly all of the world's countries participated. Tanks and aircraft played major...
World War II: Hiroshima, Japan 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.
World War II, or the Second World War, was a global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies and the Axis powers. Nearly all of the world's countries participated. Tanks and aircraft played major...
After 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.
1955 (MCMLV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar, the 1955th year of the Common Era (CE) and Anno Domini (AD) designations, the 955th year of the 2nd millennium, the...
After 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.
1955 (MCMLV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar, the 1955th year of the Common Era (CE) and Anno Domini (AD) designations, the 955th year of the 2nd millennium, the...
Law of Permanent Defense of Democracy, outlawing the Communist Party of Chile and banning 26,650 persons from the electoral lists, is repealed in Chile.
In 1948, on the initiative of Chilean President Gabriel González Videla, the Chilean National Congress enacted the Permanent Defense of Democracy Law, referred to by many as the Damned Law, which...
Law of Permanent Defense of Democracy, outlawing the Communist Party of Chile and banning 26,650 persons from the electoral lists, is repealed in Chile.
In 1948, on the initiative of Chilean President Gabriel González Videla, the Chilean National Congress enacted the Permanent Defense of Democracy Law, referred to by many as the Damned Law, which...
Cuban Revolution: Cuba nationalizes American and foreign-owned property in the nation.
The Cuban Revolution was the military and political movement that overthrew the dictatorship of Fulgencio Batista, who had ruled Cuba from 1952 to 1959. The revolution began after the 1952 Cuban...
Cuban Revolution: Cuba nationalizes American and foreign-owned property in the nation.
The Cuban Revolution was the military and political movement that overthrew the dictatorship of Fulgencio Batista, who had ruled Cuba from 1952 to 1959. The revolution began after the 1952 Cuban...
Jamaica becomes independent from the United Kingdom.
Jamaica is an island country in the Caribbean, covering 10,990 square kilometres (4,240 sq mi). It is the third-largest island in the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean, after Cuba and the island of...
Jamaica becomes independent from the United Kingdom.
Jamaica is an island country in the Caribbean, covering 10,990 square kilometres (4,240 sq mi). It is the third-largest island in the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean, after Cuba and the island of...
US President Lyndon B. Johnson signs the Voting Rights Act of 1965 into law.
Lyndon Baines Johnson, also known as LBJ, was the 36th president of the United States from 1963 to 1969. Johnson was vice president under John F. Kennedy from 1961 until Kennedy's assassination in...
US President Lyndon B. Johnson signs the Voting Rights Act of 1965 into law.
Lyndon Baines Johnson, also known as LBJ, was the 36th president of the United States from 1963 to 1969. Johnson was vice president under John F. Kennedy from 1961 until Kennedy's assassination in...
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, New South Wales, Australia.
New South Wales is a state on the east coast of Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria to the south, and South Australia to the west. Its coast borders the Coral and Tasman Seas to...
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, New South Wales, Australia.
New South Wales is a state on the east coast of Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria to the south, and South Australia to the west. Its coast borders the Coral and Tasman Seas to...
Gulf War: The United Nations Security Council orders a global trade embargo against Iraq in response to Iraq's invasion of Kuwait.
The Gulf War was an armed conflict between Iraq and a 42-country coalition led by the United States. The coalition's efforts were in two phases: Operation Desert Shield, which marked the military...
Gulf War: The United Nations Security Council orders a global trade embargo against Iraq in response to Iraq's invasion of Kuwait.
The Gulf War was an armed conflict between Iraq and a 42-country coalition led by the United States. The coalition's efforts were in two phases: Operation Desert Shield, which marked the military...
Tim Berners-Lee releases files describing his idea for the World Wide Web. WWW makes its first appearance as a publicly available service on the Internet.
Sir Timothy John Berners-Lee, also known as TimBL, is an English computer scientist best known as the inventor of the World Wide Web, HTML, the URL system, and HTTP. He is a professorial research...
Takako Doi, chair of the Social Democratic Party, becomes Japan's first female speaker of the House of Representatives.
Takako Doi was a Japanese politician. She was leader of the Japan Socialist Party from 1986 to 1991 and its successor party the Social Democratic Party from 1996 to 2003. In the former role, she...
Tim Berners-Lee releases files describing his idea for the World Wide Web. WWW makes its first appearance as a publicly available service on the Internet.
Sir Timothy John Berners-Lee, also known as TimBL, is an English computer scientist best known as the inventor of the World Wide Web, HTML, the URL system, and HTTP. He is a professorial research...
Takako Doi, chair of the Social Democratic Party, becomes Japan's first female speaker of the House of Representatives.
Takako Doi was a Japanese politician. She was leader of the Japan Socialist Party from 1986 to 1991 and its successor party the Social Democratic Party from 1996 to 2003. In the former role, she...
NASA announces that the ALH 84001 meteorite, thought to originate from Mars, contains evidence of primitive life-forms.
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is an independent agency of the U.S. federal government responsible for the United States' civil space program and for research in aeronautics and...
NASA announces that the ALH 84001 meteorite, thought to originate from Mars, contains evidence of primitive life-forms.
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is an independent agency of the U.S. federal government responsible for the United States' civil space program and for research in aeronautics and...
Korean Air Flight 801 crashed at Nimitz Hill, Guam, killing 229 of the 254 people on board.
Korean Air Flight 801 was a scheduled international passenger flight operated by Korean Air, from Gimpo International Airport, Seoul to Antonio B. Won Pat International Airport, Guam. On August 6,...
Korean Air Flight 801 crashed at Nimitz Hill, Guam, killing 229 of the 254 people on board.
Korean Air Flight 801 was a scheduled international passenger flight operated by Korean Air, from Gimpo International Airport, Seoul to Antonio B. Won Pat International Airport, Guam. On August 6,...
Erwadi fire incident: Twenty-eight mentally ill persons tied to a chain are burnt to death at a faith based institution at Erwadi, Tamil Nadu.
The Erwadi fire incident was an incident that occurred on 6 August 2001, when 28 inmates of a faith-based mental asylum died in the fire. All these inmates were bound by chains at the Moideen...
Erwadi fire incident: Twenty-eight mentally ill persons tied to a chain are burnt to death at a faith based institution at Erwadi, Tamil Nadu.
The Erwadi fire incident was an incident that occurred on 6 August 2001, when 28 inmates of a faith-based mental asylum died in the fire. All these inmates were bound by chains at the Moideen...
A military junta led by Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz stages a coup d'état in Mauritania, overthrowing president Sidi Ould Cheikh Abdallahi.
Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz is a retired Mauritanian military officer and politician who served as the 8th President of Mauritania from 2009 to 2019.
A military junta led by Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz stages a coup d'état in Mauritania, overthrowing president Sidi Ould Cheikh Abdallahi.
Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz is a retired Mauritanian military officer and politician who served as the 8th President of Mauritania from 2009 to 2019.
Flash floods across a large part of Jammu and Kashmir, India, damages 71 towns and kills at least 255 people.
The 2010 Ladakh floods occurred on 6 August 2010 across a large part of Ladakh, then part of the state of Jammu and Kashmir. 71 towns and villages were damaged, including the main town in the area,...
Flash floods across a large part of Jammu and Kashmir, India, damages 71 towns and kills at least 255 people.
The 2010 Ladakh floods occurred on 6 August 2010 across a large part of Ladakh, then part of the state of Jammu and Kashmir. 71 towns and villages were damaged, including the main town in the area,...
War in Afghanistan: A United States military helicopter is shot down, killing 30 American special forces members and a working dog, seven Afghan soldiers, and one Afghan civilian. It was the deadliest single event for the United States in the War in Afghanistan.
The war in Afghanistan was a prolonged armed conflict lasting from 2001 to 2021. It began with an invasion by a United States–led coalition under the name Operation Enduring Freedom in response to...
War in Afghanistan: A United States military helicopter is shot down, killing 30 American special forces members and a working dog, seven Afghan soldiers, and one Afghan civilian. It was the deadliest single event for the United States in the War in Afghanistan.
The war in Afghanistan was a prolonged armed conflict lasting from 2001 to 2021. It began with an invasion by a United States–led coalition under the name Operation Enduring Freedom in response to...
NASA's Curiosity rover lands on the surface of Mars.
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is an independent agency of the U.S. federal government responsible for the United States' civil space program and for research in aeronautics and...
NASA's Curiosity rover lands on the surface of Mars.
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is an independent agency of the U.S. federal government responsible for the United States' civil space program and for research in aeronautics and...
A suicide bomb attack kills at least 15 people at a mosque in the Saudi city of Abha.
The 2015 Abha mosque bombing occurred on 6 August 2015, when a suicide bomb attack killed 17 people at a mosque in the south-western Saudi Arabian city of Abha.
A suicide bomb attack kills at least 15 people at a mosque in the Saudi city of Abha.
The 2015 Abha mosque bombing occurred on 6 August 2015, when a suicide bomb attack killed 17 people at a mosque in the south-western Saudi Arabian city of Abha.