Today is Tuesday, Aug. 6, the 219th day of 2024. There are 147 days left in the year.
Today in history:
On Aug. 6, 1965, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Voting Rights Act, prohibiting racial discrimination in voting.
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 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.
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.
Today’s Birthdays: Children’s performer Ella Jenkins is 100. Actor-director Peter Bonerz is 86. Actor Louise Sorel is 84. Actor Michael Anderson Jr. is 81. Actor Ray Buktenica is 81. Actor Dorian Harewood is 74. Actor Catherine Hicks is 73. Rock singer Pat MacDonald (Timbuk 3) is 72. Actor Stepfanie Kramer is 68. Actor Faith Prince is 67. R&B singer Randy DeBarge is 66. Actor Leland Orser is 64. Actor Michelle Yeoh is 62. Country singers Patsy and Peggy Lynn are 60. Basketball Hall of Famer David Robinson is 59. Actor Jeremy Ratchford is 59. Actor Benito Martinez is 56. Country singer Lisa Stewart is 56. Movie writer-director M. Night Shyamalan is 54. Actor Merrin Dungey is 53. Singer Geri Halliwell Horner is 52. Actor Jason O’Mara is 52. Actor Vera Farmiga is 51. Actor Ever Carradine is 50. Actor Soleil Moon Frye is 48. Actor Melissa George is 48. Rock singer Travis “Travie” McCoy is 43. Actor Leslie Odom Jr. is 43. Actor Romola Garai is 42. U.S. Olympic and WNBA basketball star A’ja Wilson is 28.
