Today in History: Aug. 6, U.S. drops atom bomb on Hiroshima

Today in History

Today is Saturday, Aug. 6, the 218th day of 2022. There are 147 days left in the year.

Today’s Highlight in History:

On Aug. 6, 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. (Three days later, the United States exploded a nuclear device over Nagasaki; five days after that, Imperial Japan surrendered.)

On this date:

In 1806, the Holy Roman Empire went out of existence as Emperor Francis II abdicated.

In 1825, Upper Peru became the autonomous republic of Bolivia.

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 1965, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Voting Rights Act.

In 1973, entertainer Stevie Wonder was seriously injured in a car accident in North Carolina.

In 1978, Pope Paul VI died at Castel Gandolfo at age 80.

In 1991, the World Wide Web made its public debut as a means of accessing webpages over the Internet. TV newsman Harry Reasoner died in Norwalk, Connecticut, at age 68.

In 1993, Louis Freeh won Senate confirmation to be FBI director.

In 2003, actor Arnold Schwarzenegger used an appearance on NBC’s “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno” to announce his successful bid to replace California Gov. Gray Davis.

In 2009, Sonia Sotomayor was confirmed as the first Hispanic Supreme Court justice by a Senate vote of 68-31. John Hughes, 59, Hollywood’s youth movie director of the 1980s and ’90s, died in New York City.

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.

In 2013, U.S. Army Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan went on trial at Fort Hood, Texas, charged with killing 13 people and wounding 32 others in a 2009 attack. (Hasan, who admitted carrying out the attack, was convicted and sentenced to death.)

Ten years ago: Syria’s prime minister, Riad Hijab, defected two months after being forced into the position by President Bashar Assad. Marvin Hamlisch, 68, who composed or arranged the scores for dozens of movies including “The Sting” and the Broadway smash “A Chorus Line,” died in Los Angeles.

Five years ago: Vice President Mike Pence, in a statement released by the White House, described as “disgraceful and offensive” a New York Times report suggesting that he was laying the groundwork for a possible presidential bid in 2020 if President Donald Trump were not to run.

One year ago: A New Jersey gym owner, Scott Fairlamb, and a Washington state man, Devlyn Thompson, became the first people charged in the Jan. 6 Capitol riot to plead guilty to assaulting a law enforcement officer. (Fairlamb was sentenced to 41 months in prison; Thompson received nearly four years.) American Allyson Felix won her record 10th Olympic track medal at the Tokyo Games with a bronze in the 400 meters, the most medals won by any woman in Olympic history. (She would win an 11th the following day.) The U.S. team of April Ross and Alix Klineman won gold in beach volleyball.

Today’s Birthdays: Children’s performer Ella Jenkins is 98. Actor-director Peter Bonerz is 84. Actor Louise Sorel is 82. Actor Michael Anderson Jr. is 79. Actor Ray Buktenica is 79. Actor Dorian Harewood is 72. Actor Catherine Hicks is 71. Rock singer Pat MacDonald (Timbuk 3) is 70. Country musician Mark DuFresne is 69. Actor Stepfanie Kramer is 66. Actor Faith Prince is 65. R&B singer Randy DeBarge is 64. Actor Leland Orser is 62. Actor Michelle Yeoh (yoh) is 60. Country singers Patsy and Peggy Lynn are 58. Basketball Hall of Famer David Robinson is 57. Actor Jeremy Ratchford is 57. Actor Benito Martinez is 54. Country singer Lisa Stewart is 54. Movie writer-director M. Night Shyamalan (SHAH’-mah-lahn) is 52. Actor Merrin Dungey is 51. Singer Geri Halliwell Horner is 50. Actor Jason O’Mara is 50. Actor Vera Farmiga is 49. Actor Ever Carradine is 48. Actor Soleil (soh-LAY’) Moon Frye is 46. Actor Melissa George is 46. Rock singer Travis McCoy is 41. Actor Leslie Odom Jr. is 41. Actor Romola Garai is 40. U.S. Olympic and WNBA basketball star A’ja Wilson is 26.

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