What Happened on August 6?

On August 6, 1945, an atomic bomb destroyed Hiroshima, and survivors turned their pain into a worldwide call for peace. It is also the day President Johnson signed the Voting Rights Act, Gertrude Ederle conquered the English Channel, and NASA landed a rover on Mars.

• 1806 — Francis II dissolves the Holy Roman Empire

  After more than a thousand years, Emperor Francis II stepped down and ended the Holy Roman Empire under pressure from Napoleon. Read the full story →

• 1926 — Gertrude Ederle becomes the first woman to swim the English Channel

  Nineteen-year-old Gertrude Ederle fought through squalls for over fourteen hours to swim from France to England — faster than any man had ever done it. Read the full story →

• 1945 — An atomic bomb destroys Hiroshima — and sparks a worldwide call for peace

  During World War II, a U.S. plane dropped the first atomic bomb used in war on Hiroshima, Japan. The city's destruction changed how the world thinks about war, and its survivors devoted their lives to making sure it never happens again. Read the full story →

• 1965 — President Johnson signs the Voting Rights Act

  After marches and protests across the South, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the law that banned literacy tests and other tricks used to keep Black Americans from voting. Read the full story →

• 1991 — Tim Berners-Lee posts the first public World Wide Web page

  On August 6, 1991, CERN scientist Tim Berners-Lee shared the first public webpage explaining how the World Wide Web worked. Read the full story →

Famous birthdays

Lucille Ball (1911–1989) · Andy Warhol (1928–1987) · M. Night Shyamalan (1970) · Alex Ferguson (1941)

Days & observances

Hiroshima Peace Memorial Day · National Root Beer Float Day · National Fresh Breath Day · National Wiggle Your Toes Day