August 6 in history — What Happened Today in History

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.

US President Lyndon B. Johnson signs the Voting Rights Act of 1965 into law.

Jamaica becomes independent from the United Kingdom.

Cuban Revolution: Cuba nationalizes American and foreign-owned property in the nation.

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Defense of Democracy, outlawing the Communist Party of Chile and banning 26,650 persons from the electoral lists, is repealed in Chile.

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.

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.

Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands becomes the first reigning queen to address a joint session of the United States Congress.

Estonia is annexed by the Soviet Union.

Gertrude Ederle becomes the first woman to swim across the English Channel.

First public screening using the Vitaphone process

World War I: Battle of Mărășești between the Romanian and German armies begins.

The Paraguayan Regional Workers' Federation reorganizes itself into the Regional Workers' Center of Paraguay.

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.

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: Serbia declares war on Germany; Austria declares war on Russia.

Kiowa land in Oklahoma is opened for white settlement, effectively dissolving the contiguous reservation.

At Auburn Prison in New York, murderer William Kemmler becomes the first person to be executed by electric chair.

Franco-Prussian War: The Battle of Spicheren is fought, resulting in a German victory.

Franco-Prussian War: The Battle of Wörth results in a decisive German victory.

American Civil War: The Confederate ironclad CSS Arkansas is scuttled on the Mississippi River after suffering catastrophic engine failure near Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

Britain imposes the Lagos Treaty of Cession to suppress slavery in what is now Nigeria.

The Bolivian Declaration of Independence is proclaimed.

Peruvian War of Independence: Patriot forces led by Simón Bolívar defeat the Spanish Royalist army in the Battle of Junín.

Norwich University is founded in Vermont as the first private military school in the United States.

Francis II, Holy Roman Emperor, declares the moribund empire to be dissolved, although he retains power in the Austrian Empire.

Sixty proof sheets of the Constitution of the United States are delivered to the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

American Revolutionary War: The bloody Battle of Oriskany prevents American relief of the Siege of Fort Stanwix.

Vedad Ibišević, Bosnian footballer

Maja Ognjenović, Serbian volleyball player

Jesse Ryder, New Zealand cricketer

Robin van Persie, Dutch footballer

Leslie Odom Jr., American actor and singer

Diána Póth, Hungarian figure skater

Francesco Bellotti, Italian cyclist

Jaime Correa, Mexican footballer

Travis Reed, American basketball player

Leandro Amaral, Brazilian footballer

Jimmy Nielsen, Danish footballer and manager

Luciano Zavagno, Argentinian footballer

Soleil Moon Frye, American actress

Ananda W.P. Guruge, Sri Lankan scholar and diplomat (born 1928)

John Woodland Hastings, American biochemist and academic (born 1927)

Stan Lynde, American author and illustrator (born 1931)

Mava Lee Thomas, American baseball player (born 1929)

Jerry Wolman, American businessman (born 1927)

Richard Cragun, American-Brazilian ballet dancer and choreographer (born 1944)

Marvin Hamlisch, American pianist, composer, and conductor (born 1944)

Robert Hughes, Australian-American author and critic (born 1938)

Bernard Lovell, English physicist and astronomer (born 1913)

Mark O'Donnell, American playwright (born 1954)

Ruggiero Ricci, American violinist and educator (born 1918)

Dan Roundfield, American basketball player (born 1953)

Fe del Mundo, Filipino pediatrician and educator (born 1911)