August 6 in History

2013 – NASA programmed the Curiosity Rover to sing itself “Happy Birthday”, on the anniversary of its landing date, August 6, 2012.

1787 – 60 copies of the Constitution of the United States were delivered to the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

1890 – At Auburn Prison in New York, William Kemmler was the first person to be executed by electric chair.

1926 – Gertrude Ederle became the first woman to swim across the English Channel.

1926 – In New York, New York, the Warner Bros. Vitaphone sound system premiered with the movie Don Juan starring John Barrymore, with music and sound effects.

1945 – Hiroshima, Japan was largely destroyed when the atomic bomb “Little Boy” was dropped by the B-29 Enola Gay. August 6th, 1945 at 8:16 a.m. was the deadliest moment in history, killing over 70,000 people in 5 seconds.

1956 – The DuMont Television Network made its final broadcast, A Boxing Match from the St. Nicholas Arena series.

1964 – Prometheus, a bristlecone pine and the world’s oldest tree, at least 4862 years old, was cut down in Nevada.

1966 – In a post-fight interview, Howard Cosell honors Muhammad Ali’s wishes to no longer be referred to as Cassius Clay, making his new name more acceptable by everyone.

1970 – 200 ‘yippies’ invaded Disneyland, putting on a circus (acting like fools), climbing buildings, and singing the Mickey Mouse Club theme.

1986 – Rain fell a record 13 inches of rain in a single day on Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.

1988 – Yo! MTV Raps premiered on MTV

1992 – Harold Russell sold his 1946 Best Supporting Actor award for $65,000.

#1 Hit August 6, 1994 – August 26, 1994: Lisa Loeb & Nine Stories – Stay (I Missed You)

1996 – NASA announced that the ALH 84001 meteorite, thought to originate from Mars and found in Antarctica, contained evidence of primitive life-forms.

#1 Hit August 6, 2016 – September 2, 2016: Sia featuring Sean Paul – Cheap Thrills