Today in history

On Aug. 6, 1787, the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia began to debate the articles contained in a draft of the Constitution.

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

In 1890 convicted murderer William Kemmler became the first person to be executed in the electric chair as he was put to death at Auburn State Prison in New York. Also in 1890 Cy Young gained the first of his 511 major league victories as he pitched the Cleveland Spiders to a win over the Chicago Colts. (However, the score is a matter of dispute, with some sources saying 6-1, and others saying 8-1.)

In 1914 Austria-Hungary declared war against Russia, and Serbia declared war against Germany.

In 1926 Gertrude Ederle of New York became the first woman to swim the English Channel, completing the feat in 14 1⁄2 hours. Also in

1926 Warner Bros. premiered its “Vitaphone” sound-on-disc movie system in New York.

In 1945, during World War II, the United States dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan, killing an estimated 140,000 people in the first use of a nuclear weapon in warfare.

In 1948 Bob Mathias won the decathlon at the London Olympics.

In 1965 President Lyndon Johnson signed the Voting Rights Act.