ON AUGUST 6 ...

In 1787 the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia began to debate the articles contained in a draft of the Constitution.

In 1825 Bolivia declared its independence from Peru.

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

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 1962 Jamaica became an independent dominion within the British Commonwealth.

In 1965 President Lyndon Johnson signed the Voting Rights Act.

In 1986 William Schroeder died of a stroke in Louisville 620 days after receiving the Jarvik-7 mechanical heart. He had lived longer with an artificial heart than anyone else; he was 54.

In 1990 the U.N. Security Council ordered a worldwide embargo on trade with Iraq to punish the Baghdad regime for invading Kuwait.

In 1997 Korean Air Flight 801 crashed into a hillside a short distance from Guam International Airport, killing 228 of the 254 aboard the Boeing 747.

In 1998 legendary sportscaster and announcer and Hall of Fame member Jack Brickhouse died in Chicago; he was 82.

In 2013 the Justice Department filed charges against Libyan militia leader Ahmed Abu Khattalah in the Sept. 11, 2012, attack in Benghazi that killed four Americans.

In 2015 University of Illinois Chancellor Phyllis Wise abruptly announced her resignation, citing “external issues” after a tumultuous year at the state’s flagship public university. The board of trustees later backpedaled on her $400,000 severance bonus after Gov. Bruce Rauner expressed disapproval.