On this day, August 6

1836 Fourteen trade unions were amalgamated to form the Pittsburgh Central Labor Union.

1926 Gertrude Ederle became the first woman to swim the English Channel, arriving in Kingsdown, England, from France in 14 1/2 hours.

1945 During World War II, the U.S. B-29 Superfortress Enola Gay dropped an atomic bomb code-named “Little Boy” on Hiroshima, Japan, resulting in an estimated 140,000 deaths.

1958 The federal government assured Pittsburgh of aid for the proposed $15,000,000 redevelopment project for substandard areas at East Liberty.

1965 President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Voting Rights Act.

1980 Richard Wallace was named city school superintendent.

Some items are from Stefan Lorant’s “Pittsburgh: The Story of an American City” (digital.library.pitt.edu/chronology). — Compiled by Alyssa

Brown