Today in History

Today’s highlight: On August 6,

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

On this date: 1806:

The Holy Roman Empire went out of existence as Emperor Francis II abdicated.

1809:

One of the leading literary figures of the Victorian era, poet Alfred, Lord Tennyson, was born in Somersby, Lincolnshire, England.

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.

1911:

Actress-comedian Lucille Ball was born in Jamestown, New York.

1914:

Austria-hungary declared war against Russia and Serbia declared war against Germany.

1942:

Queen Wilhemina of the Netherlands became the first reigning queen to address a joint meeting of Congress, telling lawmakers that despite Nazi occupation, her people’s motto remained, “No surrender.”

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. Three days later, the United States exploded a nuclear device over Nagasaki; five days after that, Imperial Japan surrendered.

1961:

Soviet cosmonaut Gherman Titov became the second man to orbit Earth as he flew aboard Vostok 2; his call sign, “Eagle,” prompted his famous declaration: “I am Eagle!”

1986:

William J. Schroeder died at Humana Hospital-audubon in Louisville, Kentucky, after living 620 days with the Jarvik 7 artificial heart.

1991:

The World Wide Web made its public debut as a means of accessing webpages over the Internet.

2013:

U.S. Army Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan went on trial at Fort Hood, Texas, charged with killing 13 people and wounding 32 others in a 2009 attack. Hasan, who admitted carrying out the attack, was convicted and sentenced to death.

Ten years ago:

Sonia Sotomayor was confirmed as the first Hispanic Supreme Court justice by a Senate vote of 6831. John Hughes, 59, Hollywood’s youth movie director of the 1980s and ’90s, died in New York City.

Five years ago:

President Barack Obama closed a three-day U.s.-africa summit in Washington which brought together leaders from more than 50 African nations.

One year ago:

Twin Northern California wildfires grew to become the largest wildfire in state history, burning more than 440 square miles north of San Francisco.