August 6

Events
Up to 1900
1223 - Louis VIII of France and Blanche of Castile are crowned King and Queen of France.
1284 - The Republic of Pisa is defeated in the Battle of Meloria by the Republic of Genoa, therefore losing its naval dominance in the Mediterranean.
1506 - The Grand Duchy of Lithuania defeats the Crimean Khanate in the Battle of Kletsk.
1538 - Bogota, the present-day capital city of Colombia, is founded by Gonzalo Jimenez de Quesada.
1661 - The Treaty of The Hague is signed by Portugal and the Dutch Republic.
1777 - American Revolutionary War: The bloody Battle of Oriskany prevents American relief of the Siege of Fort Stanwix.
1787 - Sixty proof sheets of the United States Constitution are delivered to the Constitution Convention in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
1806 - Francis II, the last Holy Roman Emperor, abdicates, thus ending the Holy Roman Empire.
1813 - Simon Bolivar takes control of Caracas (present-day Venezuela) from the Spanish.
1825 - Bolivia gains independence from Peru.
1845 - The Russian Geographical Society is founded in Saint Petersburg.
1861 - British annexation of Lagos, Nigeria.
1862 - American Civil War: The Confederate ironclad CSS Arkansas is scuttled on the Mississippi River after suffering damage in a battle with the USS Essex near Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
1870 - Franco-Prussian War: The Battles of Spicheren and Woerth both end in Prussian victory.
1890 - At Auburn Prison in New York, the first execution by electric chair is performed, with murderer William Kemmler as the subject.
1893 - The Corinth Canal in Greece opens for shipping.
1896 - Madagascar officially becomes a French colony.
1901 2000
1914 - World War I: Serbia declares war on Germany.
1915 - World War I: Battle of Sari Bair begins - The Allies mount a diversionary attack timed to coincide with a major Allied landing of reinforcements at Suvla Bay.
1926 - Gertrude Ederle becomes first woman to swim across the English Channel.
1926 - In New York City, the Warner Brothers' Vitaphone system premieres with the movie Don Juan starring John Barrymore.
1940 - The Soviet Union takes control of Estonia.
1942 - Wilhelmina of the Netherlands becomes the first reigning queen to address a joint session of the United States Congress.
1945 - World War II: An atomic bomb codenamed Little Boy is dropped by the American B-29 Enola Gay on the city of Hiroshima, Japan at 8:16 a.m.. It kills 80,000 outright with another 60,000 dead by the end of the year from fallout sickness. Ultimately, about 200,000 die due to the atomic bombing.
1958 - Gasherbrum IV in the Karakoram range of the Himalayas is first climbed, by Walter Bonatti and Carlo Mauri.
1960 - Cuban Revolution: In response to a United States embargo, Cuba nationalizes American and foreign-owned property in the nation.
1962 - Jamaica becomes independent from the United Kingdom.
1964 - Prometheus, a bristlecone pine and the world's oldest tree, is cut down.
1965 - US President Lyndon B. Johnson signs the Voting Rights Act of 1965 into law.
1966 - Braniff Airlines Flight 250 crashes in Fall City, Nebraska, killing all 42 people.
1984 - Pop star Prince releases Purple Rain, the album which launched him to superstardom.
1985 - In Hiroshima, tens of thousands mark the 40th anniversary of the atomic bombing of the city.
1988 - "Police riot" in New York City's Tompkins Square Park
1990 - Gulf War: The United Nations Security Council orders a global trade embargo against Iraq in response to Iraq's invasion of Kuwait
1991 - Tim Berners-Lee releases files describing his idea for the World Wide Web.
1991 - Takako Doi becomes the first female speaker of the Japanese House of Representatives.
1993 - Heavy rains kill 72 people in the Aira and Kagoshima areas of Kyushu, Japan.
1993 - Louis Freeh is confirmed by the United States Senate to be the director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation
1993 - The Fugitive opens in theaters, starring Harrison Ford and Tommy Lee Jones.
1996 - NASA announces that the ALH 84001 meteorite, thought to originate from Mars, contains evidence of primitive life-forms.
1996 - Australian census conducted.
1997 - Microsoft buys $150 million worth of shares of financially troubled Apple Computer.
1997 - Korean Air Flight 801, a Boeing 747-300, crashes into the jungle on Guam on approach to airport, killing 228.
From 2001
2001 - President George W. Bush receives President's Daily Briefing entitled Bin Ladin Determined To Strike in US.
2002 - Marquis de la Fayette is made Honorary Citizen of the United States.
2002 - Manindra Agrawal et al. prove the long-standing number theory conjecture in the article entitled "Primes in P".
2008 - In Mauritania, President Sidi Ould Sheikh Abdallahi is removed from office in a military coup, led by Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz.
2010 - In relation to the floods in Pakistan, flash floods also hit the disputed territory of Jammu and Kashmir, killing 255 people.
2011 - The 2011 England riots begin.
2012 - NASA's Mars Science Laboratory rover Curiosity lands on the surface of the planet Mars, with the intention of finding evidence that life once existed there.
2017 - The UEFA Women's Championship is won by the Netherlands, with a 4-2 win in the final over Denmark, who had ended Germany's run of six titles in-a-row in the quarter finals.
Births
Up to 1800
1180 - Emperor Go-Toba of Japan (d. 1239)
1504 - Matthew Parker, Archbishop of Canterbury (d. 1575)
1619 - Barbara Strozzi, Italian singer and composer (d. 1677)
1638 - Nicolas Malebranche, French philosopher (d. 1715)
1644 - Louise de la Valliere, mistress to Louis XIV of France (d. 1710)
1666 - Maria Sofia of Neuburg, German-born consort of Peter II of Portugal (d. 1699)
1667 - Johann Bernoulli, Swiss mathematician and physician (d. 1748)
1682 - Louis, Dauphin of France, Duke of Burgundy (d. 1712)
1697 - Charles VII, Holy Roman Emperor (d. 1745)
1765 - Petros Mavromichalis, Greek independence leader (d. 1848)
1766 - William Hyde Wollaston, English chemist (d. 1828)
1775 - Daniel O'Connell, Irish politician (d. 1847)
1775 - Louis-Antoine, Duke of Angouleme, son of King Charles X of France (d. 1844)
1789 - Friedrich List, German economist, businessman and diplomat (d. 1846)
1801 1900
1809 - Alfred Tennyson, English poet (d. 1892)
1811 - Judah P. Benjamin, American politician (d. 1884)
1826 - Thomas Alexander Browne, Australian writer (d. 1915)
1827 - Jose Manuel Marroquin, 27th President of Colombia (d. 1908)
1835 - Jewett W. Adams, Governor of Nevada (d. 1920)
1844 - James Henry Greathead, engineer (d. 1896)
1844 - Alfred, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (d. 1900)
1857 - Christian Wilhelm Allers, German painter (d. 1915)
1859 - Arthur Berson, German meteorologist (d. 1942)
1861 - Edith Roosevelt, First Lady of the United States (d. 1948)
1866 - Matthew Henson, American Arctic explorer (d. 1955)
1868 - Paul Claudel, French poet (d. 1955)
1874 - Charles Fort, writer and researcher into anomalous phenomena (d. 1932)
1877 - Wallace H. White, Jr., United States Senator from Maine (d. 1952)
1880 - Hans Moser, Austrian actor (d. 1964)
1881 - Leo Carrillo, actor (d. 1961)
1881 - Alexander Fleming, Scottish scientist and physician (d. 1955)
1881 - Louella Parsons, American gossip columnist (d. 1972)
1889 - John Middleton Murry, English poet (d. 1957)
1891 - William Slim, 1st Viscount Slim, 13th Governor-General of Australia (d. 1970)
1892 - Hoot Gibson, American cowboy actor (d. 1962)
1893 - Wright Patman, American politician (d. 1976)
1895 - Ernesto Lecuona, Cuban musician and composer (d. 1963)
1900 - Cecil H. Green, Texas Instruments founder (d. 2003)
1901 - 1950
1902 - Dutch Schultz, American bootlegger, gangster (d. 1935)
1904 - Jean Desses, French couturier (d. 1970)
1904 - Henry Iba, American basketball player and coach (d. 1993)
1908 - Helen Jacobs, American tennis player (d. 1997)
1908 - Rufino Santos, Filipino cardinal (d. 1973)
1908 - Louis Vaida, Hungarian painter (d. 1941)
1911 - Norman Gordon, South African cricketer (d. 2014)
1911 - Lucille Ball, American actress and comedienne (d. 1989)
1914 - Gordon Freeth, Australian politician (d. 2001)
1916 - Richard Hofstadter, historian (d. 1970)
1916 - Dom Mintoff, Prime Minister of Malta (d. 2012)
1917 - Robert Mitchum, American actor (Night of the Hunter, Cape Fear 1961 version) (d. 1997)
1919 - Pauline Betz, American tennis player (d. 2011)
1922 - Sir Freddie Laker, American entrepreneur (d. 2006)
1922 - Daniel Walker, American politician, Governor of Illinois (d. 2015)
1924 - Helene Martini, French night club owner (d. 2017)
1924 - Philippe Washer, Belgian tennis player (d. 2015)
1925 - Barbara Bates, American actress (d. 1969)
1926 - Janet Asimov, American science fiction writer and psychoanalyst (d. 2019)
1926 - Elisabeth Beresford, British author (d. 2010)
1926 - Frank Finlay, English actor (d. 2016)
1928 - Andy Warhol, American artist (d. 1987)
1929 - Mike Elliott, Jamaican saxophonist
1929 - Kateb Yacine, Algerian writer (d. 1989)
1930 - Abbey Lincoln, American jazz singer (d. 2010)
1932 - Howard Hodgkin, English painter and print-maker (d. 2017)
1933 - Suchinda Kraprayoon, former Prime Minister of Thailand
1933 - Ulrich Biesinger, German footballer (d. 2011)
1934 - Chris Bonington, English mountaineer
1934 - Piers Anthony, English author
1934 - Diane di Prima, American poet
1935 - Fortunato Baldelli, Italian cardinal (d. 2012)
1935 - Mario Coluna, Mozambican-Portuguese footballer (d. 2014)
1937 - Charlie Haden, American musician (d. 2014)
1937 - Barbara Windsor, British actress
1937 - Baden Powell de Aquino, Brazilian musician (d. 2000)
1938 - Peter Bonerz, American actor and director
1940 - Louise Sorel, American actress
1940 - Mukhu Aliyev, Russian politician, 2nd President of Dagestan
1940 - Egil Kapstad, Norwegian pianist
1942 - Evelyn Hamann, German actress (d. 2007)
1943 - Jon Postel, American creator of the Domain Name System (DNS) (d. 1998)
1946 - Roh Moo-hyun, President of South Korea (d. 2009), possibly born on September 1
1946 - Masaaki Sakai, Japanese comedian
1946 - Ron Davies, Welsh politician
1948 - Alan Howarth, American composer
1949 - Clarence Richard Silva, Roman Catholic bishop of Honolulu
1951 1975
1951 - Daryl Somers, Australian television personality
1951 - Catherine Hicks, American actress
1951 - Christophe de Margerie, French businessman (d. 2014)
1952 - David McLetchie, Scottish politician (d. 2013)
1955 - Rusty Magee, American actor and composer (d. 2003)
1955 - Tom Sandberg, Norwegian skier
1957 - Renato Soru, Italian politician and businessman, founder of Tiscali
1957 - Jim McGreevey, American politician, former Governor of New Jersey
1959 - Joyce Sims, American singer-songwriter
1962 - Michelle Yeoh, Chinese-Malaysian actress
1962 - Marc Lavoine, French singer and actor
1963 - Charles Ingram, British game show contestant
1963 - Kevin Mitnick, American computer hacker and author
1964 - Gary Valenciano, Filipino singer-songwriter, producer and actor
1965 - Juliane Kohler, German actress
1965 - David Robinson, American basketball player
1965 - Mark Speight, English television presenter (d. 2008)
1968 - Lisa Boyle, American actress and model
1969 - Elliott Smith, American musician (d. 2003)
1970 - M. Night Shyamalan, Indian-American movie director, writer, producer, actor
1971 - Merrin Dungey, actress
1971 - Federico Giunti, Italian footballer
1972 - Geri Halliwell, English singer (Spice Girls)
1973 - Donna Lewis, Welsh singer and composer
1975 - Jason Crump, Australian speedway rider
1975 - Renate Gotschl, Austrian skier
From 1976
1976 - Soleil Moon Frye, American actress
1976 - Melissa George, actress
1977 - Jennifer Lyons, American actress
1977 - Leandro Amaral, Brazilian footballer
1978 - Marisa Miller, American actress
1978 - Billy Klippert, singer
1979 - Francesco Bellotti, Italian cyclist
1979 - Jaime Correa, Mexican footballer
1979 - Megumi Okina, Japanese actress and singer
1980 - Roman Weidenfeller, German footballer
1981 - Travie McCoy, American rapper and songwriter
1981 - Abdul Kader Keita, footballer from Ivory Coast
1982 - Romola Garai, British actress
1983 - Robin van Persie, Dutch footballer
1984 - Vedad Ibisevic, footballer from Bosnia and Herzegovina
1984 - Sofia Essaidi, French-Moroccan singer, dancer and actress
1985 - Jesse Ryder, New Zealand cricketer
1985 - Bafetimbi Gomis, French footballer
1987 - Aditya Narayan, Indian actor and singer
1987 - Charley Chase, American pornographic actress
1987 - Joran van der Sloot, Dutch murderer
1988 - Chelsee Healey, English actress
1988 - Aleska Diamond, Hungarian pornographic actress
1990 - JonBenet Ramsey, young beauty queen and victim of crime (d. 1996)
1991 - Jiao Liuyang, Chinese swimmer
1993 - Kaori Ishihara, Japanese voice actress
1998 - Jack Scanlon, British actor
2001 - Ty Simpkins, American actor
Deaths
Up to 1900
258 - Pope Sixtus II
523 - Pope Hormisdas (b. 450)
1162 - Ramon Berenguer IV, Count of Barcelona (b. 1113)
1195 - Henry the Lion, son of Henry X, Duke of Bavaria (b. 1129)
1221 - Saint Dominic, Spanish monk and founder of the Dominican Order (b. 1170)
1272 - King Stephen V of Hungary (b. 1239)
1328 - Galeazzo I Visconti, ruler of Milan (b. 1277)
1414 - Ladislaus of Naples (b. 1377)
1458 - Pope Callixtus III (b. 1378)
1623 - Anne Hathaway, wife of William Shakespeare (b. 1555)
1660 - Diego Velazquez, Spanish painter (b. 1599)
1694 - Antoine Arnauld, French philosopher and mathematician (b. 1612)
1746 - King Christian VI of Denmark (b. 1699)
1753 - Georg Wilhelm Richmann, Russian physicist (b. 1711)
1794 - Henry Bathurst, 2nd Earl Bathurst, Lord Chancellor of Great Britain (b. 1714)
1828 - Konstantin von Benckendorff, Russian general and statesman (b. 1785)
1875 - Gabriel Garcia Moreno, President of Ecuador (b. 1821)
1881 - James Springer White, American preacher and author (b. 1821)
1890 - William Kemmler, American murderer, executed on the electric chair (b. 1860)
1891 - Henry Litolff, English pianist and composer (b. 1818)
1893 - Jean-Jacques Challet-Venel, Swiss politician (b. 1811)
1901 2000
1904 - Eduard Hanslick, Austrian music writer and critic (b. 1825)
1914 - Ellen Louise Wilson, first wife of US President Woodrow Wilson (b. 1860)
1920 - Stefan Bastyr, Polish aviator (b. 1890)
1925 - Surendranath Banerjee, Indian politician (b. 1848)
1931 - Bix Beiderbecke, American jazz cornetist and pianist (b. 1903)
1945 - Richard Bong, American pilot (b. 1920)
1945 - Hiram Johnson, Governor of California (b. 1866)
1954 - Emilie Dionne, one of the Dionne Quintuplets (b. 1934)
1959 - Preston Sturges, American playwright, screenwriter and director (b. 1898)
1964 - Cedric Hardwicke, English actor (b. 1893)
1969 - Theodor Adorno, German philosopher (b. 1903)
1973 - Fulgencio Batista, President of Cuba (b. 1901)
1974 - Gene Ammons, American saxophonist (b. 1925)
1976 - Gregor Piatigorsky, Russian-American cellist (b. 1903)
1978 - Pope Paul VI (b. 1897)
1978 - Edward Durrell Stone, American architect (b. 1902)
1979 - Feodor Felix Konrad Lynen, German biochemist (b. 1911)
1983 - Klaus Nomi, German singer (b. 1944)
1985 - Forbes Burnham, leader of Guyana (b. 1923)
1986 - Emilio Fernandez, Mexican actor, screenwriter and director (b. 1904)
1991 - Roland Michener, Canadian lawyer, politician and diplomat (b. 1900)
1991 - Shapour Bakhtiar, Iranian politician (b. 1915)
1991 - Harry Reasoner, American journalist (b. 1923)
1993 - Bob Kiesel, American athlete (b. 1911)
1994 - Domenico Modugno, Italian singer-songwriter, actor and politician (b. 1928)
1994 - Giovanni Spadolini, Italian politician (b. 1925)
1998 - Andre Weil, French mathematician (b. 1906)
From 2001
2001 - Jorge Amado, Brazilian writer (b. 1912)
2002 - Edsger Dijkstra, Dutch computer scientist (b. 1930)
2005 - Robin Cook, British politician (b. 1946)
2005 - Ibrahim Ferrer, Cuban singer (b. 1927)
2007 - Heinz Barth, German SS officer (b. 1920)
2009 - Riccardo Cassin, Italian mountaineer (b. 1909)
2009 - Willy DeVille, American singer-songwriter (b. 1950)
2009 - John Hughes, American movie director (b. 1950)
2010 - Fredrik Ericsson, Swedish mountaineer (b. 1975)
2010 - Catfish Collins, American musician (b. 1944)
2010 - Tony Judt, British historian (b. 1948)
2012 - Bernard Lovell, British physicist and radio astronomer (b. 1913)
2012 - Ruggiero Ricci, American violinist (b. 1918)
2012 - Marvin Hamlisch, American composer (b. 1944)
2013 - Selcuk Yula, Turkish footballer (b. 1959)
2014 - Pran Kumar Sharma, Indian cartoonist (b. 1938)
2014 - Smita Talwalkar, Indian actress (b. 1954)
2014 - John Woodland Hastings, American biochemist (b. 1927)
2014 - Julien Fourgeaud, French businessman and inventor (b. 1980)
2015 - Orna Porat, German-Israeli actress (b. 1924)
2015 - Louise Suggs, American tennis player (b. 1923)
2016 - Ivo Pitanguy, Brazilian plastic surgeon (b. 1926)
2017 - Nicole Bricq, French politician (b. 1947)
2017 - Betty Cuthbert, Australian athlete (b. 1938)
2017 - Darren Daulton, American baseball player (b. 1962)
2017 - Hinrich Lehmann-Grube, German politician (b. 1932)
2017 - Martin Roth, German museum director (b. 1955)
2017 - Dick Locher, American cartoonist (b. 1929)
2017 - Wolfgang H. Berger, German-American oceanographer and geologist (b. 1937)
2018 - Margaret Heckler, American politician (b. 1931)
2018 - Paul Laxalt, American politician, 22nd Governor of Nevada (b. 1922)
2018 - Joel Robuchon, French chef and cookbook writer (b. 1945)
Observances
Independence Day in Bolivia and Jamaica
Hiroshima Peace Memorial Ceremony
Start of Tanabata Festival (Sendai, Japan)
Bogota Day
August 06