On This Day: 6 August

6 August in Indian history

• 2010Flash floods, mudslides, and debris flows across Ladakh in Indian-administered Kashmir left at least 255 people dead.India
• 2001Erwadi fire incident: Twenty-eight mentally ill persons tied to a chain are burnt to death at a faith based institution at Erwadi, Tamil Nadu.India
• 1892The Anglo-Belgian India Rubber Company was founded in Antwerp to exploit natural rubber in the Congo Free State.India

6 August in world history

• 2012NASA's Curiosity rover lands on the surface of Mars.
• 2011War in Afghanistan: A United States military helicopter is shot down, killing 30 American special forces members and a working dog, seven Afghan soldiers, and one Afghan civilian. It was the deadliest single event for the United States in the War in Afghanista
• 1996Researchers announced that the meteorite ALH84001, discovered in the Allan Hills of Antarctica, may contain evidence of life on Mars, but further tests were inconclusive.
• 1991Takako Doi, chair of the Social Democratic Party, becomes Japan's first female speaker of the House of Representatives.
• 1990Gulf War: The United Nations Security Council orders a global trade embargo against Iraq in response to Iraq's invasion of Kuwait.
• 1979An earthquake struck along the Calaveras Fault near Coyote Lake, California, injuring sixteen people.
• 1965U.S. president Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Voting Rights Act into law, outlawing literacy tests and other discriminatory voting practices that had been responsible for the widespread disfranchisement of African Americans.
• 1945World War II: The U.S. Army Air Force bomber Enola Gay dropped the Little Boy atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan, killing about 70,000 people instantly.
• 1944World War II: Allied forces attacked German fortifications at Saint-Malo, France, beginning the Battle of Saint-Malo.
• 1940Estonia is annexed by the Soviet Union.
• 1926First public screening using the Vitaphone process
• 1914World War I: U-boat campaign: Two days after the United Kingdom had declared war on Germany over the German invasion of Belgium, ten German U-boats leave their base in Heligoland to attack Royal Navy warships in the North Sea.
• 1862American Civil War: The Confederate ironclad CSS Arkansas is scuttled on the Mississippi River after suffering catastrophic engine failure near Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
• 1824Peruvian War of Independence: Patriot forces led by Simón Bolívar defeat the Spanish Royalist army in the Battle of Junín.
• 686Second Fitna: Pro-Alid forces defeated the Umayyad Caliphate at the Battle of Khazir, allowing them to take control of Mosul in present-day Iraq.

Born on 6 August

• 1970M. Night Shyamalan, Indian-American director, producer, and screenwriterIndia
• 1959Rajendra Singh, Indian environmentalistIndia
• 1956Bill Emmott, English journalist and author
• 1933A. G. Kripal Singh, Indian cricketer (died 1987)India
• 1924Samuel Bowers, American white supremacist, co-founded the White Knights of the Ku Klux Klan (died 2006)
• 1923Paul Hellyer, Canadian engineer and politician, 16th Canadian Minister of Defence (died 2021)

Died on 6 August

• 2001Adhar Kumar Chatterji, Indian Naval officer (born 1914)India
• 1978Edward Durell Stone, American architect, designed Radio City Music Hall and the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts (born 1902)
• 1945Richard Bong, American soldier and pilot, Medal of Honor recipient (born 1920)
• 1925Surendranath Banerjee, Indian academic and politician (born 1848)India

Frequently asked questions

What happened on 6 August in history?

2012: NASA's Curiosity rover lands on the surface of Mars. 2011: War in Afghanistan: A United States military helicopter is shot down, killing 30 American special forces members and a working dog, seven Afghan soldiers, and one Afghan civilian. It was the deadliest single event for the United States in the War in Afghanista. 2010: Flash floods, mudslides, and debris flows across Ladakh in Indian-administered Kashmir left at least 255 people dead. 2001: Erwadi fire incident: Twenty-eight mentally ill persons tied to a chain are burnt to death at a faith based institution at Erwadi, Tamil Nadu.

What happened on 6 August in Indian history?

2010: Flash floods, mudslides, and debris flows across Ladakh in Indian-administered Kashmir left at least 255 people dead. 2001: Erwadi fire incident: Twenty-eight mentally ill persons tied to a chain are burnt to death at a faith based institution at Erwadi, Tamil Nadu. 1892: The Anglo-Belgian India Rubber Company was founded in Antwerp to exploit natural rubber in the Congo Free State.

Which famous people were born on 6 August?

M. Night Shyamalan, Indian-American director, producer, and screenwriter (1970); Rajendra Singh, Indian environmentalist (1959); Bill Emmott, English journalist and author (1956); A. G. Kripal Singh, Indian cricketer (died 1987) (1933).

Which day is observed on 6 August?

Hiroshima Day; Christian holidays and observances Transfiguration of Jesus; Christian holidays and observances Anna Maria Rubatto; Christian holidays and observances Felicissimus and Agapitus; Christian holidays and observances Pope Hormisdas.