Today in History

(AP) — Today is Wednesday, Aug. 6, the 218th day of 2025. There are 147 days left in the year. Today in history On August 6, 1945, during World War II, the U.S. B-29 Superfortress Enola Gay dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan, resulting in an estimated 140,000 deaths. Also on this date In 1806, Emperor Francis II abdicated, marking the end of the Holy Roman Empire after nearly a thousand years. In 1825, Upper Peru became the autonomous republic of Bolivia. In 1890, at Auburn Prison in Auburn, New York, William Kemmler became the first person to be executed via the electric chair. In 1926, Gertrude Ederle became the first woman to swim across the English Channel. In 1942, Queen Wilhemina of the Netherlands became the first reigning queen to address a joint session of Congress, telling lawmakers that despite Nazi occupation, her people's motto remained, "No surrender." In 1962, Jamaica gained independence from the United Kingdom after 300 years of British rule. In 1965, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Voting Rights Act, prohibiting racial discrimination in voting. In 1991, the World Wide Web made its public debut as a means of accessing webpages over the Internet. In 2011, insurgents shot down a U.S. military helicopter during fighting in eastern Afghanistan, killing 30 Americans, most of them belonging to the same elite Navy commando unit that had killed Osama bin Laden; seven Afghan commandos also died. Today's Birthdays Actor-director Peter Bonerz is 87. Actor Dorian Harewood is 75. Actor Leland Orser is 65. Actor Michelle Yeoh is 63. Basketball Hall of Famer David Robinson is 60. Movie writer-director M. Night Shyamalan (SHAH'-mah-lahn) is 55. Singer Geri Halliwell Horner is 53. Actor Vera Farmiga is 52. Actor Soleil (soh-LAY') Moon Frye is 49. Actor Leslie Odom Jr. is 44. Soccer coach and former player Robin van Persie is 42.