6 August in history

8 events that happened on 6 August, from 686 to 1991.

1. ✦ Anniversary of the day

   

   686 CE 1,340 years ago

   Pro-Alid forces rout the Umayyad army at the Battle of Khazir

   Near the Khazir River, east of Mosul, the Kufa-based pro-Alid forces of Mukhtar al-Thaqafi routed the army of the Syria-based Umayyad Caliphate. The victory in the Second Fitna extended Mukhtar's rule over the Mosul region.

   Second FitnaAlidsUmayyad Caliphate

2. 1284 CE 742 years ago

   Genoa destroys the Pisan fleet at Meloria

   The Genoese navy crushed Pisa's fleet off the islet of Meloria, capturing thousands of prisoners. Pisa never recovered as a sea power, leaving Genoa dominant in the western Mediterranean.

   Genoa

3. 1661 CE 365 years ago

   The Dutch Republic and Portugal sign the Treaty of The Hague

   The Dutch Republic recognised Portuguese sovereignty over Brazil, lost with the surrender of Recife in 1654, in return for an indemnity and trading concessions. The treaty ended the Dutch–Portuguese war in the Atlantic, though fighting in Asia continued until 1663.

   Treaty of The HagueDutch Republic

4. 1806 CE 220 years ago

   Francis II dissolves the Holy Roman Empire

   Under pressure from Napoleon, Francis II laid down the imperial crown and dissolved the Holy Roman Empire. A political order dating back to Charlemagne's coronation in 800 came to an end.

   Holy Roman EmpireHoly Roman EmpireCharlemagneFrancis II

5. 1825 CE 201 years ago

   Bolivia declares independence

   An assembly in Chuquisaca proclaimed the independence of Upper Peru, naming the new republic after Simón Bolívar. Antonio José de Sucre became its first president.

   Bolivia

6. 1890 CE 136 years ago

   William Kemmler is the first person executed by electric chair

   Convicted murderer William Kemmler was executed at Auburn Prison, New York. The botched execution took two shocks, and came amid the 'war of the currents' between Edison and Westinghouse.

   New York

7. 1945 CE 81 years ago

   US bomber drops the atomic bomb on Hiroshima

   The B-29 Enola Gay dropped a uranium bomb on Hiroshima, the first nuclear weapon used in war. Some 70,000 people died at once and perhaps 140,000 by the end of 1945.

   Hiroshima

8. 1991 CE 35 years ago

   Tim Berners-Lee makes the World Wide Web public

   Tim Berners-Lee posted a summary of his World Wide Web project to an internet newsgroup, inviting outside collaboration. The web, created at CERN, spread rapidly and transformed communication.

Born on 6 August 5

• Emperor Go-Toba1180–1239
• François Fénelon1651–1715
• Charles VII, Holy Roman Emperor1697–1745
• Petrobey Mavromichalis1765–1848
• Daniel O'Connell1775–1847

Died on 6 August 10

• Marwan IId. 750
• Ramon Berenguer IV, Count of Barcelonac. 1114–1162
• Henry the Lionc. 1129–1195
• Saint Dominic1170–1221
• Francesco I Gattilusiod. 1384
• Ladislaus of Naples1377–1414
• Diego Velázquez1599–1660
• Fulgencio Batista1901–1973
• Forbes Burnham1923–1985
• Jorge Amado1912–2001

Dates as the sources give them: in the Julian calendar before 1582, and in some countries for longer (Britain until 1752, Russia until 1918). Only people whose day of birth or death the records agree on are listed.

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