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In 1861, Britain imposes the Lagos Treaty of Cession to suppress slavery in what is now Nigeria. This featured entry focuses on the immediate decision and its direct historical impact.
August 6 in History
45 events
258 – 2015
Today in history
August 6 spans 45 recorded events across recorded history, from 258 to 2015. Below is a curated digest of the most significant moments tied to this date.
By thisDay.info Editorial Team · — Wikipedia
1861 — Britain imposes the Lagos Treaty of Cession to suppress slavery in what is now Nigeria
More major events on August 6
The featured story and these ranked highlights form a quick summary. Every recorded event remains available in the chronology below.
- 1819 Norwich University is founded in Vermont as the first private military school in the United States. Source
- 1958 Law of Permanent Defense of Democracy, outlawing the Communist Party of Chile and banning 26,650 persons from the electoral lists, is repealed in Chile. Source
- 1825 The Bolivian Declaration of Independence is proclaimed. Source
258
Pope Sixtus II is arrested while celebrating mass and then beheaded with several of his deacons.
Head of the Catholic Church from 257 to 258
686
The Umayyad forces suffer a decisive defeat against the pro-Alid forces under Ibrahim ibn al-Ashtar in the battle of Khazir.
Second Islamic caliphate (661–750)
768
Antipope Constantine II is deposed and blinded by the Lombard troops of primicerius Christopher.
8th-century antipope
1284
The Republic of Pisa is defeated in the Battle of Meloria by the Republic of Genoa, thus losing its naval dominance in the Mediterranean.
Italian maritime republic (c. 1000–1406)
1538
Bogotá, Colombia, is founded by Gonzalo Jiménez de Quesada.
Capital and largest city of Colombia
1585
Toyotomi Hideyoshi is officially appointed kampaku (Imperial Regent).
Military ruler of Japan from 1585 to 1598
1661
The Treaty of The Hague is signed by Portugal and the Dutch Republic.
Treaty between the Netherlands and Portugal
1777
American Revolutionary War: The bloody Battle of Oriskany prevents American relief of the Siege of Fort Stanwix.
1775–1783 conflict in North America
1787
Sixty proof sheets of the Constitution of the United States are delivered to the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Supreme law of the United States
1806
Francis II, Holy Roman Emperor, declares the moribund empire to be dissolved, although he retains power in the Austrian Empire.
Holy Roman Emperor from 1792 to 1806 and Emperor of Austria from 1806 to 1835
1819
Norwich University is founded in Vermont as the first private military school in the United States.
Military college in Northfield, Vermont, US
1824
Peruvian War of Independence: Patriot forces led by Simón Bolívar defeat the Spanish Royalist army in the Battle of Junín.
1809–1826 war against Spanish rule
1825
The Bolivian Declaration of Independence is proclaimed.
1825 document declaring Bolivia's independence from Spain
1862
American Civil War: The Confederate ironclad CSS Arkansas is scuttled on the Mississippi River after suffering catastrophic engine failure near Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
1861–1865 conflict in the United States
1870
Franco-Prussian War: The Battle of Spicheren is fought, resulting in a German victory.
War from 1870 to 1871
1870
Franco-Prussian War: The Battle of Wörth results in a decisive German victory.
Part of the Franco-Prussian War
1890
At Auburn Prison in New York, murderer William Kemmler becomes the first person to be executed by electric chair.
Maximum-security state prison in New York, US
1901
Kiowa land in Oklahoma is opened for white settlement, effectively dissolving the contiguous reservation.
Native American tribe in Oklahoma
1914
World 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.
Global conflict from 1914 to 1918
1914
World War I: Serbia declares war on Germany; Austria declares war on Russia.
Country in Southeast and Central Europe
1915
World War I: Battle of Sari Bair: The Allies mount a diversionary attack timed to coincide with a major Allied landing of reinforcements at Suvla Bay.
1915 battle in the Middle Eastern Theatre of World War I
1917
World War I: Battle of Mărășești between the Romanian and German armies begins.
1917 battle during the Romanian Campaign of World War I
1926
Gertrude Ederle becomes the first woman to swim across the English Channel.
American swimmer (1905–2003)
1942
Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands becomes the first reigning queen to address a joint session of the United States Congress.
Queen of the Netherlands from 1890 to 1948
1945
World War II: Hiroshima, Japan is devastated when the atomic bomb "Little Boy" is dropped by the United States B-29 Enola Gay.
Around 70,000 people are killed instantly, and some tens of thousands die in subsequent years from burns and radiation poisoning.
1956
After going bankrupt in 1955, the American broadcaster DuMont Television Network makes its final broadcast, a boxing match from St.
Nicholas Arena in New York in the Boxing from St. Nicholas Arena series.
1958
Law of Permanent Defense of Democracy, outlawing the Communist Party of Chile and banning 26,650 persons from the electoral lists, is repealed in Chile.
1948 Chilean law
1960
Cuban Revolution: Cuba nationalizes American and foreign-owned property in the nation.
1955–1958 sociopolitical change in Cuba
1986
A low-pressure system that redeveloped off the New South Wales coast dumps a record 328 millimeters (13 inches) of rain in a day on Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
State of Australia
1990
Gulf War: The United Nations Security Council orders a global trade embargo against Iraq in response to Iraq's invasion of Kuwait.
1990–1991 conflict in the Middle East
1991
Tim Berners-Lee releases files describing his idea for the World Wide Web.
WWW makes its first appearance as a publicly available service on the Internet.
1991
Takako Doi, chair of the Social Democratic Party, becomes Japan's first female speaker of the House of Representatives.
Japanese politician (1928–2014)
1996
NASA announces that the ALH 84001 meteorite, thought to originate from Mars, contains evidence of primitive life-forms.
American space and aeronautics agency
1997
Korean Air Flight 801 crashed at Nimitz Hill, Guam, killing 229 of the 254 people on board.
1997 aviation accident in Guam
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.
2001 fire in a mental asylum in Erwadi, Tamil Nadu, India
2008
A military junta led by Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz stages a coup d'état in Mauritania, overthrowing president Sidi Ould Cheikh Abdallahi.
President of Mauritania from 2009 to 2019
2010
Flash floods across a large part of Jammu and Kashmir, India, damages 71 towns and kills at least 255 people.
Natural disaster in India
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 Afghanistan.
2012
NASA's Curiosity rover lands on the surface of Mars.
American space and aeronautics agency
2015
A suicide bomb attack kills at least 15 people at a mosque in the Saudi city of Abha.
Suicide bombing by the Islamic State in Abha, Saudi Arabia