On This Day August 6

2001
9-11: A White House briefing entitled "Bin Laden Determined to Strike in U.S." is given to George W. Bush. It stated that a large attack was to take place on United States soil. The target cities included New York City and Washington, D.C. It also mentioned the used of hijacked planes. (see: brief)

1993
Boxing's fastest title-fight knockout: Gerald McClellan defends his World Boxing Council middleweight title by knocking out Jay Bell with a body shot 30 seconds into the bout.

1993
The Fugitive movie is released starring Harrison Ford as the man on the run.

1992
First person to publicly sell their own Oscar: Harold Russell sells his 1946 Best Supporting Actor award for $65,000.

1990
Gulf War: In response to Saddam Hussein's invasion of Kuwait, the United Nations orders a boycott of Iraq and occupied Kuwait.

1970
200 Yippies invade Disneyland, putting on a circus, climbing buildings, and singing the Mickey Mouse Club theme.

1969
The Green Berets' former commander and seven members are arrested for killing a suspected Vietnamese double agent.

1962
Jamaica gains its independence, and becomes a member of the British Commonwealth.

1945
First atomic bomb used in war: A 20,000 ton uranium fission bomb is dropped on Hiroshima, Japan by the U.S. from the B-29 Enola Gay. 100,000 people are killed and 60% of the city is destroyed.

1926
First woman to swim the English Channel, Gertrude Ederle of New York, completing the swim in just under 15 hours, beating the men's record by almost two hours. (source: Guinness Book of World Records)

1890
First electric-chair execution: Convicted murderer William Kemmler is executed in New York.

1806
Holy Roman Empire: The great empire is formally dissolved after the last Holy Roman Emperor Francis II abdicates following a military defeat by the French Army under Napoleon.

1990 d. 1996
JonBenét Patricia Ramsey, American child beauty pageant queen, murder victim. Her murder in her Boulder, Colorado home drew national attention.

1943 d. 1998
Jonathan Bruce Postel, American computer scientist, Internet pioneer, sometimes referred to as the "God of the Internet." He was responsible for assigning addresses to domain names and for editing RFCs (Request for Comments). Also known for Postel's Law: "Be conservative in what you do, be liberal in what you accept from others."

1938
Peter Bonerz, American actor. TV: The Bob Newhart Show (Jerry the dentist).

1927 d. 1987
Andy Warhol, American pop artist, filmmaker, famous for his silk-screen images of Campbell's soup cans and celebrities and for movies such as Andy Warhol's Frankenstein (1975).

1917 d. 1997
Robert Mitchum, American actor. Film: The Night of the Hunter (1955) and Thunder Road (1958). At age 14, he was sentenced to a Georgia chain gang for vagrancy, from which he escaped.

1892 d. 1962
Hoot Gibson (Edmund Richard Gibson), American silent-western actor, performing in some 200 silent films and 75 talkies from 1912-59. He also won the title of World's All-Around Champion Cowboy (1912).

1881 d. 1955
Sir Alexander Fleming, English bacteriologist. He discovered the bacteria fighting capabilities of penicillin (1928), for which he was awarded the Nobel Prize (1945).

1846 d. 1888
Anna Swan, Canadian giant, 7' 5½" tall. She and her husband, Martin Van Buren Bates at 7' 4", were billed as the "The Giants of Seville."

1809 d. 1892
Lord Alfred Tennyson, English poet, poet laureate of England (1850-92). He wrote Charge of the Light Brigade (1855), inspired by the Crimean War battle.

1991 b. 1923
Harry Reasoner, newscaster (What do you get if you cross a gorilla with a computer?).

1978 b. 1897
Paul VI (Giovanni Battista Montini), 262nd Pope (1963-78). He was the first pope to fly in an airplane, the first to visit Jesus' birthplace, and the first to visit the U.S.

1458 b. 1378
Calixtus III, Spanish-born religious leader, 209th Pope (1455-58).

258 b. ????
Saint Sixtus II, Greek-born religious leader, 24th Pope (257-258).

August 6

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