On August 6, 1945, during World War II, the U.S. dropped an atomic bomb code-named “Little Boy” on Hiroshima, Japan.
In 1960, Chubby Checker appeared on US TV show American Bandstand and performed ‘The Twist.’ The song went to No.1 on the US chart and again 18 months later in 1962. It is the only song to go to the top of the charts on two separate occasions.
In 1962, Jamaica, formerly ruled by Britain, became an independent dominion within the Commonwealth of Nations.
In 1964, Rod Stewart made his TV debut on the BBC show The Beat Room as a member of The Hoochie Coochie Men. The tapes of all but one of the programmes were later destroyed. The only remaining programme (originally broadcast on 5 October 1964) featured Tom Jones, Julie Rogers, The Kinks, John Lee Hooker, and The Syndicats. The show also featured a sextet of female dancers, the Beat Girls formed from an existing group, the Katy-Dids.
In 1965, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Voting Rights Act.
In 1978, Pope Paul VI, age 80, died at Castel Gandolfo.
In 1986, William J. Schroeder died after living 620 days with the Jarvik 7 artificial heart.
In 1991, the World Wide Web made its public debut as a means of accessing webpages over the internet.
In 2009, Sonia Sotomayor was confirmed as the first Hispanic Supreme Court justice.