On this day

August 6, 1945

Revisit the news, notable people, and historical moments connected to this date.

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Headlines from August 6, 1945

50,000 Civilians Liquidated By Japanese, Chinese Aver; 6-Month Horror in Retaken Kanhsien Area Alleged--Chungking Says 1,000 in Ichang Were Slain--Foe Ringed in Rail Town

By Unknown Author

Chinese rept 50,000 civilians dead or missing after Jap occupation of Kanhsien and that 1,000 had been slain at Ichang; Chinese battle on approaches of Tungan and Chuanhsien and encircle Tajungkiang; Japanese progress in drive on Nanchang; Chinese in their rear occcupy Kishui and attack Siakiang outskirts; attempt to check Jap vanguards approaching Sinkan; Jap column west of Nanchang moves eastward beyond Kaoan and apparently links up with Japanese who had captured Fengsin; US planes rake Jap targets; Chinese reveal capture of Hanshan on July 20; map

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Notable Births

1945Ron Jones, English director and production manager (died 1993)[†]

Ron Jones was a British television director.

Notable Deaths

Richard Bong

1945Richard Bong, American soldier and pilot, Medal of Honor recipient (born 1920)[†]

Richard Ira "Dick" Bong was a United States Army Air Forces major and Medal of Honor recipient in World War II. He was one of the most decorated American fighter pilots and the country's top flying ace in the war, credited with shooting down 40 Japanese aircraft, all with the Lockheed P-38 Lightning. He died in California while testing a Lockheed P-80 jet fighter shortly before the war ended. Bong was posthumously inducted into the National Aviation Hall of Fame in 1986 and has several commemorative monuments named in his honor around the world, including an airport, two bridges, a theater, a veterans historical center, a recreation area, a neighborhood terrace, and several avenues and streets, including the street leading to the National Museum of the United States Air Force in Dayton, Ohio.

Hiram Johnson

1945Hiram Johnson, American lawyer and politician, 23rd Governor of California (born 1866)[†]

Hiram Warren Johnson was an American attorney and politician who served as the 23rd governor of California from 1911 to 1917 and represented California in the U.S. Senate for five terms from 1917 to 1945. Johnson achieved national prominence in the early 20th century as a leading progressive and ran for vice president on Theodore Roosevelt's Progressive ticket in the 1912 presidential election. As a U.S. senator, Johnson voted for American entry into World War I and was later a critic of the foreign policy of both Woodrow Wilson and Franklin D. Roosevelt. Johnson was the only governor of his state from 1856 until 1943 to serve more than one term.

Historical Events

World War II

1945World 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.[†]

World War II or the Second World War was a global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies and the Axis powers. Nearly all of the world's countries participated, with many nations mobilising all resources in pursuit of total war. Tanks and aircraft played major roles, enabling the strategic bombing of cities and delivery of the first and only nuclear weapons ever used in war. World War II is the deadliest conflict in history, causing the death of 70 to 85 million people, more than half of whom were civilians. Millions died in genocides, including the Holocaust, and by massacres, starvation, and disease. After the Allied victory, Germany, Austria, Japan, and Korea were occupied, and German and Japanese leaders were tried for war crimes.