MILESTONES: August 6, birthdays for M. Night Shyamalan, Melissa George, Geri Halliwell

August 6, 2019 Brooklyn Eagle History

M. Night Shyamalan. Photo by Vianney Le Caer/Invision/AP

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NOTABLE PEOPLE BORN ON THIS DAY include actress Michelle Yeoh, who was born in 1962; author Paolo Bacigalupi, who was born in 1972; soccer player Robin van Persie, who was born in 1983; actor Peter Bonerz, who was born in 1938; filmmaker M. Night Shyamalan, who was born in 1970; actress Soleil Moon Frye, who was born in 1976; singer Geri Halliwell, who was born in 1972; Hall of Fame basketball player David Robinson, who was born in 1965; actress Romola Garai, who was born in 1982; actress Melissa George, who was born in 1976; actress Catherine Hicks, who was born in 1951; and actor Dorian Harewood, who was born in 1950.

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THE VOTING RIGHTS ACT was signed on this day in 1965 by President Lyndon Johnson. The measure was enacted to quash attempts to keep minorities from voting using literacy and other disqualifying tests. The act also appointed authorized federal voting examiners. In 2013, the Supreme Court struck down Section 4(b) in Shelby v. Holder, making it possible for state and local governments to change their voting laws without federal approval. Several states have since implemented restrictions that once required federal preclearance, such as removing online voting registration, early voting, “Souls to the Polls” Sunday voting and same-day registration.

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ANDY WARHOL was born Andrew Warhola in Pittsburgh on this day in 1928. After working as a commercial artist, Warhol became a leader of the Pop Art movement, painting popular celebrities and commercial artifacts like the Campbell’s Soup can. Warhol went on to become the social center of the New York art world, branching out into an experimental film career and managing the rock group the Velvet Underground. He died in 1987 of cardiac arrhythmia following gallbladder surgery.

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THE U.S. DROPPED THE FIRST ATOMIC BOMB on Hiroshima, Japan on this day in 1945. The bomb named “Little Boy” was unleashed from a B-29 Bomber over the city center at 8:15 a.m. It exploded 1,800 feet above ground, killing more than 100,000 civilians. An estimated 100,000 additional people died in the aftermath due to radiation and other injuries. Three days later, the U.S. dropped an atomic bomb on Nagasaki, Japan, killing approximately 75,000.

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“Don’t pay any attention to what they write about you. Just measure it in inches.”

—Andy Warhol, who was born on this day in 1928