Welcome to What You Didn't Hear, the podcast
that digs into the dusty corners of history to
uncover what got completely ignored while something
bigger hogged the spotlight. Sure, July 20th,
1969 is all about the moon landing. But did you
know that on that same day, the Soviet Union
crashed an unmanned probe into the moon, or that
a major civil rights protest happened in North
Carolina and barely made the news? Every time
history zooms in on one big story, a dozen others
slip through the cracks. That's where we come
in. We're here to give the B plots of history
their moments in the spotlight. I'm Zane Gould
and you're about to hear what you didn't hear.
August 6, 1945 marks the date that the United
States dropped Little Boy, the first of two atomic
bombs, on Japan during the Second World War.
However, throughout history, other events have
taken place on this same day. In the year 258,
Pope Sixtus II, the Bishop of Rome, was beheaded
alongside Lawrence of Rome, making him the first
Christian to be martyred by Emperor Valerian's
persecution of Christians. In 1497, Italian explorer
and navigator John Cabot, I might not be saying
these names correctly so I apologize, returns
to Bristol from North America, making him the
first European to make this trip successfully
since the Vikings. His expedition made landfall
in late June on either the modern day island
of Newfoundland or Cape Breton. Believing he
had landed on the Asian continent, he claimed
the land for England. The following year he would
attempt a return trip with a larger fleet, which
would end in his death and an unsuccessful attempt
to navigate across the open waters of the Atlantic
Ocean. 1685, King Louis XIV gives the Code Noir
Decree defining the conditions of slavery in
the French colonial empire. King Louis' decree
mandated that all enslaved people within the
French colonial empire convert to Catholicism,
put restrictions on the activities of free people
of color, and expelled all Jewish people from
French colonies. Come 1806, the Holy Roman Empire
is declared dissolved by Francis II. This topic
alone could have an entire episode dedicated
to it for a deeper dive, which may be something
I would be interested in jumping into at a later
date. However, for now we'll stick to events
taking place on August 6th and sum it up with
this. The Holy Roman Empire, following a series
of military defeats at the hand of Napoleon Bonaparte
and Emperor Francis II, was forced to abdicate.
If you would like me to do a more in -depth look
at the closing of the Holy Roman Empire, please
let me know. On a darker but still significant
note, in 1890 the first person was sentenced
to death by electric chair in New York. William
Kemmler, a vegetable peddler in New York, brutally
murdered his common -law wife or girlfriend,
Tilly Zegler, on March 29, 1889. He then went
to his neighbor's house and announced his crime.
On May 10, he was convicted of first -degree
murder and after multiple appeals by Kemmler's
defense, it was decided that he would be executed
by electric chair. On the morning of August 6,
William Kemmler was brought to the electric chair.
Upon seeing the chair, he said, gentlemen, I
wish you all good luck. I believe I am going
to a good place and I am ready to go. His last
words were, take it easy and do it properly.
I'm in no hurry. The first attempt was a 17 second
shock of 1000 volts. Kemmler was declared dead.
But witnesses observed him breathing. The physicians
ordered another shock be delivered immediately.
The second shot delivered was 2 ,000 volts to
Kemmler. Witnesses reported a horrible odor as
his body caught fire. The New York Times ran
the headline, far worse than hanging, and George
Westinghouse, the inventor of the generator used
in the execution, stated, they would have done
better using an axe. This is another topic I
would love to go even deeper into. Other than
just the execution itself, there is a lot of
politics, ulterior motives, and scheming behind
this event. Now moving away from murders and
executions, on this day in 1926, Gertrude Ederl
became the first female to swim across the English
Channel at 20 years old. Starting in Cape Grisnez
in France at 7 .08am and came ashore Kingsdown
Kent after swimming for 14 hours and 34 minutes.
This set the world record for that swim, both
male and female. Gertrude held the record until
1950. And prior to Gertrude swimming the channel,
only five men had completed the swim with the
best time being 16 hours and 33 minutes. In 1965,
Idaro would be inducted into the International
Swimming Hall of Fame, and later into the National
Women's Hall of Fame in 2003. In 2024, a biographical
film about her life, Young Woman and the Sea,
was released. On August 6, 1961, the first case
of motion sickness in space was reported and
experienced by Soviet cosmonaut German Titov
during the Vostok 2 mission. 1964, the world's
oldest tree at 4 ,862 years old is accidentally
cut down in Nevada. In 1965, President Lyndon
B. Johnson signs the Voting Rights Act prohibiting
discrimination against minorities in voting.
The World Wide Web debuts in 1991, when Tim Berners
-Lee, a computer scientist, releases files describing
his idea for the World Wide Web and debuts www
as a publicly available service on the internet.
By 1995, the Internet would have an estimated
16 million users and reach 150 million by 1999.
And finally, in 1996, on August 6, the Ramones
would play their last concert at the Palace in
Hollywood, California. Anything beyond the 1990s
feels more like current events to me and I won't
be going that far. Additionally, this is only
some of what occurred throughout history on August
6th. There is a lot more to explore and learn
about. And now it's time for Blind Date Through
Time, the only dating show where our contestant,
you, flirts with mystery and history. to find
a timeless connection. Here's this week's mysterious
profile. Age, 55. But who's counting when you're
eternal? Location, Rome, or wherever destiny
calls. Height? tall enough to command legions.
Occupation. Statesman. General. Dictator. About
me. They say I came. I saw. I conquered. But
there's more to me than war and wreaths. A lover
of poetry, politics, and passionate debates over
wine, I've crossed Rubicons and hearts alike.
If you enjoy moonlit strolls through ancient
forums or whispered conspiracies behind Senate
curtains, we just might get along. If you have
a guess for who this week's mysterious figure
on Blind Date Through Time is, leave your answer
in the comments below. I hope you enjoyed this
brief history podcast that goes over some of
the other events that occurred on this day in
history. Please leave a review, like or comment
depending on what platform you're listening on
and share this episode with your friends so we
can continue spreading this. I appreciate you
listening, so until next time.