1. On August 6, 1966, the first African American to be elected to a statewide office in Illinois, William Dawson, died at age 84. Dawson was a prominent political figure in Chicago and served in the U.S. House of Representatives for 27 years.

2. On August 6, 1918, the deadliest train accident in Illinois history occurred near Hammond, Indiana, when two passenger trains collided head-on, killing 86 people and injuring over 127 others. The cause of the accident was believed to be due to a miscommunication between the train crews.

3. On August 6, 1922, the Lincoln Highway, the first transcontinental road in the United States, was officially dedicated in Illinois. The highway, which stretches from New York to San Francisco, was a significant development in promoting both interstate commerce and tourism.

4. On August 6, 1945, the United States dropped an atomic bomb on the Japanese city of Hiroshima, killing an estimated 140,000 people. The bomb was developed through the Manhattan Project, which was partially led by physicist Enrico Fermi, who had conducted nuclear studies at the University of Chicago.

5. On August 6, 2003, former Illinois Governor George Ryan was indicted on charges of racketeering, conspiracy, and fraud. Ryan was convicted in 2006 and sentenced to six years in prison for his role in a bribery and kickback scheme involving state contracts, as well as covering up corruption in the Illinois Secretary of State's office during his time as Secretary.