Today in History: A Warhol of Events

One of Andy Warhol's
famed self-portaits

When I went to the art museum in the Bellagio, Las Vegas, I saw an exhibit about the famed artist Andy Warhol. I would just like to note that he was born on this day in 1928! His art was interesting and something definitely worth checking out!

The United States laws live off the Constitution of the United States. On this day in 1787, the Constitutional Convention begin their debate on the first draft of the Constitution. It was adopted a month later on September 17th, but ratified on June 21st. The Constitution went into effect on March 4th, 1789.

These next two evens will not be very content, but are some interesting events nonetheless. On this day of August 6th, 1890, the electric chair makes its first execution on William Kemmler of Auburn Prison, New York. Kemmler did not die on the initial 700-volt shock that lasted 17 seconds, but died on the second 1,030-volt shock that lasted two minutes.

Image of Hiroshima then and now

Imagine that the world had been in war the second time in 50 years. The current war, known as World War II, had already been lasting for nearly six years. Millions of soldiers and civilians have been killed, but to make matters even worse, the first atomic bomb was dropped today in 1945. It was only 8:16 am in Hiroshima, Japan, when the Enola Gay, an American B-29 bomber, dropped the world's first atomic bomb on the city. In a matter of minutes, a town of 350,000 had lost 80,000 as a direct result of the blast. 35,000 people were injured, but another 60,000 were dead in a matter of months from the fallout. Of the injured and dead were doctors of the city. Before the explosion, Hiroshima had 200 doctors, but only 20 were either alive or capable of working afterward with the 150 nurses of the inital 1,780. Who knew that a town of 90,000 buildings in a city could be cut down to only 28,000 in one blast? Though this was a tragic event, it played a major role in the final month of World War II.

36th US President,
Lyndon B. Johnson

In further advancement of the Civil Rights Movement, U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson signs the Voting Rights Act on this day in 1965. The Voting Rights Act grants African Americans the right to vote. No federal, state, or local elections could deny African American votes. In some states with high black population, such as Mississippi, saw the African American voter turnout rate increase from 6 to 59 percent in five years. When Richard Nixon became president, he strengthened the Voting Rights Act and allowed all voters 18 and over to vote.