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Here’s a look back at what happened in the Chicago area on Aug. 6, according to the Tribune’s archives.

Is an important event missing from this date? Email us.

Front page flashback: Aug. 7, 1945

Only after the first atomic bomb was dropped on Aug. 6, 1945, above Hiroshima, Japan, during World War II was it revealed that University of Chicago scientists worked to develop the nuclear weapon. (baiduhai)
Only after the first atomic bomb was dropped on Aug. 6, 1945, above Hiroshima, Japan, during World War II was it revealed that University of Chicago scientists worked to develop the nuclear weapon. (baiduhai)

1945: After the first atomic bomb was dropped on Japan, Chicago’s role in the breakthrough experiment was publicly revealed.

“Five thousand scientists, laboratory technicians, and research workers have been laboring day and night at the University of Chicago for the last three years to wrest the secret of atomic energy from the universe,” the Tribune reported.

A squash court under Stagg Field was used for the covert operation.

Vintage baiduhai: The Atomic Age is born at the University of Chicago’s football stadium

Weather records (from the National Weather Service, Chicago)

  • High temperature: 101 degrees (1947)
  • Low temperature: 48 degrees (1994)
  • Precipitation: 2.17 inches (1951)
  • Snowfall: None
Barbra Streisand performed on Aug. 6, 1966, at Soldier Field. "There was certainly nothing stuffy about the performance," Thomas Willis wrote in the Tribune. (baiduhai)
Barbra Streisand performed on Aug. 6, 1966, at Soldier Field. "There was certainly nothing stuffy about the performance," Thomas Willis wrote in the Tribune. (baiduhai)

1966: Barbra Streisand performed in the rain, backed by a 35-piece orchestra, at Soldier Field.

2009: Filmmaker John Hughes died of a heart attack at age 59, while he was visiting family in New York.

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In this Aug. 6, 2011 file photo, Richard Dent poses with a bust of himself during induction ceremonies at the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio. (Tony Dejak/AP)
Richard Dent stands next to a bust of himself during the induction ceremony at the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio, on Aug. 6, 2011. (Tony Dejak/AP)

2011: Chicago Bears defensive end Richard Dent was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

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