December 6
is the 340th day (341st on leap years) of the year in the
Gregorian calendar. There are 25 days remaining.
*
963 -
Leo VIII is elected
Pope.
*
1240 -
Mongol invasion of Rus:
Kiev under
Danylo of Halych and
Voivode Dmytro falls to the
Mongols under
Batu Khan.
*
1534 - The city of
Quito in
Ecuador is founded by Spanish settlers led by
Sebastián de Belalcázar.
*
1768 - The first edition of the
Encyclopædia Britannica is published.
*
1790 - The
U.S. Congress moves from
New York City to
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania*
1845 -
Alpha Sigma Phi Fraternity was founded at
Yale College by
Louis Manigault,
Horace Spangler Weiser, and
Stephen Ornsby Rhea.
*
1849 - American
abolitionist Harriet Tubman escapes from slavery.
*
1865 - The
Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution is ratified, banning
slavery.
*
1877 - The
Washington Post newspaper is first published.
*
1884 - The
Washington Monument in
Washington D.C. is completed.
*
1897 -
London becomes the world's first city to host motorised taxi cabs.
*
1907 - A
coal mine explosion at
Monongah, West Virginia kills 362 workers.
*
1916 -
David Lloyd George becomes Prime Minister of
Britain.
*
1917 -
Finland declares its independence from
Russia.
* 1917 -
Halifax Explosion: In
Canada, a munitions explosion kills more than 1900 people and destroys part of the city of
Halifax, Nova Scotia.
*
1921 - The
Anglo-Irish Treaty is signed in London by British and Irish representatives
*
1922 - One year to the day after the signing of the Anglo-Irish Treaty, the
Irish Free State comes into existence.
*
1933 - U.S. federal judge John M. Woolsey rules that the
James Joyce novel
Ulysses is not obscene.
*
1947 - The
Everglades National Park in
Florida is dedicated.
*
1957 -
Project Vanguard: A launchpad explosion thwarts the first
United States attempt to launch a
satellite.
*
1965 -
Pakistan's Islamic Ideology Advisory Committee recommended that Islamic Studies be made a compulsory subject for
Muslim students from primary to graduation level.
*
1969 -
Meredith Hunter is killed by
Hell's Angels during
The Rolling Stones's concert at the
Altamont speedway in
California.
*
1971 -
Pakistan snaps diplomatic ties with
India following
New Delhi's recognition of
Bangladesh.
* 1971 - King
Faisal of Saudi Arabia condemns Indian aggression on
Pakistan.
*
1973 -
The Twenty-fifth Amendment: The
United States House of Representatives votes 387 to 35 to confirm
Gerald Ford as
Vice President of the United States (on
November 27, the
Senate confirmed him 92 to 3).
*
1975 -
Balcombe Street Siege: An
IRA Active Service Unit takes a couple hostage in Balcombe Street,
London.
*
1977 -
South Africa grants independence to
Bophuthatswana, although it is not recognized by any other country
*
1978 -
Spain approves
its latest constitution in a referendum.
*
1989 -
École Polytechnique Massacre:
Marc Lépine kills 14 young women in
Montreal, Quebec.
*
1991 - In
Croatia, forces of the
Yugoslav People's Army bombard
Dubrovnik after laying siege there since May.
*
1992 - Extremist
Hindu activists demolish
Babri Masjid - a 16th century
mosque in
Ayodhya,
India.
*
1997 - A
Russian
Antonov AN-124 transport cargo plane crashes into an apartment complex near
Irkutsk,
Siberia, killing 67.
*
2001 - Name of the Canadian province of Newfoundland changed to
Newfoundland and Labrador.
*
2005 - Several villagers shot dead during
protests in Dongzhou, China.
*
846 -
Hasan al-Askari,
Shia Imam (d.
874)
*
1285 - King
Ferdinand IV of Castile (d.
1312)
*
1421 - King
Henry VI of England (d.
1471)
*
1478 -
Baldassare Castiglione, Italian diplomat and author (d.
1529)
*
1550 -
Orazio Vecchi, Italian composer (baptism) (d.
1605)
*
1586 -
Niccolo Zucchi, Italian astronomer (d.
1670)
*
1608 -
George Monck, 1st Duke of Albemarle, English soldier (d.
1670)
*
1637 - Sir
Edmund Andros, English governor in North America (d.
1714)
*
1640 -
Claude Fleury, French historian (d.
1723)
*
1642 -
Johann Christoph Bach, German composer (d.
1703)
*
1721 -
James Elphinston, British philologist (d.
1809)
* 1721 -
Guillaume-Chrétien de Lamoignon de Malesherbes, French statesman (d.
1794)
*
1778 -
Joseph Louis Gay-Lussac, French physicist and chemist (d.
1850)
*
1792 - King
William II of the Netherlands (d.
1849)
*
1805 -
Adolf Reubke, German organ builder (d.
1875)
* 1805 -
Jean Eugène Robert-Houdin, French magician (d.
1861)
*
1823 -
Friedrich Max Müller, German orientalist (d.
1900)
*
1833 -
John Singleton Mosby, American Confederate guerrilla leader (d.
1916)
*
1841 -
Frédéric Bazille, French painter (d.
1870)
*
1849 -
August von Mackensen, German field marshal (d.
1945)
*
1863 -
Charles Martin Hall, American chemist (d.
1914)
*
1872 -
William S. Hart, American actor (d.
1946)
*
1875 -
Evelyn Underhill, British poet (d.
1941)
*
1886 -
Joyce Kilmer, American poet (d.
1918)
*
1890 -
Rudolf Schlichter, German artist and writer (d.
1955)
* 1890 -
Yoshio Nishina, Japanese physicist (d.
1951)
*
1892 - Sir
Osbert Sitwell, British author (d.
1969)
*
1896 -
Ira Gershwin, American lyricist (d.
1983)
*
1898 -
Alfred Eisenstaedt, German-born photojournalist (d.
1995)
* 1898 -
Gunnar Myrdal, Swedish economist, recipient of the
Bank of Sweden Prize (d.
1987)
*
1900 -
Agnes Moorehead, American actress (d.
1974)
*
1903 -
Tony Lazzeri, American baseball player (d.
1946)
*
1905 -
James J. Braddock, American boxer (d.
1974)
*
1908 -
Pierre Graber, Swiss Federal Councilor (d.
2003)
*
1913 -
Eleanor Holm, American swimmer (d.
2004)
*
1917 -
Kamal Jumblatt, leader of the Lebanese Druze (d.
1977)
*
1919 -
Paul de Man, Belgian-born literary critic (d.
1983)
*
1920 -
Dave Brubeck, American pianist and composer
* 1920 -
George Porter, British chemist,
Nobel Prize laureate (d.
2002)
*
1921 -
Otto Graham, American football player (d.
2003)
*
1928 -
Bobby Van, American singer (d.
1980)
*
1929 -
Alain Tanner, Swiss filmmaker
* 1929 -
Nikolaus Harnoncourt, German conductor
*
1930 -
Daniel Lisulo,
Prime Minister of Zambia*
1933 -
Henryk Górecki, Polish composer
*
1936 -
David Ossman, American comedian
*
1942 -
Peter Handke, Austrian writer
*
1945 -
Shekhar Kapur, Indian filmmaker
* 1945 -
Larry Bowa, baseball player and Major League manager
*
1948 -
JoBeth Williams, American actress
* 1948 -
Keke Rosberg, Finnish race car driver
*
1950 -
Joe Hisaishi, Japanese composer
*
1952 -
Rick Charlesworth, Australian cricketer, politician, hockey player, and coach
*
1953 -
Tom Hulce, American actor
* 1953 -
Gary Ward, baseball player
*
1955 -
Steven Wright, American comedian
* 1955 -
Rick Buckler, British drummer (
The Jam)
*
1956 -
Peter Buck, American guitarist (
R.E.M.)
* 1956 -
Randy Rhoads, American guitarist (d.
1982)
*
1958 -
Nick Park, British filmmaker and animator
*
1961 -
David Lovering, American drummer (
The Pixies)
*
1962 -
Janine Turner, American actress
*
1967 -
Hacken Lee, Hong Kong singer
*
1971 -
Richard Krajicek, Dutch tennis player
* 1971 -
Ryan White, American AIDS activist (d.
1990)
*
1972 -
Rick Short, Baseball player
*
1976 -
Colleen Haskell, American television personality
*
1977 -
Kevin Cash, baseball player
* 1977 -
Andrew Flintoff, England cricketer
* 1977 -
Paul McVeigh, Irish footballer
*
1978 -
Darrell Jackson, American Football Player
*
1979 -
Tim Cahill, Australia footballer
*
1980 -
Steve Lovell, British footballer
*
1982 -
Sean Ervine, Zimbabwean cricketer
*
1982 -
Ryan Carnes, American actor
*
1983 -
Bryan Habana, South African rugby player
*
1986 -
Cintia Dicker, Brazilian model
*
1993 -
Elián González, Cuban subject of child custody battle
*
1185 - King
Afonso I of Portugal (b.
1109)
*
1352 -
Pope Clement VI (b.
1291)
*
1562 -
Jan van Scorel Dutch painter and architect
*
1618 -
Jacques-Davy Duperron, French cardinal (b.
1556)
*
1658 -
Baltasar Gracián y Morales, Spanish writer (b.
1601)
*
1672 - King
John II Casimir of Poland (b.
1609)
*
1675 -
John Lightfoot, English churchman (b.
1602)
*
1718 -
Nicholas Rowe, English poet and dramatist (b.
1674)
*
1746 -
Lady Grizel Baillie, Scottish songwriter (b.
1665)
*
1771 -
Giovanni Battista Morgagni, Italian anatomist (b.
1682)
*
1779 -
Jean-Baptiste-Siméon Chardin, French painter (b.
1699)
*
1788 -
Jonathan Shipley, British bishop and politician (b.
1714)
*
1867 -
Jean Pierre Flourens, French physician (b.
1794)
*
1868 -
August Schleicher, German linguist (b.
1821)
*
1882 -
Anthony Trollope, British author (b.
1815)
* 1882 -
Alfred Escher, Swiss politician and railroad entrepreneur (b.
1819)
*
1889 -
Jefferson Davis,
President of the Confederate States of America (b.
1808)
*
1892 -
Ernst Werner von Siemens, German inventor and industrialist (b.
1816)
*
1949 -
Leadbelly, American musician (b.
1885)
*
1951 -
Harold Ross, American magazine editor (b.
1892)
*
1955 -
Honus Wagner, baseball player (b.
1874)
*
1956 -
Dr. Bhimji Ramji Ambedkar, Indian Minister of Law (b.
1891)
*
1961 -
Frantz Fanon, West Indian psychiatrist and writer (b.
1925)
*
1976 -
João Goulart,
President of Brazil (b.
1918)
*
1985 -
Burr Tillstrom, American puppeteer (b.
1917)
* 1985 -
Burleigh Grimes, baseball player (b.
1893)
*
1988 -
Roy Orbison, American singer, guitarist, and songwriter (b.
1936)
*
1989 -
Frances Bavier, American actress (b.
1902)
*
1991 - Sir
Richard Stone, British economist,
Nobel Prize laureate (b.
1913)
*
1993 -
Don Ameche, American actor (b.
1908)
*
1997 -
Billy Bremner, Scottish footballer (b.
1942)
*
2001 - Sir
Peter Blake, New Zealand sailor and environmentalist (b.
1948)
*
2002 -
Philip Berrigan, American civil rights activist (b.
1923)
*
2003 -
Carlos Manuel Arana Osorio,
President of Guatemala (b.
1918)
* 2003 -
Jerry Tuite, American professional wrestler (b.
1966)
*
2004 -
Raymond Goethals, Belgian football coach (b.
1921)
*
2005 -
Charly Gaul, Luxembourg cyclist
* 2005 -
Devan Nair, 3rd
President of Singapore (b.
1923)
*
R.C. Saints - optional memorial of
Saint Nicholas* Also see
December 6 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)*
Canada -
National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women*
Finland -
Finland Independence Day (from Russia,
1917)
*
Spain -
Constitution Day*
Belgium and the
Netherlands celebrate
Sinterklaas, a day on which the saint gives out presents, oranges and chocolates (and other sweets) to good kids (and supposedly puts charcoal in the shoes of bad kids).
*
United States -
Woolseymas, a commemoration of the 1933 decision by US District Court Judge John M Woolsey that the
James Joyce novel "
Ulysses" was not pornographic and therefore could not be obscene.
December 6 is a novel by
Martin Cruz Smith about an American
expatriate living in
Japan just prior to
Pearl Harbor.
*
BBC: On This DayDecember 5 -
December 7 -
November 6 -
January 6 â€"
listing of all days
