December 6
December 6 is the 340th day of the year (341st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar; 25 days remain until the end of the year.
Events
- 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 is founded at Yale College.
- 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 taxicabs.
- 1907 - A coal mine explosion at Monongah, West Virginia kills 362 workers.
- 1916 - Bucharest was captured by the Central Powers
- 1916 - David Lloyd George becomes Prime Minister of United Kingdom.
- 1917 - Finland declares 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.
- 1956 - The water polo Blood In The Water match between Hungary and the USSR took place during the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne, representative of the 1956 Hungarian Revolution.
- 1957 - Project Vanguard: A launchpad explosion of Vanguard TV3 thwarts the first United States attempt to launch a satellite into orbit around the Earth.
- 1965 - Pakistan's Islamic Ideology Advisory Committee recommends that Islamic Studies be made a compulsory subject for Muslim students from primary to graduation level.
- 1969 - Meredith Hunter is killed by Hells Angels during The Rolling Stones's concert at the Altamont Speedway in California.
- 1971 - Pakistan breaks diplomatic relations with India following New Delhi's recognition of Bangladesh.
- 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 which had been used as temple since 1949. Hindus believe this structure was built on the site which is the birthplace of Lord Rama.
- 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.
- 2006 - NASA reveals photographs taken by Mars Global Surveyor suggesting the presence of liquid water on Mars.
Births
- 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 - Niccolò 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)
- 1685 - Marie-Adélaïde of Savoy, mother of Louis XV of France d. 1712
- 1721 - James Elphinston, British philologist (d. 1809)
- 1721 - Guillaume-Chrétien de Lamoignon de Malesherbes, French statesman (d. 1794)
- 1752 - Gabriel Duvall, Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court (d. 1844)
- 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)
- 1812 - Robert Spear Hudson, English businessman (d. 1884)
- 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)
- 1887 - Joseph Lamb, American ragtime composer (d. 1960)
- 1890 - Rudolf Schlichter, German artist and writer (d. 1955)
- 1890 - Yoshio Nishina, Japanese physicist (d. 1951)
- 1890 - Dion Fortune, British occultist (d. 1946)
- 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 Nobel Prize in Economics (d. 1987)
- 1900 - Agnes Moorehead, American actress (d. 1974)
- 1903 - Tony Lazzeri, American baseball player (d. 1946)
- 1904 - Ève Curie French writer (d. 2007)
- 1905 - James J. Braddock, American boxer (d. 1974)
- 1908 - Pierre Graber, Swiss Federal Councilor (d. 2003)
- 1908 - Baby Face Nelson, American bank robber (d. 1934)
- 1913 - Eleanor Holm, American swimmer (d. 2004)
- 1916 - Hugo Peretti, American songwriter and record producer (d. 1986)
- 1916 - Kristján Eldjárn, Curator at the National Museum of Iceland and 3rd president of Iceland (d. 1982)
- 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)
- 1921 - Piero Piccioni, Italian musician and composer (d. 2004)
- 1922 - John Henry Cound Brunt, Victoria Cross holder (d. 1944)
- 1924 - Wally Cox, American actor (d. 1973)
- 1928 - Bobby Van, American singer (d. 1980)
- 1929 - Alain Tanner, Swiss filmmaker
- 1929 - Nikolaus Harnoncourt, German conductor
- 1929 - Frank Springer, American comics artist
- 1930 - Daniel Lisulo, Prime Minister of Zambia
- 1931 - Don King, American Boxing Promoter
- 1931 - Zeki Müren, Turkish actor, singer, and composer (d. 1996)
- 1933 - Henryk Górecki, Polish composer
- 1935 - Jean Lapointe, Quebec comedian, singer and senator
- 1936 - David Ossman, American comedian
- 1937 - Alberto Spencer, Ecuadorian footballer (d. 2006)
- 1940 - Lawrence Bergman, Quebec politician
- 1940 - Richard Edlund, American special effects photographer
- 1942 - Peter Handke, Austrian writer
- 1945 - Shekhar Kapur, Indian filmmaker
- 1945 - Larry Bowa, baseball player and Major League manager
- 1945 - Dan Harrington, American poker player
- 1947 - Lawrence Cannon, Canadian politician
- 1948 - JoBeth Williams, American actress
- 1948 - Keke Rosberg, Finnish race car driver
- 1948 - Marius Müller-Westernhagen, German actor and musician
- 1949 - Linda Creed, American songwriter
- 1949 - Doug Marlette, American editorial cartoonist
- 1950 - Joe Hisaishi, Japanese composer
- 1952 - Rick Charlesworth, Australian hockey player
- 1952 - Craig Newmark, founder of craigslist
- 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)
- 1957 - Adrian Borland, English musician (The Sound) (d. 1999)
- 1958 - Nick Park, British filmmaker and animator
- 1959 - Satoru Iwata, president and CEO of Nintendo
- 1961 - David Lovering, American drummer (Pixies)
- 1962 - Janine Turner, American actress
- 1963 - Ulrich Thomsen, Danish actor
- 1967 - Hacken Lee, Hong Kong singer
- 1970 - Ulf Ekberg, Swedish musician (Ace of Base)
- 1970 - Éric Lemieux, Quebec keyboardist (La Chicane)
- 1971 - José Contreras, Cuban baseball player
- 1971 - Richard Krajicek, Dutch tennis player
- 1971 - Ryan White, American AIDS activist (d. 1990)
- 1971 - Naozumi Takahashi, seiyuu
- 1972 - Rick Short, baseball player
- 1974 - Nick Stajduhar, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1975 - Noel Clarke, English actor and writer
- 1976 - Colleen Haskell, American television personality
- 1977 - Kevin Cash, baseball player
- 1977 - Andrew Flintoff, English cricketer
- 1977 - Paul McVeigh, Irish footballer
- 1978 - Darrell Jackson, American football player
- 1978 - Chris Basak, American baseball player
- 1979 - Tim Cahill, Australia footballer
- 1980 - Steve Lovell, British footballer
- 1980 - Ehren Wassermann, American baseball player
- 1982 - Sean Ervine, Zimbabwean cricketer
- 1982 - Ryan Carnes, American actor
- 1982 - Robbie Gould, American football player
- 1982 - Alberto Contador, Spanish cyclist and 2007 Tour de France winner
- 1985 - Dulce María, Mexican actress and singer
- 1986 - Cintia Dicker, Brazilian model
- 1993 - Elián González, Cuban subject of
- 1994 - Otto Jozeph Frankowski, soon to be richest kid on planet and airsoft enthusiast
international child custody battle
- 1995 - Joy Gruttmann, German singer
- 2000 - Pablo Nicolás Urdangarín y de Borbón, Spanish royal
Deaths
- 343 - Saint Nicholas
- 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)
- 1879 - Erastus Brigham Bigelow, American industrialist (b. 1814)
- 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)
- 1924 - Gene Stratton-Porter, American author, screenwriter and naturalist (b. 1863)
- 1949 - Leadbelly, American musician (b. 1888)
- 1951 - Harold Ross, American magazine editor (b. 1892)
- 1955 - Honus Wagner, baseball player (b. 1874)
- 1956 - Dr. Bhimji Ramji Ambedkar, Indian Minister of Law and architect of The Constitution of India (b. 1891)
- 1961 - Frantz Fanon, West Indian psychiatrist and writer (b. 1925)
- 1964 - Consuelo Vanderbilt (b. 1877)
- 1972 - Janet Munro, British actress (b. 1934)
- 1976 - João Goulart, President of Brazil (b. 1918)
- 1983 - Lucienne Boyer, French singer (b. 1903)
- 1985 - Burr Tillstrom, American puppeteer (b. 1917)
- 1985 - Max Kasch, American Actor, Holes
- 1988 - Roy Orbison, American singer, guitarist, and songwriter (b. 1936)
- 1989 - Frances Bavier, American actress (b. 1902)
- 1989 - Sammy Fain, American popular music composer (b. 1902)
- 1989 - John Payne, American movie actor (b. 1912)
- 1990 - Pavlos Sidiropoulos, Greek singer and songwriter (b. 1948)
- 1991 - Sir Richard Stone, British economist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1913)
- 1992 - Mimi Smith, maternal aunt and guardian of John Lennon (b. 1914)
- 1993 - Don Ameche, American actor (b. 1908)
- 1996 - Pete Rozelle, commissioner of the National Football League (b. 1926)
- 1997 - Billy Bremner, Scottish footballer (b. 1942)
- 2000 - Werner Klemperer, German-born actor (b. 1920)
- 2001 - Sir Peter Blake, New Zealand sailor and environmentalist (b. 1948)
- 2001 - Charles McClendon, Hall of Fame college football coach (b. 1923)
- 2002 - Philip Berrigan, American civil rights activist (b. 1923)
- 2003 - Hans Hotter, German bass-baritone (b. 1909)
- 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 (b. 1932)
- 2005 - Devan Nair, 3rd President of Singapore (b. 1923)
- 2005 - Danny Williams, South African-born singer (b. 1942)
Holidays and observances
- International - Saint Nicholas Day, where St. Nicholas/Santa Claus leaves little presents in children's shoes ("Sinterklaas" in Belgium and the Netherlands).
- Roman Catholic saints: Saint Aemilianus
- Eastern Catholicism - St. Nicholas, Bishop of Myra - Patron of the Byzantine Catholic Church
- Canada - National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women
- Finland - Independence Day (from Russia, 1917)
- Spain - Constitution Day
- Abraham of Kratia