On This Day — December 6

Famous events, births, and deaths from December 6 in history, plus the public holidays, religious observances, sports, and national days happening on this date today.

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43 events · 224 births · 86 deaths recorded for December 6.

🕰️ Notable Events on December 6

2015 — Venezuelan elections are held. For the first time in 17 years the United Socialist Party of Venezuela loses its majority in parliament. Wikipedia ↗
2006 — NASA reveals photographs taken by Mars Global Surveyor suggesting the presence of liquid water on Mars. Wikipedia ↗
2005 — An Iranian Air Force C-130 military transport aircraft crashes into a ten-floor apartment building in a residential area of Tehran, killing all 84 on board and 44 more on the ground. Wikipedia ↗
1998 — in Venezuela, Hugo Chavez is victorious in presidential elections. Wikipedia ↗
1997 — A Russian Antonov An-124 Ruslan cargo plane crashes into an apartment complex near Irkutsk, Siberia, killing 67. Wikipedia ↗
1992 — The Babri Masjid in Ayodhya, India, is demolished, leading to widespread riots causing the death of over 1,500 people. Wikipedia ↗
1991 — In Croatia, forces of the Yugoslav People's Army (JNA) bombard Dubrovnik after laying siege to the city for seven months. Wikipedia ↗
1989 — The École Polytechnique massacre (or Montreal Massacre): Marc Lépine, an anti-feminist gunman, murders 14 young women at the École Polytechnique in Montreal. Wikipedia ↗
1982 — The Troubles: The Irish National Liberation Army bombed a pub frequented by British soldiers in Ballykelly, Northern Ireland, killing eleven soldiers and six civilians. Wikipedia ↗
1978 — Spain ratifies the Spanish Constitution of 1978 in a referendum. Wikipedia ↗
1977 — South Africa grants independence to Bophuthatswana, although it is not recognized by any other country. Wikipedia ↗
1975 — The Troubles: Fleeing from the police, a Provisional IRA unit takes a British couple hostage in their flat on Balcombe Street, London, beginning a six-day siege. Wikipedia ↗
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.) Wikipedia ↗
1971 — Pakistan severs diplomatic relations with India, initiating the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971. Wikipedia ↗
1967 — Adrian Kantrowitz performs the first human heart transplant in the United States. Wikipedia ↗
1957 — Project Vanguard: A launchpad explosion of Vanguard TV3 thwarts the first United States attempt to launch a satellite into Earth orbit. Wikipedia ↗
1956 — A violent water polo match between Hungary and the USSR takes place during the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne, against the backdrop of the Hungarian Revolution of 1956. Wikipedia ↗
1953 — Vladimir Nabokov completes his controversial novel Lolita. Wikipedia ↗
1947 — The Everglades National Park in Florida is dedicated. Wikipedia ↗
1941 — World War II: The United Kingdom and Canada declare war on Finland in support of the Soviet Union during the Continuation War. Camp X opens in Canada to begin training Allied Secret Agents for the War. Wikipedia ↗
1933 — U.S. federal judge John M. Woolsey rules that James Joyce's novel Ulysses is not obscene. Wikipedia ↗
1928 — The government of Colombia sends military forces to suppress a month-long strike by United Fruit Company workers, resulting in an unknown number of deaths. Wikipedia ↗
1922 — One year to the day after the signing of the Anglo-Irish Treaty, the Irish Free State comes into existence. Wikipedia ↗
1921 — The Anglo-Irish Treaty is signed in London by British and Irish representatives. Wikipedia ↗
1917 — Finland declares independence from Russia. Wikipedia ↗
1917 — Halifax Explosion: A munitions explosion near Halifax, Nova Scotia kills more than 1,900 people in the largest artificial explosion up to that time. Wikipedia ↗
1917 — World War I: USS Jacob Jones is the first American destroyer to be sunk by enemy action when it is torpedoed by German submarine SM U-53. Wikipedia ↗
1916 — World War I: The Central Powers capture Bucharest. Wikipedia ↗
1907 — A coal mine explosion at Monongah, West Virginia, kills 362 workers. Wikipedia ↗
1904 — Theodore Roosevelt articulated his "Corollary" to the Monroe Doctrine, stating that the U.S. would intervene in the Western Hemisphere should Latin American governments prove incapable or unstable. Wikipedia ↗
1897 — London becomes the world's first city to host licensed taxicabs. Wikipedia ↗
1884 — The Washington Monument in Washington, D.C., is completed. Wikipedia ↗
1877 — The first edition of The Washington Post is published. Wikipedia ↗
1865 — The Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution is ratified, banning slavery. Wikipedia ↗
1790 — The U.S. Congress moves from New York City to Philadelphia. Wikipedia ↗
1768 — The first edition of the Encyclopædia Britannica is published. Wikipedia ↗
1745 — Charles Edward Stuart's army begins retreat during the second Jacobite Rising. Wikipedia ↗
1704 — Battle of Chamkaur (1704): During the Mughal-Sikh Wars, an outnumbered Sikh Khalsa defeats a Mughal army. Wikipedia ↗
1648 — Colonel Thomas Pride of the New Model Army purges the Long Parliament of MPs sympathetic to King Charles I of England, in order for the King's trial to go ahead; came to be known as "Pride's Purge". Wikipedia ↗
1534 — The city of Quito in Ecuador is founded by Spanish settlers led by Sebastián de Belalcázar. Wikipedia ↗
1240 — Mongol invasion of Rus': Kiev under Daniel of Galicia and Voivode Dmytro falls to the Mongols under Batu Khan. Wikipedia ↗
1060 — Béla I is crowned king of Hungary. Wikipedia ↗
963 — Pope Leo VIII is appointed to the office of Protonotary and begins his papacy as antipope of Rome. Wikipedia ↗

🎂 Notable Births on December 6

1998 — Angelīna Kučvaļska, Latvian figure skater Wikipedia ↗
1996 — Davide Calabria, Italian football player Wikipedia ↗
1994 — Giannis Antetokounmpo, Greek basketball player Wikipedia ↗
1993 — Pedro Rafael Amado Mendes, Portuguese footballer Wikipedia ↗
1993 — Tautau Moga, Australian-Samoan rugby league player Wikipedia ↗
1992 — Britt Assombalonga, Congolese footballer Wikipedia ↗
1992 — Johnny Manziel, American football player Wikipedia ↗
1991 — Coco Vandeweghe, American tennis player Wikipedia ↗
1990 — Tamira Paszek, Austrian tennis player Wikipedia ↗
1989 — Felix Schiller, German footballer Wikipedia ↗
1988 — Adam Eaton, American baseball player Wikipedia ↗
1988 — Sandra Nurmsalu, Estonian singer and violinist Wikipedia ↗
1988 — Nils Petersen, German footballer Wikipedia ↗
1988 — Nobunaga Shimazaki, Japanese voice actor Wikipedia ↗
1986 — Sean Edwards, English race car driver (d. 2013) Wikipedia ↗
1986 — Matt Niskanen, American ice hockey player Wikipedia ↗
1985 — Shannon Bobbitt, American basketball player Wikipedia ↗
1985 — Aristeidis Grigoriadis, Greek swimmer Wikipedia ↗
1985 — Rudra Pratap Singh, Indian cricketer Wikipedia ↗
1984 — Syndric Steptoe, American football player Wikipedia ↗
1984 — Nora Kirkpatrick, American actress and musician Wikipedia ↗
1984 — Princess Sofia, Duchess of Värmland Wikipedia ↗
1982 — Ryan Carnes, American actor and producer Wikipedia ↗
1982 — Alberto Contador, Spanish cyclist Wikipedia ↗
1982 — Sean Ervine, Zimbabwean cricketer Wikipedia ↗
1982 — Aaron Sandilands, Australian footballer Wikipedia ↗
1982 — Susie Wolff, Scottish race car driver Wikipedia ↗
1981 — Federico Balzaretti, Italian footballer Wikipedia ↗
1981 — Robbie Gould, American football player Wikipedia ↗
1980 — Danielle Downey, American golfer and coach (d. 2014) Wikipedia ↗
1980 — Steve Lovell, English footballer Wikipedia ↗
1980 — Carlos Takam, boxer Wikipedia ↗
1979 — Tim Cahill, Australian footballer Wikipedia ↗
1978 — Chris Başak, American baseball player Wikipedia ↗
1978 — Darrell Jackson, American football player Wikipedia ↗
1978 — Ramiro Pez, Argentine rugby player Wikipedia ↗
1977 — Kevin Cash, American baseball player and coach Wikipedia ↗
1977 — Andrew Flintoff, English cricketer, coach, and sportscaster Wikipedia ↗
1977 — Paul McVeigh, Irish footballer Wikipedia ↗
1975 — Noel Clarke, English actor, director, and screenwriter Wikipedia ↗
1975 — Adrian García Arias, Mexican footballer Wikipedia ↗
1974 — Jens Pulver, American mixed martial artist and boxer Wikipedia ↗
1974 — Nick Stajduhar, Canadian ice hockey player Wikipedia ↗
1972 — Heather Mizeur, American lawyer and politician Wikipedia ↗
1972 — Rick Short, American baseball player Wikipedia ↗
1971 — Craig Brewer, American director, producer, and screenwriter Wikipedia ↗
1971 — Richard Krajicek, Dutch tennis player Wikipedia ↗
1971 — Naozumi Takahashi, Japanese singer and voice actor Wikipedia ↗
1971 — Carole Thate, Dutch field hockey player Wikipedia ↗
1970 — Ulf Ekberg, Swedish singer-songwriter, keyboard player, and producer Wikipedia ↗
1970 — Adrian Fenty, American lawyer and politician, 6th Mayor of the District of Columbia Wikipedia ↗
1970 — Mark Reckless, English politician Wikipedia ↗
1970 — Jeff Rouse, American swimmer Wikipedia ↗
1969 — Torri Higginson, Canadian actress Wikipedia ↗
1968 — Akihiro Yano, Japanese baseball player Wikipedia ↗
1967 — Judd Apatow, American director, producer, and screenwriter Wikipedia ↗
1967 — Arnaldo Mesa, Cuban boxer (d. 2012) Wikipedia ↗
1967 — Helen Greiner, American businesswoman and engineer Wikipedia ↗
1966 — Natascha Badmann, Swiss triathlete Wikipedia ↗
1966 — Per-Ulrik Johansson, Swedish golfer Wikipedia ↗
1965 — Gordon Durie, Scottish footballer and manager Wikipedia ↗
1964 — Mall Nukke, Estonian painter Wikipedia ↗
1963 — Ulrich Thomsen, Danish actor and producer Wikipedia ↗
1961 — David Lovering, American drummer Wikipedia ↗
1961 — Manuel Reuter, German race car driver Wikipedia ↗
1960 — Masahiko Katsuya, Japanese journalist and photographer Wikipedia ↗
1959 — Stephen Hepburn, English politician Wikipedia ↗
1959 — Satoru Iwata, Japanese game programmer and businessman (d. 2015) Wikipedia ↗
1959 — Stephen Muggleton, English computer scientist and engineer Wikipedia ↗
1959 — Deborah Estrin, American computer scientist and academic Wikipedia ↗
1958 — Nick Park, English animator, director, producer, and screenwriter Wikipedia ↗
1957 — Adrian Borland, English singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (d. 1999) Wikipedia ↗
1956 — Peter Buck, American guitarist, songwriter, and producer Wikipedia ↗
1956 — Hans Kammerlander, Italian mountaineer and guide Wikipedia ↗
1956 — Randy Rhoads, American guitarist, songwriter, and producer (d. 1982) Wikipedia ↗
1955 — Anne Begg, Scottish educator and politician Wikipedia ↗
1955 — Rick Buckler, English drummer, songwriter, and producer Wikipedia ↗
1955 — Graeme Hughes, Australian cricketer, rugby league player, and sportscaster Wikipedia ↗
1955 — Tony Woodcock, English footballer Wikipedia ↗
1955 — Steven Wright, American actor and screenwriter Wikipedia ↗
1953 — Sue Carroll, English journalist (d. 2011) Wikipedia ↗
1953 — Gary Goodman, Australian cricketer and coach Wikipedia ↗
1953 — Geoff Hoon, English academic and politician, Minister of State for Europe Wikipedia ↗
1953 — Tom Hulce, American actor Wikipedia ↗
1953 — Masami Kurumada, Japanese author and illustrator Wikipedia ↗
1953 — Dwight Stones, American high jumper and sportscaster Wikipedia ↗
1953 — Gary Ward, American baseball player and coach Wikipedia ↗
1952 — Chuck Baker, American baseball player Wikipedia ↗
1952 — Nicolas Bréhal, French author and critic Wikipedia ↗
1952 — Joe Harris, American football player Wikipedia ↗
1952 — Craig Newmark, American computer programmer and entrepreneur; founded Craigslist Wikipedia ↗
1952 — Charles Salvador, English boxer and criminal Wikipedia ↗
1952 — Shio Satō, Japanese illustrator (d. 2010) Wikipedia ↗
1952 — Jeff Schneider, American baseball player Wikipedia ↗
1952 — David L. Spector, American biologist and academic Wikipedia ↗
1951 — Wendy Ellis Somes, English ballerina and producer Wikipedia ↗
1951 — Maurice Hope, Caribbean-English boxer Wikipedia ↗
1950 — Guy Drut, French hurdler and politician Wikipedia ↗
1950 — Joe Hisaishi, Japanese pianist, composer, and conductor Wikipedia ↗
1950 — Helen Liddell, Baroness Liddell of Coatdyke, Scottish journalist and politician, Secretary of State for Scotland Wikipedia ↗
1949 — Linda Barnes, American author, playwright, and educator Wikipedia ↗
1949 — Linda Creed, American singer-songwriter (d. 1986) Wikipedia ↗
1949 — Doug Marlette, American author and cartoonist (d. 2007) Wikipedia ↗
1949 — Peter Willey, English cricketer and umpire Wikipedia ↗
1948 — Jean-Paul Ngoupandé, Central African politician, Prime Minister of the Central African Republic (d. 2014) Wikipedia ↗
1948 — Don Nickles, American businessman and politician Wikipedia ↗
1948 — Keke Rosberg, Finnish race car driver Wikipedia ↗
1948 — JoBeth Williams, American actress Wikipedia ↗
1947 — Lawrence Cannon, Canadian businessman and politician, 9th Canadian Minister of Foreign Affairs Wikipedia ↗
1947 — Henk van Woerden, Dutch-South African painter and author (d. 2005) Wikipedia ↗
1947 — Miroslav Vitouš, Czech-American bassist and songwriter Wikipedia ↗
1946 — Willy van der Kuijlen, Dutch footballer and manager Wikipedia ↗
1945 — Larry Bowa, American baseball player and manager Wikipedia ↗
1945 — Dan Harrington, American lawyer and poker player Wikipedia ↗
1945 — Shekhar Kapur, Indian director, producer, and screenwriter Wikipedia ↗
1943 — Mike Smith, English singer-songwriter, keyboard player, and producer (d. 2008) Wikipedia ↗
1942 — Peter Handke, Austrian author and playwright Wikipedia ↗
1942 — Robb Royer, American guitarist, keyboard player, and songwriter Wikipedia ↗
1941 — Richard Speck, American murderer (d. 1991) Wikipedia ↗
1941 — Bruce Nauman, American sculptor and illustrator Wikipedia ↗
1941 — Bill Thomas, American academic and politician Wikipedia ↗
1940 — Lawrence Bergman, Canadian lawyer and politician Wikipedia ↗
1940 — Richard Edlund, American visual effects designer and cinematographer Wikipedia ↗
1939 — Franco Carraro, Italian politician and sports administrator Wikipedia ↗
1938 — Patrick Bauchau, Belgian-American actor Wikipedia ↗
1937 — Alberto Spencer, Ecuadorian-American soccer player (d. 2006) Wikipedia ↗
1936 — Bill Ashton, English saxophonist and composer Wikipedia ↗
1936 — Kenneth Copeland, American evangelist and author Wikipedia ↗
1935 — Jean Lapointe, Canadian actor, singer, and politician Wikipedia ↗
1934 — Nick Bockwinkel, American wrestler, sportscaster, and actor (d. 2015) Wikipedia ↗
1933 — Henryk Górecki, Polish composer and academic (d. 2010) Wikipedia ↗
1933 — Donald J. Kutyna, American general Wikipedia ↗
1932 — Kamleshwar, Indian author, screenwriter, and critic (d. 2007) Wikipedia ↗
1931 — Zeki Müren, Turkish singer-songwriter and actor (d. 1996) Wikipedia ↗
1930 — Daniel Lisulo, Zambian banker and politician, 3rd Prime Minister of Zambia (d. 2000) Wikipedia ↗
1929 — Philippe Bouvard, French journalist and radio host Wikipedia ↗
1929 — Nikolaus Harnoncourt, German-Austrian cellist and conductor (d. 2016) Wikipedia ↗
1929 — Frank Springer, American author and illustrator (d. 2009) Wikipedia ↗
1929 — Alain Tanner, Swiss director, producer, and screenwriter Wikipedia ↗
1928 — Bobby Van, American actor, dancer, and singer (d. 1980) Wikipedia ↗
1927 — Jim Fuchs, American shot putter and discus thrower (d. 2010) Wikipedia ↗
1924 — Wally Cox, American actor (d. 1973) Wikipedia ↗
1922 — John Brunt, English captain, Victoria Cross recipient (d. 1944) Wikipedia ↗
1922 — Benjamin A. Gilman, American soldier and politician (d. 2016) Wikipedia ↗
1921 — Otto Graham, American football player and coach (d. 2003) Wikipedia ↗
1921 — Piero Piccioni, Italian lawyer, pianist, and composer (d. 2004) Wikipedia ↗
1920 — Dave Brubeck, American pianist and composer (d. 2012) Wikipedia ↗
1920 — Peter Dimmock, English sportscaster and producer (d. 2015) Wikipedia ↗
1920 — George Porter, English chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2002) Wikipedia ↗
1919 — Skippy Baxter, Canadian-American figure skater and coach (d. 2012) Wikipedia ↗
1919 — Paul de Man, Belgian-born philosopher, literary critic and theorist (d. 1983) Wikipedia ↗
1917 — Dean Hess, American minister and colonel (d. 2015) Wikipedia ↗
1917 — Kamal Jumblatt, Lebanese lawyer and politician (d. 1977) Wikipedia ↗
1917 — Irv Robbins, Canadian-American businessman, co-founded Baskin-Robbins (d. 2008) Wikipedia ↗
1917 — Waldemar von Gazen, German soldier and lawyer (d. 2014) Wikipedia ↗
1916 — Yekaterina Budanova, Russian captain and pilot (d. 1943) Wikipedia ↗
1916 — Kristján Eldjárn, Icelandic educator and politician, 3rd President of Iceland (d. 1982) Wikipedia ↗