December 6

For the novel, see December 6 (novel).

December 6 is the 340th day of the year (341st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 25 days remaining until the end of the year.

Events

• 1060 – Béla I of Hungary is crowned king of Hungary.
• 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.
• 1648 – Colonel 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".
• 1704 – Battle of Chamkaur: During the Mughal-Sikh Wars, an outnumbered Sikh Khalsa defeats a Mughal army.
• 1745 – Charles Edward Stuart's army begins retreat during the second Jacobite Rising.
• 1768 – The first edition of the Encyclopædia Britannica is published.
• 1790 – The U.S. Congress moves from New York City to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
• 1865 – The Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution is ratified, banning slavery.
• 1877 – The first edition of the Washington Post is published.
• 1884 – The Washington Monument in Washington D.C. is completed.
• 1897 – London becomes the world's first city to host licensed taxicabs.
• 1904 – Theodore Roosevelt announced his "Corollary" to the Monroe Doctrine stating that the United States would intervene in the Western Hemisphere should Latin American governments prove incapable or unstable.
• 1907 – A coal mine explosion at Monongah, West Virginia kills 362 workers.
• 1916 – World War I: The Central Powers capture Bucharest.
• 1917 – Finland declares independence from Russia.
• 1917 – Halifax Explosion: In Canada, a munitions explosion kills more than 1,900 people and destroys part of the City of Halifax, Nova Scotia.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 1933 – U.S. federal judge John M. Woolsey rules that James Joyce's novel Ulysses is not obscene.
• 1941 – World War II: The United Kingdom declares war on Finland in support of the Soviet Union during the Continuation War.
• 1947 – The Everglades National Park in Florida is dedicated.
• 1953 – Vladimir Nabokov completes his controversial novel Lolita.
• 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 1956 Hungarian Revolution.
• 1957 – Project Vanguard: A launchpad explosion of Vanguard TV3 thwarts the first United States attempt to launch a satellite into Earth orbit.
• 1965 – Pakistan's Islamic Ideology Advisory Committee recommends that Islamic Studies be made a compulsory subject for Muslim students from primary to graduate level.
• 1967 – Adrian Kantrowitz performed the first human heart transplant in the United States.
• 1969 – Meredith Hunter is killed by the Hells Angels during a The Rolling Stones's concert at the Altamont Speedway in California.
• 1971 – Pakistan severs 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 – The Troubles: Fleeing from the police, a Provisional IRA unit takes a couple hostage in Balcombe Street, London, beginning a six-day siege.
• 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.
• 1982 – The Troubles: The Irish National Liberation Army bombed a pub frequented by British soldiers in Ballykelly, Northern Ireland. It killed eleven soldiers and six civilians.
• 1988 – The Australian Capital Territory is granted self-government.
• 1989 – The École Polytechnique Massacre (or Montreal Massacre): Marc Lépine, an anti-feminist gunman, murders 14 young women at the École Polytechnique in Montreal.
• 1991 – In Croatia, forces of the Yugoslav People's Army bombard Dubrovnik after laying siege to the city since May.
• 1992 – The Babri Mosque in Ayodhya, India is demolished, leading to widespread riots causing the death of over 1500 people.
• 1997 – A Russian Antonov An-124 cargo plane crashes into an apartment complex near Irkutsk, Siberia, killing 67.
• 2005 – Several villagers are shot dead during protests in Dongzhou, China.
• 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 civilians.
• 2006 – NASA reveals photographs taken by Mars Global Surveyor suggesting the presence of liquid water on Mars.
• 2008 – The 2008 Greek riots break out upon the killing of a 15-year-old boy, Alexandros Grigoropoulos, by a police officer.

Births

• 846 – Hasan al-Askari, Saudi Arabian 11th of the Twelve Imams (d. 874)
• 1285 – Ferdinand IV of Castile (d. 1312)
• 1421 – Henry VI of England (d. 1471)
• 1478 – Baldassare Castiglione, Italian diplomat and author (d. 1529)
• 1550 – Orazio Vecchi, Italian composer (d. 1605)
• 1586 – Niccolò Zucchi, Italian astronomer (d. 1670)
• 1608 – George Monck, 1st Duke of Albemarle, English soldier and politician (d. 1670)
• 1637 – Edmund Andros, English politician, 4th Colonial Governor of New York (d. 1714)
• 1640 – Claude Fleury, French historian (d. 1723)
• 1642 – Johann Christoph Bach, German organist and composer (d. 1703)
• 1685 – Princess Marie Adélaïde of Savoy (d. 1712)
• 1721 – James Elphinston, Scottish philologist and educator (d. 1809)
• 1721 – Guillaume-Chrétien de Lamoignon de Malesherbes, French politician (d. 1794)
• 1752 – Gabriel Duvall, American politician and jurist (d. 1844)
• 1778 – Joseph Louis Gay-Lussac, French physicist and chemist (d. 1850)
• 1792 – 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 philologist and orientalist (d. 1900)
• 1833 – John S. Mosby, American army officer (d. 1916)
• 1841 – Frédéric Bazille, French painter (d. 1870)
• 1849 – August von Mackensen, German field marshal (d. 1945)
• 1853 – Haraprasad Shastri, Indian historian and scholar (d. 1931)
• 1863 – Charles Martin Hall, American chemist (d. 1914)
• 1872 – Arthur Henry Adams, Australian journalist and author (d. 1936)
• 1872 – William S. Hart, American actor (d. 1946)
• 1874 – Lucien Démanet, French gymnast (d. 1979)
• 1875 – Albert Bond Lambert, American golfer and pilot (d. 1946)
• 1875 – Evelyn Underhill, English poet (d. 1941)
• 1876 – Fred Duesenberg, German-American businessman, co-founded the Duesenberg Automobile and Motors Company (d. 1932)
• 1886 – Joyce Kilmer, American poet (d. 1918)
• 1887 – Lynn Fontanne, English-American actress (d. 1983)
• 1887 – Joseph Lamb, American composer (d. 1960)
• 1888 – Will Hay, English comedian and actor (d. 1949)
• 1890 – Dion Fortune, Welsh occultist and author (d. 1946)
• 1890 – Yoshio Nishina, Japanese physicist (d. 1951)
• 1890 – Rudolf Schlichter, German painter (d. 1955)
• 1892 – Osbert Sitwell, English author (d. 1969)
• 1893 – Homer N. Wallin, American admiral (d. 1984)
• 1896 – Ira Gershwin, American songwriter (d. 1983)
• 1898 – Alfred Eisenstaedt, German-American photographer and journalist (d. 1995)
• 1898 – Gunnar Myrdal, Swedish economist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1987)
• 1900 – Agnes Moorehead, American actress (d. 1974)
• 1903 – Tony Lazzeri, American baseball player (d. 1946)
• 1904 – Ève Curie, French journalist and pianist (d. 2007)
• 1905 – Elizabeth Yates, American author (d. 2001)
• 1908 – Pierre Graber, Swiss politician (d. 2003)
• 1908 – Baby Face Nelson, American gangster (d. 1934)
• 1909 – Rulon Jeffs, American religious leader (d. 2002)
• 1913 – Karl Haas, German-American pianist, conductor, and radio host (d. 2005)
• 1913 – Eleanor Holm, American swimmer (d. 2004)
• 1916 – Yekaterina Budanova, Soviet pilot (d. 1943)
• 1916 – Kristján Eldjárn, Icelandic politician, 3rd President of Iceland (d. 1982)
• 1916 – Hugo Peretti, American songwriter and producer (d. 1986)
• 1917 – Kamal Jumblatt, Lebanese politician (d. 1977)
• 1917 – Irv Robbins, Canadian-American businessman, co-founded Baskin-Robbins (d. 2008)
• 1919 – Skippy Baxter, American figure skater (d. 2012)
• 1919 – Paul de Man, Belgian-American critic and theorist (d. 1983)
• 1920 – Dave Brubeck, American pianist and composer (Dave Brubeck Quartet) (d. 2012)
• 1920 – George Porter, English chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2002)
• 1921 – Otto Graham, American football player (d. 2003)
• 1921 – Piero Piccioni, Italian lawyer, pianist, and composer (d. 2004)
• 1922 – John Brunt, English soldier, recipient of the Victoria Cross (d. 1944)
• 1922 – Benjamin A. Gilman, American politician
• 1924 – Wally Cox, American actor (d. 1973)
• 1928 – Bobby Van, American actor and singer (d. 1980)
• 1929 – Nikolaus Harnoncourt, German conductor
• 1929 – Frank Springer, American illustrator (d. 2009)
• 1929 – Alain Tanner, Swiss director
• 1930 – Daniel Lisulo, Zambian politician, 3rd Prime Minister of Zambia (d. 2000)
• 1931 – Zeki Müren, Turkish, singer-songwriter and actor (d. 1996)
• 1932– Kamleshwar, Indian author, screenwriter, and critic (d. 2007)
• 1933 – Henryk Górecki, Polish composer (d. 2010)
• 1933 – Donald J. Kutyna, American air force officer
• 1934 – Nick Bockwinkel, American wrestler
• 1935 – Jean Lapointe, Canadian actor, singer, and politician
• 1936 – Kenneth Copeland, American author and evangelist
• 1936 – David Ossman, American comedian and actor
• 1937 – Alberto Spencer, Ecuadorian footballer (d. 2006)
• 1938 – Patrick Bauchau, Belgian actor
• 1940 – Lawrence Bergman, Canadian politician
• 1940 – Richard Edlund, American cinematographer
• 1941 – Richard Speck, American murderer (d. 1991)
• 1941 – Bill Thomas, American politician
• 1941 – Wende Wagner, American actress (d. 1997)
• 1942 – Peter Handke, Austrian author and playwright
• 1943 – Mike Smith, English singer-songwriter, keyboard player, and producer (The Dave Clark Five) (d. 2008)
• 1945 – Larry Bowa, American baseball player and manager
• 1945 – Dan Harrington, American poker player
• 1945 – Shekhar Kapur, Indian director and producer
• 1946 – Frankie Beverly, American singer-songwriter and producer (Maze)
• 1946 – Willy van der Kuijlen, Dutch footballer
• 1947 – Lawrence Cannon, Canadian politician
• 1947 – Henk van Woerden, Dutch-South African painter and author (d. 2005)
• 1947 – Miroslav Vitouš, Czech-American bassist (Weather Report)
• 1948 – Marius Müller-Westernhagen, German actor and singer
• 1948 – Don Nickles, American politician
• 1948 – Keke Rosberg, Finnish race car driver
• 1948 – JoBeth Williams, American actress and director
• 1949 – Linda Creed, American singer-songwriter (d. 1986)
• 1949 – Doug Marlette, American cartoonist (d. 2007)
• 1949 – Gregory Venables, English-Argentinian bishop
• 1950 – Joe Hisaishi, Japanese composer
• 1950 – Sonia Manzano, American actress
• 1950 – Karlheinz Subklewe, German footballer
• 1951 – Gerry Francis, English footballer and manager
• 1952 – Craig Newmark, American businessman, founded Craigslist
• 1953 – Gary Goodman, Australian cricketer
• 1953 – Tom Hulce, American actor, singer, and producer
• 1953 – Masami Kurumada, Japanese writer and illustrator
• 1953 – Kin Shriner, American actor
• 1953 – Gary Ward, American baseball player
• 1955 – Rick Buckler, English drummer (The Jam, The Highliners, and Time UK)
• 1955 – Steven Wright, American comedian and actor
• 1956 – Peter Buck, American guitarist, songwriter, and producer (R.E.M., Hindu Love Gods, The Minus 5, Tuatara, Tired Pony, and The Baseball Project)
• 1956 – Hans Kammerlander, Italian mountaineer
• 1956 – Randy Rhoads, American guitarist, songwriter, and producer (Quiet Riot) (d. 1982)
• 1957 – Adrian Borland, English singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (The Sound and The Outsiders) (d. 1999)
• 1958 – Nick Park, English director and animator
• 1959 – Satoru Iwata, Japanese businessman
• 1961 – David Lovering, American drummer (Pixies and The Martinis)
• 1961 – Manuel Reuter, German race car driver
• 1962 – Janine Turner, American actress
• 1963 – Ulrich Thomsen, Danish actor
• 1965 – Gordon Durie, Scottish footballer
• 1966 – Natascha Badmann, Swiss triathlete
• 1967 – Judd Apatow, American director, producer, and screenwriter
• 1967 – Hacken Lee, Hong Kong singer-songwriter and actor
• 1967 – Arnaldo Mesa, Cuban boxer (d. 2012)
• 1967 – Lucia Rijker, Dutch boxer and actress
• 1969 – Torri Higginson, Canadian actress
• 1970 – Isabelle Arnould, Belgian swimmer
• 1970 – Ulf Ekberg, Swedish singer-songwriter, keyboard player, and producer (Ace of Base)
• 1970 – Adrian Fenty, American politician, 6th Mayor of the District of Columbia
• 1970 – Jeff Rouse, American swimmer
• 1970 – Michaela Schaffrath, German actress
• 1971 – José Contreras, Cuban baseball player
• 1971 – Richard Krajicek, Dutch tennis player
• 1971 – Naozumi Takahashi, Japanese singer and voice actor
• 1971 – Carole Thate, Dutch field hockey player
• 1971 – Ryan White, American AIDS victim (d. 1990)
• 1972 – Heather Mizeur, American politician
• 1972 – Mónica Santa María, Peruvian model and television host (d. 1994)
• 1972 – Rick Short, American baseball player
• 1974 – Jens Pulver, American mixed martial artist
• 1974 – Nick Stajduhar, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1975 – Noel Clarke, English actor, director, and screenwriter
• 1975 – Adrian García Arias, Mexican footballer
• 1976 – Colleen Haskell, American actress and producer
• 1976 – Alicia Machado, Venezuelan actress and singer, Miss Universe 1996
• 1976 – Lindsay Price, American actress and singer
• 1977 – Kevin Cash, American baseball player
• 1977 – Andrew Flintoff, English cricketer
• 1977 – Paul McVeigh, Irish footballer
• 1978 – K. D. Aubert, American actress
• 1978 – Chris Basak, American baseball player
• 1978 – Darrell Jackson, American football player
• 1978 – Ramiro Pez, Argentine-Italian rugby player
• 1979 – Tim Cahill, Australian footballer
• 1979 – Yanina González, Paraguayan model, Miss Paraguay 2004
• 1980 – Steve Lovell, English footballer
• 1980 – Ehren Wassermann, American baseball player
• 1981 – Federico Balzaretti, Italian footballer
• 1982 – Ryan Carnes, American actor
• 1982 – Alberto Contador, Spanish cyclist
• 1982 – Sean Ervine, Zimbabwean cricketer
• 1982 – Susie Wolff, Scottish race car driver
• 1984 – Syndric Steptoe, American football player
• 1985 – Shannon Bobbitt, American basketball player
• 1985 – Aristeidis Grigoriadis, Greek swimmer
• 1985 – Dulce María, Mexican singer-songwriter and actress (RBD and Jeans)
• 1985 – Rudra Pratap Singh, Indian cricketer
• 1986 – Georgia Horsley, English model, Miss England 2007
• 1986 – Matt Niskanen, American ice hockey player
• 1988 – Sandra Nurmsalu, Estonian singer (Urban Symphony)
• 1988 – Nils Petersen, German footballer
• 1989 – Felix Schiller, German footballer
• 1990 – Tamira Paszek, Austrian tennis player
• 1992 – Johnny Manziel, American football player
• 1995 – Joy Gruttmann, German singer
• 1996 – Stefanie Scott, American actress and singer
• 2000 – Pablo Urdangarín y de Borbón, Spanish son of Infanta Cristina, Duchess of Palma de Mallorca

Deaths

• 343 – Saint Nicholas, Christian bishop of Asia Minor (b. 270)
• 672 – Muhammad al-Nafs al-Zakiyya, Saudi Arabian rebel leader (b. 710)
• 1185 – Afonso I of Portugal (b. 1109)
• 1352 – Pope Clement VI (b. 1291)
• 1562 – Jan van Scorel Dutch painter (b. 1495)
• 1618 – Jacques Davy Duperron, French cardinal (b. 1556)
• 1658 – Baltasar Gracián, Spanish priest and author (b. 1601)
• 1672 – John II Casimir Vasa, Polish king (b. 1609)
• 1675 – John Lightfoot, English churchman, academic, and scholar (b. 1602)
• 1716 – Benedictus Buns, Dutch composer (b. 1642)
• 1718 – Nicholas Rowe, English poet and playwright (b. 1674)
• 1746 – 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, English bishop and politician (b. 1714)
• 1855 – William John Swainson, English ornithologist and entomologist (b. 1789)
• 1867 – Jean Pierre Flourens, French physician (b. 1794)
• 1868 – August Schleicher, German linguist (b. 1821)
• 1878 – Theodoros Vryzakis, Greek painter (b. 1814)
• 1879 – Erastus Brigham Bigelow, American inventor (b. 1814)
• 1882 – Alfred Escher, Swiss businessman and politician (b. 1819)
• 1882 – Anthony Trollope, English author (b. 1815)
• 1889 – Jefferson Davis, American politician, President of the Confederate States of America (b. 1808)
• 1892 – Werner von Siemens, German businessman, founded the Siemens Company (b. 1816)
• 1921 – Jesse Carleton, American golfer (b. 1862)
• 1924 – Gene Stratton-Porter, American author and screenwriter (b. 1863)
• 1934 – Charles Michael, Duke of Mecklenburg (b. 1863)
• 1949 – Lead Belly, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1888)
• 1951 – Harold Ross, American journalist, founded The New Yorker (b. 1892)
• 1955 – Honus Wagner, American baseball player (b. 1874)
• 1956 – B. R. Ambedkar, Indian politician and economist (b. 1891)
• 1956 – John Geiger, American rower (b. 1873)
• 1961 – Frantz Fanon, Martinique-French psychiatrist and author (b. 1925)
• 1964 – Evert van Linge, Dutch footballer (b. 1895)
• 1964 – Consuelo Vanderbilt, American wife of Charles Spencer-Churchill, 9th Duke of Marlborough (b. 1877)
• 1972 – Janet Munro, English actress (b. 1934)
• 1976 – João Goulart, Brazilian politician, 24th President of Brazil (b. 1918)
• 1982 – Jean-Marie Seroney, Kenyan politician (b. 1927)
• 1983 – Lucienne Boyer, French singer (b. 1903)
• 1985 – Burr Tillstrom, American puppeteer (b. 1917)
• 1988 – Roy Orbison, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (Traveling Wilburys) (b. 1936)
• 1989 – Frances Bavier, American actress (b. 1902)
• 1989 – Sammy Fain, American composer (b. 1902)
• 1989 – John Payne, American actor (b. 1912)
• 1990 – Pavlos Sidiropoulos, Greek singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1948)
• 1990 – Tunku Abdul Rahman, Malaysian politician, 1st Prime Minister of Malaysia (b. 1903)
• 1991 – Mimi Smith, English nurse, aunt of John Lennon (b. 1906)
• 1991 – Richard Stone, English economist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1913)
• 1993 – Don Ameche, American actor (b. 1908)
• 1994 – Heinz Baas, German footballer (b. 1922)
• 1996 – Pete Rozelle, American businessman (b. 1926)
• 1997 – Willy den Ouden, Dutch swimmer (b. 1918)
• 1998 – César Baldaccini, French sculptor (b. 1921)
• 2000 – Werner Klemperer, German actor (b. 1920)
• 2000 – Aziz Mian, Pakistani singer-songwriter and poet (b. 1942)
• 2001 – Peter Blake, New Zealand sailor and environmentalist (b. 1948)
• 2001 – Charles McClendon, American football player and coach (b. 1923)
• 2002 – Philip Berrigan, American priest and activist (b. 1923)
• 2003 – Hans Hotter, German opera singer (b. 1909)
• 2003 – Carlos Manuel Arana Osorio, Guatemalan army officer and politician, President of Guatemala (b. 1918)
• 2003 – Jerry Tuite, American wrestler (b. 1966)
• 2004 – Raymond Goethals, Belgian footballer and coach (b. 1921)
• 2005 – Charly Gaul, Luxembourger cyclist (b. 1932)
• 2005 – Devan Nair, Malaysian-Singaporean politician, 3rd President of Singapore (b. 1923)
• 2005 – Danny Williams, South African singer (b. 1942)
• 2005 – William P. Yarborough, American general (b. 1912)
• 2006 – John Feeney, New Zealand director and producer (b. 1922)
• 2006 – Betty Moschona, Greek actress (b. 1927)
• 2007 – Katy French, Swiss-Irish model and socialite (b. 1983)
• 2010 – Mark Dailey, American-Canadian journalist (b. 1953)
• 2011 – Dobie Gray, American singer-songwriter and producer (b. 1940)
• 2012 – Miguel Abia Biteo Boricó, Guinean politician, Prime Minister of Equatorial Guinea (b. 1961)
• 2012 – Mike Boyette, American wrestler (b. 1943)
• 2012 – Jan Carew, Guyanese writer (b. 1920)
• 2012 – Ed Cassidy, American drummer (Spirit and Rising Sons) (b. 1923)
• 2012 – Eta Cohen, English violinist and author (b. 1916)
• 2012 – Bim Diederich, Luxembourgian cyclist (b. 1922)
• 2012 – Keitani Graham, Micronesian wrestler (b. 1980)
• 2012 – Alice Harden, American politician (b. 1948)
• 2012 – Karine Kazinian, Armenian diplomat (b. 1955)
• 2012 – Jeffrey Koo Sr., Taiwanese businessman (b. 1933)
• 2012 – Huw Lloyd-Langton, English guitarist (Hawkwind and Widowmaker) (b. 1951)
• 2012 – Reginald Norby, Norwegian diplomat (b. 1934)
• 2012 – Giovanni Sostero, Italian astronomer (b. 1964)

Holidays and observances

• Anniversary of the Founding of Quito (Ecuador)
• Christian Feast Day:
  • Abraham of Kratia
  • Aemilianus (Roman Catholic Church)
  • Nicholas of Myra
    • Saint Nicholas Day, where St. Nicholas/Santa Claus leaves little presents in children's shoes. (International)
    • Christkind traditionally gives Christmas gifts on this day. (Central and Southern Europe)
• Constitution Day (Spain)
• Independence Day, celebrates the independence of Finland from Russia in 1917.
• National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women (Canada)

External links

• BBC: On This Day
• The New York Times: On This Day
• On This Day in Canada

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