December 6Birthdays & History

On this day: December 6 in history

Oldest first. Tap a year to see it on the World Chronicle timeline.

1. 1060Béla I is crowned king of Hungary.Europe
2. 1240Mongol invasion of Rus': Kyiv, defended by Voivode Dmytro, falls to the Mongols under Batu Khan.AsiaEurope
3. 1492After exploring the island of Cuba (which he had mistaken for Japan) for gold, Christopher Columbus lands on an island he names Hispaniola.Latin AmericaAsia
4. 1534The city of Quito in Ecuador is founded by Spanish settlers led by Sebastián de Belalcázar.Latin AmericaEurope
5. 1648Pride's Purge removes royalist sympathizers from Parliament so that the High Court of Justice could put the King on trial.Europe
6. 1745Charles Edward Stuart's army begins retreat during the second Jacobite Rising.Europe
7. 1790The U.S. Congress moves from New York City to Philadelphia.North America
8. 1803Five French warships attempting to escape the Royal Naval blockade of Saint-Domingue are all seized by British warships, signifying the end of the Haitian Revolution.EuropeLatin America
9. 1865Georgia ratifies the 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.North America
10. 1882Transit of Venus, second and last of the 19th century.World
11. 1884The Washington Monument in Washington, D.C., is completed.North America
12. 1897London becomes the world's first city to host licensed taxicabs.Europe
13. 1904Theodore 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.North AmericaLatin America
14. 1907A coal mine explosion at Monongah, West Virginia, kills 362 workers.North America
15. 1912The Nefertiti Bust is discovered.Middle East
16. 1916World War I: The Central Powers capture Bucharest.Europe
17. 1917Halifax Explosion: A munitions explosion near Halifax, Nova Scotia kills more than 1,900 people in the largest artificial explosion up to that time.North America
18. 1917Finland declares independence from the Russian Empire.Europe
19. 1917World 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.North AmericaEurope
20. 1921The Anglo-Irish Treaty is signed in London by British and Irish representatives.Europe
21. 1922Ireland is partitioned, with Northern Ireland and the Irish Free State coming into existence, one year to the day after the signing of the Anglo-Irish Treaty.Europe
22. 1928The government of Colombia sends military forces to suppress a month-long strike by United Fruit Company workers, resulting in an unknown number of deaths.Latin America
23. 1933In United States v. One Book Called Ulysses Judge John M. Woolsey rules that James Joyce's novel Ulysses is not obscene despite coarse language and sexual content, a leading decision affirming free expression.North America
24. 1939Winter War: The Red Army's advance on the Karelian Isthmus is stopped by Finns at the Mannerheim Line during the Battle of Taipale.Europe
25. 1941World War II: Camp X opens in Canada to begin training Allied secret agents for the war.North America
26. 1956A 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.EuropeOceania
27. 1957Project Vanguard: A launchpad explosion of Vanguard TV3 thwarts the first United States attempt to launch a satellite into Earth orbit.North America
28. 1967Adrian Kantrowitz performs the first human heart transplant in the United States.North America
29. 1969Altamont Free Concert: At a free concert performed by the Rolling Stones, eighteen-year old Meredith Hunter is stabbed to death by Hells Angels security guards.North America
30. 1971Pakistan severs diplomatic relations with India, initiating the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971.Asia
31. 1973The Twenty-fifth Amendment: The United States House of Representatives votes 387–35 to confirm Gerald Ford as Vice President of the United States. (On November 27, the Senate confirmed him 92–3.)North America
32. 1975The 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.Europe
33. 1977South Africa grants independence to Bophuthatswana, although it is not recognized by any other country.Africa
34. 1978Spain ratifies the Spanish Constitution of 1978 in a referendum.Europe
35. 1982The Troubles: The Irish National Liberation Army bombs a pub frequented by British soldiers in Ballykelly, Northern Ireland, killing eleven soldiers and six civilians.Europe
36. 1989The École Polytechnique massacre (or Montreal Massacre): Marc Lépine, an anti-feminist gunman, murders 14 young women at the École Polytechnique in Montreal.North America
37. 1990A military jet of the Italian Air Force, abandoned by its pilot after an on-board fire, crashed into a high school near Bologna, Italy, killing 12 students and injuring 88 other people.Europe
38. 1991Yugoslav Wars: In Croatia, forces of the Serb-dominated Yugoslav People's Army (JNA) heaviest bombardment of Dubrovnik during a siege of seven months.Europe
39. 1992The Babri Masjid in Ayodhya, India, is demolished, leading to widespread riots causing the death of over 1,500 people.Asia
40. 1995The United States Food and Drug Administration approves Saquinavir, the first protease inhibitor to treat HIV/AIDS. Within 2 years of its approval, annual deaths from AIDS in the United States fall from over 50,000 to approximately 18,000.North America
41. 1998in Venezuela, Hugo Chávez is victorious in presidential elections.Latin America
42. 1999A&M Records, Inc. v. Napster, Inc.: The Recording Industry Association of America sues the peer-to-peer file-sharing service Napster, alleging copyright infringement.North America
43. 2005An Iranian Air Force C-130 military transport aircraft crashes into a ten-floor apartment building in a residential area of Tehran, killing all 94 on board and 12 more on the ground.Middle East
44. 2006NASA reveals photographs taken by Mars Global Surveyor suggesting the presence of liquid water on Mars.North America
45. 2015Venezuelan parliamentary election: For the first time in 17 years, the United Socialist Party of Venezuela loses its majority in parliament.Latin America
46. 2017Donald Trump's administration officially announces the recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.Middle East

Source: Wikipedia "December 6" / CC BY-SA 4.0