July 6Birthdays & History

On this day: July 6 in history

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

1. 371 BCThe Battle of Leuctra shatters Sparta's reputation of military invincibility.Europe
2. 83 BCThe Temple of Jupiter on the Capitoline Hill in Rome is burned down and the Sibylline books of prophecy destroyed with it.Europe
3. 640Battle of Heliopolis: The Muslim Arab army under 'Amr ibn al-'As defeat the Byzantine forces near Heliopolis (Egypt).Middle EastEurope
4. 1253Mindaugas is crowned King of Lithuania.Europe
5. 1348Pope Clement VI issues a papal bull protecting the Jews accused of having caused the Black Death.Europe
6. 1411Ming China's Admiral Zheng He returns to Nanjing after the third treasure voyage and presents the Sinhalese king, captured during the Ming–Kotte War, to the Yongle Emperor.Asia
7. 1415Jan Hus is condemned by the assembly of the council in the Konstanz Cathedral as a heretic and sentenced to be burned at the stake.Europe
8. 1438A temporary compromise between the rebellious Transylvanian peasants and the noblemen is signed in Kolozsmonostor Abbey.Europe
9. 1439The reunion of the Catholic and Orthodox Church is proclaimed and celebrated with a public holiday.Europe
10. 1483Richard III and Anne Neville are crowned King and Queen of England.Europe
11. 1484Portuguese sea captain Diogo Cão finds the mouth of the Congo River.EuropeAfrica
12. 1495First Italian War: Battle of Fornovo: Charles VIII defeats the Holy League.Europe
13. 1536The explorer Jacques Cartier lands at St. Malo at the end of his second expedition to North America. He returns with none of the gold he expected to find.North America
14. 1536Thomas More is executed after having been condemned on perjured evidence.Europe
15. 1557King Philip II of Spain, consort of Queen Mary I of England, sets out from Dover to war with France, which eventually resulted in the loss of the city of Calais, the last English possession on the continent, and Mary I never seeing her husband again.Europe
16. 1560The Treaty of Edinburgh is signed by Scotland and England.Europe
17. 1573French Wars of Religion: Siege of La Rochelle ends.Europe
18. 1573Córdoba, Argentina, is founded by Jerónimo Luis de Cabrera.Latin America
19. 1614Raid on Żejtun: The south east of Malta, and the town of Żejtun, suffer a raid from Ottoman forces. This was the last unsuccessful attempt by the Ottomans to conquer the island of Malta.EuropeMiddle East
20. 1630Thirty Years' War: Four thousand Swedish troops under Gustavus Adolphus land in Pomerania, Germany.Europe
21. 1685Battle of Sedgemoor: Last battle of the Monmouth Rebellion. Troops of King James II defeat troops of James Scott, 1st Duke of Monmouth.Europe
22. 1751Pope Benedict XIV suppresses the Patriarchate of Aquileia and establishes from its territory the Archdiocese of Udine and Gorizia.Europe
23. 1777American Revolutionary War: Siege of Fort Ticonderoga: After a bombardment by British artillery under General John Burgoyne, American forces retreat from Fort Ticonderoga, New York.North AmericaEurope
24. 1779Battle of Grenada: The French defeat British naval forces in the Caribbean during the American Revolutionary War.EuropeLatin AmericaNorth America
25. 1791At Padua, the Emperor Leopold II calls on the monarchs of Europe to join him in demanding the king of France Louis XVI's freedom.Europe
26. 1801First Battle of Algeciras: Outnumbered French Navy ships defeat the Royal Navy in the fortified Spanish port of Algeciras.Europe
27. 1809The second day of the Battle of Wagram; France defeats the Austrian army in the largest battle to date of the Napoleonic Wars.Europe
28. 1854The Republican Party of the United States held its first convention in Jackson, Michigan.North America
29. 1885Louis Pasteur successfully tests his vaccine against rabies on Joseph Meister, a boy who was bitten by a rabid dog.Europe
30. 1887David Kalākaua, monarch of the Kingdom of Hawaii, is forced to sign the Bayonet Constitution, which transfers much of the king's authority to the Legislature of the Kingdom of Hawaii.North America
31. 1892Three thousand eight hundred striking steelworkers engage in a day-long battle with Pinkerton agents during the Homestead Strike, leaving ten dead and dozens wounded.North America
32. 1917World War I: Arabian troops led by T. E. Lawrence ("Lawrence of Arabia") and Auda ibu Tayi capture Aqaba from the Ottoman Empire during the Arab Revolt.Middle East
33. 1918The Left SR uprising in Russia starts with the assassination of German ambassador Wilhelm von Mirbach by Cheka members.Europe
34. 1919The British dirigible R34 lands in New York, completing the first crossing of the Atlantic Ocean by an airship.EuropeNorth America
35. 1933The first Major League Baseball All-Star Game is played in Chicago's Comiskey Park. The American League defeated the National League 4–2.North America
36. 1936A major breach of the Manchester, Bolton and Bury Canal in England sends millions of gallons of water cascading 200 feet (61 m) into the River Irwell.Europe
37. 1937Spanish Civil War: Battle of Brunete: The battle begins with Spanish Republican troops going on the offensive against the Nationalists to relieve pressure on Madrid.Europe
38. 1939Anti-Jewish legislation in prewar Nazi Germany closes the last remaining Jewish enterprises.Europe
39. 1940Story Bridge, a major landmark in Brisbane, as well as Australia's longest cantilever bridge is formally opened.Oceania
40. 1941World War II: The German army launches its offensive to encircle several Soviet armies near Smolensk.Europe
41. 1942Anne Frank and her family go into hiding in the "Secret Annexe" above her father's office in an Amsterdam warehouse.Europe
42. 1944Jackie Robinson refuses to move to the back of a bus, leading to his court-martial.North America
43. 1944The Hartford circus fire, one of America's worst fire disasters, kills approximately 168 people and injures over 700 in Hartford, Connecticut.North America
44. 1947Referendum held in Sylhet to decide its fate in the Partition of India.Asia
45. 1947The AK-47 goes into production in the Soviet Union.Europe
46. 1957Althea Gibson wins at the Wimbledon Championships, becoming the first black athlete to do so.Europe
47. 1957John Lennon and Paul McCartney meet for the first time, as teenagers at Woolton Fete, three years before forming the Beatles.Europe
48. 1962As a part of Operation Plowshare, the Sedan nuclear test takes place.North America
49. 1962The Late Late Show, the world's longest-running chat show by the same broadcaster, airs on RTÉ One for the first time.Europe
50. 1964Malawi declares its independence from the United Kingdom.AfricaEurope
51. 1966Malawi becomes a republic, with Hastings Banda as its first President.Africa
52. 1967Nigerian Civil War: Nigerian forces invade Biafra, beginning the war.Africa
53. 1975The Comoros declares independence from France.AfricaEurope
54. 1982While attempting to return to Sheremetyevo International Airport, Aeroflot Flight 411, an Ilyushin Il-62, crashes near Mendeleyevo, Moscow Oblast, killing all 90 people on board.Europe
55. 1988The Piper Alpha drilling platform in the North Sea is destroyed by explosions and fires. One hundred sixty-seven oil workers are killed, making it the world's worst offshore oil disaster in terms of direct loss of life.Europe
56. 1989The Tel Aviv–Jerusalem bus 405 suicide attack: Sixteen bus passengers are killed when a member of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad took control of the bus and drove it over a cliff.Middle East
57. 1995In the Bosnian War, under the command of General Ratko Mladić, Serbia begins its attack on the Bosnian town of Srebrenica.Europe
58. 1996A McDonnell Douglas MD-88 operating as Delta Air Lines Flight 1288 experiences a turbine engine failure during takeoff from Pensacola International Airport, killing two and injuring five of the 147 people on board.North America
59. 1997The Troubles: In response to the Drumcree dispute, five days of mass protests, riots and gun battles begin in Irish nationalist districts of Northern Ireland.Europe
60. 1998Hong Kong International Airport opens in Chek Lap Kok, Hong Kong, replacing Kai Tak Airport as the city's international airport.Asia
61. 2003The 70-metre Yevpatoria Planetary Radar sends a METI message (Cosmic Call 2) to five stars: Hip 4872, HD 245409, 55 Cancri (HD 75732), HD 10307 and 47 Ursae Majoris (HD 95128). The messages will arrive to these stars in 2036, 2040, 2044, and 2049, respectively.World
62. 2006The Nathu La pass between India and China, sealed during the Sino-Indian War, re-opens for trade after 44 years.AsiaNorth America
63. 2013At least 42 people are killed in a shooting at a school in Yobe State, Nigeria.Africa
64. 2013A Boeing 777 operating as Asiana Airlines Flight 214 crashes at San Francisco International Airport, killing three and injuring 181 of the 307 people on board.North America
65. 2013A 73-car oil train derails in the town of Lac-Mégantic, Quebec and explodes into flames, killing at least 47 people and destroying more than 30 buildings in the town's central area.North America
66. 2021An Antonov An-26 operating as Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky Air Flight 251 crashes on approach to Palana Airport, killing all 28 aboard.Europe
67. 2022The Georgia Guidestones, a monument in the United States, are heavily damaged in a bombing, and are dismantled later the same day.North America

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