A chronological timetable of historical events that occurred on this
day in history. Historical facts of the day in the areas of military,
politics, science, music, sports, arts, entertainment and more. Discover
what happened today in history.
Today in History
December 6
December 6
1492 | Christopher Columbus lands on the island of Santo Domingo in search of gold. | |
1776 | Phi Beta Kappa, the first scholastic fraternity, is founded at the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg. | |
1812 | The majority of Napoleon Bonaparte’s Grand Armeé staggers into Vilna, Lithuania, ending the failed Russian campaign. | |
1861 | Union General George G. Meade leads a foraging expedition to Gunnell’s farm near Dranesville, Virginia. | |
1862 | President Abraham Lincoln orders the hanging of 39 of the 303 convicted Indians who participated in the Sioux Uprising in Minnesota. They are to be hanged on December 26. | |
1863 | The monitor Weehawken sinks in Charleston Harbor. | |
1876 | Jack McCall is convicted for the murder of Wild Bill Hickok and sentenced to hang. | |
1877 | Thomas A. Edison makes the first sound recording when he recites "Mary had a Little Lamb" into his phonograph machine. | |
1906 | Lieutenant Thomas E. Selfridge flies a powered, man-carrying kite that carries him 168 feet in the air for seven minutes at Baddeck, Nova Scotia. | |
1917 | The Bolsheviks imprison Czar Nicholas II and his family in Tobolsk. | |
1921 | Ireland’s 26 southern counties become independent from Britain forming the Irish Free State. | |
1922 | Benito Mussolini threatens Italian newspapers with censorship if they keep reporting "false" information. | |
1934 | American Ambassador Davis says Japan is a grave security threat in the Pacific. | |
1938 | France and Germany sign a treaty of friendship. | |
1939 | Britain agrees to send arms to Finland, which is fighting off a Soviet invasion. | |
1941 | President Franklin D. Roosevelt issues a personal appeal to Emperor Hirohito to use his influence to avoid war. | |
1945 | The United States extends a $3 billion loan to Great Britain to help compensate for the termination of the Lend-Lease agreement. | |
1947 | Florida’s Everglades National Park is established. | |
1948 | The "Pumpkin Spy Papers" are found on the Maryland farm of Whittaker Chambers. They become evidence that State Department employee Alger Hiss is spying for the Soviet Union. | |
1957 | Vanguard TV3 explodes on the launchpad, thwarting the first US attempt to launch a satellite into Earth’s orbit. | |
1967 | Adrian Kantrowitz performs first human heart transplant in the US. | |
1969 | Hells Angels, hired to provide security at a Rolling Stones concert at the Altamont Speedway in California, beat to death concert-goer Meredith Hunter. | |
1971 | Pakistan severs diplomatic relations with India after New Delhi recognizes the state of Bangladesh. | |
1973 | US House of Representatives confirms Gerald Ford as Vice-President of the United States, 387–35. | |
1975 | A Provisional IRA unit takes a couple hostage in Balcombe Street, London, and a 6-day siege begins. | |
1976 | Democrat Tip O’Neill is elected speaker of the House of Representatives. He will serve the longest consecutive term as speaker. | |
1992 | The Babri Mosque in Ayodhya, India, is destroyed during a riot that started as a political protest. | |
2006 | NASA reveals photographs from Mars Global Surveyor that suggest the presence of water on the red planet. | |
Born on December 6 | ||
1421 | Henry VI, the youngest king of England to accede to the throne (only 269 days old). | |
1886 | Joyce Kilmer, American poet, best known for "Trees." | |
1896 | Ira Gershwin, American lyricist and musical collaborator with his brother George. | |
1898 | Alfred Eisenstaedt, photojournalist. | |
1898 | Gunnar Myrdal, Swedish economist and sociologist. | |
1901 | Eliot Porter, nature photographer. | |
1920 | Dave Brubeck, jazz pianist and composer. | |
1942 | Peter Handke, playwright and poet. | |
1948 | JoBeth Williams, actress, director (Poltergeist, The Big Chill); current (2013) president of the Screen Actors Guild Foundation. | |
1952 | Charles Bronson (Michael Gordon Peterson), criminal often called "the most violent prisoner in Britain" by the British Press. | |
1952 | Craig Newmark, founder of Craigslist. | |
1967 | Judd Apatow, film producer, director, screenwriter (Bridesmaids). |
No comments:
Post a Comment