December 6
December 6 is the 340th day (341st on leap years) of the year in the Gregorian calendar. There are 25 days remaining.
Events:
- 1534 - Spanish found Quito, Ecuador
- 1768 - First edition of the Encyclopædia Britannica is published
- 1790 - United States Congress moves from New York City to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- 1865 - The Thirteenth Amendment is ratified, making slavery illegal in the United States
- 1877 - First publication of the Washington Post
- 1884 - Washington Monument completed.
- 1917 - Finland declares its independence from Russia
- 1917 - Halifax explosion kills more than 1900 people, destroys part of the city of Halifax, Nova Scotia.
- 1921 - Irish Free State Agreement signed in London by British and Irish representatives
- 1933 - A federal judge rules that the James Joyce novel Ulysses is not obscene
- 1947 - Everglades National Park in Florida is dedicated.
- 1957 - First United States attempt to launch a satellite fails, blowing up on the launchpad.
- 1973 - Gerald Ford sworn in as first unelected President of the United States
- 1977 - South Africa grants independence to Bophuthatswana - not recognized by any other country
- 1989 - The Ecole Polytechnique Massacre: an insane man kills 14 young women in Montreal, Quebec.
Births:
- 1421 - King Henry VI of England (+ 1471)
- 1770 - Ludwig van Beethoven, composer (+ 1827)
- 1778 - Joseph Louis Gay-Lussac, physicist and chemist (+ 1850)
- 1863 - Charles Hall, chemist (+ 1914)
- 1872 - William S. Hart, actor (+ 1946)
- 1886 - Joyce Kilmer, poet (+ 1918)
- 1887 - Lynne Fontanne, actress (+ 1983)
- 1890 - Rudolf Schlichter, painter, graphic artist and writer (+ 1955)
- 1892 - Lina Carstens, actress (+ 1978)
- 1896 - Ira Gershwin, lyricist (+ 1983)
- 1898 - Alfred Eisenstaedt, photojournalist (+ 1995)
- 1900 - Agnes Moorhead, actress (+ 1974)
- 1903 - Tony Lazzeri, Baseball Hall of Famer
- 1905 - Jameds Braddock, boxing champion (+ 1974)
- 1913 - Eleanor Holm - Olympic Games swimming champion
- 1920 - Dave Brubeck, jazz musician
- 1921 - Otto Graham, American football star
- 1928 - Bobby Van, singer (+ 1980)
- 1929 - Nikolaus Harnoncourt, conductor
- 1932 - Don King, boxing entrepreneur
- 1939 - Liv Ullman, actress
- 1942 - Peter Handke, author, playwright
- 1948 - JoBeth Williams, actress
- 1953 - Thomas Hulce, actor
- 1955 - Steven Wright, comedian
- 1956 - Peter Buck, musician
- 1958 - Nick Park, film-maker and animator
- 1962 - Janine Turner, actress
- 1971 - Ryan White, AIDS activist (+ 1990)
- 1993 - Elián González, Cuban refugee
Deaths:
- 1779 - Jean-Baptiste-Siméon Chardin, French painter
- 1882 - Anthony Trollope, author
- 1889 - Jefferson Davis, President of the Confederate States of America
- 1892 - Werner von Siemens, German inventor and industrialist
- 1985 - Bur Tillstrom, puppeteer
- 1988 - Roy Orbison, musician
- 1989 - Frances Bavier, actress
- 1993 - Don Ameche, actor
Holidays and Observances:
- National holiday of Finland
- Spanish Constitution Day
- Saint Nicholas Day
See Also:
December 5 - December 7 - November 6 - January 6 -- listing of all days
January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December