April 6
April 6 is the 96th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (97th in leap years). There are 269 days remaining.
Events
- 648 BC - Earliest solar eclipse recorded by the Ancient Greeks.
- 402 - Stilicho stymies the Visigoths under Alaric in the Battle of Pollentia.
- 1320 - The Scots reaffirm their independence by signing the Declaration of Arbroath.
- 1327 - The poet Petrarch first saw his idealized love Laura (person) in the church of Saint Clare in Avignon.
- 1652 - Dutch sailor Jan van Riebeeck establishes a resupply camp at the Cape of Good Hope, which will eventually develop into Cape Town.
- 1667 - earthquake devastated Dubrovnik, then independent city-state.
- 1782 - Rama I succeeds King Taksin of Thailand, who was overthrown in a coup d'état.
- 1808 - John Jacob Astor incorporates the American Fur Company.
- 1814 - Napoleon abdicates. He is then exiled to Elba.
- 1830 - The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is organized by Joseph Smith, Jr. at Fayette, New York.
- 1832 - Indian Wars: Black Hawk War begins - The Sauk warrior Black Hawk enters into war with the United States.
- 1841 - John Tyler is inaugurated as the 10th President of the United States.
- 1862 - American Civil War: Battle of Shiloh begins - In Tennessee, forces under Union General Ulysses S. Grant meet Confederate troops led by General Albert Sidney Johnston at Shiloh.
- 1865 - American Civil War: Battle of Sayler's Creek - Confederate General Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia fights its last major battle while in retreat from Richmond, Virginia.
- 1869 - Celluloid is patented.
- 1893 - Salt Lake Temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints dedicated by Wilford Woodruff.
- 1895 - Oscar Wilde is arrested after losing a libel case against the John Sholto Douglas, 9th Marquess of Queensberry.
- 1896 - In Athens, the opening of the first modern Olympic Games 1,500 years after being banned by Roman Emperor Theodosius I.
- 1903 - The Kishinev pogrom in Kishinev (Bessarabia) begins, forcing tens of thousands of Jews to later seek refuge in Israel and The West.
- 1909 - Robert Peary allegedly reaches the North Pole.
- 1911 - Dedë Gjon Luli Dedvukaj, Leader of the Malësori Albanians, raises the Albanian flag in the town of Tuzi, Montenegro, for the first time after Gjergj Kastrioti (Skenderbeg).
- 1917 - World War I: United States declares war on Germany (see Wilson's address to Congress).
- 1926 - Walter Varney Airlines makes first commercial flight from Pasco, Washington, to Elko, Nevada. Varney is the root company of United Airlines.
- 1930 - Gandhi raises a lump of mud and salt (some say just a pinch, some say just a grain) and declares, "With this, I am shaking the foundations of the British Empire." Thus he starts Salt Satyagraha.
- 1930 - Will Rogers starts broadcasting The Will Rogers Program on radio.
- 1931 - Little Orphan Annie debuts on the Blue Network of NBC.
- 1936 - Tupelo-Gainesville Outbreak: Another tornado from the same storm system as the Tupelo tornado hits Gainesville, Georgia, killing 203.
- 1938 - Teflon is discovered.
- 1941 - World War II: Operation Castigo begins; Germany invades Kingdom of Yugoslavia and Greece.
- 1965 - Early Bird, the first communications satellite to be placed in synchronous orbit, is launched.
- 1968 - In Richmond, Indiana's downtown district, a double explosion kills 41 and injures 150.
- 1970 - Newhall Incident: Four California Highway Patrol officers die in one of the worst cop killings in the CHP's history.
- 1972 - Vietnam War: Easter Offensive - The first day of clear weather in three days allows American forces to start sustained air strikes and naval bombardments.
- 1973 - Launch of Pioneer 11 spacecraft.
- 1984 - Members of Cameroon's Republican Guard from country's northern region attack various government buildings in an unsuccessful attempt to overthrow the government headed by Paul Biya.
- 1994 - The Rwandan Genocide begins when the aircraft carrying Rwandan president Juvénal Habyarimana and Burundian president Cyprien Ntaryamira is shot down by extremists.
- 1998 - Pakistan tests medium-range missiles capable of hitting India.
- 1998 - The Dow Jones Industrial Average gains 49.82 to close at 9,033.23 -- its first-ever close above 9,000.
- 2004 - Rolandas Paksas becomes the first president of Lithuania to be peacefully removed from the post by impeachment.
Births
- 1483 - Raphael, Italian painter and architect (d. 1520)
- 1613 - Stjepan Gradić, Croatian philosopher and scientist (d. 1683)
- 1651 - André Dacier, French classical scholar (d. 1722)
- 1664 - Arvid Horn, Swedish statesman (d. 1742)
- 1671 - Jean-Baptiste Rousseau, French poet (d. 1741)
- 1725 - Pasquale Paoli, Corsican patriot and military leader (d. 1807)
- 1812 - Alexander Herzen, Russian writer (d. 1870)
- 1815 - Robert Volkmann, German composer (d. 1883)
- 1818 - Aasmund Olavsson Vinje, Norwegian poet (d. 1870)
- 1820 - Nadar, French photographer (d. 1910)
- 1823 - Joseph Medill, Mayor of Chicago (d. 1899)
- 1826 - Gustave Moreau, French painter (d. 1898)
- 1849 - John William Waterhouse, British painter (d. 1917)
- 1878 - Erich Mühsam, German author (d. 1934)
- 1884 - Walter Huston, Canadian-born actor (d. 1950)
- 1890 - Anthony Fokker, Dutch designer of aircraft (d. 1939)
- 1892 - Donald Wills Douglas, Sr., American industrialist (d. 1981)
- 1892 - Lowell Thomas, American travel writer (d. 1981)
- 1901 - Pier Giorgio Frassati, Italian Catholic (d. 1925)
- 1902 - Veniamin Kaverin, Russian writer (d. 1989)
- 1903 - Mickey Cochrane, baseball player (d. 1962)
- 1903 - Doc Edgerton, American electrical engineer (d. 1990)
- 1909 - Hermann Lang, German race car driver (d. 1987)
- 1911 - Feodor Felix Konrad Lynen, German biochemist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (d. 1979)
- 1920 - Edmond H. Fischer, Swiss-American biochemist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine
- 1926 - Sergio Franchi, Italian-born singer and actor (d. 1990)
- 1926 - Gil Kane, Latvian-born cartoonist (d. 2000)
- 1926 - Ian Paisley, Northern Irish politician
- 1927 - Gerry Mulligan, American musician (d. 1996)
- 1928 - James D. Watson, American geneticist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine
- 1929 - André Previn, German-born composer and conductor
- 1931 - Ivan Dixon, American actor and director
- 1933 - Roy Goode, British lawyer
- 1934 - Anton Geesink, Dutch judoka
- 1937 - Merle Haggard, American musician
- 1937 - Billy Dee Williams, American actor
- 1938 - Paul Daniels, English magician
- 1938 - Roy Thinnes, American actor
- 1941 - Phil Austin, American comedian
- 1941 - Zamfir, Romanian musician
- 1942 - Barry Levinson, American film producer and director
- 1944 - Felicity Palmer, English soprano
- 1947 - John Ratzenberger, American actor
- 1949 - Horst Ludwig Störmer, German-born physicist, Nobel Prize laureate
- 1951 - Bert Blyleven, Dutch Major League Baseball player
- 1952 - Udo Dirkschneider, German singer (Accept and U.D.O.)
- 1952 - Marilu Henner, American actress
- 1954 - Thom Bray, American actor
- 1955 - Michael Rooker, American actor
- 1964 - Phil Gayle, English news presenter
- 1965 - Frank Black, American singer and songwriter (Pixies)
- 1969 - Bison Dele, American basketball player (disappeared 2002)
- 1969 - Ari Meyers, Puerto Rican-born American actress
- 1970 - Olaf Kölzig, South African hockey player
- 1973 - Donnie Edwards, American football player
- 1973 - Rie Miyazawa, Japanese actress and singer
- 1975 - Zach Braff, American actor
- 1976 - Candace Cameron, American actress
- 1985 - Garrett Zablocki, American guitarist (Senses Fail)
Deaths
- 1199 - King Richard I of England (killed in battle) (b. 1157)
- 1362 - James I, Count of La Marche, French soldier (b. 1319)
- 1490 - King Matthias Corvinus of Hungary
- 1520 - Raphael, Italian painter and architect (b. 1483)
- 1528 - Albrecht Dürer, German artist (b. 1471)
- 1551 - Joachim Vadian, Swiss humanist (b. 1484)
- 1571 - John Hamilton, Scottish prelate and politician
- 1590 - Francis Walsingham, English spymaster
- 1605 - John Stow, English historian
- 1655 - David Blondel, French Protestant clergyman (b. 1591)
- 1686 - Arthur Annesley, 1st Earl of Anglesey, English royalist statesman (b. 1614)
- 1707 - Willem van de Velde, the younger, Dutch painter (b. 1633)
- 1755 - Richard Rawlinson, English minister and antiquarian (b. 1690)
- 1825 - Vladimir Borovikovsky, Russian painter (b. 1757)
- 1829 - Niels Henrik Abel, Norwegian mathematician (b. 1802)
- 1838 - José Bonifácio de Andrade e Silva, Brazilian statesman and geologist (b. 1763)
- 1862 - Albert Sidney Johnston, American Confederate general (b. 1803)
- 1883 - Benjamin Raymond, Mayor of Chicago (b. 1801)
- 1906 - Alexander Kielland, Norwegian author (b. 1849)
- 1935 - Edwin Arlington Robinson, American poet (b. 1869)
- 1961 - Jules Bordet, Belgian immunologist and microbiologist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (b. 1870)
- 1963 - Otto Struve, Russian-born astronomer (b. 1897)
- 1970 - Sam Sheppard, American accused murderer (b. 1923)
- 1971 - Igor Stravinsky, Russian composer (b. 1882)
- 1974 - Willem Marinus Dudok, Dutch architect (b. 1884)
- 1992 - Isaac Asimov, Russian-born author (b. 1920)
- 1994 - Juvénal Habyarimana, President of Rwanda (b. 1937)
- 1994 - Cyprien Ntaryamira, President of Burundi (b. 1956)
- 1996 - Greer Garson, Irish actress (b. 1904)
- 1998 - Wendy O. Williams, American musician (Plasmatics) (b. 1949)
- 1998 - Tammy Wynette, American musician (b. 1942)
- 2000 - Habib Bourguiba, President of Tunisia (b. 1903)
- 2003 - David Bloom, American reporter (pulmonary embolism) (b. 1963)
- 2003 - Babatunde Olatunji, Nigerian drummer (b. 1927)
- 2004 - Larisa Bogoraz, Soviet dissident (b. 1929)
- 2005 - Rainier III, Prince of Monaco (b. 1923)
Holidays and observances
- Tartan Day, a day set aside for the celebration of Scottish influence.
- The date of organization of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and the start of the Restoration Movement by Joseph Smith Junior. Also the date on which this church believes Jesus Christ was born.
- In Thailand, April 6th marks Chakri Day - a day to commemorate King Rama I, founder of the Chakri dynasty.
Liturgical Feast days
in the Roman Catholic Church
- Saint Balderik
- Saint Marcellinus of Carthage (d.413)
- St. Sixtus
- Saint Wineboud
- Blessed Notker
- Saint Isolde
Other
- The start of the tax year in the United Kingdom (arising from the 11 day correction to March 25 at the adoption of the Gregorian calendar in 1752).
External links
April 5 - April 7 - March 6 - May 6 -- listing of all days