July 6

Historic Events

2022

The Georgia Guidestones, a monument in the United States, are heavily damaged in a bombing, and are dismantled later the same day. ›

2021

An Antonov An-26 operating as Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky Air Flight 251 crashes on approach to Palana Airport, killing all 28 aboard. ›

2013

At least 42 people are killed in a shooting at a school in Yobe State, Nigeria. ›

2013

A 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. ›

2013

A 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. ›

2006

The Nathu La pass between India and China, sealed during the Sino-Indian War, re-opens for trade after 44 years. ›

2003

The 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. ›

1998

Hong Kong International Airport opens in Chek Lap Kok, Hong Kong, replacing Kai Tak Airport as the city's international airport. ›

1997

The Troubles: In response to the Drumcree dispute, five days of mass protests, riots and gun battles begin in Irish nationalist districts of Northern Ireland. ›

1996

A 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. ›

1995

In the Bosnian War, under the command of General Ratko Mladić, Serbia begins its attack on the Bosnian town of Srebrenica. ›

1989

The 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. ›

1988

The 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. ›

1982

While 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. ›

1975

The Comoros declares independence from France. ›

1967

Nigerian Civil War: Nigerian forces invade Biafra, beginning the war. ›

1966

Malawi becomes a republic, with Hastings Banda as its first President. ›

1964

Malawi declares its independence from the United Kingdom. ›

1962

As a part of Operation Plowshare, the Sedan nuclear test takes place. ›

1962

The Late Late Show, the world's longest-running chat show by the same broadcaster, airs on RTÉ One for the first time. ›

1957

Althea Gibson wins at the Wimbledon Championships, becoming the first black athlete to do so. ›

1957

John Lennon and Paul McCartney meet for the first time, as teenagers at Woolton Fete, three years before forming the Beatles. ›

1947

Referendum held in Sylhet to decide its fate in the Partition of India. ›

1947

The AK-47 goes into production in the Soviet Union. ›

1944

Jackie Robinson refuses to move to the back of a bus, leading to his court-martial. ›

1944

The Hartford circus fire, one of America's worst fire disasters, kills approximately 168 people and injures over 700 in Hartford, Connecticut. ›

1942

Anne Frank and her family go into hiding in the "Secret Annexe" above her father's office in an Amsterdam warehouse. ›

1940

Story Bridge, a major landmark in Brisbane, as well as Australia's longest cantilever bridge is formally opened. ›

1939

Anti-Jewish legislation in prewar Nazi Germany closes the last remaining Jewish enterprises. ›

1937

Spanish Civil War: Battle of Brunete: The battle begins with Spanish Republican troops going on the offensive against the Nationalists to relieve pressure on Madrid. ›

1936

A 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. ›

1933

The first Major League Baseball All-Star Game is played in Chicago's Comiskey Park. The American League defeated the National League 4–2. ›

1919

The British dirigible R34 lands in New York, completing the first crossing of the Atlantic Ocean by an airship. ›

1918

The Left SR uprising in Russia starts with the assassination of German ambassador Wilhelm von Mirbach by Cheka members. ›

1917

World 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. ›

1892

Three thousand eight hundred striking steelworkers engage in a day-long battle with Pinkerton agents during the Homestead Strike, leaving ten dead and dozens wounded. ›

1887

David 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. ›

1885

Louis Pasteur successfully tests his vaccine against rabies on Joseph Meister, a boy who was bitten by a rabid dog. ›

1854

The Republican Party of the United States held its first convention in Jackson, Michigan. ›

1809

The second day of the Battle of Wagram; France defeats the Austrian army in the largest battle to date of the Napoleonic Wars. ›

1801

First Battle of Algeciras: Outnumbered French Navy ships defeat the Royal Navy in the fortified Spanish port of Algeciras. ›

1791

At Padua, the Emperor Leopold II calls on the monarchs of Europe to join him in demanding the king of France Louis XVI's freedom. ›

1779

Battle of Grenada: The French defeat British naval forces in the Caribbean during the American Revolutionary War. ›

1777

American Revolutionary War: Siege of Fort Ticonderoga: After a bombardment by British artillery under General John Burgoyne, American forces retreat from Fort Ticonderoga, New York. ›

1751

Pope Benedict XIV suppresses the Patriarchate of Aquileia and establishes from its territory the Archdiocese of Udine and Gorizia. ›

1685

Battle of Sedgemoor: Last battle of the Monmouth Rebellion. Troops of King James II defeat troops of James Scott, 1st Duke of Monmouth. ›

1630

Thirty Years' War: Four thousand Swedish troops under Gustavus Adolphus land in Pomerania, Germany. ›

1614

Raid 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. ›

1573

Córdoba, Argentina, is founded by Jerónimo Luis de Cabrera. ›

1573

French Wars of Religion: Siege of La Rochelle ends. ›

1560

The Treaty of Edinburgh is signed by Scotland and England. ›

1557

King 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. ›

1536

Thomas More is executed after having been condemned on perjured evidence. ›

1536

The 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. ›

1495

First Italian War: Battle of Fornovo: Charles VIII defeats the Holy League. ›

1484

Portuguese sea captain Diogo Cão finds the mouth of the Congo River. ›

1483

Richard III and Anne Neville are crowned King and Queen of England. ›

1439

The reunion of the Catholic and Orthodox Church is proclaimed and celebrated with a public holiday. ›

1438

A temporary compromise between the rebellious Transylvanian peasants and the noblemen is signed in Kolozsmonostor Abbey. ›

1415

Jan Hus is condemned by the assembly of the council in the Konstanz Cathedral as a heretic and sentenced to be burned at the stake. ›

1411

Ming 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. ›

1348

Pope Clement VI issues a papal bull protecting the Jews accused of having caused the Black Death. ›

1253

Mindaugas is crowned King of Lithuania. ›

640

Battle of Heliopolis: The Muslim Arab army under 'Amr ibn al-'As defeat the Byzantine forces near Heliopolis (Egypt). ›

83 BC

The Temple of Jupiter on the Capitoline Hill in Rome is burned down and the Sibylline books of prophecy destroyed with it. ›

371 BC

The Battle of Leuctra shatters Sparta's reputation of military invincibility. ›