December 6

Historic Events

2017

Donald Trump's administration officially announces the recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. ›

2015

Venezuelan parliamentary election: For the first time in 17 years, the United Socialist Party of Venezuela loses its majority in parliament. ›

2006

NASA reveals photographs taken by Mars Global Surveyor suggesting the presence of liquid water on Mars. ›

2005

An Iranian Air Force C-130 military transport aircraft crashes into a ten-floor apartment building in a residential area of Tehran, killing all 94 on board and 12 more on the ground. ›

1999

A&M Records, Inc. v. Napster, Inc.: The Recording Industry Association of America sues the peer-to-peer file-sharing service Napster, alleging copyright infringement. ›

1998

in Venezuela, Hugo Chávez is victorious in presidential elections. ›

1995

The United States Food and Drug Administration approves Saquinavir, the first protease inhibitor to treat HIV/AIDS. Within 2 years of its approval, annual deaths from AIDS in the United States fall from over 50,000 to approximately 18,000. ›

1992

The Babri Masjid in Ayodhya, India, is demolished, leading to widespread riots causing the death of over 1,500 people. ›

1991

Yugoslav Wars: In Croatia, forces of the Serb-dominated Yugoslav People's Army (JNA) heaviest bombardment of Dubrovnik during a siege of seven months. ›

1990

A military jet of the Italian Air Force, abandoned by its pilot after an on-board fire, crashed into a high school near Bologna, Italy, killing 12 students and injuring 88 other people. ›

1989

The École Polytechnique massacre (or Montreal Massacre): Marc Lépine, an anti-feminist gunman, murders 14 young women at the École Polytechnique in Montreal. ›

1982

The Troubles: The Irish National Liberation Army bombs a pub frequented by British soldiers in Ballykelly, Northern Ireland, killing eleven soldiers and six civilians. ›

1978

Spain ratifies the Spanish Constitution of 1978 in a referendum. ›

1977

South Africa grants independence to Bophuthatswana, although it is not recognized by any other country. ›

1975

The Troubles: Fleeing from the police, a Provisional IRA unit takes a British couple hostage in their flat on Balcombe Street, London, beginning a six-day siege. ›

1973

The Twenty-fifth Amendment: The United States House of Representatives votes 387–35 to confirm Gerald Ford as Vice President of the United States. (On November 27, the Senate confirmed him 92–3.) ›

1971

Pakistan severs diplomatic relations with India, initiating the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971. ›

1969

Altamont Free Concert: At a free concert performed by the Rolling Stones, eighteen-year old Meredith Hunter is stabbed to death by Hells Angels security guards. ›

1967

Adrian Kantrowitz performs the first human heart transplant in the United States. ›

1957

Project Vanguard: A launchpad explosion of Vanguard TV3 thwarts the first United States attempt to launch a satellite into Earth orbit. ›

1956

A violent water polo match between Hungary and the USSR takes place during the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne, against the backdrop of the Hungarian Revolution of 1956. ›

1941

World War II: Camp X opens in Canada to begin training Allied secret agents for the war. ›

1939

Winter War: The Red Army's advance on the Karelian Isthmus is stopped by Finns at the Mannerheim Line during the Battle of Taipale. ›

1933

In United States v. One Book Called Ulysses Judge John M. Woolsey rules that James Joyce's novel Ulysses is not obscene despite coarse language and sexual content, a leading decision affirming free expression. ›

1928

The government of Colombia sends military forces to suppress a month-long strike by United Fruit Company workers, resulting in an unknown number of deaths. ›

1922

Ireland is partitioned, with Northern Ireland and the Irish Free State coming into existence, one year to the day after the signing of the Anglo-Irish Treaty. ›

1921

The Anglo-Irish Treaty is signed in London by British and Irish representatives. ›

1917

Finland declares independence from the Russian Empire. ›

1917

Halifax Explosion: A munitions explosion near Halifax, Nova Scotia kills more than 1,900 people in the largest artificial explosion up to that time. ›

1917

World War I: USS Jacob Jones is the first American destroyer to be sunk by enemy action when it is torpedoed by German submarine SM U-53. ›

1916

World War I: The Central Powers capture Bucharest. ›

1912

The Nefertiti Bust is discovered. ›

1907

A coal mine explosion at Monongah, West Virginia, kills 362 workers. ›

1904

Theodore Roosevelt articulated his "Corollary" to the Monroe Doctrine, stating that the U.S. would intervene in the Western Hemisphere should Latin American governments prove incapable or unstable. ›

1897

London becomes the world's first city to host licensed taxicabs. ›

1884

The Washington Monument in Washington, D.C., is completed. ›

1882

Transit of Venus, second and last of the 19th century. ›

1865

Georgia ratifies the 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. ›

1803

Five French warships attempting to escape the Royal Naval blockade of Saint-Domingue are all seized by British warships, signifying the end of the Haitian Revolution. ›

1790

The U.S. Congress moves from New York City to Philadelphia. ›

1745

Charles Edward Stuart's army begins retreat during the second Jacobite Rising. ›

1648

Pride's Purge removes royalist sympathizers from Parliament so that the High Court of Justice could put the King on trial. ›

1534

The city of Quito in Ecuador is founded by Spanish settlers led by Sebastián de Belalcázar. ›

1492

After exploring the island of Cuba (which he had mistaken for Japan) for gold, Christopher Columbus lands on an island he names Hispaniola. ›

1240

Mongol invasion of Rus': Kyiv, defended by Voivode Dmytro, falls to the Mongols under Batu Khan. ›

1060

Béla I is crowned king of Hungary. ›