Did you know
Artemis II was launched using the Space Launch System, a heavy-lift rocket developed by NASA.
April 6 in History
2026 — The crew of Artemis II makes the first crewed circumlunar flight since Apollo 17 in 1972, returning humanity to the Moon's vicinity and breaking Apollo 13's record by ~4,000 miles as the furthest crewed spaceflight
April 6 spans 62 recorded events across recorded history, from 46 BC to 2026. Below is a curated digest of the most significant moments tied to this date.
By thisDay.info Editorial Team · — Wikipedia
Historical Events
62 events
46 BC – 2026
Today in history
More major events on April 6
The featured story and these ranked highlights form a quick summary. Every recorded event remains available in the chronology below.
Did you know
The Orion spacecraft used in the Artemis II mission was crewed by a four-person team who named their vessel Integrity.
Did you know
NASA's Artemis program aims to establish a sustainable human presence on the lunar surface by the end of the 2020s.
Did you know
The success of Artemis II paved the way for future crewed missions to the Moon, including the planned Artemis III lunar landing.
Did you know
The Artemis II crew broke the record for the furthest crewed spaceflight, previously held by the Apollo 13 mission in 1970.
-46
Julius Caesar defeats Caecilius Metellus Scipio and Marcus Porcius Cato (Cato the Younger) at the Battle of Thapsus.
Roman general and dictator (100–44 BC)
402
Stilicho defeats the Visigoths under Alaric in the Battle of Pollentia.
Roman army general (c. 359 – 408)
1320
The Scots reaffirm their independence by signing the Declaration of Arbroath.
1320 letter to Pope John XXII affirming Scottish independence from England
1453
Mehmed II begins his siege of Constantinople.
The city falls on May 29 and is renamed Istanbul.
1580
One of the largest earthquakes recorded in the history of England, Flanders, or Northern France, takes place.
Magnitude 5 earthquake affecting England and France
1652
At the Cape of Good Hope, Dutch sailor Jan van Riebeeck establishes a resupply camp that eventually becomes Cape Town.
Headland of Cape Peninsula, South Africa
1712
The New York Slave Revolt of 1712 begins near Broadway.
Slave rebellion in New York City
1776
American Revolutionary War: Ships of the Continental Navy fail in their attempt to capture a Royal Navy dispatch boat.
1775–1783 conflict in North America
1782
King Buddha Yodfa Chulaloke (Rama I) of Siam (modern day Thailand) establishes the Chakri dynasty.
King of Siam from 1782 to 1809
1793
During the French Revolution, the Committee of Public Safety becomes the executive organ of the republic.
1789–1799 sociopolitical change in France
1800
The Treaty of Constantinople establishes the Septinsular Republic, the first autonomous Greek state since the Fall of the Byzantine Empire.
(Under the Old Style calendar then still in use in the Ottoman Empire, the treaty was signed on 21 March.)
1808
John Jacob Astor incorporates the American Fur Company, that would eventually make him America's first millionaire.
German-born American businessman (1763–1848)
1812
British forces under the command of the Duke of Wellington assault the fortress of Badajoz.
This would be the turning point in the Peninsular War against Napoleon-led France.
1814
Nominal beginning of the Bourbon Restoration; anniversary date that Napoleon abdicates and is exiled to Elba.
Part of French history (1815–1830)
1830
Church of Christ, the original church of the Latter Day Saint movement, is organized by Joseph Smith and others at either Fayette or Manchester, New York.
Original name of the Latter Day Saint church founded by Joseph Smith in the 1820s
1841
U.S.
President John Tyler is sworn in, two days after having become president upon William Henry Harrison's death.
1860
The Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, later renamed Community of Christ, is organized by Joseph Smith III and others at Amboy, Illinois.
Christian denomination within the Latter-day Saint movement
1862
American Civil War: The Battle of Shiloh begins: In Tennessee, forces under Union General Ulysses S.
Grant meet Confederate troops led by General Albert Sidney Johnston.
1865
American Civil War: The Battle of Sailor's Creek: Confederate General Robert E.
Lee's Army of Northern Virginia fights and loses its last major battle while in retreat from Richmond, Virginia, during the Appomattox Campaign.
1866
The Grand Army of the Republic, an American patriotic organization composed of Union veterans of the American Civil War, is founded.
It lasts until 1956.
1896
In Athens, the opening of the first modern Olympic Games is celebrated, 1,500 years after the original games are banned by Roman emperor Theodosius I.
Capital and largest city of Greece
1909
Robert Peary and Matthew Henson become the first people to reach the North Pole; Peary's claim has been disputed because of failings in his navigational ability.
American explorer (1856–1920)
1911
During the Battle of Deçiq, Dedë Gjon Luli Dedvukaj, leader of the Malësori Albanians, raises the Albanian flag in the town of Tuzi, Montenegro, for the first time after George Kastrioti (Skanderbeg).
Battle of the Albanian Revolt of 1911
1917
World War I: The United States declares war on Germany.
Global conflict from 1914 to 1918
1926
Varney Airlines makes its first commercial flight (Varney is the root company of United Airlines).
American domestic airline based in Boise, Idaho (1926–34)
1929
Huey P.
Long, Governor of Louisiana, is impeached by the Louisiana House of Representatives.
1930
At the end of the Salt March, Gandhi raises a lump of mud and salt and declares, "With this, I am shaking the foundations of the British Empire."
1930 Indian protest led by Mahatma Gandhi
1936
Tupelo–Gainesville tornado outbreak: Another tornado from the same storm system as the Tupelo tornado hits Gainesville, Georgia, killing 203.
Tornadoes that struck the United States
1941
World War II: Nazi Germany launches Operation 25 (the invasion of Kingdom of Yugoslavia) and Operation Marita (the invasion of Greece).
Global conflict (1939–1945)
1945
World War II: Sarajevo is liberated from German and Croatian forces by the Yugoslav Partisans.
Capital and largest city of Bosnia and Herzegovina
1945
World War II: The Battle of Slater's Knoll on Bougainville comes to an end.
1945 battle between Australia and Japan
1947
The first Tony Awards are presented for theatrical achievement.
Annual awards for Broadway theatre
1948
The Finno-Soviet Treaty is signed in Moscow.
1948 treaty between Finland and the Soviet Union
1957
The flag carrier airline of Greece for decades, Olympic Airways, is founded by Aristotle Onassis following the acquisition of "TAE - Greek National Airlines".
Country in Southeastern Europe
1958
Capital Airlines Flight 67 crashes in Tittabawassee Township, Michigan, near Freeland Tri-City Airport, killing 47.
1958 plane crash in Michigan, United States
1965
Launch of Early Bird, the first commercial communications satellite to be placed in geosynchronous orbit.
American commercial communications satellite launched in 1965
1968
In the downtown district of Richmond, Indiana, a double explosion kills 41 and injures 150.
City in Indiana, United States
1968
Pierre Elliott Trudeau wins the Liberal Party leadership election, and becomes Prime Minister of Canada soon afterward.
Prime Minister of Canada (1968–1979; 1980–1984)
1970
Newhall massacre: Four California Highway Patrol officers are killed in a shootout.
Shootout near Santa Clarita, California
1972
Vietnam War: Easter Offensive: American forces begin sustained air strikes and naval bombardments.
1955–1975 war in Southeast Asia
1973
The American League of Major League Baseball begins using the designated hitter.
League within Major League Baseball
1974
In Brighton, United Kingdom, ABBA wins the 1974 edition of the Eurovision Song Contest with "Waterloo", the first of a joint-record seven Swedish wins.
Seaside resort on the south coast of England
1974
The first California Jam festival takes place at the Ontario Motor Speedway in Ontario, California.
Co-headlined by Deep Purple and Emerson, Lake & Palmer. The festival set what were then records for the loudest amplification system ever installed, the highest paid attendance, and highest gross in history.
1984
Members of Cameroon's Republican Guard unsuccessfully attempt to overthrow the government headed by Paul Biya.
Country in Central Africa
1985
Sudanese President Gaafar Nimeiry is ousted from power in a coup d'état led by Field Marshal Abdel Rahman Swar al-Dahab.
Sudanese president and military officer (1931–2009)
1994
The Rwandan genocide begins when the aircraft carrying Rwandan president Juvénal Habyarimana and Burundian president Cyprien Ntaryamira is shot down.
Mass murder campaign in Rwanda
1997
In Greene County, Tennessee, the Lillelid murders occur.
1997 mass shooting in Tennessee, U.S.
1998
Nuclear weapons testing: Pakistan tests medium-range missiles capable of reaching India.
Controlled detonation of nuclear weapons for scientific or political purposes
2004
Rolandas Paksas becomes the first president of Lithuania to be peacefully removed from office by impeachment.
Lithuanian politician; President from 2003 until impeached in 2004
2005
Kurdish leader Jalal Talabani becomes Iraqi president; Shiite Arab Ibrahim al-Jaafari is named premier the next day.
President of Iraq from 2006 to 2014
2008
The 2008 Egyptian general strike starts led by Egyptian workers later to be adopted by April 6 Youth Movement and Egyptian activists.
Strike by Egyptian textile workers due to low wages and high food costs
2009
A 6.3 magnitude earthquake strikes near L'Aquila, Italy, killing 307.
Earthquake in Abruzzo, Italy
2010
Maoist rebels kill 76 CRPF officers in Dantewada district, India.
Ambush of law enforcement by Naxalite-Maoist insurgents in Chhattisgarh, India
2011
In San Fernando, Tamaulipas, Mexico, over 193 victims of Los Zetas were exhumed from several mass graves.
City and municipality in Tamaulipas, Mexico
2012
Azawad declares itself independent from the Republic of Mali.
Tuareg name for a territory in northern Mali
2017
U.S.
military launches 59 Tomahawk cruise missiles at an air base in Syria. Russia describes the strikes as an "aggression", adding they significantly damage US-Russia ties.
2018
A bus carrying the Humboldt Broncos junior ice hockey team collides with a semi-truck in Saskatchewan, Canada, killing 16 people and injuring 13 others.
Junior ice hockey team from Humboldt, Canada