# What happened on December 6 in history?

**Date:** December 6  
**Events recorded:** 46  
**Years spanned:** 1060 – 2017  
**Full page:** https://thisday.info/events/december/6/

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## Featured Event

**2006** — NASA reveals photographs taken by Mars Global Surveyor suggesting the presence of liquid water on Mars.

[Read more on Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NASA)

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## Events on this date

- **1060** — Béla I is crowned king of Hungary. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/B%C3%A9la_I_of_Hungary))
- **1240** — Mongol invasion of Rus': Kyiv, defended by Voivode Dmytro, falls to the Mongols under Batu Khan. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mongol_invasion_of_Kievan_Rus'))
- **1492** — After exploring the island of Cuba (which he had mistaken for Japan) for gold, Christopher Columbus lands on an island he names Hispaniola. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cuba))
- **1534** — The city of Quito in Ecuador is founded by Spanish settlers led by Sebastián de Belalcázar. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quito))
- **1648** — Pride's Purge removes royalist sympathizers from Parliament so that the High Court of Justice could put the King on trial. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pride's_Purge))
- **1745** — Charles Edward Stuart's army begins retreat during the second Jacobite Rising. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Edward_Stuart))
- **1790** — The U.S. Congress moves from New York City to Philadelphia. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Congress))
- **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. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_Navy))
- **1865** — Georgia ratifies the 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georgia_(U.S._state)))
- **1882** — Transit of Venus, second and last of the 19th century. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1882_transit_of_Venus))
- **1884** — The Washington Monument in Washington, D.C., is completed. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Washington_Monument))
- **1897** — London becomes the world's first city to host licensed taxicabs. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taxi))
- **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. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theodore_Roosevelt))
- **1907** — A coal mine explosion at Monongah, West Virginia, kills 362 workers. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monongah_mining_disaster))
- **1912** — The Nefertiti Bust is discovered. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nefertiti_Bust))
- **1916** — World War I: The Central Powers capture Bucharest. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_War_I))
- **1917** — Finland declares independence from the Russian Empire. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Finnish_Declaration_of_Independence))
- **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. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Halifax_Explosion))
- **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. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Jacob_Jones_(DD-61)))
- **1921** — The Anglo-Irish Treaty is signed in London by British and Irish representatives. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anglo-Irish_Treaty))
- **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. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Partition_of_Ireland))
- **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. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Banana_Massacre))
- **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. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_v._One_Book_Called_Ulysses))
- **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. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Winter_War))
- **1941** — World War II:  Camp X opens in Canada to begin training Allied secret agents for the war. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_War_II))
- **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. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blood_in_the_Water_match))
- **1957** — Project Vanguard: A launchpad explosion of Vanguard TV3 thwarts the first United States attempt to launch a satellite into Earth orbit. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_Vanguard))
- **1967** — Adrian Kantrowitz performs the first human heart transplant in the United States. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adrian_Kantrowitz))
- **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. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Altamont_Free_Concert))
- **1971** — Pakistan severs diplomatic relations with India, initiating the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/India%E2%80%93Pakistan_war_of_1971))
- **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.) ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twenty-fifth_Amendment_to_the_United_States_Constitution))
- **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. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Troubles))
- **1977** — South Africa grants independence to Bophuthatswana, although it is not recognized by any other country. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bophuthatswana))
- **1978** — Spain ratifies the Spanish Constitution of 1978 in a referendum. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constitution_of_Spain))
- **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. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irish_National_Liberation_Army))
- **1989** — The École Polytechnique massacre (or Montreal Massacre): Marc Lépine, an anti-feminist gunman, murders 14 young women at the École Polytechnique in Montreal. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%89cole_Polytechnique_massacre))
- **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. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Italian_Air_Force))
- **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. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yugoslav_Wars))
- **1992** — The Babri Masjid in Ayodhya, India, is demolished, leading to widespread riots causing the death of over 1,500 people. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Babri_Masjid))
- **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. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Food_and_Drug_Administration))
- **1998** — in Venezuela, Hugo Chávez is victorious in presidential elections. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Venezuela))
- **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. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A%26M_Records%2C_Inc._v._Napster%2C_Inc.))
- **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. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Islamic_Republic_of_Iran_Air_Force))
- **2006** — NASA reveals photographs taken by Mars Global Surveyor suggesting the presence of liquid water on Mars. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NASA))
- **2015** — Venezuelan parliamentary election: For the first time in 17 years, the United Socialist Party of Venezuela loses its majority in parliament. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2015_Venezuelan_parliamentary_election))
- **2017** — Donald Trump's administration officially announces the recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Trump))

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## Notable births on December 6

- **1998** — **Angelīna Kučvaļska** — Latvian figure skater ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angel%C4%ABna_Ku%C4%8Dva%C4%BCska))
- **1997** — **Sabrina Ionescu** — American basketball player ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sabrina_Ionescu))
- **1996** — **Davide Calabria** — Italian footballer ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Davide_Calabria))
- **1996** — **Stefanie Scott** — American actress and singer ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stefanie_Scott))
- **1995** — **A Boogie wit da Hoodie** — American rapper and singer-songwriter ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Boogie_wit_da_Hoodie))
- **1994** — **Giannis Antetokounmpo** — Greek-Nigerian basketball player ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giannis_Antetokounmpo))
- **1994** — **Wakatakakage Atsushi** — Japanese sumo wrestler ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wakatakakage_Atsushi))
- **1994** — **Shreyas Iyer** — Indian cricketer ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shreyas_Iyer))
- **1993** — **Jasprit Bumrah** — Indian cricketer ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jasprit_Bumrah))
- **1993** — **Elián González** — Cuban technician, known for a child custody and immigration case held in 2000 ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eli%C3%A1n_Gonz%C3%A1lez))

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## Notable deaths on December 6

- **2024** — **Maggie Tabberer** — Australian fashion model and television personality (born 1936) ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maggie_Tabberer))
- **2016** — **Peter Vaughan** — British actor (born 1923) ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Vaughan))
- **2015** — **Ko Chun-hsiung** — Taiwanese actor, director, and politician (born 1945) ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ko_Chun-hsiung))
- **2015** — **Liu Juying** — Chinese general and politician (born 1917) ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liu_Juying))
- **2015** — **Nicholas Smith** — British actor (born 1934) ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicholas_Smith_(actor)))
- **2014** — **Ralph H. Baer** — German-American video game designer, created the Magnavox Odyssey (born 1922) ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ralph_H._Baer))
- **2014** — **Jimmy Del Ray** — American wrestler and manager (born 1962) ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jimmy_Del_Ray))
- **2014** — **Fred Hawkins** — American golfer (born 1923) ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fred_Hawkins_(golfer)))
- **2014** — **Luke Somers** — English-American photographer and journalist (born 1981) ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luke_Somers))
- **2013** — **Jean-Pierre Desthuilliers** — French poet and critic (born 1939) ([Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean-Pierre_Desthuilliers))

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## About this page

This is a machine-readable Markdown summary of [thisday.info/events/december/6/](https://thisday.info/events/december/6/).  
Historical data is sourced from [Wikipedia/Wikimedia](https://www.wikipedia.org) under [CC BY-SA](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/).  
Editorial framing and site content © thisday.info.