What happened today in history
What happened on April 6
On April 6 history recorded 62 notable events. 160 people who left a mark were born on this day, and 119 died. Here is the full almanac.
- 62events
- 160births
- 119deaths
- 16observances
Highlights
Highlights
Dutch sailor Jan van Riebeeck landed at Table Bay in southern Africa, establishing a settlement that later became known as Cape Town.
Johan Anthoniszoon van Riebeeck was a Dutch merchant and colonial administrator who served as the first Commander of the Cape from 1652 to 1662.
A group of 23 slaves in New York City revolted, setting fire to a building, but were soon recaptured.
The New York Slave Revolt of 1712 was an uprising in New York City, in the Province of New York, of 23 black enslaved people. The population of New York consisted of a low 6,000–8,000 people in which 1,000 of them were slaves. They killed nine white people and
American Revolutionary War: Ships of the Continental Navy unsuccessfully attempted to capture HMS Glasgow near Block Island.
The American Revolutionary War, also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence or simply the American Revolution, was the armed conflict that comprised the final eight years of the broader American Revolution, in which American Patriot for
April 6
On this day
I century BC
- 46 BC
46 BCJulius Caesar defeats Caecilius Metellus Scipio and Marcus Porcius Cato (Cato the Younger) at the Battle of Thapsus.
V century
X century
XIV century
XV century
XVI century
XVII century
XVIII century
- 1712
1712The New York Slave Revolt of 1712 begins near Broadway. - 1776
1776American Revolutionary War: Ships of the Continental Navy fail in their attempt to capture a Royal Navy dispatch boat. - 1782
1782King Buddha Yodfa Chulaloke (Rama I) of Siam (modern day Thailand) establishes the Chakri dynasty. - 1793
1793During the French Revolution, the Committee of Public Safety becomes the executive organ of the republic. - 1800
1800The 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.)
XIX century
- 1808
1808John Jacob Astor incorporates the American Fur Company, that would eventually make him America's first millionaire. - 1812
1812British 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
1814Nominal beginning of the Bourbon Restoration; anniversary date that Napoleon abdicates and is exiled to Elba. - 1830
1830Church 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. - 1841
1841U.S. President John Tyler is sworn in, two days after having become president upon William Henry Harrison's death. - 1860
1860The 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. - 1862
1862American 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
1865American 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
1866The 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
1896In 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.
XX century
- 1909
1909Robert 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. - 1911
1911During 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). - 1917
1917World War I: The United States declares war on Germany. - 1918
1918Finnish Civil War: The battle of Tampere ends. - 1926
1926Varney Airlines makes its first commercial flight (Varney is the root company of United Airlines). - 1929
1929Huey P. Long, Governor of Louisiana, is impeached by the Louisiana House of Representatives. - 1930
1930At 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." - 1936
1936Tupelo–Gainesville tornado outbreak: Another tornado from the same storm system as the Tupelo tornado hits Gainesville, Georgia, killing 203. - 1941
1941World War II: Nazi Germany launches Operation 25 (the invasion of Kingdom of Yugoslavia) and Operation Marita (the invasion of Greece). - 1945
1945World War II: Sarajevo is liberated from German and Croatian forces by the Yugoslav Partisans. - 1945
1945World War II: The Battle of Slater's Knoll on Bougainville comes to an end. - 1947
1947The first Tony Awards are presented for theatrical achievement. - 1948
1948The Finno-Soviet Treaty is signed in Moscow. - 1957
1957The flag carrier airline of Greece for decades, Olympic Airways, is founded by Aristotle Onassis following the acquisition of "TAE - Greek National Airlines". - 1958
1958Capital Airlines Flight 67 crashes in Tittabawassee Township, Michigan, near Freeland Tri-City Airport, killing 47. - 1965
1965Launch of Early Bird, the first commercial communications satellite to be placed in geosynchronous orbit. - 1968
1968In the downtown district of Richmond, Indiana, a double explosion kills 41 and injures 150. - 1968
1968Pierre Elliott Trudeau wins the Liberal Party leadership election, and becomes Prime Minister of Canada soon afterward. - 1970
1970Newhall massacre: Four California Highway Patrol officers are killed in a shootout. - 1972
1972Vietnam War: Easter Offensive: American forces begin sustained air strikes and naval bombardments. - 1973
1973Launch of Pioneer 11 spacecraft. - 1973
1973The American League of Major League Baseball begins using the designated hitter. - 1974
1974In Brighton, United Kingdom, ABBA wins the 1974 edition of the Eurovision Song Contest with "Waterloo", the first of a joint-record seven Swedish wins. - 1974
1974The 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
1984Members of Cameroon's Republican Guard unsuccessfully attempt to overthrow the government headed by Paul Biya. - 1985
1985Sudanese President Gaafar Nimeiry is ousted from power in a coup d'état led by Field Marshal Abdel Rahman Swar al-Dahab. - 1992
1992The Bosnian War begins. - 1994
1994The Rwandan genocide begins when the aircraft carrying Rwandan president Juvénal Habyarimana and Burundian president Cyprien Ntaryamira is shot down. - 1997
1997In Greene County, Tennessee, the Lillelid murders occur. - 1998
1998Nuclear weapons testing: Pakistan tests medium-range missiles capable of reaching India.
XXI century
- 2004
2004Rolandas Paksas becomes the first president of Lithuania to be peacefully removed from office by impeachment. - 2005
2005Kurdish leader Jalal Talabani becomes Iraqi president; Shiite Arab Ibrahim al-Jaafari is named premier the next day. - 2008
2008The 2008 Egyptian general strike starts led by Egyptian workers later to be adopted by April 6 Youth Movement and Egyptian activists. - 2009
2009A 6.3 magnitude earthquake strikes near L'Aquila, Italy, killing 307. - 2010
2010Maoist rebels kill 76 CRPF officers in Dantewada district, India. - 2011
2011In San Fernando, Tamaulipas, Mexico, over 193 victims of Los Zetas were exhumed from several mass graves. - 2012
2012Azawad declares itself independent from the Republic of Mali. - 2017
2017U.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
2018A bus carrying the Humboldt Broncos junior ice hockey team collides with a semi-truck in Saskatchewan, Canada, killing 16 people and injuring 13 others. - 2026
2026The 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.
Best known
Born on April 6
Homero Aridjis
Mexican writer, activist, journalist, and ambassador (born 1940)
Pedro Armendáriz Jr.
Mexican actor
Angeliki Laiou
Greek-American byzantinist and politician
Don Prudhomme
NHRA champion drag race driver (born 1941)
Barry Levinson
American filmmaker (born 1942)
Anita Pallenberg
German actress, artist and model
Best known
Died on April 6
Cyril and Methodius
9th-century Byzantine Christian theologians and missionaries
Nasr II
Emir of the Samanids from 914 to 943
Frederick II of Swabia
Hohenstaufen Duke of Swabia
Richard I of England
King of England from 1189 to 1199
William Marshal, 2nd Earl of Pembroke
English noble
Peter of Verona
Italian Roman Catholic priest
Holidays and observances
- Chakri Day, commemorating the establishment of the Chakri dynasty. (Thailand)
- Christian feast day: Albrecht Dürer and Lucas Cranach (Lutheran Church).
- Christian feast day: Brychan
- Christian feast day: Eutychius of Constantinople
- Christian feast day: Galla of Rome
- Christian feast day: Marcellinus of Carthage
- Christian feast day: Notker the Stammerer
- Christian feast day: Blessed Pierina Morosini
- Christian feast day: Pope Sixtus I
- Christian feast day: April 6 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
- International Day of Sport for Development and Peace
- National Fisherman Day (Indonesia)
- New Beer's Eve (United States)
- Tartan Day (United States & Canada)
Frequently asked questions
What happened on April 6?
62 documented historical events happened on April 6, from antiquity to the present day. The best known is this: Dutch sailor Jan van Riebeeck landed at Table Bay in southern Africa, establishing a settlement that later became known as Cape Town. On the same day, in another year: A group of 23 slaves in New York City revolted, setting fire to a building, but were soon recaptured. On Almanaccolo every event is listed in chronological order, grouped by century, and links to the Wikipedia article it comes from, so you can always read further or check the source. Alongside the events you find who was born and who died on this date, and which observances are celebrated around the world.
Who was born on April 6?
160 people with a Wikipedia article were born on April 6, including Homero Aridjis, Pedro Armendáriz Jr., Angeliki Laiou. The list spans every era and every field — art, science, politics, sport, entertainment — ordered by year of birth, from the earliest to the most recent. The six featured people are those most has been written about: the ordering uses the length of their Wikipedia article as an indicator of prominence. For each one you find their occupation, year of birth and a link to the full biography.
Who died on April 6?
119 people with a Wikipedia article died on April 6, including Cyril and Methodius, Nasr II, Frederick II of Swabia. The list is in chronological order by year of death and spans all of documented history, from antiquity to the present day. For each person you find their occupation, the year and a link to the Wikipedia biography, where the full story and its sources can be read.
What is celebrated on April 6?
16 observances are celebrated on April 6 around the world: Chakri Day, commemorating the establishment of the Chakri dynasty. (Thailand), Christian feast day: Albrecht Dürer and Lucas Cranach (Lutheran Church)., Christian feast day: Brychan, Christian feast day: Eutychius of Constantinople, Christian feast day: Galla of Rome, Christian feast day: Marcellinus of Carthage. The list gathers national holidays, international days and religious or civil observances falling on this date in different countries, as recorded on Wikipedia. Some are fixed and recur on the same day every year; others depend on the local calendar. Each links to the article explaining its origin and meaning.
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Source: Wikipedia · Calendar