Today September 6th 2009 this day in history Read more below to view events, deaths, births, Holidays observances and video clips. Last database updated: Jan 17th, 2009
Events
3114 BC – According to the proleptic Julian calendar the current era in the Maya Long Count Calendar started.
394 – Battle of the Frigidus: The Christian Roman Emperor Theodosius I defeats and kills the pagan usurper Eugenius and his Frankish magister militum Arbogast.
1492 – Christopher Columbus sails from La Gomera in the Canary Islands, his final port of call before crossing the Atlantic for the first time.
1522 – The Victoria, one of the surviving ships of Ferdinand Magellan s expedition, returns to Sanlúcar de Barrameda in Spain, becoming the first ship to circumnavigate the world.
1620 – The Pilgrims sail from Plymouth, England, on the Mayflower to settle in North America. (Old Style date; September 16 per New Style date.)
1628 – Puritans settle Salem, which will later become part of Massachusetts Bay Colony.
1669 – The siege of Candia ends with the Venetian fortress surrendering to the Ottomans.
1776 – Hurricane hits Guadeloupe, killing more than 6000.
1781 – The Battle of Groton Heights takes place, resulting a British victory.
1847 – Henry David Thoreau leaves Walden Pond and moves in with Ralph Waldo Emerson and his family in Concord, Massachusetts.
1861 – American Civil War: Forces under Union General Ulysses S. Grant bloodlessly capture Paducah, Kentucky, which gives the Union control of the mouth of the Tennessee River.
1863 – American Civil War: Confederates evacuate Battery Wagner and Morris Island in South Carolina.
1870 – Louisa Ann Swain of Laramie, Wyoming becomes the first woman in the United States to cast a vote legally after 1807.
1885 – Eastern Rumelia declares its union with Bulgaria. The Unification of Bulgaria is accomplished.
1888 – Charles Turner becomes the first bowler to take 250 wickets in an English season – a feat since accomplished only by Tom Richardson (twice), J.T. Hearne, Wilfred Rhodes (twice) and Tich Freeman (six times).
1901 – Anarchist Leon Czolgosz shoots and fatally wounds US President William McKinley at the Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo, New York.
1930 – Democratically elected Argentine president Hipólito Yrigoyen is deposed in a military coup.
1937 – Spanish Civil War: The start of the Battle of El Mazuco.
1939 – World War II: The Battle of Barking Creek.
1939 – World War II: South Africa declares war on Germany.
1940 – King Carol II of Romania abdicates and is succeeded by his son Michael.
1944 – World War II: The city of Ypres, Belgium is liberated by allied forces.
1948 – Juliana becomes Queen of the Netherlands.
1949 – Allied military authorities relinquish control of former Nazi Germany assets back to German control.
1949 – A former sharpshooter in World War II, Howard Unruh kills 13 neighbors in Camden, New Jersey, with a souvenir Luger to become the first U.S. single-episode mass murderer.
1952 – Canada s first television station, CBFT-TV, opens in Montreal.
1955 – Istanbul Pogrom: Istanbul s Greek and Armenian minority are the target of a government-sponsored pogrom.
1963 – The Centre for International Industrial Property Studies (CEIPI) is founded.
1965 – War of 1965: India retaliates following Pakistan s failed Operation Grand Slam which resulted in the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965 that was ended following the signing of the Tashkent Declaration.
1966 – In Cape Town, South Africa, the architect of Apartheid, Prime Minister Hendrik Verwoerd, is stabbed to death during a parliamentary meeting.
1968 – Swaziland becomes independent.
1970 – Two passenger jets bound from Europe to New York are simultaneously hijacked by Palestinian terrorist members of PFLP and taken to Dawson s Field in Jordan.
1976 – Cold War: Soviet air force pilot Lt. Viktor Belenko lands a MiG-25 jet fighter at Hakodate on the island of Hokkaido in Japan and requests political asylum in the United States.
1983 – The Soviet Union admits to shooting down Korean Air Flight KAL-007, stating that the pilots did not know it was a civilian aircraft when it violated Soviet airspace.
1985 – Midwest Express Airlines Flight 105, a Douglas DC-9 crashes just after takeoff from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, killing 31.
1986 – In Istanbul, two terrorists from Abu Nidal s organization kill 22 and wound six inside the Neve Shalom synagogue during Shabbat services.
1991 – The Soviet Union recognizes the independence of the Baltic states: Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.
1991 – The name Saint Petersburg is restored to Russia s second largest city, which had been renamed Leningrad in 1924.
1992 – Hunters discover the emaciated body of Christopher Johnson McCandless at his camp 20 miles west of the town of Healy, Alaska.
1995 – Cal Ripken Jr of the Baltimore Orioles plays in his 2,131st consecutive game, breaking a record that stood for 56 years.
1997 – Diana, Princess of Wales is laid to rest in front of a television audience of more than 2.5 billion.
Births
1535 – Emanuel van Meteren, Flemish historian (d. 1612)
1620 – Isabella Leonarda, Italian composer (d. 1704)
1656 – Guillaume Dubois, French cardinal and statesman (d. 1723)
1666 – Tsar Ivan V of Russia (d. 1696)
1711 – Henry Muhlenberg, German-born founder of the U.S. Lutheran Church (d. 1787)
1732 – Johan Wilcke, Swedish physicist (d. 1796)
1729 – Moses Mendelssohn, German philosopher (d. 1786)
1757 – Marquis de Lafayette, French soldier and statesman (d. 1834)
1766 – John Dalton, British chemist and physicist (d. 1844)
1781 – Anton Diabelli, Austrian music publisher and composer (d. 1858)
1795 – Frances Wright, English writer and lecturer (d. 1852)
1800 – Catharine Beecher, American educator (d. 1878)
1802 – Alcide d Orbigny, French naturalist (d. 1857)
1808 – Abd al-Qadir, Algerian political and military leader (d. 1883)
1814 – George-Étienne Cartier, Canadian politician (d. 1873)
1815 – St. John Richardson Liddell, American Civil War Confederate General (d. 1870)
1817 – Alexander Tilloch Galt, Canadian politician (d. 1893)
1829 – Marie Zakrzewska, Polish physician (d. 1902)
1838 – Samuel Arnold, Lincoln conspirator (d. 1906)
1857 – Zelia Nuttall, American archeologist and historian (d. 1933)
1860 – Jane Addams, American social worker, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize (d. 1935)
1868 – Heinrich Häberlin, Swiss Federal Councilor (d. 1947)
1869 – Felix Salten, Austrian author (d. 1945)
1876 – John James Richard Macleod, Scottish-born physician and physiologist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1935)
1877 – Buddy Bolden, American musician (d. 1930)
1879 – Joseph Wirth, Chancellor of Germany (d. 1956)
1879 – Max Schreck, German actor (d. 1936)
1888 – Joseph P. Kennedy, Sr., American banker and diplomat (d. 1969)
1890 – Clara Kimball Young, American actress (d. 1960)
1892 – Sir Edward Appleton, English physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1965)
1893 – Claire Chennault, American pilot (d. 1958)
1899 – Billy Rose, American composer (d. 1966)
1900 – W.A.C. Bennett, Canadian politician (d. 1979)
1900 – Julien Green, French-born American novelist (d. 1998)
1904 – Max Rosenbloom, American boxer (d. 1976)
1906 – Luis Federico Leloir, French-born chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1987)
1909 – Michael Gordon, American actor and director (b. 1993)
1910 – Walter Giesler, American soccer coach, (d. 1976)
1911 – Harry Danning, American baseball player (d. 2004)
1915 – Franz Josef Strauß, German Politician (d. 1988)
1917 – Philipp von Boeselager, German Wehrmacht officer, failed assassin of Adolf Hitler (d. 2008)
1917 – George Mann, England cricketer (d. 2001)
1919 – Wilson Greatbatch, American Inventor
1921 – Carmen Laforet, Spanish author (d. 2004)
1923 – King Peter II of Yugoslavia (d. 1970)
1925 – Jimmy Reed, American blues singer (d. 1976)
1926 – Maurice Prather, American motion picture and still photographer (d. 2001)
1926 – Claus von Amsberg, Prince Consort of the Netherlands (d. 2002)
1928 – Robert M. Pirsig, American author
1928 – Evgeny Svetlanov, Russian conductor and composer (d. 2002)
1929 – Yash Johar, Indian film producer (d. 2005)
1937 – Sergio Aragonés, Spanish-born illustrator
1937 – Brigid Berlin, American actor
1937 – Jo Anne Worley, American actress
1939 – Susumu Tonegawa, Japanese molecular biologist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine
1939 – Dan Cragg, American soldier and author
1939 – David Allan Coe, American country singer
1942 – Richard Hutton, England cricketer
1942 – Carol Wayne, American actress
1943 – Richard J. Roberts, English biochemist and molecular biologist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine
1943 – Roger Waters, British musician (Pink Floyd)
1944 – Swoosie Kurtz, American actress
1945 – Larry Lucchino, American baseball executive
1947 – Jane Curtin, American actress
1947 – Bruce Rioch, Scottish footballer and coach
1947 – Sylvester James, American singer
1948 – Claydes Charles Smith, American musician (Kool & the Gang) (d. 2006)
1954 – Ève Luquet, French stamp designer
1954 – Carly Fiorina, Former CEO of Hewlett-Packard
1956 – Bill Ritter, American politician
1957 – Michaëlle Jean, 27th Governor-General of Canada
1957 – José Sócrates, Prime Minister of Portugal
1957 – Tim Whitnall, English actor and narrator
1958 – Jeff Foxworthy, American comedian
1958 – Michael Winslow, American actor and comedian
1958 – Buster Bloodvessel, British singer
1958 – Nigel Westlake, Australian musician and composer
1961 – Scott Travis, American musician (Judas Priest)
1961 – Paul Waaktaar-Savoy, Norwegian musician (a-ha)
1961 – Simon Reeve, Australian journalist
1962 – Kevin Willis, American basketball player
1962 – Elizabeth Vargas, American journalist
1963 – Alice Sebold, American novelist
1963 – Geert Wilders, Dutch politician
1963 – Bryan Simonaire, American politician
1963 – Pat Nevin, Scottish footballer
1964 – Rosie Perez, American actress
1965 – John Polson, Australian actor and film director
1968 – Saeed Anwar, Pakistani cricketer
1968 – Paul Rea, American television journalist
1968 – Christopher Brookmyre, Scottish writer
1969 – Ben Finegold, American chess player
1969 – CeCe Peniston, American dance music singer
1969 – Michellie Jones, Australian triathlete
1969 – Michael Davis, American softball player (Solvents, et al)
1970 – Paul Miller, American composer and author
1971 – Devang Gandhi, Indian Cricketer
1971 – Dolores O Riordan, Irish musician (The Cranberries)
1972 – China Miéville, English writer
1972 – Justina Machado, Puerto Rican actress
1972 – Anika Noni Rose, American actress and singer
1972 – Idris Elba, English/American actor
1972 – Dylan Bruno, American actor (Numb3rs)
1973 – Carlo Cudicini, Italian footballer
1973 – Greg Rusedski, Canadian-born tennis player
1974 – Tim Henman, English tennis player
1974 – Sarah Danielle Madison, American actress
1974 – Nina Persson, Swedish musician (The Cardigans)
1974 – Sarah Strange, Canadian actress
1974 – Justin Whalin, American actor
1975 – Derrek Lee, American baseball player
1976 – N.O.R.E., American rapper
1976 – Hyun Young, South Korean actress and pop singer
1976 – Naomie Harris, American actress
1977 – Kiyoshi Hikawa, Japanese enka singer
1978 – Cisco Adler, American singer
1978 – Alex Escobar, Venezuelan baseball player
1978 – Mathew Horne, English Actor
1978 – Tony Thaxton, drummer (Motion City Soundtrack)
1979 – Foxy Brown, American rapper
1979 – Brandon Silvestry, American professional wrestler
1979 – Massimo Maccarone, Italian footballer
1979 – Carlos Adrián Morales, Mexican footballer
1980 – Joseph Yobo, Nigerian footballer
1980 – Yuji Hamano, Japanese archer
1980 – Jillian Hall, American professional wrestler
1980 – Samuel Peter, Nigerian heavyweight boxer
1981 – Yumiko Cheng, Hong Kong singer
1981 – Mark Teahen, American baseball player
1985 – Webbie, American rapper
1985 – Ali Ashfaq, Maldivian footballer
1985 – Alberto Valerio, Brazilian racing driver
1986 – Raven Riley, American porn star
1987 – Ramiele Malubay, American singer
1989 – Nikos Boutzikos, Greek footballer
2000 – Breanna Lynn Bartlett-Stewart, first Kleihauer-Betke stillbirth (d. 2000)
2006 – Prince Hisahito of Akishino, Japan Imperial Family member
Deaths
957 – Liudolf, Duke of Swabia
972 – Pope John XIII
1276 – Vicedomino de Vicedominis, Cardinal-Bishop of Palestrina and dean of the Sacred College of Cardinals (b. ca. 1215)
1511 – Ashikaga Yoshizumi, Japanese shogun (b. 1481)
1536 – William Tyndale, Protestant bible translator (b. c.1494)
1625 – Thomas Dempster, Scottish historian (b. 1579)
1635 – Metius, Dutch mathematician and astronomer (b. 1571)
1649 – Robert Dudley, styled Earl of Warwick, English explorer and geographer (b. 1574)
1683 – Jean-Baptiste Colbert, French minister finance (b. 1619)
1708 – Sir John Morden, English merchant and philanthropist (b. 1623)
1748 – Edmund Gibson, English jurist (b. 1669)
1782 – Martha Wayles Skelton Jefferson, wife of Thomas Jefferson (b. 1748)
1783 – Bertinazzi, Italian actor and writer (b. 1710)
1808 – Louis-Pierre Anquetil, French historian (b. 1723)
1868 – Pierre Adolphe Rost, Louisiana judge, Confederate commissioner (b. 1797)
1902 – Frederick Augustus Abel, English chemist (b. 1827)
1907 – Sully Prudhomme, French writer, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1839)
1938 – John Stuart Hindmarsh, British racing driver and aviator (b. 1907)
1950 – Olaf Stapledon, British writer and philosopher (b. 1886)
1951 – James W. Gerard, American jurist and diplomat (b. 1867)
1952 – Gertrude Lawrence, English actress (b. 1898)
1962 – Hanns Eisler, German-born composer (b. 1898)
1962 – Seiichiro Kashio, Japanese tennis player (b. 1892)
1966 – Margaret Sanger, American birth control activist (b. 1879)
1966 – Hendrik Verwoerd, Prime Minister of South Africa (b. 1901)
1969 – Arthur Friedenreich, Brazilian football player (b. 1892)
1974 – Olga Baclanova, Russian-born actress (b. 1896)
1978 – Tom Wilson, American record producer (b. 1931)
1981 – Christy Brown, Irish author (b. 1932)
1984 – Ernest Tubb, American singer (b. 1914)
1985 – Johnny Desmond, American singer (b. 1919)
1986 – Blanche Sweet, American actress (b. 1895)
1987 – Quinn Martin, American television producer (b. 1922)
1988 – Leroy Brown, professional wrestler (b. 1950)
1990 – Len Hutton, English cricketer (b. 1916)
1990 – Tom Fogerty, American singer (b. 1941)
1991 – Bob Goldham, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1922)
1994 – Nicky Hopkins, British musician (b. 1944)
1997 – P. H. Newby, British author and BBC radio director (b. 1918)
1998 – Akira Kurosawa, Japanese film director (b. 1910)
1999 – René Lecavalier, French Canadian sportscaster (b. 1918)
1999 – Lagumot Harris, Nauruan politician and former President (b. 1938)
2000 – Breanna Lynn Bartlett-Stewart, first Kleihauer-Betke stillbirth (b. 2000)
2001 – Carl Crack, German musician (Atari Teenage Riot) (b. 1971)
2003 – Harry Goz, American actor (b. 1932)
2003 – Mohammad Oraz, Iranian mountain climber (b. 1969)
2005 – Hasan Abidi, Pakistani journalist and Urdu poet (b. 1929)
2007 – Madeleine L Engle, American author (b. 1918)
2007 – Luciano Pavarotti, Italian tenor (b. 1935)
2007 – Alex, African Grey parrot student of Dr. Irene Pepperberg (b. 1976)
2008 – Sören Nordin, Swedish harness racing driver and trainer (b. 1917)
2008 – Anita Page, silent film vixen, last living attendee of the 1st Annual Academy Awards, (b. 1910)
Holidays and observances
RC Saints – Saint Begga of Cumbria; Saint Gondulphus
Also see September 6 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics).
Bulgaria – Unification Day.
Canada – Stillbirth Remembrance Day in New Brunswick, Quebec, Ontario, and Nova Scotia (as of 2006).
Pakistan – Defence Day (Pak-Army Day) Since 1965
Swaziland – Independence Day (from the United Kingdom, 1968).
United States – Stillbirth Remembrance Day in 39 states, in remembrance of Breanna Lynn Bartlett-Stewart
