May 6
Appearance
May 6is the 126th day of the year (127th inleap years) in theGregorian calendar.There are 239 days remaining until the end of the year.
Events
[change|change source]Up to 1900
[change|change source]- 1191- KingRichard I of Englandlands inCyprusduring theThird Crusade.
- 1527– Spanish and German troops sackRome,in what is seen by some to be the end of theRenaissance.
- 1536- TheSiege of Cuzcostarts, in whichIncanforces attempt to re-take thecityfrom theSpanish.
- 1536-Henry VIII of Englandorders thatEnglish languageBiblesshould be placed in everychurch.
- 1542- St.Francis Xavierreaches OldGoa,capital city of what was then known asPortuguese India.
- 1659- English Restoration: A faction of thearmyremovesRichard Cromwellas Lord Protector and re-instates theRump Parliament.
- 1682– KingLouis XIV of Francemoves into theVersaillesPalace.
- 1757-Battle of Prague:APrussianarmyfights anAustrianarmyinPragueduring theSeven Years' War.
- 1782- Building work begins on the Grand Palace, residence of theKingsofSiam,present-dayThailand,inBangkok.
- 1816- TheAmerican Bible Societyis founded.
- 1835-James Gordon Bennett, Sr.publishes the first issue of theNew York Herald.
- 1840– ThePenny Blackpostage stamp becomes valid in theUnited Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland.
- 1844- TheGlaciarum,the world's first mechanically frozenicerink, opens.
- 1861–Arkansassecedes from theUnion.
- 1861–Richmond, Virginiais chosen as the capital city of theConfederate States of America.
- 1863-American Civil War:TheBattle of Chancellorsvilleends with theConfederatesdefeating theArmy of the Potomac.
- 1882–United States Congresspasses the Chinese Exclusion Act.
- 1889– TheEiffel Toweris opened to the public as the World Exposition inParisbegins.
1901 – 2000
[change|change source]- 1902- BritishshipCarmortasinks in acycloneinBurma'sIrrawaddyDelta, killing all 739 people on board.
- 1910–Edward VII of the United Kingdomdies.George Vsucceeds him as king.
- 1916- 21Lebanesenationalistsare executed in Martyrs' Square,BeirutbyJamal Pasha.
- 1919- The Third Anglo-AfghanWarbegins.
- 1930– Anearthquakein present-dayIrankills 2,500 people.
- 1935- In theUS,theWorks Progress Administrationis created.
- 1937–LZ 129 Hindenburgcatches on fire while landing inNew Jersey,killing 36 people.
- 1940-John Steinbeckis given thePulitzer Prizefor hisnovelThe Grapes of Wrath.
- 1945-World War II:In the last part of the war, thePrague Offensivebegins.
- 1954–Roger Bannisterbecomes the first person to run amilein less than 4 minutes.
- 1954–Alfredo Stroessnercomes to power inParaguay,after leading a military coup againstFederico Chaves.
- 1966– In theUK,Ian BradyandMyra Hindleyare sentenced to life in prison for the Moors murders.
- 1976– AnearthquakeinFriuli,Italykills 989 people and destroys entirevillages.
- 1983– The so-calledHitlerdiaries are found to be a hoax.
- 1991-Timemagazinepublishes an article in whichScientologyis strongly criticized.
- 1994– TheEuro Tunnelbetween theUKandFrance,opens. QueenElizabeth IIof theUnited KingdomandPresident of FranceFrancois Mitterrandjointly open it.
- 1996–CIAdirectorWilliam Colbyis found dead on aMarylandriverbank, eight days after his disappearance.
- 1998–Kazakhstan's PresidentNursultan Nazarbayevmoves his seat ofgovernmentfromAlmatyto Akmola, which is renamedAstana.
- 1999– The first elections to theScottish Parliamentand theWelsh Assemblyare held.
From 2001
[change|change source]- 2001–Dennis Tito,the first space tourist, returns toEarth.
- 2001-Pope John Paul IIbecomes the firstPopeto set foot in aMosque,inDamascus.
- 2002–Marc RavalomananabecomesPresidentofMadagascar.
- 2002– Dutch politicianPim Fortuynis assassinated by an animal rights activist.
- 2002-Jacques Chiracannounces thatJean-Pierre Raffarinwould becomePrime Minister of France.
- 2004- The series finale ofFriendsis shown onNBCin theUnited States,receiving over 52 million viewers.
- 2007–Nicolas Sarkozyis electedPresident of France.
- 2010– TheUnited Kingdom general election, 2010is held. It ends in a hungparliament,where no party has an overall majority. OnMay 11,the Conservatives underDavid Cameronand Liberal Democrats underNick Cleggagree to form a coalitiongovernment.
- 2010-Caroline Lucasbecomes the firstMPfrom theGreen Party of England and Wales.
- 2011– After the previous day's election theScottish National PartyunderAlex Salmondwins an overall majority in theScottish Parliament,with 69 out of the 129 seats.
- 2012–Francois Hollandeis electedPresident of France,asNicolas Sarkozyis voted out of office after one term.
- 2012– TheparliamentaryelectioninGreeceends in an inconclusive result, as both main parties lose votes for supporting austerity measures.
- 2013-Ariel Castro kidnappings:Michelle Knight,Amanda Berry(and her child by Castro), andGina DeJesusare found inAriel Castro's house inCleveland, Ohio,where they had been held captive for around ten years.
- 2023- ThecoronationofCharles IIIis performed atWestminster Abbey.
Births
[change|change source]Up to 1800
[change|change source]- 973-Henry II, Holy Roman Emperor(d.1024)
- 1397-Sejong the GreatofKorea(d.1450)
- 1405–Skanderbeg,national hero ofAlbania(d.1468)
- 1501–Pope Marcellus II(d.1555)
- 1562–Pietro Bernini,Italiansculptor(d.1629)
- 1574–Pope Innocent X(d.1655)
- 1606–Lorenzo Lippi,Italianpoetand painter (d.1665)
- 1680-Jean-Baptiste Stuck,Italian-Frenchcomposerandcellist(d.1755)
- 1713-Charles Batteux,Frenchphilosopher(d.1780)
- 1714-Anton Raaff,Germantenor(d.1797)
- 1758–Maximilien de Robespierre,French revolutionary (d.1794)
- 1758–André Masséna,French soldier (d.1817)
- 1769–Ferdinand III, Grand Duke of Tuscany(d.1824)
- 1769-Jean Nicolas Pierre Hachette,Frenchmathematician(d.1834)
- 1792-Georg Ohm,Germanmathematician(d.1872)
- 1797–Joseph Brackett,American religious leader and composer (d.1882)
- 1800-Roman Sanguszko,Polisharistocratandgeneral(d.1881)
1801 – 1900
[change|change source]- 1801-José Joaquín Pérez,President of Chile(d.1889)
- 1820–Robert O'Hara Burke,explorer ofAustralia(d.1861)
- 1851-Arisitide Bruant,French singer and composer (d.1925)
- 1853-Philander C. Knox,American politician (d.1921)
- 1856–Sigmund Freud,Austrian psychiatrist (d.1939)
- 1856–Robert Peary,AmericanArcticexplorer (d.1920)
- 1861–Motilal Nehru,Indian politician (d.1931)
- 1864-Eugenio Tosi,ArchbishopofMilan(d.1929)
- 1866–Jóannes Patursson,Faroesepoetandpolitician(d.1946)
- 1868–TsarNicholas II of Russia(d.1918),May 18inGregorian calendar
- 1868–Gaston Leroux,French writer (d.1927)
- 1870-Walter Rutherford,Scottishgolfer(d.1936)
- 1871–Victor Grignard,French chemist,Nobel Prizelaureate (d.1935)
- 1871–Christian Morgenstern,German writer (d.1914)
- 1872-Willem de Sitter,Dutchmathematician,physicistandastronomer(d.1934)
- 1872-Djemal Pasha,Ottoman Empirepolitician (d.1922)
- 1879–Bedřich Hrozný,Czech orientalist and linguist (d.1952)
- 1880–Ernst Ludwig Kirchner,German painter (d.1938)
- 1882–Crown Prince Wilhelm of Germany,heir of KaiserWilhelm II(d.1951)
- 1889-Lyubov Popova,Russian artist and designer (d.1924)
- 1895–Rudolph Valentino,Italian-American actor (d.1926)
- 1899-Billy Cotton,Englishbandleader(d.1969)
1901 – 1950
[change|change source]- 1902–Max Ophüls,director (d.1957)
- 1902–Harry Golden,American journalist (d.1981)
- 1904–Moshe Feldenkrais,founder of theFeldenkrais method(d.1984)
- 1904–Harry Martinson,Swedish writer (d.1978)
- 1906–André Weil,Frenchmathematician(d.1998)
- 1913–Stewart Granger,British actor (d.1993)
- 1915–Orson Welles,American director (d.1985)
- 1915–Theodore H. White,writer (d.1986)
- 1916-Robert H. Dicke,Americanphysicist(d.1997)
- 1917–Jilly Rizzo,American restaurateur and entertainer (d.1992)
- 1919-Alejandro Finisterre,Spanish inventor oftable football(d.2007)
- 1919-André Guelfi,French racing driver (d.2016)
- 1920–Ross Hunter,producer (d.1996)
- 1920–Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara,firstPrime Ministerand laterPresidentofFiji(d.2004)
- 1921–Erich Fried,Austrian writer (d.1988)
- 1922-Vladimir Etush,Russian actor (d.2019)
- 1923–Galyani Vadhana,Thai princess (d.2008)
- 1923-Harry Watson,Canadianice hockeyplayer andcoach(d.2002)
- 1924-Patricia Kennedy Lawford,sister ofJohn F. Kennedy(d.2006)
- 1924-Nestor Basterretxea,Basque artist (d.2014)
- 1925–Hanns Dieter Hüsch,German cabaretist (d.2005)
- 1926-Gilles Grégoire,Canadian politician (d.2006)
- 1929–Paul Lauterbur,Americanchemist(d.2007)
- 1930-Philippe Beaussant,Frenchmusicologistand writer (d.2016)
- 1931–Willie Mays,AmericanBaseball Hall of Famer
- 1932-Ahmet Haxhiu,Albanian political activist (d.1994)
- 1932-Fritz Lichtenhahn,Swiss actor (d.2017)
- 1934-Richard Shelby,American politician
- 1937–Rubin "Hurricane" Carter,American boxer (d.2014)
- 1938-Jean Garon,Canadianpolitician,lawyerand academic (d.2014)
- 1940-Angela Carter,English writer (d.1992)
- 1941-Ivica Osim,Bosnianfootballer
- 1943–Andreas Baader,member of theRed Army Faction(d.1977)
- 1944–Masanori Murakami,Japanesebaseballplayer
- 1945–Bob Seger,rock musicsinger
- 1945–Jimmie Dale Gilmore,musician
- 1946-Susan Brown,Englishactress
- 1947–Alan Dale,New Zealandactor
- 1947–Martha Nussbaum,Americanphilosopher
1951 – 1975
[change|change source]- 1951–Samuel K. Doe,Liberianmilitary officer and politician (d.1990)
- 1952-Gerrit Salm,Dutch politician
- 1953–Tony Blair,formerPrime Minister of the United Kingdom
- 1953–Graeme Souness,Scottishfootballerand manager
- 1953-Alexander Akimov,UkrainianChernobylworker (d.1986)
- 1954-Tom Abernethy,Americanbasketballplayer
- 1955–Tom Bergeron,American game show host
- 1955–John Hutton, Baron Hutton of Furness,British politician
- 1958-Lorita Flores,Spanishsingerandactress
- 1958-Jan Leyers,Belgiansinger-songwriterandtelevisionpersonality
- 1958-Randall Stout,Americanarchitect(d.2014)
- 1959-Charles Hendry,English politician
- 1959-Hiroyuki Sakashita,Japanesefootballer
- 1960–John Flansburgh,musician
- 1961–George Clooney,American actor,movie directorand screenwriter
- 1961-Tom Hunter,Scottish businessman
- 1961-Gina Riley,Australianactress,singer,producerandscreenwriter
- 1963-Alessandra Ferri,Italian ballerina
- 1964–Dana Hill,American actress (d.1996)
- 1965-Leslie Hope,Canadian actress
- 1968-Worku Bikila,Ethiopianlong-distance runner
- 1968-Shin Hae-chul,South Koreanmusicperformer andradioDJ
- 1968-Laetitia Sadier,Frenchsingerandkeyboardist
- 1969-Vlad Filat,formerPrime ministerofMoldova
- 1970–George Rivas,Texas 7ringleader
- 1971–Chris Shiflett,Americanguitarist(Foo Fighters)
- 1972–Martin Brodeur,Canadianice hockeyplayer
- 1972-Naoko Takahashi,Japanese runner
From 1976
[change|change source]- 1977–Christophe Brandt,Belgian cyclist
- 1977-Nozomi Hiroyama,Japanesefootballer
- 1978–Aleksandr Fyodorov,Russian bodybuilder
- 1980–Dimitris Diamantidis,Greekbasketballplayer
- 1980-Wolke Hegenbarth,German actress
- 1980–Kate Lawler,BritishBig Brothercontestant
- 1982-Duri Camichel,Swissice hockeyplayer (d.2015)
- 1983–Daniel Alves,Brazilian footballer
- 1983–Adrianne Palicki,American actress
- 1983–Gabourey Sidibe,Americanactress
- 1983–Raquel Zimmermann,Brazilian model
- 1984-Anton Babchuk,Ukrainian-Russianice hockeyplayer
- 1985–Tanerau Latimer,New Zealandrugbyplayer
- 1986-Goran Dragic,Slovenianbasketballplayer
- 1987-Moon Geun-young,South Korean actress
- 1987-Dries Mertens,Belgian footballer
- 1987-Meek Mill,Americanrapper
- 1989-Dominika Cibulkova,Slovakiantennisplayer
- 1990-Masato Kudo,Japanesefootballer
- 1990–Caitlin Yankowskas,American figure skater
- 1991-Harriet Lee,British Paralympic swimmer
- 1992-Brendan Gallagher,Canadianice hockeyplayer
- 1992-Takashi Usami,Japanesefootballer
- 1993-Naomi Scott,British actress, singer and musician
- 1995-Marko Pjaca,Croatianfootballer
- 1996-Dominic Scott Kay,American child actor
- 2002-Emily Alyn Lind,American child actress
- 2019-Archie Mountbatten-Windsor,son of theDukeandDuchess of Sussex
Deaths
[change|change source]Up to 1900
[change|change source]- 1471-Edmund Beaufort, 4th Duke of Somerset,Englishcommander(b.1438)
- 1475–Dieric Bouts,Flemishpainter (b.1415)
- 1502-James Tyrrell,Englishknight(b.1450)
- 1596-Giaches de Wert,Flemishcomposer (b.1535)
- 1638–Cornelius Jansen,Frenchbishopand religious reformer (b.1585)
- 1692–Nathaniel Lee,Englishplaywright(b.1653)
- 1757-Battle of Prague:
- Maximilian Ulysses Browne,Austrian field marshal (b.1705)
- Kurt Christoph Graf von Schwerin,Prussianfield marshal (b.1684)
- 1757-Charles FitzRoy, 2nd Duke of Grafton,English politician (b.1683)
- 1840–Francisco de Paula Santander,ColombianPresident and independence leader (b.1792)
- 1859–Alexander von Humboldt,German naturalist and explorer (b.1769)
- 1862–Henry David Thoreau,American writer and philosopher (b.1817)
- 1872–George Robert Gray,Britishzoologist(b.1808)
- 1873-José Antonio Báez,PresidentofVenezuela(b.1790)
- 1877–Johan Ludvig Runeberg,Finnish poet (b.1804)
1901 – 2000
[change|change source]- 1902-Bret Harte,American writer (b.1836)
- 1910– KingEdward VII of the United Kingdom(b.1841)
- 1913–Alexandros Schinas,Greek anarchist (b.1870)
- 1919–L. Frank Baum,American writer (b.1856)
- 1939-Konstantin Somov,Russian writer (b.1869)
- 1949–Maurice Maeterlinck,Belgian writer (b.1862)
- 1951–Hans Andrias Djurhuus,Faroese poet (b.1883)
- 1952–Maria Montessori,Italian educator (b.1870)
- 1959-Ragnar Nurkse,Estonian-Americaneconomistand academic (b.1897)
- 1961–Lucian Blaga,Romanianpoet,playwrightandphilosopher(b.1895)
- 1967–Zhou Zuoren,Chinese writer (b.1885)
- 1970-Aleksandr Rodzyanko,Russian general (b.1897)
- 1975-Jozsef Mindszenty,Hungariancardinal(b.1892)
- 1985-Julie Vega,Filipino actress and singer (b.1968)
- 1987–William Casey,AmericanCIAdirector (b.1913)
- 1990-Charles Farrell,American actor (b.1901)
- 1992–Marlene Dietrich,German actress (b.1901)
- 1992–Jilly Rizzo,American restaurateur and entertainer (b.1917)
- 1998-Chatichai Choonhavan,Prime ministerofThailand(b.1920)
From 2001
[change|change source]- 2002–Pim Fortuyn,Dutch politician (b.1948)
- 2002–Otis Blackwell,American pianist, singer and songwriter (b.1932)
- 2003-Art Houtteman,Americanbaseballplayer (b.1927)
- 2004-Virginia Capers,American actress (b.1925)
- 2006–Shigeru Kayano,JapaneseAinuactivist (b.1926)
- 2006–Lillian Asplund,RMS Titanicsurvivor (b.1906)
- 2012-George Lindsey,American actor, comedian, and writer (b.1928)
- 2013-Giulio Andreotti,formerPrime MinisterofItaly(b.1919)
- 2014-Cornelius Gurlitt,German art collector (b.1932)
- 2014-Wil Albeda,Dutch politician (b.1925)
- 2014-Farley Mowat,Canadianwriterandenvironmentalist(b.1921)
- 2014-Jimmy Ellis,American boxer (b.1940)
- 2014-Bill Dana,Americanpilotandastronaut(b.1930)
- 2015-Errol Brown,Jamaican-British singer (b.1943)
- 2015-Jim Wright,Americanpolitician,formerSpeaker of the United States House of Representatives(b.1922)
- 2015-Jerome Cooper,Americanjazzdrummer (b.1946)
- 2016-Hannes Bauer,German trombonist (b.1954)
- 2016-Patrick Ekeng,Cameroonianfootballer(b.1990)
- 2016-David Hall,American politician,GovernorofOklahoma(b.1930)
- 2016-Margot Honecker,German politician (b.1927)
- 2016-Valeriy Zuyev,Ukrainianfootballer(b.1952)
- 2016-Nico de Bree,Dutchfootballer(b.1944)
- 2016-Reg Grundy,Australian television producer (b.1923)
- 2016-Candye Kane,American singer-songwriter and pornographic actress (b.1961)
- 2016-Chris Mitchell,Scottishfootballer(b.1988)
- 2017-Steven Holcomb,American bobsledder (b.1980)
- 2017-Val Jellay,Australian actress (b.1927)
- 2017-Rais Khan,Pakistanisitarist(b.1939)
- 2017-Marshall Julum Shakya,Nepalese politician (b.1940)
- 2017-Min Bahadur Sherchan,Nepalese mountaineer (b.1931)
- 2018-Cirilo Bautista,Filipino writer (b.1941)
- 2018-Paolo Ferrari,Italian actor (b.1929)
- 2018-Tarcisio Gitti,Italian politician (b.1936)
- 2018-Khaled Mohieddin,Egyptian army general and politician (b.1922)
- 2018-Charles W. Steger,American academic (b.1947)
- 2018-Ray Szmanda,American radio personality and radio presenter (b.1926)
- 2018-Jamal Naji,Palestinian-Jordanian novelist (b.1954)
- 2019-Max Azria,Tunisian-American fashion designer (b.1949)
- 2019-Gjermund Eggen,Norwegian cross-country skier (b.1941)
Observances
[change|change source]- International NoDietDay
- Teacher's Day (Jamaica)
- Saint George's Day (Eastern Orthodox Churches)