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December 6

Events

1060 - Béla I of Hungary is crowned king of Hungary
1240 - Mongol invasion of Rus: Kiev under Danylo of Halych and Voivode Dmytro falls to the Mongols under Batu Khan.
1534 - The city of Quito in Ecuador is founded by Spanish settlers led by Sebastián de Belalcázar.
1648 - Colonel Pride of the New Model Army purges the Long Parliament of MPs sympathetic to King Charles I of England, in order for the King's trial to go ahead; came to be known as "Pride's Purge".
1768 - The first edition of the Encyclopædia Britannica is published.
1790 - The U.S. Congress moves from New York City to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
1845 - Alpha Sigma Phi Fraternity is founded at Yale College.
1849 - American abolitionist Harriet Tubman escapes from slavery.
1865 - The Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution is ratified, banning slavery.
1877 - The first edition of the Washington Post is published.
1884 - The Washington Monument in Washington D.C. is completed.
1897 - London becomes the world's first city to host licenced taxicabs.
1907 - A coal mine explosion at Monongah, West Virginia kills 362 workers.
1916 - World War I: The Central Powers capture Bucharest.
1917 - Finland declares independence from Russia.
1917 - Halifax Explosion: In Canada, a munitions explosion kills more than 1900 people and destroys part of the City of Halifax, Nova Scotia.
1921 - The Anglo-Irish Treaty is signed in London by British and Irish representatives.
1922 - One year to the day after the signing of the Anglo-Irish Treaty, the Irish Free State comes into existence.
1933 - U.S. federal judge John M. Woolsey rules that the James Joyce's novel Ulysses is not obscene.
1941 - World War II: The United Kingdom declares war on Finland in support of the Soviet Union during the Continuation War.
1947 - The Everglades National Park in Florida is dedicated.
1956 - A water polo match between Hungary and the USSR takes place during the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne, against the backdrop of the 1956 Hungarian Revolution.
1957 - Project Vanguard: A launchpad explosion of Vanguard TV3 thwarts the first United States attempt to launch a satellite into Earth orbit.
1965 - Pakistan's Islamic Ideology Advisory Committee recommends that Islamic Studies be made a compulsory subject for Muslim students from primary to graduate level.
1969 - Meredith Hunter is killed by the Hells Angels during a The Rolling Stones's concert at the Altamont Speedway in California.
1971 - Pakistan severs diplomatic relations with India following New Delhi's recognition of Bangladesh.
1973 - The Twenty-fifth Amendment: The United States House of Representatives votes 387 to 35 to confirm Gerald Ford as Vice President of the United States (on November 27, the Senate confirmed him 92 to 3).
1975 - Balcombe Street Siege: An IRA Active Service Unit takes a couple hostage in Balcombe Street, London.
1977 - South Africa grants independence to Bophuthatswana, although it is not recognized by any other country.
1978 - Spain approves its latest constitution in a referendum.
1989 - The École Polytechnique Massacre (or Montreal Massacre): Marc Lépine, an anti-feminist gunman, murders 14 young women at the École Polytechnique in Montreal.
1991 - In Croatia, forces of the Yugoslav People's Army bombard Dubrovnik after laying siege to the city since May.
1992 - Extremist Hindu activists demolish Babri Masjid - a 16th century mosque in Ayodhya, India which had been used as temple since 1949. Hindus believe this structure was built on the site of the birthplace of Lord Rama.
1997 - A Russian Antonov An-124 transport cargo plane crashes into an apartment complex near Irkutsk, Siberia, killing 67.
1998 - Hugo Chávez Frías, Venezuelan military and politician, is elected President of Venezuela.
2001 - The Canadian province of Newfoundland is renamed Newfoundland and Labrador.
2005 - Several villagers are shot dead during protests in Dongzhou, China.
2006 - NASA reveals photographs taken by Mars Global Surveyor suggesting the presence of liquid water on Mars.

Births

846 - Hasan al-Askari, Shia Imam (d. 874)
1285 - King Ferdinand IV of Castile (d. 1312)
1421 - King Henry VI of England (d. 1471)
1478 - Baldassare Castiglione, Italian diplomat and author (d. 1529)
1550 - Orazio Vecchi, Italian composer (baptism) (d. 1605)
1586 - Niccolò Zucchi, Italian astronomer (d. 1670)
1608 - George Monck, 1st Duke of Albemarle, English soldier (d. 1670)
1637 - Sir Edmund Andros, English governor in North America (d. 1714)
1640 - Claude Fleury, French historian (d. 1723)
1642 - Johann Christoph Bach, German composer (d. 1703)
1685 - Marie-Adélaïde of Savoy, mother of Louis XV of France (d. 1712)
1721 - James Elphinston, British philologist (d. 1809)
1721 - Guillaume-Chrétien de Lamoignon de Malesherbes, French statesman (d. 1794)
1752 - Gabriel Duvall, Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court (d. 1844)
1778 - Joseph Louis Gay-Lussac, French physicist and chemist (d. 1850)
1792 - King William II of the Netherlands (d. 1849)
1805 - Adolf Reubke, German organ builder (d. 1875)
1805 - Jean Eugène Robert-Houdin, French magician (d. 1861)
1812 - Robert Spear Hudson, English businessman (d. 1884)
1823 - Friedrich Max Müller, German orientalist (d. 1900)
1833 - John Singleton Mosby, American Confederate guerrilla leader (d. 1916)
1841 - Frédéric Bazille, French painter (d. 1870)
1849 - August von Mackensen, German field marshal (d. 1945)
1853 - Haraprasad Shastri, Indian academic, Sanskrit scholar, archivist and historian of Bengali literature (d. 1931)
1863 - Charles Martin Hall, American chemist (d. 1914)
1872 - Arthur Henry Adams, Australian writer (d. 1936)
1872 - William S. Hart, American actor (d. 1946)
1875 - Evelyn Underhill, British poet (d. 1941)
1876 - Fred Duesenberg, German-born automobile pioneer (d. 1932)
1886 - Joyce Kilmer, American poet (d. 1918)
1887 - Joseph Lamb, American ragtime composer (d. 1960)
1888 - Will Hay, English comedian and actor (d. 1949)
1890 - Dion Fortune, British occultist (d. 1946)
1890 - Yoshio Nishina, Japanese physicist (d. 1951)
1890 - Rudolf Schlichter, German artist and writer (d. 1955)
1892 - Sir Osbert Sitwell, British author (d. 1969)
1896 - Ira Gershwin, American lyricist (d. 1983)
1898 - Alfred Eisenstaedt, German-born photojournalist (d. 1995)
1898 - Gunnar Myrdal, Swedish economist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Economics (d. 1987)
1900 - Agnes Moorehead, American actress (d. 1974)
1903 - Tony Lazzeri, American baseball player (d. 1946)
1904 - Ève Curie, French writer (d. 2007)
1905 - James J. Braddock, American boxer (d. 1974)
1908 - Pierre Graber, Swiss Federal Councilor (d. 2003)
1908 - Baby Face Nelson, American bank robber (d. 1934)
1913 - Karl Haas, German-American music educator (d. 2005)
1913 - Eleanor Holm, American swimmer (d. 2004)
1916 - Hugo Peretti, American songwriter and record producer (d. 1986)
1916 - Kristján Eldjárn, Curator at the National Museum of Iceland and 3rd president of Iceland (d. 1982)
1917 - Kamal Jumblatt, leader of the Lebanese Druze (d. 1977)
1917 - Irv Robbins, Canadian-American entrepreneur (d. 2008)
1919 - Paul de Man, Belgian-born literary critic (d. 1983)
1920 - Dave Brubeck, American pianist and composer
1920 - George Porter, British chemist, Nobel laureate (d. 2002)
1921 - Otto Graham, American football player (d. 2003)
1921 - Piero Piccioni, Italian musician and composer (d. 2004)
1922 - John Henry Cound Brunt, English soldier, Victoria Cross holder (d. 1944)
1924 - Wally Cox, American actor (d. 1973)
1928 - Bobby Van, American singer (d. 1980)
1929 - Nikolaus Harnoncourt, German conductor
1929 - Frank Springer, American comics artist
1929 - Alain Tanner, Swiss filmmaker
1930 - Daniel Lisulo, Prime Minister of Zambia
1931 - Zeki Müren, Turkish actor, singer, and composer (d. 1996)
1933 - Henryk Górecki, Polish composer
1934 - Nick Bockwinkel, American professional wrestler
1935 - Jean Lapointe, Quebec comedian, singer and senator
1936 - Kenneth Copeland, American televangelist
1936 - David Ossman, American comedian
1937 - Alberto Spencer, Ecuadorian footballer (d. 2006)
1938 - Patrick Bauchau, Belgian actor
1940 - Lawrence Bergman, Quebec politician
1940 - Richard Edlund, American special effects photographer
1941 - Richard Speck, American mass murderer (d. 1991)
1942 - Peter Handke, Austrian writer
1945 - Larry Bowa, American baseball player and Major League manager
1945 - Dan Harrington, American poker player
1945 - Shekhar Kapur, Indian filmmaker
1947 - Lawrence Cannon, Canadian politician
1947 - Miroslav Vitous, Czech jazz musician
1948 - Keke Rosberg, Finnish race car driver and one-time F1 world champion
1948 - Marius Müller-Westernhagen, German actor and musician
1948 - JoBeth Williams, American actress
1949 - Linda Creed, American songwriter (d. 1986)
1949 - Doug Marlette, American editorial cartoonist (d. 2007)
1950 - Joe Hisaishi, Japanese composer
1950 - Sonia Manzano, American actress and writer
1951 - Gerry Francis, English footballer and manager
1952 - Rick Charlesworth, Australian field hockey player
1952 - Craig Newmark, American founder of craigslist
1953 - Tom Hulce, American actor
1953 - Gary Ward, American baseball player
1955 - Rick Buckler, British drummer (The Jam)
1955 - Steven Wright, American comedian
1956 - Peter Buck, American guitarist (R.E.M.)
1956 - Randy Rhoads, American guitarist (d. 1982)
1957 - Adrian Borland, English musician (The Sound) (d. 1999)
1958 - Nick Park, British filmmaker and animator
1959 - Satoru Iwata, president and CEO of Nintendo
1961 - David Lovering, American drummer (Pixies)
1962 - Janine Turner, American actress
1963 - Ulrich Thomsen, Danish actor
1965 - Gordon Durie, Scottish footballer
1966 - Natascha Badmann, Swiss triathlete
1967 - Hacken Lee, Hong Kong singer
1970 - Isabelle Arnould, Belgian swimmer
1970 - Ulf Ekberg, Swedish musician (Ace of Base)
1970 - Éric Lemieux, Quebec keyboardist (a/k/a "La Chicane")
1971 - José Contreras, Cuban baseball player
1971 - Richard Krajicek, Dutch tennis player
1971 - Naozumi Takahashi, Japanese seiyuu
1971 - Ryan White, American AIDS activist (d. 1990)
1972 - Rick Short, American baseball player
1974 - Nick Stajduhar, Canadian ice hockey player
1975 - Noel Clarke, English actor and writer
1976 - Colleen Haskell, American television personality
1976 - Alicia Machado, Venezuelan actress and Miss Universe
1976 - Lindsay Price, American actress
1977 - Kevin Cash, American baseball player
1977 - Andrew Flintoff, English cricketer
1977 - Paul McVeigh, Irish footballer
1978 - K. D. Aubert, American actress
1978 - Chris Basak, American baseball player
1978 - Darrell Jackson, American football player
1979 - Tim Cahill, Australian footballer
1980 - Steve Lovell, British footballer
1980 - Ehren Wassermann, American baseball player
1982 - Ryan Carnes, American actor
1982 - Alberto Contador, Spanish cyclist and 2007 Tour de France winner
1982 - Sean Ervine, Zimbabwean cricketer
1982 - Robbie Gould, American football player
1985 - Dulce María, Mexican actress and singer
1985 - Rudra Pratap Singh, Indian Cricketer
1986 - Matt Niskanen, American National Hockey League Player
1995 - Joy Gruttmann, German singer
2000 - Pablo Nicolás Urdangarín y de Borbón, Spanish royal