What happened on April 6? There are more than 303 events that were made this day in history. Here are the important historical events, facts, and some myths about this day.
Interesting Facts & Myths About April 6
April 6 is the 97th day of the year 2024. There are 269 days remaining until the end of this year. The day of the week is Saturday. This day falls under the 14th week of the year 2024.
On this day in Tomball, Texas 77735 sunrise occured at 07:03 AM and sunset occured at 07:45 PM (local time).
The zodiac sign of a person born on this day is Aries. The modern birthstone for this month is Diamond while the mystical birthstone is Opal.
According to the Chinese calendar, there are 298 days remaining before the start of the next Chinese New Year (January 29, 2025).
Is your birthday coming up in two days? Are you not curious to find out who is sharing your special day? Discover all the April 26 famous birthdays. There are fun facts about that day that you must know. (Sponsored link)
Historical Events For April 6
- 46 BCJulius Caesar defeats Caecilius Metellus Scipio and Marcus Porcius Cato (Cato the Younger) in the battle of Thapsus.
- 402Stilicho stymies the Visigoths under Alaric in the Battle of Pollentia.
- 1199King Richard I of England dies from an infection following the removal of an arrow from his shoulder.
- 1250Seventh Crusade: Ayyubids of Egypt capture King Louis IX of France in the Battle of Fariskur.
- 1320The Scots reaffirm their independence by signing the Declaration of Arbroath.
- 1327The poet Petrarch first sees his idealized love, Laura, in the church of Saint Clare in Avignon.
- 1385John, Master of the Order of Aviz, is made king John I of Portugal.
- 1453Mehmed II begins his siege of Constantinople (Istanbul), which falls on May 29.
- 1580One of the largest earthquakes recorded in the history of England, Flanders, or Northern France, takes place.
- 1652At the Cape of Good Hope, Dutch sailor Jan van Riebeeck establishes a resupply camp that eventually becomes Cape Town.
- 1667An earthquake devastates Dubrovnik, then an independent city-state.
- 1776American Revolutionary War: Ships of the Continental Navy fail in their attempt to capture a Royal Navy dispatch boat.
- 1782Rama I of Siam (modern day Thailand) founds the Chakri dynasty.
- 1793During the French Revolution, the Committee of Public Safety becomes the executive organ of the republic.
- 1808John Jacob Astor incorporates the American Fur Company, that would eventually make him America’s first millionaire.
- 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.
- 1814Nominal beginning of the Bourbon Restorationanniversary date that Napoleon abdicates and is exiled to Elba. (Rule by the Bourbons is delayed a few weeks, though allies held most key locales of France.)
- 1830The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, the original church of the Latter Day Saint movement, is organized by Joseph Smith, Jr. and others at Fayette or Manchester, New York.
- 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
- 1861First performance of Arthur Sullivan’s debut success, his suite of incidental music for The Tempest, leading to a career that included the famous Gilbert and Sullivan operas.
- 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.
- 1865American Civil War: The Battle of Sayler’s Creek – Confederate General Robert E. Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia fights its last major battle while in retreat from Richmond, Virginia.
- 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.
- 1869Celluloid is patented.
- 1888Thomas Green Clemson dies, bequeathing his estate to the State of South Carolina to establish Clemson Agricultural College.
- 1893Salt Lake Temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is dedicated by Wilford Woodruff.
- 1895Oscar Wilde is arrested in the Cadogan Hotel, London after losing a libel case against the Marquess of Queensberry.
- 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.
- 1903The Kishinev pogrom in Kishinev (Bessarabia) begins, forcing tens of thousands of Jews to later seek refuge in Israel and the Western world.
- 1909Robert Peary and Matthew Henson reach the North Pole.
- 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 (Skenderbeg).
- 1917World War I: The United States declares war on Germany (see President Woodrow Wilson’s address to Congress).
- 1919Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi orders a general strike.
- 1923The first Prefects Board in Southeast Asia is formed in Victoria Institution, Malaysia.
- 1926Varney Airlines makes its first commercial flight (Varney is the root company of United Airlines).
- 1929Huey P. Long Governor of Louisiana is impeached by the Louisiana House of Representatives.
- 1930Gandhi raises a lump of mud and salt and declares, “With this, I am shaking the foundations of the British Empire.” beginning the Salt Satyagraha.
- 1936Tupelo-Gainesville tornado outbreak: Another tornado from the same storm system as the Tupelo tornado hits Gainesville, Georgia, killing 203.
- 1941World War II: Nazi Germany launches Operation 25 (the invasion of Kingdom of Yugoslavia) and Operation Marita (the invasion of Greece).
- 1945World War II: Sarajevo is liberated from German and Croatian forces by the Yugoslav Partisans.
- 1945World War II: the Battle of Slater’s Knoll on Bougainville comes to an end.
- 1947The first Tony Awards are presented for theatrical achievement.
- 1957Greek shipping tycoon Aristotle Onassis buys the Hellenic National Airlines (TAE) and founds Olympic Airlines.
- 1962Leonard Bernstein causes controversy with his remarks from the podium during a New York Philharmonic concert featuring Glenn Gould performing Brahms’ First Piano Concerto.
- 1965Launch of Early Bird, the first communications satellite to be placed in geosynchronous orbit.
- 1965The British Government announces the cancellation of the TSR-2 aircraft project.
- 1968In Richmond, Indiana’s downtown district, a double explosion kills 41 and injures 150.
- 1970Newhall Incident: Four California Highway Patrol officers are killed in a shootout.
- 1972Vietnam War: Easter Offensive – American forces begin sustained air strikes and naval bombardments.
- 1973Launch of Pioneer 11 spacecraft.
- 1973The American League of Major League Baseball begins using the designated hitter.
- 1974ABBA win the 19th annual Eurovision Song Contest in Brighton with Waterloo.
- 1982Estonian Communist Party bureau declares “fight against bourgeois TV” — meaning Finnish TV — a top priority of the propagandists of Estonian SSR
- 1984Members of Cameroon’s Republican Guard unsuccessfully attempt to overthrow the government headed by Paul Biya.
- 1994The Rwandan Genocide begins when the aircraft carrying Rwandan president Juvénal Habyarimana and Burundian president Cyprien Ntaryamira is shot down.
- 1998Pakistan tests medium-range missiles capable of reaching India.
- 1998Travelers Group announces an agreement to undertake the $76 billion merger between Travelers and Citicorp, and the merger is completed on October 8, of that year, forming Citibank.
- 2004Rolandas Paksas becomes the first president of Lithuania to be peacefully removed from office by impeachment.
- 2005Kurdish leader Jalal Talabani becomes Iraqi president; Shiite Arab Ibrahim al-Jaafari is named premier the next day.
- 20082008 Egyptian general strike starts led by Egyptian workers.
- 2009A 6.3 magnitude earthquake strikes near L'Aquila, Italy, killing 307.
- 2010Maoist rebels kill 76 CRPF officers in Dantewada district, India.
Who Were Born On April 6?
- 1483Raphael, Italian painter and architect (d. 1520)
- 1613Stjepan Gradić, Croatian philosopher and scientist (d. 1683)
- 1632Maria Leopoldine of Austria, Holy Roman Empire Empress (d. 1649)
- 1651André Dacier, French classical scholar (d. 1722)
- 1664Arvid Horn, Swedish statesman (d. 1742)
- 1671Jean-Baptiste Rousseau, French poet (d. 1741)
- 1725Pasquale Paoli, Corsican patriot and military leader (d. 1807)
- 1741Nicolas Chamfort, French writer (d. 1794)
- 1766Wilhelm von Kobell, German painter and printmaker (d. 1853)
- 1773James Mill, Scottish philosopher and historian (d. 1836)
- 1810Philip Henry Gosse, English naturalist (d. 1888)
- 1812Alexander Herzen, Russian writer (d. 1870)
- 1815Robert Volkmann, German composer (d. 1883)
- 1818Aasmund Olavsson Vinje, Norwegian poet (d. 1870)
- 1820Nadar, French photographer (d. 1910)
- 1823Joseph Medill, journalist and mayor of Chicago (d. 1899)
- 1826Gustave Moreau, French painter (d. 1898)
- 1841Karl Binding, German jurist (d. 1920)
- 1849John William Waterhouse, British painter (d. 1917)
- 1851Guillaume Bigourdan, French astronomer (d. 1932)
- 1861Stanislas de Guaita, French occultist (d. 1897)
- 1864William Bate Hardy, British biochemist (d. 1934)
- 1869Levon Shant, Armenian playwright, novelist and poet (d. 1951)
- 1871Prince Alexander John of Wales (d. 1871)
- 1878Erich Mühsam, German author (d. 1934)
- 1884Walter Huston, Canadian-born actor (d. 1950)
- 1886Osman Ali Khan, Asaf Jah VII, The Last Nizam of Hyderabad state (d. 1967)
- 1886Walter Edward Dandy, American neurosurgery pioneer (d. 1946)
- 1888Gerhard Ritter, German historian (d. 1967)
- 1888Hans Richter, Swiss painter, film maker, graphic artist and avant-gardist (d. 1976)
- 1890Anthony Fokker, Dutch aviation engineering pioneer (d. 1939)
- 1892Donald Wills Douglas, Sr., American aviation industrialist (d. 1981)
- 1892Lowell Thomas, American travel writer (d. 1981)
- 1894Gertrude Baines, American supercentenarian (d. 2009)
- 1895Dudley Nichols, American screenwriter (d. 1960)
- 1898Jeanne Hébuterne, French artist, the wife of Amedeo Modigliani (d. 1920)
- 1900Leo Robin, American songwriter (d. 1984)
- 1901Pier Giorgio Frassati, Italian Catholic (d. 1925)
- 1902Julien Torma, French writer, playwright and poet (d. 1933)
- 1902Veniamin Kaverin, Russian writer (d. 1989)
- 1903Harold Edgerton, American electrical engineer (d. 1990)
- 1903Mickey Cochrane, American baseball player (d. 1962)
- 1909Hermann Lang, German race car driver (d. 1987)
- 1909William M. Branham, American evangelist (d. 1965)
- 1911Feodor Felix Konrad Lynen, German biochemist, Nobel laureate (d. 1979)
- 1913Shannon Boyd-Bailey McCune, American geographer (d. 1993)
- 1915Tadeusz Kantor, Polish painter, set designer and theater director (d. 1990)
- 1916Phil Leeds, American actor d.1998
- 1916Vincent Ellis McKelvey, American geologist (d. 1987)
- 1917Leonora Carrington, British-born surrealist painter
- 1918Alfredo Ovando Candía, Bolivian president (d. 1982)
- 1919Georgios Mylonas, Greek politician (d. 1998)
- 1920Edmond H. Fischer, Swiss-American biochemist, Nobel laureate
- 1926Gil Kane, Latvian-born cartoonist (d. 2000)
- 1926Ian Paisley, Northern Irish politician
- 1926Sergio Franchi, Italian-born singer and actor (d. 1990)
- 1927Gerry Mulligan, American musician (d. 1996)
- 1928James D. Watson, American geneticist, Nobel laureate
- 1929André Previn, German-born composer and conductor
- 1929Joi Lansing, American model and actress (d. 1972)
- 1929Willis Hall, English playwright and radio and television writer (d. 2005)
- 1931Baba Ram Dass, American Hindu spiritual teacher
- 1931Ivan Dixon, American actor and director (d. 2008)
- 1932Helmut Griem, German actor (d. 2004)
- 1933Eduardo Malapit, American politician (d. 2007)
- 1933Roy Goode, British lawyer
- 1934Anton Geesink, Dutch judoka (d. 2010)
- 1934Enrique Álvarez Félix, Mexican actor (d. 1996)
- 1934Guy Peellaert, Belgian visual artist (d. 2008)
- 1935Douglas Hill, Canadian-born science fiction writer (d. 2007)
- 1936Helen Berman, Dutch-Israeli visual artist
- 1937Billy Dee Williams, American actor
- 1937Merle Haggard, American musician
- 1937Peter Maivia, Samoan professional wrestler (d. 1982)
- 1938Paul Daniels, English magician
- 1938Roy Thinnes, American actor
- 1939André Ouellet, French Canadian politician
- 1940Homero Aridjis, Mexican writer and diplomat
- 1940Pedro Armendáriz Jr., Mexican actor
- 1941Don “The Snake” Prudhomme, American drag racer
- 1941Gheorghe Zamfir, Romanian musician
- 1941Hans W. Geissendörfer, German filmmaker
- 1941Phil Austin, American comedian
- 1942Barry Levinson, American film producer/director
- 1944Felicity Palmer, English soprano
- 1945Neal Boortz, American radio personality
- 1947John Ratzenberger, American actor
- 1947Mike Worboys, British mathematician
- 1948Patrika Darbo, American actress
- 1949Horst Ludwig Störmer, German-born physicist, Nobel laureate
- 1950Cleo Odzer, American writer
- 1951Bert Blyleven, Dutch-born baseball player
- 1952Marilu Henner, American actress
- 1952Michel Larocque, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 1992)
- 1952Udo Dirkschneider, German singer
- 1953Christopher Franke, German musician and composer
- 1955Blind Mississippi Morris, American delta blues musician
- 1955Cathy Jones, Canadian comedian
- 1955Keith Hunter Jesperson, Canadian serial killer
- 1955Michael Rooker, American actor
- 1955Rob Epstein, American filmmaker and journalist
- 1956Dilip Vengsarkar, Indian cricketer and administrator
- 1956Sebastian Spreng, Argentinean visual artist
- 1957Jaroslava Maxova, Czech opera singer
- 1957Paolo Nespoli, Italian astronaut
- 1960Batem, French comic book artist
- 1960John Pizzarelli, American jazz guitarist, song writer, singer and bandleader
- 1960Warren Haynes, American guitarist and song writer
- 1961Rory Bremner, Scottish comedian and impressionist
- 1962Iris Häussler, German installation artist
- 1963Rafael Correa, President of Ecuador
- 1964Phil Gayle, English news presenter
- 1965Frank Black, American singer/songwriter (Pixies and Frank Black and the Catholics)
- 1965Lieve Slegers, Belgian athlete
- 1965Sterling Sharpe, American football player
- 1966Young Man Kang, South Korean film director
- 1967Jonathan Firth, British actor
- 1967Mika Koivuniemi, Finnish ten-pin bowler
- 1968Affonso Giaffone, Brazilian racing driver
- 1968Vanessa Lann, American composer
- 1969Ari Meyers, Puerto Rican/American actress
- 1969Bison Dele, American basketball player (disappeared 2002)
- 1969Bret Boone, American baseball player
- 1969Jack Canfora, American playwright
- 1969Louie Spence, English dancer/choreographer and TV personality
- 1969Paul Rudd, American actor
- 1969Philipp Peter, Austrian racing driver
- 1969Spencer Wells, American geneticist
- 1970Huang Xiaomin, Chinese swimmer
- 1970Olaf Kölzig, South African/German ice hockey player
- 1971Lou Merloni, American baseball player
- 1972Ami James, Israeli/American tattoo artist
- 1972Jason Hervey, American actor
- 1972Jo Van Daele, Belgian discus thrower
- 1973Donnie Edwards, American football player
- 1973Gina Yashere, English comedian
- 1973Joe Machine, English artist, poet and writer
- 1973Rie Miyazawa, Japanese actress/singer
- 1973Sun Wen, Chinese footballer
- 1974Robert Kovač, Croatian footballer
- 1975Hal Gill, American ice hockey player
- 1975Zach Braff, American actor
- 1976Candace Cameron Bure, American actress
- 1976Georg Hólm, Icelandic musician (Sigur Rós)
- 1976Hirotada Ototake, Japanese sports writer
- 1977Andy Phillips, American baseball player
- 1977Ville Nieminen, Finnish ice hockey player
- 1978Blaine Neal, American baseball player
- 1978Martin Mendez, Uruguayan bassist (Opeth)
- 1978Myleene Klass, British singer
- 1978Tim Hasselbeck, American football player
- 1981Kari Jobe, American singer-songwriter
- 1981Robert Earnshaw, Zambian/Welsh footballer
- 1982Bret Harrison, American actor
- 1982Herculez Gomez, American soccer player
- 1982Ilan Hall, American chef
- 1982Michael Guy Chislett, Australian guitarist (The Academy Is..)
- 1982Travis Moen, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1983Bobbi Starr, American pornographic actress
- 1983Dash Shaw, American comic book writer and artist
- 1983Diora Baird, American actress and model
- 1983Jade Seah, Singaporean model, host and actress
- 1983James Wade, English darts player
- 1983Jerome Kaino, New Zealand rugby player
- 1983Mitsuru Nagata, Japanese footballer
- 1984Max Bemis, American musician and songwriter
- 1985Clarke MacArthur, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1985Frank Ongfiang, Italian footballer
- 1986Aaron Curry, American football player
- 1986Nikolas Asprogenis, Cypriot footballer
- 1986Ryota Moriwaki, Japanese footballer
- 1987Hilary Rhoda, American model
- 1987Levi Porter, English footballer
- 1988Carlton Mitchell, American football player
- 1988Daniele Gasparetto, Italian footballer
- 1988Fabrice Muamba, Congolese/English footballer
- 1988Jucilei da Silva, Brazilian footballer
- 1988Leigh Adams, Australian footballer
- 1988Mike Bailey, English actor
- 1995Ryutaro Morimoto, Japanese actor and singer
Who Died On April 6?
- 885Saint Methodius (b. c. 815)
- 1147Frederick II, Duke of Swabia (b. 1090)
- 1199King Richard I of England (b. 1157)
- 1199Pierre Basile, French soldier
- 1362James I, Count of La Marche, French soldier (b. 1319)
- 1490Matthias Corvinus of Hungary, King of Hungary and Croatia (b. 1443)
- 1520Raphael, Italian painter and architect (b. 1483)
- 1528Albrecht Dürer, German artist (b. 1471)
- 1551Joachim Vadian, Swiss humanist (b. 1484)
- 1571John Hamilton, Scottish prelate and politician
- 1590Francis Walsingham, English spymaster
- 1605John Stow, English historian
- 1655David Blondel, French Protestant clergyman (b. 1591)
- 1686Arthur Annesley, 1st Earl of Anglesey, English royalist statesman (b. 1614)
- 1707Willem van de Velde, the younger, Dutch painter (b. 1633)
- 1755Richard Rawlinson, English minister and antiquarian (b. 1690)
- 1825Vladimir Borovikovsky, Russian painter (b. 1757)
- 1829Niels Henrik Abel, Norwegian mathematician (b. 1802)
- 1833Adamantios Korais, Greek humanist scholar (b. 1748)
- 1838José Bonifácio de Andrade e Silva, Brazilian statesman and geologist (b. 1763)
- 1862Albert Sidney Johnston, American Confederate general (b. 1803)
- 1883Benjamin Wright Raymond, American politician (b. 1801)
- 1899Alvan Wentworth Chapman, American physician and botanist (b. 1809)
- 1906Alexander Kielland, Norwegian author (b. 1849)
- 1933Elizabeth Bacon Custer, wife of George Armstrong Custer (b. 1842)
- 1935Edwin Arlington Robinson, American poet (b. 1869)
- 1947Herbert Backe, German Nazi politician (b. 1896)
- 1953Idris Davies, Welsh poet (b. 1905)
- 1959Leo Aryeh Mayer, Israeli professor and scholar of Islamic art (b. 1895)
- 1961Jules Bordet, Belgian immunologist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (b. 1870)
- 1963Otto Struve, Russian-born astronomer (b. 1897)
- 1970Maurice Stokes, American basketball player (b. 1933)
- 1970Sam Sheppard, American accused murderer (b. 1923)
- 1971Igor Stravinsky, Russian composer (b. 1882)
- 1974Sir Hudson Fysh, Australian aviator and businessman (b. 1895)
- 1974Willem Marinus Dudok, Dutch architect (b. 1884)
- 1976Sidney Franklin, American bullfighter (b. 1903)
- 1979Ivan Vasilyov, Bulgarian architect (b. 1893)
- 1992Isaac Asimov, Russian-born author (b. 1920)
- 1994Cyprien Ntaryamira, Burundian politician (b. 1956)
- 1994Juvénal Habyarimana, Rwandan politician (b. 1937)
- 1995Ioannis Alevras, Greek politician (b. 1912)
- 1996Greer Garson, Irish actress (b. 1904)
- 1998Norbert Schmitz, German footballer (b. 1958)
- 1998Tammy Wynette, American singer (b. 1942)
- 1998Wendy O. Williams, American singer (Plasmatics) (b. 1949)
- 1999Red Norvo, American jazz vibraphonist (b. 1908)
- 2000Habib Bourguiba, Tunisian politician (b. 1903)
- 2001Charles Pettigrew, American singer (b. 1963)
- 2003Babatunde Olatunji, Nigerian drummer (b. 1927)
- 2003David Bloom, American reporter (b. 1963)
- 2003Gerald Emmett Carter, Canadian cardinal (b. 1912)
- 2004Larisa Bogoraz, Soviet dissident (b. 1929)
- 2004Niki Sullivan, American guitarist (The Crickets) (b. 1937)
- 2005Rainier III, Prince of Monaco (b. 1923)
- 2006Francis L. Kellogg, U.S. diplomat and prominent socialite (b. 1917)
- 2006Maggie Dixon, American college basketball coach (b. 1977)
- 2006Stefanos Stratigos, Greek actor (b. 1926)
- 2007Luigi Comencini, Italian film director (b. 1916)
- 2009Shawn Mackay, Australian rugby player (b. 1982)
- 2010Corin Redgrave, British actor and political activist (b. 1939)
- 2010Wilma Mankiller, Native-American activist, chief of the Cherokee Nation (b. 1945)
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