December 6 is the 340th day of the year (341st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 25 days remaining until the end of the year.
Events
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)
- 1863 - Charles Martin Hall, American chemist (d. 1914)
- 1872 - William S. Hart, American actor (d. 1946)
- 1875 - Evelyn Underhill, British poet (d. 1941)
- 1886 - Joyce Kilmer, American poet (d. 1918)
- 1887 - Joseph Lamb, American ragtime composer (d. 1960)
- 1890 - Rudolf Schlichter, German artist and writer (d. 1955)
- 1890 - Yoshio Nishina, Japanese physicist (d. 1951)
- 1890 - Dion Fortune, British occultist (d. 1946)
- 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 - 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)
- 1919 - Paul de Man, Belgian-born literary critic (d. 1983)
- 1920 - Dave Brubeck, American pianist and composer
- 1920 - George Porter, British chemist, Nobel Prize 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, Victoria Cross holder (d. 1944)
- 1924 - Wally Cox, American actor (d. 1973)
- 1928 - Bobby Van, American singer (d. 1980)
- 1929 - Alain Tanner, Swiss filmmaker
- 1929 - Nikolaus Harnoncourt, German conductor
- 1929 - Frank Springer, American comics artist
- 1930 - Daniel Lisulo, Prime Minister of Zambia
- 1931 - Don King, American Boxing Promoter
- 1931 - Zeki Müren, Turkish actor, singer, and composer (d. 1996)
- 1933 - Henryk Górecki, Polish composer
- 1935 - Jean Lapointe, Quebec comedian, singer and senator
- 1936 - David Ossman, American comedian
- 1937 - Alberto Spencer, Ecuadorian footballer (d. 2006)
- 1940 - Lawrence Bergman, Quebec politician
- 1940 - Richard Edlund, American special effects photographer
- 1942 - Peter Handke, Austrian writer
- 1945 - Shekhar Kapur, Indian filmmaker
- 1945 - Larry Bowa, baseball player and Major League manager
- 1945 - Dan Harrington, American poker player
- 1947 - Lawrence Cannon, Canadian politician
- 1948 - JoBeth Williams, American actress
- 1948 - Keke Rosberg, Finnish race car driver
- 1948 - Marius Müller-Westernhagen, German actor and musician
- 1949 - Linda Creed, American songwriter
- 1949 - Doug Marlette, American editorial cartoonist
- 1950 - Joe Hisaishi, Japanese composer
- 1952 - Rick Charlesworth, Australian hockey player
- 1952 - Craig Newmark, founder of craigslist
- 1953 - Tom Hulce, American actor
- 1953 - Gary Ward, baseball player
- 1955 - Steven Wright, American comedian
- 1955 - Rick Buckler, British drummer (The Jam)
- 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
- 1967 - Hacken Lee, Hong Kong singer
- 1970 - Ulf Ekberg, Swedish musician (Ace of Base)
- 1970 - Éric Lemieux, Quebec keyboardist (La Chicane)
- 1971 - José Contreras, Cuban baseball player
- 1971 - Richard Krajicek, Dutch tennis player
- 1971 - Ryan White, American AIDS activist (d. 1990)
- 1971 - Naozumi Takahashi, seiyuu
- 1972 - Rick Short, baseball player
- 1974 - Nick Stajduhar, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1975 - Noel Clarke, English actor and writer
- 1976 - Colleen Haskell, American television personality
- 1977 - Kevin Cash, baseball player
- 1977 - Andrew Flintoff, England cricketer
- 1977 - Paul McVeigh, Irish footballer
- 1978 - Darrell Jackson, American football player
- 1978 - Chris Basak, American baseball player
- 1979 - Tim Cahill, Australia footballer
- 1980 - Steve Lovell, British footballer
- 1980 - Ehren Wassermann, American baseball player
- 1982 - Sean Ervine, Zimbabwean cricketer
- 1982 - Ryan Carnes, American actor
- 1982 - Robbie Gould, American football player
- 1982 - Alberto Contador, Spanish cyclist and 2007 Tour de France winner
- 1985 - Dulce MarÃa, Mexican actress and singer
- 1986 - Cintia Dicker, Brazilian model
- 1993 - Elián González, Cuban subject of international child custody battle
- 1995 - Joy Gruttmann, German singer
- 2000 - Pablo Nicolás UrdangarÃn y de Borbón, Spanish royal
Deaths
- 343 - Saint Nicholas
- 1185 - King Afonso I of Portugal (b. 1109)
- 1352 - Pope Clement VI (b. 1291)
- 1562 - Jan van Scorel Dutch painter and architect
- 1618 - Jacques-Davy Duperron, French cardinal (b. 1556)
- 1658 - Baltasar Gracián y Morales, Spanish writer (b. 1601)
- 1672 - King John II Casimir of Poland (b. 1609)
- 1675 - John Lightfoot, English churchman (b. 1602)
- 1718 - Nicholas Rowe, English poet and dramatist (b. 1674)
- 1746 - Lady Grizel Baillie, Scottish songwriter (b. 1665)
- 1771 - Giovanni Battista Morgagni, Italian anatomist (b. 1682)
- 1779 - Jean-Baptiste-Siméon Chardin, French painter (b. 1699)
- 1788 - Jonathan Shipley, British bishop and politician (b. 1714)
- 1867 - Jean Pierre Flourens, French physician (b. 1794)
- 1868 - August Schleicher, German linguist (b. 1821)
- 1879 - Erastus Brigham Bigelow, American industrialist (b. 1814)
- 1882 - Anthony Trollope, British author (b. 1815)
- 1882 - Alfred Escher, Swiss politician and railroad entrepreneur (b. 1819)
- 1889 - Jefferson Davis, President of the Confederate States of America (b. 1808)
- 1892 - Ernst Werner von Siemens, German inventor and industrialist (b. 1816)
- 1924 - Gene Stratton-Porter, American author, screenwriter and naturalist (b. 1863)
- 1949 - Leadbelly, American musician (b. 1888)
- 1951 - Harold Ross, American magazine editor (b. 1892)
- 1955 - Honus Wagner, baseball player (b. 1874)
- 1956 - Dr. Bhimji Ramji Ambedkar, Indian Minister of Law and architect of The Constitution of India (b. 1891)
- 1961 - Frantz Fanon, West Indian psychiatrist and writer (b. 1925)
- 1964 - Consuelo Vanderbilt (b. 1877)
- 1972 - Janet Munro, British actress (b. 1934)
- 1976 - João Goulart, President of Brazil (b. 1918)
- 1983 - Lucienne Boyer, French singer (b. 1903)
- 1985 - Burr Tillstrom, American puppeteer (b. 1917)
- 1985 - Max Kasch, American Actor, Holes
- 1988 - Roy Orbison, American singer, guitarist, and songwriter (b. 1936)
- 1989 - Frances Bavier, American actress (b. 1902)
- 1989 - Sammy Fain, American popular music composer (b. 1902)
- 1989 - John Payne, American movie actor (b. 1912)
- 1990 - Pavlos Sidiropoulos, Greek singer and songwriter (b. 1948)
- 1991 - Sir Richard Stone, British economist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1913)
- 1992 - Mimi Smith, maternal aunt and guardian of John Lennon (b. 1914)
- 1993 - Don Ameche, American actor (b. 1908)
- 1996 - Pete Rozelle, commissioner of the National Football League (b. 1926)
- 1997 - Billy Bremner, Scottish footballer (b. 1942)
- 2000 - Werner Klemperer, German-born actor (b. 1920)
- 2001 - Sir Peter Blake, New Zealand sailor and environmentalist (b. 1948)
- 2001 - Charles McClendon, Hall of Fame college football coach (b. 1923)
- 2002 - Philip Berrigan, American civil rights activist (b. 1923)
- 2003 - Hans Hotter, German bass-baritone (b. 1909)
- 2003 - Carlos Manuel Arana Osorio, President of Guatemala (b. 1918)
- 2003 - Jerry Tuite, American professional wrestler (b. 1966)
- 2004 - Raymond Goethals, Belgian football coach (b. 1921)
- 2005 - Charly Gaul, Luxembourg cyclist (b. 1932)
- 2005 - Devan Nair, 3rd President of Singapore (b. 1923)
- 2005 - Danny Williams, South African-born singer (b. 1942)
Holidays and observances
External links
