October 6 is the 279th day of the year (280th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 86 days remaining until the end of the year.
Events
- 105 BC - Battle of Arausio: The Cimbri inflict the heaviest defeat on the Roman army of Gnaeus Mallius Maximus.
- 68 BC - Battle of Artaxata: Lucullus averts the bad omen of this day by defeating Tigranes the Great of Armenia.
- 1582 - Due to the implementation of the Gregorian calendar, this day is skipped in Italy, Poland, Portugal and Spain.
- 1600 - Jacopo Peri's Euridice, the earliest surviving opera, premieres in Florence, signifying the beginning of the Baroque Period
- 1683 - William Penn brings 13 German immigrant families to the colony of Pennsylvania, marking the first German people to immigrate to America.
- 1762 - Seven Years' War: conclusion of the Battle of Manila between Britain and Spain, which resulted in the British occupation of Manila for the rest of the war.
- 1789 - French Revolution: Louis XVI returns to Paris from Versailles after being confronted by the Parisian women on 5 October
- 1849 - The execution of the 13 Martyrs of Arad after the Hungarian war of independence.
- 1854 - The Great fire of Newcastle and Gateshead started shortly after midnight, leading to 53 deaths and hundreds injured.
- 1884 - The Naval War College of the United States Navy was founded in Newport, Rhode Island.
- 1889 - Thomas Edison shows his first motion picture.
- 1898 - Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia Fraternity founded at the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston, Massachusetts.
- 1903 - The High Court of Australia sits for the first time.
- 1906 - The Majlis of Iran convened for the first time.
- 1908 - Austria annexes Bosnia and Herzegovina.
- 1921 - International PEN is founded in London.
- 1922 - The great powers of the first world war withdraw from Istanbul
- 1927 - Opening of The Jazz Singer, the first prominent talking movie.
- 1928 - Chiang Kai-Shek becomes Chairman of the Republic of China.
- 1939 - Last Polish army is defeated in World War II.
- 1945 - Baseball: Billy Sianis and his pet billy goat are ejected from Wrigley Field during Game 4 of the 1945 World Series (see Curse of the Billy Goat).
- 1955 - A United Airlines DC-4 crashes in Medicine Bow Peak, Wyoming, killing 66 people
- 1966 - LSD is declared illegal in the United States.
- 1973 - The Crossing: 80,000 Egyptian troops cross the Suez Canal, destroying the fortified Israeli Bar-Lev Line and starting the Yom Kippur War.
- 1976 - Cubana Flight 455 crashes into the Atlantic Ocean after two bombs, placed by terrorists with connections to the CIA, exploded onboard shortly after taking off from Bridgetown, Barbados. All 73 people on-board were killed.
- 1976 - New Premier Hua Guofeng orders the arrest of the Gang of Four and associates and ends the Cultural Revolution in the People's Republic of China.
- 1976 - Massacre of students gathering at Thammasat University in Bangkok, Thailand to protest the return of ex-dictator Thanom by a coalition of right-wing paramilitary and government forces, triggering the return of the military to government.
- 1977 - In Alicante, Spain, fascists attack a group of MCPV militants and sympathizers, and one MCPV sympathizer is killed.
- 1977 - The first prototype of the MiG-29, designated 9-01, makes its maiden flight.
- 1979 - Pope John Paul II becomes the first pontiff to visit the White House.
- 1981 - President of Egypt, Anwar al-Sadat is assassinated.
- 1985 - PC Keith Blakelock is murdered as riots erupt in the Broadwater Farm suburb of London.
- 1987 - Fiji becomes a republic.
- 1995 - 51 Pegasi was discovered to be the first major star apart from the Sun to have a planet (and extrasolar planet) orbiting around it.
- 2000 - Yugoslav president Slobodan Milošević resigns.
- 2002 - The French oil tanker Limburg is bombed off Yemen.
- 2002 - Opus Dei founder JosemarÃa Escrivá is canonized.
- 2007 - Jason Lewis completes the first human-powered circumnavigation of the globe.
Births
- 1289 - King Wenceslaus III of Bohemia (d. 1306)
- 1459 - Martin Behaim, German navigator and geographer (d. 1507)
- 1510 - Rowland Taylor, English clergyman (d. 1555)
- 1510 - John Caius, English physician (d. 1573)
- 1552 - Matteo Ricci, Italian Jesuit missionary (d. 1610)
- 1573 - Henry Wriothesley, 3rd Earl of Southampton, English patron of the theater (d. 1624)
- 1610 - Charles de Sainte-Maure, duc de Montausier, French soldier (d. 1690)
- 1716 - George Montague-Dunk, 2nd Earl of Halifax, English statesman (d. 1771)
- 1738 - Archduchess Maria Anna of Austria (d. 1789)
- 1744 - James McGill, Scottish-Canadian businessman and philanthropist (d. 1813)
- 1767 - Henri Christophe, king of Haiti (d. 1820)
- 1769 - Sir Isaac Brock, British commander (d. 1812)
- 1773 - King Louis-Philippe of France (d. 1850)
- 1801 - Hippolyte Carnot, French statesman (d. 1888)
- 1803 - Heinrich Wilhelm Dove, German physicist (d. 1879)
- 1820 - Jenny Lind, Swedish soprano (d. 1887)
- 1831 - Richard Dedekind, German mathematician (d. 1916)
- 1838 - Giuseppe Cesare Abba, Italian patriot and writer (d. 1910)
- 1846 - George Westinghouse, American engineer and inventor (d. 1914)
- 1866 - Reginald Fessenden, Canadian-born inventor and radio pioneer (d. 1932)
- 1872 - Mikhail Kuzmin, Russian writer (d. 1936)
- 1874 - Frank G. Allen, 51st Governor of Massachusetts (d. 1950)
- 1876 - Ernest Lapointe, French-Canadian politician (d. 1941)
- 1882 - Karol Szymanowski, Polish composer and pianist (d. 1937)
- 1886 - Edwin Fischer, Swiss pianist and conductor (d. 1960)
- 1887 - Le Corbusier, Swiss architect (d. 1965)
- 1888 - Roland Garros, French pilot (d. 1918)
- 1895 - Caroline Gordon, American writer and critic (d. 1981)
- 1900 - Stan Nichols, English cricketer (d. 1961)
- 1903 - Ernest Walton, Irish physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1995)
- 1905 - Helen Wills Moody, American tennis player (d. 1998)
- 1906 - Janet Gaynor, American actress (d. 1984)
- 1908 - Carole Lombard, American actress (d. 1942)
- 1908 - Sergei Lvovich Sobolev, Russian mathematician (d. 1989)
- 1910 - Barbara Castle, British politician (d. 2002)
- 1912 - Pauline Gore, mother of American Vice President Al Gore (d. 2004)
- 1914 - Thor Heyerdahl, Norwegian explorer (d. 2002)
- 1915 - Alice Timander, Swedish dentist (d. 2007)
- 1915 - Carolyn Goodman, American psychologist and civil rights activist (d. 2007)
- 1917 - Fannie Lou Hamer, American civil rights activist (d. 1977)
- 1918 - André Pilette, Belgian racing driver (d. 1993)
- 1920 - Pietro Consagra, Italian sculptor (d. 2005)
- 1920 - Lord Donaldson of Lymington, British judge (d. 2005)
- 1921 - Yevgeniy Landis, Russian mathematician (d. 1997)
- 1921 - Joseph Lowery, American Civil rights movement leader
- 1922 - Joe Frazier, American baseball player
- 1925 - Shana Alexander, American columnist (d. 2005)
- 1927 - Bill King, American sports broadcaster (d. 2005)
- 1930 - Hafez al-Assad, President of Syria (d. 2000)
- 1930 - Richie Benaud, Australian cricketer
- 1931 - Nikolai Stepanovich Chernykh, Russian astronomer (d. 2004)
- 1931 - Riccardo Giacconi, Italian-born physicist, Nobel Prize laureate
- 1935 - Bruno Sammartino, Italian strongman and professional wrestler
- 1935 - Charito Solis, Filipino actress (d. 1998)
- 1938 - Serge Nubret, French bodybuilder
- 1939 - John LaFalce, American politician, former Member, US House of Representatives
- 1942 - Britt Ekland, Swedish actress
- 1942 - Millie Small, Jamaican singer
- 1943 - Michael Durrell, American actor
- 1943 - Alexander Maxovich Shilov, Russian painter
- 1944 - José Carlos Pace, Brazilian racing driver (d. 1977)
- 1946 - Lloyd Doggett, American politician
- 1946 - Vinod Khanna, Indian actor
- 1946 - Tony Greig, South African-born English cricketer
- 1947 - Patxi Andión, Spanish singer-songwriter
- 1948 - Gerry Adams, Northern Irish politician
- 1950 - David Brin, American author
- 1950 - Thomas McClary, American guitarist (Commodores)
- 1951 - Manfred Winkelhock, German race car driver (d. 1985)
- 1951 - Kevin Cronin, American musician (REO Speedwagon)
- 1952 - Ayten Mutlu, Turkish poet and writer
- 1953 - Klaas Bruinsma, Dutch drug lord (d. 1991)
- 1954 - David Hidalgo, American musician (Los Lobos, Latin Playboys)
- 1955 - Tony Dungy, American football coach
- 1959 - Brian Higgins, American politician, Member of US House of Representatives
- 1959 - Dennis Ray Boyd, American baseball player
- 1962 - Rich Yett, baseball player
- 1963 - Elisabeth Shue, American film actress
- 1963 - Chip Foose, American automobile customizer
- 1963 - Jsu Garcia, American actor
- 1964 - Matthew Sweet, American musician
- 1965 - Rubén Sierra, Puerto Rican baseball player
- 1966 - Niall Quinn, Irish footballer
- 1966 - Jacqueline Obradors, American actress
- 1967 - Kennet Andersson, former Swedish footballer
- 1967 - Svend Karlsen, Norwegian strongman
- 1969 - Troy Shaw, English snooker player
- 1970 - Darren Oliver, American baseball player
- 1970 - Amy Jo Johnson, American actress and singer
- 1971 - Phil Bennett, British racing driver
- 1971 - Lola Dueñas, Spanish actress
- 1971 - Alan Stubbs, English footballer
- 1972 - Mark Schwarzer, Australian footballer
- 1972 - Ryu Shi-won, Korean actor and singer
- 1973 - Sylvain Legwinski, French footballer
- 1973 - Jeff Davis, American comedian
- 1973 - Ioan Gruffudd, Welsh actor
- 1973 - Rebecca Lobo, American basketball player
- 1974 - Jeremy Sisto, American actor
- 1974 - Walter Centeno, Costa Rican footballer
- 1975 - Reon King, West Indian cricketer from Guyana
- 1976 - Barbie Hsu, Taiwanese actress and singer
- 1977 - Daniel Brière, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1977 - Shimon Gershon, Israeli footballer
- 1977 - Vladimir Manchev, Bulgarian footballer
- 1978 - Ricky Hatton, English boxer
- 1979 - David Di Tommaso, French footballer (d. 2005)
- 1979 - Richard Seymour, American football player
- 1980 - Abdoulaye Méïté, French footballer
- 1981 - Zurab Khizanishvili, Georgian footballer
- 1981 - José Luis Perlaza, Ecuadorian footballer
- 1982 - MC Lars, American hip-hop artist
- 1982 - William Butler, Musician and member of Arcade Fire
- 1984 - Joanna Pacitti, American actress and singer
- 1986 - Mohammad Shukri, Malaysian cricketer
- 1986 - Olivia Thirlby, American actress
- 1988 - Maki Horikita, Japanese model and actress
- 1992 - Rhyon Nicole Brown, American actress
- 1995 - Jessica Lunsford, American kidnapping victim (d. 2005)
- 1998 - Mia-Sophie Wellenbrink, German actress and singer
Deaths
- 877 - Charles the Bald (b. 823)
- 1014 - Samuil, Emperor of the Bulgarian Empire (b. 958)
- 1101 - Bruno of Cologne, German founder of the Carthusian order
- 1413 - Dawit I, Emperor of Ethiopia (b. 1382)
- 1542 - Thomas Wyatt, English poet (b. 1503)
- 1641 - Matthijs Quast, Dutch explorer
- 1644 - Elisabeth of Bourbon, wife of Philip IV of Spain (b. 1602)
- 1660 - Paul Scarron, French writer
- 1661 - Guru Har Rai, seventh Sikh Guru
- 1688 - Christopher Monck, 2nd Duke of Albemarle, English statesman (b. 1652)
- 1762 - Francesco Manfredini, Italian composer (b. 1684)
- 1819 - Charles Emmanuel IV, king of Sardinia (b. 1751)
- 1829 - Pierre Derbigny, Governor of Louisiana (b. 1769)
- 1873 - Sir Paweł Edmund Strzelecki, Polish explorer and geologist (b. 1797)
- 1891 - Charles Stewart Parnell, Irish politician (b. 1846)
- 1892 - Alfred Lord Tennyson, British poet (b. 1809)
- 1912 - Auguste Marie François Beernaert, Belgian statesman and winner of the Nobel Peace Prize (b. 1829)
- 1945 - Leonardo Conti, Nazi physician (b. 1900)
- 1947 - Leevi Madetoja, Finnish composer (b. 1887)
- 1951 - Otto Fritz Meyerhof, German-born physician and biochemist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (b. 1884)
- 1951 - Will Keith Kellogg, American food manufacturer (b. 1860)
- 1959 - Bernard Berenson, American art historian (b. 1865)
- 1962 - Tod Browning, American film director (b. 1880)
- 1968 - Phyllis Nicolson, British mathematician (b. 1917)
- 1973 - François Cevert, French race car driver (b. 1944)
- 1973 - Sidney Blackmer, American actor (b. 1895)
- 1974 - Helmuth Koinigg, Austrian Formula One driver (b. 1948)
- 1976 - Gilbert Ryle, British philosopher (b. 1900)
- 1980 - Hattie Jacques, British comedy actress (b. 1922)
- 1980 - Jean Robic, French cyclist (b. 1921)
- 1981 - Anwar Sadat, President of Egypt, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize (b. 1918)
- 1983 - Terence Cardinal Cooke, American Catholic archbishop (b. 1921)
- 1985 - Nelson Riddle, American bandleader (b. 1921)
- 1986 - Alexander Kronrod, Russian mathematician (b. 1921)
- 1989 - Bette Davis, American actress (b. 1908)
- 1992 - Denholm Elliott, English actor (b. 1922)
- 1992 - Bill O'Reilly, Australian cricketer (b. 1902)
- 1993 - Larry Walters, American "lawn chair" pilot (b. 1949)
- 1997 - Johnny Vander Meer, American baseball player (b. 1914)
- 1998 - Mark Belanger, American baseball player (b. 1944)
- 1999 - Amalia Rodrigues, Portuguese singer and actress (b. 1920)
- 1999 - Gorilla Monsoon, American professional wrestler/commentator (b. 1937)
- 2000 - Richard Farnsworth, American actor (b. 1930)
- 2001 - Arne Harris, American television sports director (b. 1934)
- 2002 - Claus von Amsberg, husband of Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands (b. 1926)
- 2003 - Timothy Treadwell, American environmentalist (b. 1957)
- 2006 - Puck Brouwer, Dutch athlete (b. 1930)
- 2006 - Eduardo Mignogna, Argentinian film director (b. 1940)
- 2006 - Buck O'Neil, American baseball player (b. 1911)
- 2006 - Wilson Tucker, American writer (b. 1914)
- 2007 - Bud Ekins, American stuntman (b. 1930)
Holidays and observances
External links
