Discover

With 88 days between the equinox on September 23 and the solstice on 21 December, we are considered halfway through the relevant seasons (Autumn or Fall in the northern hemisphere; Spring in the southern hemisphere) on this day.

Contents

Events

Births

Deaths

Holidays and Observances

External links

Events

★ 355 - Roman Emperor Constantius II raises his cousin Julian to the rank of Caesar, entrusting him of the government of the Prefecture of the Gauls.

★ 1528 - Shipwrecked Spanish conquistador Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca becomes the first known European to set foot on Texas.

★ 1632-Death of King Gustavus Adolphus the Great of Sweden in the Battle of Lützen during the Thirty Years War.

★ 1789 - Pope Pius VI appoints Father John Carroll as the first Catholic bishop in the United States.

★ 1844 - The first constitution of the Dominican Republic was adopted.

★ 1861 - American Civil War: Jefferson Davis is elected president of the Confederate States of America.

★ 1869 - In New Brunswick, New Jersey, Rutgers University defeats Princeton University, 6-4, in the first official intercollegiate American football game.

★ 1873 - The Halifax Rugby League Football Club is formed.

★ 1913 - Mohandas Gandhi is arrested while leading a march of Indian miners in South Africa.

★ 1917 - World War I: Third Battle of Ypres ends: After three months of fierce fighting, Canadian forces take Passchendaele in Belgium.

★ 1918 - The Second Polish Republic is proclaimed in Poland.

★ 1925 - Secret agent Sidney Reilly is executed by the OGPU, the secret police of the Soviet Union.

★ 1928 - Swedes start a tradition of eating Gustavus Adolphus pastries to commemorate the king.

★ 1931 - Indian spiritual leader Meher Baba arrives in The United States for the first time aboard the SS Roma.

★ 1935 - Before the New York section of the Institute of Radio Engineers, Edwin Armstrong presents his paper "A Method of Reducing Disturbances in Radio Signaling by a System of Frequency Modulation," i.e. FM radio.

★ 1935 - First flight of the Hawker Hurricane.

★ 1939 - ''The Hedda Hopper Show'' debuts with Hollywood gossip Hedda Hopper as host. The show would run until 1951, making Hopper a powerful figure in the Hollywood elite.

★ 1939 - World War II: Sonderaktion Krakau

★ 1941 - World War II: Soviet leader Joseph Stalin addresses the Soviet Union for only the second time during his three-decade rule. He states that even though 350,000 troops were killed in German attacks so far, that the Germans have lost 4.5 million soldiers (a wild exaggeration) and that Soviet victory was near.

★ 1942 - World War II: SS City of Cairo sunk by German U-Boat U-68 in the South Atlantic en route to Brazil from Cape Town.

★ 1943 - World War II: Russia recaptures Kiev. Before withdrawing, Germans destroy most of the city's ancient buildings.

★ 1944 - Plutonium is first produced at the Hanford Atomic Facility, subsequently used in the Fat Man Atomic bomb dropped on Nagasaki, Japan.

★ 1947 - ''Meet The Press'' makes its television debut (the show went to a weekly schedule on September 12, 1948).

★ 1957 - Félix Gaillard becomes Prime Minister of France

★ 1962 - Apartheid: The United Nations General Assembly passes a resolution condemning South Africa's racist apartheid policies and calls for all UN member states to cease military and economic relations with the nation.

★ 1963 - Vietnam War: Following the November 1 coup and execution of President Ngo Dinh Diem, coup leader General Duong Van Minh takes over leadership of South Vietnam.

★ 1965 - Freedom Flights begin: Cuba and the United States formally agree to start an airlift for Cubans who want to go to the United States. By 1971, 250,000 Cubans will take advantage of this program.

★ 1971 - The AEC tests the largest U.S. underground hydrogen bomb, code-named Cannikin, on Amchitka Island in the Aleutians.

★ 1975 - Green March begins: 300,000 unarmed Moroccans converge on the southern city of Tarfaya and wait for a signal from King Hassan II of Morocco to cross into Western Sahara.

★ 1975 - The Sex Pistols play their first concert at St. Martin's School of Art in London.

★ 1977 - The Kelly Barnes Dam, located above Toccoa Falls Bible College near Toccoa, Georgia, fails, killing 39.

★ 1984 - U.S. presidential election, 1984: Ronald Reagan defeats Walter F. Mondale with 59% of the popular vote, the highest since Richard Nixon's 61% victory in 1972. Reagan carries 49 states in the electoral college; Mondale wins only his home state of Minnesota by a mere 3,761 vote margin and the District of Columbia.

★ 1985 - In Colombia, leftist guerrillas of the April 19 Movement seize control of the Palace of Justice in Bogotá, eventually killing 115 people, 11 of them Supreme Court justices.

★ 1985 - "Irangate" scandal: The American press reveals that US President Ronald Reagan had authorized the shipment of arms to Iran.

★ 1999 - Australians vote to keep the British monarch as their head of state in the Australian republic referendum.

★ 2001 - Belgian national airline Sabena is declared bankrupt.

★ 2001 - David Trimble is re-elected prime minister of Northern Ireland.

★ 2002 - 12 people are killed in a fire on board a train headed for Vienna from Paris

★ 2004 - An express train collides with a stationary car near the village of Ufton Nervet, England, killing 6 and injuring 150.

★ 2005 - The Evansville Tornado of November 2005 kills 25 in Northwestern Kentucky and Southwestern Indiana.

★ 2005 - The military junta of Myanmar begins moving its government ministries from Yangon to Pyinmana.

Births

★ 1391 - Edmund de Mortimer, 5th Earl of March, English politician (d. 1425)

★ 1479 - Joanna I of Castile, queen of Spain (d. 1555)

★ 1494 - Suleiman the Magnificent, Ottoman Sultan (d. 1566)

★ 1661 - King Charles II of Spain (d. 1700)

★ 1692 - Louis Racine, French poet (d. 1763)

★ 1753 - Mikhail Kozlovsky, Russian sculptor (d. 1802)

★ 1753 - Jean-Baptiste Breval, French composer (d. 1823)

★ 1814 - Adolphe Sax, Belgian inventor (d. 1894)

★ 1833 - Jonas Lie, Norwegian author (d. 1908)

★ 1841 - Nelson W. Aldrich, U.S. Senator from Rhode Island (d. 1915)

★ 1841 - Armand Fallières, French president (d. 1931)

★ 1851 - Charles Dow, American journalist and economist (d.1902)

★ 1854 - John Philip Sousa, American composer (d. 1932)

★ 1855 - Ezra Seymour Gosney, American philanthropist and eugenicist (d. 1942)

★ 1860 - Ignace Paderewski, Polish pianist, composer, and President of Poland (d. 1941)

★ 1861 - James Naismith, Canadian inventor of basketball (d. 1939)

★ 1880 - Robert Musil, Austrian novelist (d. 1942)

★ 1882 - Thomas Ince, American movie personality. Manner of death still controversial. (d. 1924)

★ 1887 - Walter Johnson, American baseball player (d. 1946)

★ 1892 - Harold Ross, American editor (d. 1951)

★ 1893 - Edsel Ford, president of Ford Motor Company (d. 1943)

★ 1906 - James D. Norris, sportsman and businessman (Chicago Blackhawks) (d. 1966)

★ 1914 - Jonathan Harris, American actor (d. 2002)

★ 1916 - Ray Conniff, American composer and conductor (d. 2002)

★ 1921 - James Jones, American writer (d. 1977)

★ 1924 - Jeanette Schmid, Austrian professional whistler, AKA Baroness Lips von Lipstrill (d. 2005)

★ 1926 - Frank Carson, Northern Irish comedian

★ 1931 - Mike Nichols, American film director

★ 1932 - Stonewall Jackson, American country singer

★ 1937 - Joe Warfield, American actor

★ 1938 - Mack Jones, American baseball player (d. 2004)

★ 1938 - P.J. Proby, American-born singer and actor

★ 1938 - Dumitru Rusu, Romanian painter

★ 1938 - Jim Pike, American singer (The Lettermen)

★ 1939 - Michael Schwerner, American civil rights activist (d. 1964)

★ 1946 - Sally Field, American actress

★ 1947 - Dr. E. Lee Spence, Pioneer American underwater archaeologist

★ 1948 - Glenn Frey, American singer (Eagles)

★ 1949 - Brad Davis, American actor (d. 1991)

★ 1949 - Arturo Sandoval, Cuban-born trumpeter

★ 1951 - Peter Althin, Swedish politician and attorney

★ 1952 - Michael Cunningham, American writer

★ 1954 - Catherine Crier, American television personality

★ 1955 - Maria Shriver, American journalist

★ 1957 - Klaus Kleinfeld, German industrialist

★ 1957 - Siobhán McCarthy, Irish singer and actress

★ 1957 - Lori Singer, American actress

★ 1958 - Trace Beaulieu, American comic actor best known for his work in Mystery Science Theater 3000

★ 1961 - Florent Pagny, French songwriter and singer

★ 1961 - Kazuhiko Aoki, Japanese game creator

★ 1963 - Rozz Williams, American musician (Christian Death) (d. 1998)

★ 1964 - Kerry Conran, American filmmaker

★ 1965 - Greg Graffin, American singer (Bad Religion)

★ 1966 - Paul Gilbert, American guitarist and singer

★ 1966 - Christian Lorenz, German keyboardist (Rammstein)

★ 1967 - Rebecca Schaeffer, American actress (d. 1989)

★ 1968 - Alfred Williams, American football player

★ 1970 - Ethan Hawke, American actor

★ 1972 - Garry Flitcroft, English footballer

★ 1972 - Thandie Newton, Zambian actress

★ 1972 - Rebecca Romijn, American actress

★ 1972 - Deivi Cruz, American baseball player

★ 1973 - Nell McAndrew, British model

★ 1976 - Mike Herrera, American singer and bassist (MxPx)

★ 1976 - Jodi Martin, Australian singer-songwriter

★ 1976 - Pat Tillman, American football player (d. 2004)

★ 1976 - Catherine Clark, Canadian journalist (also daughter of former Canadian Prime Minister Joe Clark)

★ 1977 - Patrícia Tavares, Portuguese actress

★ 1978 - Jolina Magdangal, Filipina singer, actress and television host

★ 1978 - Sandrine Blancke, Belgian actress

★ 1978 - Taryn Manning, American actress

★ 1978 - Zak Morioka, Brazilian racing driver

★ 1979 - Lamar Odom, American basketball player

★ 1981 - Cassie Bernall, American murder victim (d. 1999)

★ 1981 - Lee Dong Wook, South Korean actor

★ 1982 - Sowelu, Japanese pop singer

★ 1987 - Ana Ivanović, Serbian tennis player

★ 1988 - Emma Stone, American actress

★ 1988 - Erik Lund, Swedish football (soccer) player

★ 1989 - Jozy Altidore, American soccer player

Deaths

★ 1231 - Emperor Tsuchimikado of Japan (b. 1196)

★ 1406 - Pope Innocent VII

★ 1492 - Antoine Busnois, French composer

★ 1550 - Ulrich, Duke of Württemberg (b. 1487)

★ 1632 - King Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden (killed in battle) (b. 1594)

★ 1656 - King John IV of Portugal (b. 1603)

★ 1656 - Jean-Baptiste Morin, French scientist (b. 1583)

★ 1692 - Gédéon Tallemant des Réaux, French writer (b. 1619)

★ 1752 - Ralph Erskine, Scottish minister (b. 1685)

★ 1771 - John Bevis, English physician and astronomer (b. 1695)

★ 1790 - James Bowdoin, American Revolutionary leader and politician (b. 1726)

★ 1796 - Catherine II of Russia (b. 1729)

★ 1816 - Gouverneur Morris, American lawmaker and diplomat (b. 1752)

★ 1822 - Claude Louis Berthollet, French chemist (b. 1748)

★ 1836 - King Charles X of France (b. 1757)

★ 1846 - Karol Marcinkowski, Polish physician and social activist (b. 1800)

★ 1846 - Alexander Chavchavadze, Georgian poet and general

★ 1893 - Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky, Russian composer (b. 1840)

★ 1910 - Giuseppe Cesare Abba, Italian patriot and writer (b. 1838)

★ 1925 - Khai Dinh, Emperor of Vietnam

★ 1929 - Prince Maximilian of Baden, Chancellor of Germany (b. 1867)

★ 1936 - Henry Bourne Joy, American automobile executive (b. 1864)

★ 1941 - Maurice Leblanc, French novelist (b. 1864)

★ 1960 - Erich Raeder, German grand admiral (b. 1876)

★ 1964 - Hans von Euler-Chelpin, German-born chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1863)

★ 1964 - Hugo Koblet, Swiss cyclist (b. 1925)

★ 1965 - Edgard Varèse, French composer (b. 1883)

★ 1965 - Clarence Williams, American musician (b. 1898)

★ 1968 - Charles Munch, French conductor and violinist (b. 1891)

★ 1968 - Charles B. McVay III, Ex-U.S. Navy Captain (b. 1898)

★ 1970 - Agustín Lara, Mexican composer and poet.

★ 1978 - Harry Bertoia, Italian artist and designer (b. 1915)

★ 1978 - Heiri Suter, Swiss cyclist (b. 1899)

★ 1984 - Gastón Suárez, Bolivian novelist and dramatist (b. 1929)

★ 1985 - Joel Crothers, Soap Opera Actor (b. 1941)

★ 1986 - Elisabeth Grümmer, Alsatian soprano (b. 1911)

★ 1987 - Zohar Argov, Israeli singer (b. 1955)

★ 1989 - Yusaku Matsuda, Japanese actor (b. 1949)

★ 1989 - Dickie Goodman, creator of "break-in" records (b. 1934)

★ 1991 - Gene Tierney, American actress (b. 1920)

★ 1998 - Marcel Gauthier, Canadian midget wrestler (b. 1928)

★ 2000 - David R. Brower, American environmentalist (b. 1912)

★ 2000 - L. Sprague de Camp, American writer (b. 1907)

★ 2001 - Anthony Shaffer, English dramatist (b. 1926)

★ 2002 - Sid Sackson, American board game designer (b. 1920)

★ 2003 - Crash Holly, American professional wrestler (b. 1971)

★ 2003 - Rie Mastenbroek, Dutch swimmer (b. 1919)

★ 2003 - Eduardo Palomo, Mexican actor (b. 1962)

★ 2004 - Fred Dibnah, English television personality (b. 1938)

★ 2004 - Johnny Warren, Australian footballer (b. 1943)

★ 2005 - Minako Honda, Japanese singer and musical actress (b. 1967)

★ 2005 - Rod Donald, New Zealand Politician, Green Party Co-leader (b. 1957)

★ 2005 - Miguel Aceves Mejía, Mexican actor, composer and singer.

★ 2006 - Federico (Fico) López, Puerto Rican Olympic basketball player (b. 1962)

★ 2006 - Francisco Fernández Ochoa, Spanish alpine skier (b. 1950)

Holidays and Observances

★ Catholic Saints - 'November 6' is the feast day of the following Catholic Saints:

★
★ St. Atticus

★
★ St. Barlaam

★
★ St. Christine of Stommeln

★
★ St. Demetrian

★
★ St. Edwen

★
★ St. Efflam

★
★ St. Emil

★
★ St. Felix of Thynissa

★
★ St. Illtud

★
★ St. Joseph Khang

★
★ St. Leonard of Noblac

★
★ St. Leonard of Reresby

★
★ St. Leonianus

★
★ St. Winnoc

★ Also see November 6 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)

★ Dominican Republic - Constitution Day (1844)

★ Finland - The Finnish Swedish Heritage Day and an official flag day

★ Morocco - Anniversary of the Green March

★ Sweden - Death of King Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden and official flag day

★ Tajikistan - Constitution Day (1994)

External links

★ BBC: On This Day

★

★ On This Day in Canada
----