On This Day in History — September 6

Highlights of September 6

• 2022 — Liz Truss (pictured) succeeded Boris Johnson as prime minister following the July 2022 United Kingdom government crisis. Read more
• 2018 — The Supreme Court of India invalidated part of Section 377 of the Penal Code, thus legalising homosexuality in India. Read more
• 2017 — Hurricane Irma reached peak intensity near the Caribbean islands of Barbuda, Saint Martin, and Virgin Gorda. Read more
• 2000 — The Los Angeles Dodgers hosted the first Pride Night in Major League Baseball history. Read more
• 1999 — The Parliament of Singapore relocated from the Old Parliament House to its current meeting place (pictured). Read more
• 1997 — An estimated 2.5 billion people worldwide watched the funeral of Diana, Princess of Wales, on television. Read more
• 1995 — Cal Ripken Jr. (pictured) played his 2,131st consecutive Major League Baseball game, breaking the 56-year-old record set by Lou Gehrig. Read more
• 1976 — Soviet pilot Viktor Belenko landed his MiG-25 in Hakodate, Japan, declaring his intention to defect to the West. Read more
• 1970 — Black September: The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine hijacked four airliners, landing two at Dawson's Field in Jordan and one in Cairo, while the last hijacking attempt was foiled near London. Read more
• 1963 — The Kennedy administration sent Victor H. Krulak and Joseph Mendenhall on a mission to assess the progress of the Vietnam War. Read more
• 1952 — A prototype aircraft crashed at the Farnborough Airshow in Hampshire, England, killing the pilot and test observer on board, and 29 spectators. Read more
• 1944 — World War II: Soviet forces captured the city of Tartu on their way to re-establishing their rule in Estonia. Read more
• 1930 — Argentine president Hipólito Yrigoyen was deposed in a military coup by José Félix Uriburu. Read more
• 1916 — The first self-service grocery store, Piggly Wiggly, was founded in Memphis, Tennessee, U.S. Read more
• 1901 — U.S. president William McKinley was fatally shot by anarchist Leon Czolgosz at the Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo, New York, and died eight days later. Read more
• 1863 — General John S. Marmaduke fatally wounded his Confederate Army colleague Lucius M. Walker in a formal duel in Arkansas. Read more
• 1781 — American Revolutionary War: General Benedict Arnold led British forces to victory at the Battle of Groton Heights. Read more
• 1634 — Thirty Years' War: In the Battle of Nördlingen, the Catholic Imperial army defeated Swedish and German Protestant forces. Read more
• 1566 — Suleiman the Magnificent, the longest-reigning sultan of the Ottoman Empire, died at the age of 71. Read more
• 1492 — Christopher Columbus set sail from San Sebastián de La Gomera in the Canary Islands on his first voyage across the Atlantic, discovering the Americas. Read more

Events

• 2026 — 21 Air Flight 7598, a Boeing 767 freighter operating on behalf of Amazon Air, overruns the runway upon landing at Miami International Airport, striking multiple ground vehicles, killing at least five people, and injuring five others. Read more
• 2022 — Boris Johnson resigns as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, and is replaced by Liz Truss. Their meetings with Queen Elizabeth II at Balmoral Castle were the Queen's final official duties before her death two days later. Read more
• 2022 — Russo-Ukrainian war: Ukraine begins its Kharkiv counteroffensive, surprising Russian forces and retaking over 3,000 square kilometers of land, recapturing the entire Kharkiv Oblast west of the Oskil River, within the next week. Read more
• 2018 — Supreme Court of India decriminalises all consensual sex among adults in private, making homosexuality legal on the Indian lands. Read more
• 2018 — Brazilian presidential candidate Jair Bolsonaro survives a stabbing at a campaign rally in Juiz de Fora, Minas Gerais. Read more
• 2013 — Forty-one elephants are poisoned with cyanide in salt pans, by poachers in Hwange National Park. Read more
• 2013 — The first Minotaur V rocket is launched from the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport on Wallops Island, carrying NASA's LADEE spacecraft. Read more
• 2012 — Sixty-one people die after a fishing boat capsizes off the İzmir Province coast of Turkey, near the Greek Aegean islands. Read more
• 2009 — The ro-ro ferry SuperFerry 9 sinks off the Zamboanga Peninsula in the Philippines with 971 persons aboard; all but ten are rescued. Read more
• 2007 — Israel executes the air strike Operation Orchard to destroy a nuclear reactor in Syria. Read more
• 2003 — Mahmoud Abbas resigns from his position of Palestinian Prime Minister. Read more
• 1997 — The funeral of Diana, Princess of Wales takes place in London. Well over a million people line the streets and 21⁄2 billion watch around the world on television. Read more
• 1997 — Royal Brunei Airlines Flight 839 crashes in the Lambir Hills National Park while on approach to Miri Airport in Malaysia, killing 10. Read more
• 1995 — Cal Ripken Jr. of the Baltimore Orioles plays in his 2,131st consecutive game, breaking a record that had stood for 56 years. Read more
• 1992 — A group of hunters at the Stampede trail near Healy, Alaska come across a male corpse in abandoned bus, later identified as Christopher McCandless. Read more
• 1991 — The Soviet Union recognizes the independence of the Baltic states Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. Read more
• 1991 — The Russian parliament approves the name change of Leningrad back to Saint Petersburg. The change is effective October 1. Read more
• 1988 — End of the last stage of the Anfal campaign of Ba'athist Iraq against its Kurdish population, which resulted in major destructions and major civilian losses. Read more
• 1986 — In Istanbul, two terrorists from Abu Nidal's organization kill 22 and wound six congregants inside the Neve Shalom Synagogue during Shabbat services. Read more
• 1985 — Midwest Express Airlines Flight 105 crashes near Milwaukee Mitchell International Airport in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, killing all 31 people on board. Read more
• 1983 — The Soviet Union admits to shooting down Korean Air Lines Flight 007, stating that its operatives did not know that it was a civilian aircraft when it reportedly violated Soviet airspace. Read more
• 1976 — Cold War: Soviet Air Defence Forces pilot Viktor Belenko lands a Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-25 jet fighter at Hakodate in Japan and requests political asylum in the United States; his request is granted. Read more
• 1972 — Munich massacre: Nine Israeli athletes die (along with a German policeman) at the hands of the Palestinian "Black September" terrorist group after being taken hostage at the Munich Olympic Games. Two other Israeli athletes were slain in the initial attack the previous day. Read more
• 1971 — Paninternational Flight 112 crashes on the Bundesautobahn 7 highway near Hamburg Airport, in Hamburg, Germany, killing 22. Read more
• 1970 — Two passenger jets bound from Europe to New York are simultaneously hijacked by Palestinian terrorist members of the PFLP and taken to Dawson's Field, Jordan. Read more
• 1968 — Swaziland becomes independent. Read more
• 1966 — Prime Minister Hendrik Verwoerd, the architect of apartheid, is stabbed to death in Cape Town, South Africa during a parliamentary meeting. Read more
• 1965 — India retaliates following Pakistan's Operation Grand Slam which results in the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965 that ends in a stalemate followed by the signing of the Tashkent Declaration. Read more
• 1962 — The United States government begins the Exercise Spade Fork nuclear readiness drill. Read more
• 1962 — Archaeologist Peter Marsden discovers the first of the Blackfriars Ships dating back to the second century AD in the Blackfriars area of the banks of the River Thames in London. Read more
• 1955 — Istanbul's Greek, Jewish, and Armenian minorities are the target of a government-sponsored pogrom; dozens are killed in ensuing riots. Read more
• 1952 — A prototype aircraft crashes at the Farnborough Airshow in Hampshire, England, killing 29 spectators and the two on board. Read more
• 1946 — United States Secretary of State James F. Byrnes announces that the U.S. will follow a policy of economic reconstruction in postwar Germany. Read more
• 1944 — World War II: The city of Ypres, Belgium is liberated by Allied forces. Read more
• 1944 — World War II: Soviet forces capture the city of Tartu, Estonia. Read more
• 1943 — The Monterrey Institute of Technology is founded in Monterrey, Mexico as one of the largest and most influential private universities in Latin America. Read more
• 1943 — Pennsylvania Railroad's premier train derails at Frankford Junction in Philadelphia, killing 79 people and injuring 117 others. Read more
• 1940 — King Carol II of Romania abdicates and is succeeded by his son Michael. General Ion Antonescu becomes the Conducător of Romania. Read more
• 1939 — World War II: The British Royal Air Force suffers its first fighter pilot casualty of the Second World War at the Battle of Barking Creek as a result of friendly fire. Read more
• 1939 — World War II: Union of South Africa declares war on Germany. Read more
• 1936 — Spanish Civil War: The Interprovincial Council of Asturias and León is established. Read more
• 1930 — Democratically elected Argentine president Hipólito Yrigoyen is deposed in a military coup. Read more
• 1915 — World War I: The first tank prototype, developed by William Foster & Co. for the British army, is completed and given its first test drive. Read more
• 1914 — World War I: The First Battle of the Marne, which would halt the Imperial German Army's advance into France, begins. Read more
• 1901 — Leon Czolgosz, an unemployed anarchist, shoots and fatally wounds US president William McKinley at the Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo, New York. Read more
• 1885 — Eastern Rumelia declares its union with Bulgaria, thus accomplishing Bulgarian unification. Read more
• 1870 — Louisa Ann Swain of Laramie, Wyoming becomes the first woman in the United States to cast a vote legally after 1807. Read more
• 1863 — American Civil War: Confederate forces evacuate Battery Wagner and Morris Island in South Carolina. Read more
• 1861 — American Civil War: Forces under Union General Ulysses S. Grant bloodlessly capture Paducah, Kentucky, giving the Union control of the Tennessee River's mouth. Read more
• 1859 — Imam Shamil surrenders to the Russians, bringing the Caucasian Imamate to an end. Read more
• 1803 — British scientist John Dalton begins using symbols to represent the atoms of different elements. Read more
• 1781 — American Revolutionary War: The Battle of Groton Heights takes place, resulting in a British victory. Read more
• 1634 — Thirty Years' War: In the Battle of Nördlingen, the Catholic Imperial army defeats Swedish and German Protestant forces. Read more
• 1628 — Puritans settle Salem, which became part of Massachusetts Bay Colony. Read more
• 1622 — The Spanish treasure galleon Atocha sinks during a hurricane off Key West in the Straits of Florida, taking 40 short tons (36 t) of gold and silver and 260 of its 265 passengers and crew to the bottom. Read more
• 1620 — The Pilgrim Fathers sail from Plymouth, England, on the Mayflower to settle in North America. (Old Style date; September 16 per New Style date.) Read more
• 1522 — The Victoria returns to Sanlúcar de Barrameda in Spain, the only surviving ship of Ferdinand Magellan's expedition and the first known ship to circumnavigate the world. Read more
• 1492 — Christopher Columbus sails from La Gomera in the Canary Islands, his final port of call before crossing the Atlantic Ocean for the first time. Read more
• 394 — Battle of the Frigidus: Roman emperor Theodosius I defeats and kills Eugenius the usurper. His Frankish magister militum Arbogast escapes but commits suicide two days later. Read more

Born on September 6

• 2006 — Prince Hisahito of Akishino, Japanese prince Read more
• 2005 — Elzhana Taniyeva, Kazakh rhythmic gymnast Read more
• 2002 — Asher Angel, American actor Read more
• 2002 — Leylah Fernandez, Canadian tennis player Read more
• 2001 — Freya Allan, English actress Read more
• 2001 — Terrence Clarke, American basketball player (died 2021) Read more
• 2000 — David Kushner, American singer-songwriter Read more
• 1998 — Michele Perniola, Italian singer Read more
• 1997 — Mallory Comerford, American swimmer Read more
• 1997 — Tsukushi, Japanese wrestler Read more
• 1996 — Andrés Tello, Colombian footballer Read more
• 1996 — Lil Xan, American rapper Read more
• 1995 — Mark Andrews, American football player Read more
• 1995 — Mustafizur Rahman, Bangladeshi cricketer Read more
• 1994 — Maddie Phillips, Canadian actress Read more
• 1994 — Emilly Micaela Marcondes, Brazilian professional futsal player Read more
• 1994 — Elif Doğan, Turkish actress Read more
• 1993 — Famous Dex, American rapper Read more
• 1993 — Alex Poythress, American basketball player Read more
• 1993 — Mattia Valoti, Italian footballer Read more
• 1992 — Ryan Shazier, American football player Read more
• 1992 — Young Tonumaipea, Samoan rugby league player Read more
• 1991 — Brian Dumoulin, American ice hockey player Read more
• 1991 — Joe Harris, American basketball player Read more
• 1990 — John Wall, American basketball player Read more
• 1989 — Kim So-eun, South Korean actress Read more
• 1988 — Max George, English singer-songwriter and actor Read more
• 1988 — Denis Tonucci, Italian footballer Read more
• 1987 — Emir Preldžić, Turkish basketball player Read more
• 1985 — Lauren Lapkus, American actress and comedian Read more
• 1985 — Mitch Moreland, American baseball player Read more
• 1985 — Małgorzata Rejmer, Polish novelist Read more
• 1984 — Helena Ekholm, Swedish skier Read more
• 1984 — William Porterfield, Northern Irish cricketer Read more
• 1983 — Jerry Blevins, American baseball player Read more
• 1983 — Pippa Middleton, English socialite and author Read more
• 1983 — Braun Strowman, American wrestler and strongman Read more
• 1982 — Temeka Johnson, American basketball player Read more
• 1981 — Yuki Abe, Japanese footballer Read more
• 1981 — Yumiko Cheng, Hong Kong singer and actress Read more

Died on September 6

• 2025 — Rick Davies, English musician (born 1944) Read more
• 2024 — Ayşenur Ezgi Eygi, Turkish-American activist (born 1998) Read more
• 2024 — Rebecca Horn, German visual artist (born 1944) Read more
• 2024 — Will Jennings, American songwriter (born 1944) Read more
• 2024 — Cathy Merrick, Canadian First Nations leader (born 1961/1962) Read more
• 2024 — Ron Yeats, Scottish footballer (born 1937) Read more
• 2021 — Jean-Paul Belmondo, French actor (born 1933) Read more
• 2021 — Michael K. Williams, American actor (born 1966) Read more
• 2020 — Lou Brock, American baseball player (born 1939) Read more
• 2019 — Robert Mugabe, Zimbabwean politician, 2nd President of Zimbabwe (born 1924) Read more
• 2018 — Richard DeVos, American billionaire businessman (born 1926) Read more
• 2018 — Liz Fraser, English actress (born 1930) Read more
• 2018 — Burt Reynolds, American actor, director and producer (born 1936) Read more
• 2017 — Peter Luck, Australian journalist and television host (born 1944) Read more
• 2017 — Kate Millett, American feminist author and activist (born 1934) Read more
• 2015 — Martin Milner, American actor (born 1931) Read more
• 2014 — Odd Bondevik, Norwegian bishop and theologian (born 1941) Read more
• 2014 — Seth Martin, Canadian ice hockey player and coach (born 1933) Read more
• 2014 — Kira Zvorykina, Belarusian chess player and educator (born 1919) Read more
• 2013 — Ann C. Crispin, American author (born 1950) Read more
• 2012 — Elisabeth Böhm, German architect (born 1921) Read more
• 2012 — Lawrie Dring, Scottish scout leader, founded World Federation of Independent Scouts (born 1931) Read more
• 2012 — Oscar Rossi, Argentine footballer and manager (born 1930) Read more
• 2011 — Michael S. Hart, American author, founded Project Gutenberg (born 1947) Read more
• 2010 — Boris Chetkov, Russian painter (born 1926) Read more
• 2010 — Clive Donner, English director and editor (born 1926) Read more
• 2009 — Catherine Gaskin, Irish-Australian author (born 1929) Read more
• 2008 — Anita Page, American actress (born 1910) Read more
• 2007 — Madeleine L'Engle, American author and poet (born 1918) Read more
• 2007 — Luciano Pavarotti, Italian tenor (born 1935) Read more
• 2005 — Hasan Abidi, Pakistani journalist and poet (born 1929) Read more
• 2005 — Eugenia Charles, Dominican lawyer and politician, 2nd Prime Minister of Dominica (born 1919) Read more
• 2000 — Abdul Haris Nasution, Indonesian general (born 1918) Read more
• 1998 — Akira Kurosawa, Japanese director, producer, and screenwriter (born 1910) Read more
• 1998 — Ernst-Hugo Järegård, Swedish actor (born 1928) Read more
• 1997 — P. H. Newby, English author and broadcaster (born 1918) Read more
• 1994 — Nicky Hopkins, English pianist (born 1944) Read more
• 1990 — Tom Fogerty, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (born 1941) Read more
• 1990 — Len Hutton, English cricketer (born 1916) Read more
• 1986 — Blanche Sweet, American actress (born 1896) Read more

Holidays & observances

Christian feast days: Begga; Christian feast days: Chagnoald; Christian feast days: Faustus, Abibus and Dionysius of Alexandria; Christian feast days: Gondulphus of Metz; Christian feast days: Blessed Jan Franciszek Czartoryski; Christian feast days: Magnus of Füssen; Christian feast days: Onesiphorus; Christian feast days: Zechariah (Hebrew prophet) (Catholic church); Christian feast days: September 6 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics); The earliest date on which the Abbots Bromley Horn Dance is performed; Armed Forces Day (São Tomé and Príncipe); Defence Day or Army Day (Pakistan); Flag Day (Bonaire); Independence Day (Swaziland), celebrates the independence of Eswatini from the United Kingdom in 1968; Unification Day (Bulgaria)

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