Events

Pre-1600

• 12 BCE The Roman emperor Augustus is named Pontifex Maximus, incorporating the position into that of the emperor.

• 845 The 42 Martyrs of Amorium are killed after refusing to convert to Islam.

• 1204 The Siege of Château Gaillard ends in a French victory over King John of England, who loses control of Normandy to King Philip II Augustus.

• 1323 Treaty of Paris of 1323 is signed.

• 1447 Election of Pope Nicholas V following the death of Pope Eugene IV on 23 February 1447.

1601–1900

• 1651 The town of Kajaani, known at the time as Cajanaburg, is founded by Count Per Brahe, the Governor-General of Finland.

• 1788 The First Fleet arrives at Norfolk Island in order to found a convict settlement.

• 1820 The Missouri Compromise is signed into law by United States President James Monroe. The compromise allows Missouri to enter the Union as a slave state, brings Maine into the Union as a free state, and makes the rest of the northern part of the Louisiana Purchase territory slavery-free.

• 1836 Texas Revolution: Battle of the Alamo: After a thirteen-day siege by an army of over 1,800 Mexican troops, the 257 Texas volunteers, including frontiersman Davy Crockett and colonel Jim Bowie, defending the Alamo are killed and the fort is captured.

• 1857 The Supreme Court of the United States rules 7–2 in the Dred Scott v. Sandford case that the Constitution does not confer citizenship on black people.

1901–present

• 1901 An anarchist assassin tries to kill German Emperor Wilhelm II.

• 1904 Scottish National Antarctic Expedition: Led by William Speirs Bruce, the Antarctic region of Coats Land is discovered from the Scotia.

• 1930 International Unemployment Day demonstrations globally initiated by the Communist Party USA.

• 1943 World War II: Generalfeldmarschall Erwin Rommel launches the Battle of Medenine in an attempt to slow down the British Eighth Army. It fails, and he leaves Africa three days later.

• 1943 World War II: The Battle of Fardykambos, one of the first major battles between the Greek Resistance and the occupying Royal Italian Army, ends with the surrender of an entire Italian battalion, the bulk of the garrison of the town of Grevena, leading to its liberation a fortnight later.

• 1945 World War II: Cologne is captured by American troops. On the same day, Operation Spring Awakening, the last major German offensive of the war, begins.

• 1957 the Ghana Independence Act 1957 is passed in the United Kingdom resulting in Ghana gaining independence from the British.

• 1975 Algiers Accord: Iran and Iraq announce a settlement of their border dispute.

• 1987 The British ferry capsizes in about 90 seconds, killing 193.

• 1988 Operation Flavius: Three Provisional Irish Republican Army volunteers are shot dead by the SAS in Gibraltar.

• 2003 Air Algérie Flight 6289 crashes at the Aguenar – Hadj Bey Akhamok Airport in Tamanrasset, Algeria, killing 102 out of the 103 people on board.

• 2008 A suicide bomber kills 68 people in the Karrada district of Karrada in Baghdad

• 2008 A gunman kills eight students in Jerusalem.

• 2020 32 people are killed and 82 are injured when gunmen open fire on a ceremony in Kabul, Afghanistan. The Islamic State claims responsibility for the attack.

Births

Pre-1600

• 1340 John of Gaunt (probable; d. 1399)

• 1405 John II of Castile (died 1454)

• 1475 Michelangelo, Italian painter and sculptor (died 1564)

• 1483 Francesco Guicciardini, Italian historian and politician (died 1540)

• 1495 Luigi Alamanni, Italian poet and diplomat (died 1556)

1601–1900

• 1619 Cyrano de Bergerac, French author and playwright (died 1655)

• 1663 Francis Atterbury, English bishop and poet (died 1732)

• 1716 Pehr Kalm, Swedish-Finnish botanist and explorer (died 1779)

• 1724 Henry Laurens, English-American merchant and politician, 5th President of the Continental Congress (died 1792)

• 1761 Antoine-François Andréossy, French general and diplomat (died 1828)

• 1779 Antoine-Henri Jomini, Swiss-French general (died 1869)

• 1780 Lucy Barnes, American writer (died 1809)

• 1785 Karol Kurpiński, Polish composer and conductor (died 1857)

• 1787 Joseph von Fraunhofer, German physicist and astronomer (died 1826)

• 1806 Elizabeth Barrett Browning, English-Italian poet and translator (died 1861)

• 1818 William Claflin, American businessman and politician, 27th Governor of Massachusetts (died 1905)

• 1823 Charles I of Württemberg (died 1891)

• 1826 Annie Feray Mutrie, British painter (died 1893)

• 1831 Philip Sheridan, Irish-American general (died 1888)

• 1834 George du Maurier, French-English author and illustrator (died 1896)

• 1841 Viktor Burenin, Russian author, poet, playwright, and critic (died 1926)

• 1849 Georg Luger, Austrian gun designer, designed the Luger pistol (died 1923)

• 1865 Duan Qirui, Chinese warlord and politician (died 1936)

• 1870 Oscar Straus, Viennese composer and conductor (died 1954)

• 1871 Afonso Costa, Portuguese lawyer and politician, 59th Prime Minister of Portugal (died 1937)

• 1872 Sarah Roberts, subject of a vampire legend (died 1913)

• 1876 A. A. Kannisto, Finnish politician (died 1930)

• 1877 Rose Fyleman, English writer and poet (died 1957)

• 1882 F. Burrall Hoffman, American architect, co-designed Villa Vizcaya (died 1980)

• 1882 Guy Kibbee, American actor and singer (died 1956)

• 1884 Molla Mallory, Norwegian-American tennis player (died 1959)

• 1884 María Collazo, Uruguayan journalist and activist (died 1942)

• 1885 Ring Lardner, American journalist and author (died 1933)

• 1892 Bert Smith, English international footballer (died 1969)

• 1893 Furry Lewis, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (died 1981)

• 1893 Ella P. Stewart, pioneering Black American pharmacist (died 1987)

• 1895 Albert Tessier, Canadian priest and historian (died 1976)

• 1900 Gina Cigna, French-Italian soprano and actress (died 2001)

• 1900 Lefty Grove, American baseball player (died 1975)

• 1900 Henri Jeanson, French journalist and author (died 1970)

1901–present

• 1903 Empress Nagako of Japan (died 2000)

• 1904 José Antonio Aguirre, Spanish lawyer and politician, 1st President of the Basque Country (died 1960)

• 1905 Bob Wills, American Western swing musician, songwriter, and bandleader (died 1975)

• 1906 Lou Costello, American actor and comedian (died 1959)

• 1909 Obafemi Awolowo, Nigerian lawyer and politician (died 1987)

• 1909 Stanisław Jerzy Lec, Polish poet and author (died 1966)

• 1910 Emma Bailey, American auctioneer and author (died 1999)

• 1912 Mohammed Burhanuddin, Indian spiritual leader, 52nd Da'i al-Mutlaq (died 2014)

• 1917 Donald Davidson, American philosopher and academic (died 2003)

• 1917 Will Eisner, American illustrator and publisher (died 2005)

• 1918 Howard McGhee, American trumpeter (died 1987)

• 1920 Lewis Gilbert, English director, producer, and screenwriter (died 2018)

• 1923 Ed McMahon, American comedian, game show host, and announcer (died 2009)

• 1923 Wes Montgomery, American guitarist and songwriter (died 1968)

• 1924 Sarah Caldwell, American opera director, impresario, and stage director (died 2006)

• 1924 Ottmar Walter, German footballer (died 2013)

• 1924 William H. Webster, American lawyer and jurist, Director of Central Intelligence (died 2025)

• 1926 Ann Curtis, American swimmer (died 2012)

• 1926 Alan Greenspan, American economist and politician (died 2026)

• 1926 Ray O'Connor, Australian politician, 22nd Premier of Western Australia (died 2013)

• 1926 Andrzej Wajda, Polish director, producer, and screenwriter (died 2016)

• 1927 Gordon Cooper, American engineer, pilot, and astronaut (died 2004)

• 1927 Gabriel García Márquez, Colombian journalist and author, Nobel Prize laureate (died 2014)

• 1929 Tom Foley, American lawyer and politician, 57th Speaker of the United States House of Representatives (died 2013)

• 1929 David Sheppard, English cricketer and bishop (died 2005)

• 1930 Lorin Maazel, French-American violinist, composer, and conductor (died 2014)

• 1932 Marc Bazin, Haitian lawyer and politician, 49th President of Haiti (died 2010)

• 1932 Jean Boht, English actress (died 2023)

• 1932 Bronisław Geremek, Polish historian and politician, Polish Minister of Foreign Affairs (died 2008)

• 1932 Timofei Moșneaga, Moldovan physician and politician, Moldovan Minister of Health (died 2014)

• 1936 Marion Barry, American lawyer and politician, 2nd Mayor of the District of Columbia (died 2014)

• 1936 Choummaly Sayasone, Laotian politician, 5th President of Laos

• 1937 Ivan Boesky, American businessman (died 2024)

• 1937 Norman Coburn, Australian actor

• 1937 Valentina Tereshkova, Russian general, pilot, and astronaut

• 1938 Keishu Tanaka, Japanese politician, 17th Japanese Minister of Justice (died 2022)

• 1939 Kit Bond, American lawyer and politician, 47th Governor of Missouri (died 2025)

• 1939 Adam Osborne, Thai-Indian engineer and businessman, founded the Osborne Computer Corporation (died 2003)

• 1939 – Cookie Rojas, Cuban-American baseball player

• 1940 Ken Danby, Canadian painter (died 2007)

• 1940 R. H. Sikes, American golfer (died 2023)

• 1940 – Willie Stargell, American baseball player (died 2001)

• 1941 Peter Brötzmann, German saxophonist and clarinet player (died 2023)

• 1944 Richard Corliss, American journalist and critic (died 2015)

• 1944 Kiri Te Kanawa, New Zealand soprano and actress

• 1944 Mary Wilson, American singer (died 2021)

• 1945 Angelo Castro Jr., Filipino actor and journalist (died 2012)

• 1946 Patrick Baudry, French military officer and astronaut

• 1946 Martin Kove, American actor

• 1946 – David Gilmour, English guitarist and singer-songwriter

• 1947 Rob Reiner, American actor, director, producer, and activist (died 2025)

• 1947 Jean Seaton, English historian and academic

• 1947 – Dick Fosbury, American high jumper (died 2023)

• 1948 Stephen Schwartz, American composer and producer

• 1949 Shaukat Aziz, Pakistani economist and politician, 15th Prime Minister of Pakistan

• 1949 Martin Buchan, Scottish footballer and manager

• 1950 Arthur Roche, English archbishop

• 1951 Gerrie Knetemann, Dutch cyclist (died 2004)

• 1952 Denis Napthine, Australian politician, 47th Premier of Victoria

• 1953 Madhav Kumar Nepal, Nepali banker and politician, 34th Prime Minister of Nepal

• 1953 Carolyn Porco, American astronomer and academic

• 1954 Harald Schumacher, German footballer and manager

• 1955 Cyprien Ntaryamira, Burundian politician, 5th President of Burundi (died 1994)

• 1955 Alberta Watson, Canadian actress (died 2015)

• 1956 Steve Vizard, Australian television host, actor, and producer

• 1959 – Tom Arnold, American actor and comedian

• 1960 Sleepy Floyd, American basketball player and coach

• 1962 Alison Nicholas, British golfer

• 1963 D. L. Hughley, American actor, producer, and screenwriter

• 1964 Linda Pearson, Scottish sport shooter

• 1966 Alan Davies, English comedian, actor and screenwriter

• 1967 Julio Bocca, Argentine ballet dancer and director

• 1967 Glenn Greenwald, American journalist and author

• 1967 Connie Britton, American actress

• 1968 Carla McGhee, American basketball player and coach

• 1971 Darrick Martin, American basketball player and coach

• 1972 Shaquille O'Neal, American basketball player

• 1973 Michael Finley, American basketball player

• 1973 Peter Lindgren, Swedish guitarist and songwriter

• 1973 Greg Ostertag, American basketball player

• 1974 Guy Garvey, English singer-songwriter and guitarist

• 1975 Aracely Arámbula, Mexican actress and singer

• 1975 Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Canadian pianist and conductor

• 1976 Ken Anderson, American wrestler and actor

• 1977 Nantie Hayward, South African cricketer

• 1977 Giorgos Karagounis, Greek footballer

• 1977 Shabani Nonda, Congolese footballer

• 1979 Tim Howard, American soccer player

• 1979 Garry Monk, English footballer and manager

• 1980 Emílson Cribari, Brazilian footballer

• 1983 Andranik Teymourian, Armenian-Iranian footballer

• 1984 Daniël de Ridder, Dutch footballer

• 1985 Pierre-Édouard Bellemare, French ice hockey player

• 1985 Bakaye Traoré, French-Malian footballer

• 1985 Daniel Winnik, Canadian ice hockey player

• 1986 Jake Arrieta, American baseball player

• 1986 Francisco Cervelli, Venezuelan-Italian baseball player

• 1986 Timothy DeLaGhetto, American Internet personality

• 1986 Charlie Mulgrew, Scottish footballer

• 1987 Mário Bližňák, Slovak ice hockey player

• 1987 Kevin-Prince Boateng, Ghanaian-German footballer

• 1987 Chico Flores, Spanish footballer

• 1988 Agnes, Swedish singer

• 1988 Marina Erakovic, New Zealand tennis player

• 1988 Leonys Martín, Cuban-American baseball player

• 1988 Simon Mignolet, Belgian footballer

• 1989 Dwight Buycks, American basketball player

• 1989 Ray Chen, Taiwanese-Australian violinist

• 1989 Agnieszka Radwańska, Polish tennis player

• 1990 Derek Drouin, Canadian high jumper

• 1991 John Jenkins, American basketball player

• 1991 Tyler, the Creator, American rapper

• 1993 Nicklas Jensen, Danish ice hockey player

• 1993 Andrés Rentería, Colombian footballer

• 1994 Marcus Smart, American basketball player

• 1995 Josh Hart, American basketball player

• 1995 Georgi Kitanov, Bulgarian footballer

• 1996 Christian Coleman, American sprinter

• 1996 Mohamed Magdy, Egyptian footballer

• 1996 Timo Werner, German footballer

• 1997 Lee Lu-da, South Korean singer and actress

• 1997 – Alisha Boe, Norwegian actress

• 1998 Kyle Trask, American football player

• 1999 Ylena In-Albon, Swiss tennis player

• 2000 Armando Bacot, American basketball player

• 2000 Jacob Bertrand, American actor

• 2001 Milo Manheim, American actor

• 2003 – Millicent Simmonds, American actress

Deaths

Pre-1600

• 190 Liu Bian (poisoned by Dong Zhuo) (born 176)

• 653 Li Ke, prince of the Tang Dynasty (born 619)

• 766 Chrodegang, Frankish bishop and saint

• 903 Lu Guangqi, Chinese official and chancellor

• 903 Su Jian, Chinese official and chancellor

• 1070 Ulric I, Margrave of Carniola

• 1251 Rose of Viterbo, Italian saint (born 1235)

• 1353 Roger Grey, 1st Baron Grey de Ruthyn

• 1447 Colette of Corbie, French abbess and saint in the Catholic Church (born 1381)

• 1466 Alvise Loredan, Venetian admiral and statesman (born 1393)

• 1490 Ivan the Young, Ruler of Tver (born 1458)

• 1491 Richard Woodville, 3rd Earl Rivers

• 1531 Pedro Arias Dávila, Spanish explorer and diplomat (born 1440)

1601–1900

• 1616 Francis Beaumont, English playwright (born 1584)

• 1754 Henry Pelham, English politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (born 1694)

• 1758 Henry Vane, 1st Earl of Darlington, English politician, Lord Lieutenant of Durham (born 1705)

• 1764 Philip Yorke, 1st Earl of Hardwicke, English lawyer and politician, Lord Chancellor of the United Kingdom (born 1690)

• 1796 Guillaume Thomas François Raynal, French historian and author (born 1713)

1836 Deaths at the Battle of the Alamo:

• James Bonham, American lawyer and soldier (born 1807)

• James Bowie, American colonel (born 1796)

• Davy Crockett, American soldier and politician (born 1786)

• William B. Travis, American lieutenant colonel and lawyer (born 1809)

• 1854 Charles Vane, 3rd Marquess of Londonderry, Irish colonel and diplomat, Under-Secretary of State for War and the Colonies (born 1778)

• 1866 William Whewell, English priest, historian, and philosopher (born 1794)

• 1867 Charles Farrar Browne, American-English author and educator (born 1834)

• 1888 Louisa May Alcott, American novelist and poet (born 1832)

• 1895 Camilla Collett, Norwegian novelist and activist (born 1813)

• 1899 Kaʻiulani of Hawaii (born 1875)

• 1900 Gottlieb Daimler, German engineer and businessman, co-founded Daimler-Motoren-Gesellschaft (born 1834)

1901–present

• 1905 John Henninger Reagan, American surveyor, judge, and politician, 3rd Confederate States of America Secretary of the Treasury (born 1818)

• 1905 Makar Yekmalyan, Armenian composer (born 1856)

• 1919 Oskars Kalpaks, Latvian colonel (born 1882)

• 1920 Ömer Seyfettin, Turkish author and educator (born 1884)

• 1932 John Philip Sousa, American conductor and composer (born 1854)

• 1933 Anton Cermak, Czech-American lawyer and politician, 44th Mayor of Chicago (born 1873)

• 1935 Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr., American colonel, lawyer, and jurist, Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States (born 1841)

• 1939 Ferdinand von Lindemann, German mathematician and academic (born 1852)

• 1941 Francis Aveling, Canadian priest, psychologist, and author (born 1875)

• 1941 Gutzon Borglum, American sculptor and academic, designed Mount Rushmore (born 1867)

• 1948 Ross Lockridge Jr., American author, poet, and academic (born 1914)

• 1948 Alice Woodby McKane, First Black woman doctor in Savannah, Georgia (born 1865)

• 1950 Albert François Lebrun, French engineer and politician, 15th President of France (born 1871)

• 1951 Ivor Novello, Welsh singer-songwriter and actor (born 1893)

• 1951 Volodymyr Vynnychenko, Ukrainian playwright and politician, Prime Minister of Ukraine (born 1880)

• 1952 Jürgen Stroop, German SS general, and executed war criminal (born 1895)

• 1954 Charles Edward, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, British-born German nobleman and Nazi politician (born 1884)

• 1955 Mammad Amin Rasulzade, Azerbaijani scholar and politician (born 1884)

• 1961 George Formby, English singer-songwriter and actor (born 1904)

• 1964 Paul of Greece (born 1901)

• 1965 Margaret Dumont, American actress (born 1889)

• 1967 John Haden Badley, English author and educator, founded the Bedales School (born 1865)

• 1967 Nelson Eddy, American actor and singer (born 1901)

• 1967 Zoltán Kodály, Hungarian composer, linguist, and philosopher (born 1882)

• 1970 William Hopper, American actor (born 1915)

• 1973 Pearl S. Buck, American novelist, essayist, short story writer, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1892)

• 1974 Ernest Becker, American anthropologist and author (born 1924)

• 1976 Maxie Rosenbloom, American boxer (born 1903)

• 1977 Alvin R. Dyer, American religious leader (born 1903)

• 1981 George Geary, English cricketer and coach (born 1893)

• 1981 Rambhau Mhalgi, Indian politician and member of the Lok Sabha (born 1921)

• 1982 Ayn Rand, Russian-American philosopher, author, and playwright (born 1905)

• 1984 Billy Collins Jr., American boxer (born 1961)

• 1984 Martin Niemöller, German pastor and theologian (born 1892)

• 1984 Homer N. Wallin, American admiral (born 1893)

• 1984 Henry Wilcoxon, Dominican-American actor and producer (born 1905)

• 1986 Georgia O'Keeffe, American painter (born 1887)

• 1988 Mairéad Farrell, Provisional IRA volunteer (born 1957)

• 1988 Daniel McCann, Provisional IRA volunteer (born 1957)

• 1988 Seán Savage, Provisional IRA volunteer (born 1965)

• 1994 Melina Mercouri, Greek actress and politician, 9th Greek Minister of Culture (born 1920)

• 1997 Cheddi Jagan, Guyanese politician, 4th President of Guyana (born 1918)

• 1997 Michael Manley, Jamaican soldier, pilot, and politician, 4th Prime Minister of Jamaica (born 1924)

• 1997 Ursula Torday, English author (born 1912)

• 1999 Isa bin Salman Al Khalifa, Bahrain king (born 1933)

• 2000 John Colicos, Canadian actor (born 1928)

• 2002 Bryan Fogarty, Canadian ice hockey player (born 1969)

• 2004 Hercules, American wrestler (born 1957)

• 2004 Frances Dee, American actress (born 1909)

• 2005 Hans Bethe, German-American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1906)

• 2005 Danny Gardella, American baseball player and trainer (born 1920)

• 2005 Tommy Vance, English radio host (born 1943)

• 2005 Teresa Wright, American actress (born 1918)

• 2005 Gladys Marín, Chilean activist and political figure (born 1938)

• 2006 Anne Braden, American journalist and activist (born 1924)

• 2006 Kirby Puckett, American baseball player and sportscaster (born 1960)

• 2006 Ali Farka Touré, Malian singer-songwriter and guitarist (born 1939)

• 2007 Jean Baudrillard, French photographer and theorist (born 1929)

• 2007 Ernest Gallo, American businessman, co-founded E & J Gallo Winery (born 1909)

• 2008 Peter Poreku Dery, Ghanaian cardinal (born 1918)

• 2009 Francis Magalona, Filipino rapper, producer, and actor (born 1964)

• 2010 Endurance Idahor, Nigerian footballer (born 1984)

• 2010 Mark Linkous, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (born 1962)

• 2010 Betty Millard, American philanthropist and activist (born 1911)

• 2011 Sasao Gouland, governor of Chuuk State, Micronesia (born 1933)

• 2012 Francisco Xavier do Amaral, East Timorese politician, 1st President of East Timor (born 1937)

• 2012 Donald M. Payne, American businessman and politician (born 1934)

• 2012 Helen Walulik, American baseball player (born 1929)

• 2013 Chorão, Brazilian singer-songwriter (born 1970)

• 2013 Stompin' Tom Connors, Canadian singer-songwriter and guitarist (born 1936)

• 2013 Alvin Lee, English singer-songwriter and guitarist (born 1944)

• 2013 W. Wallace Cleland, American biochemist and academic (born 1930)

• 2014 Alemayehu Atomsa, Ethiopian educator and politician (born 1969)

• 2014 Frank Jobe, American soldier and surgeon (born 1925)

• 2014 Sheila MacRae, English-American actress, singer, and dancer (born 1921)

• 2014 Martin Nesbitt, American lawyer and politician (born 1946)

• 2014 Manlio Sgalambro, Italian philosopher, author, and poet (born 1924)

• 2015 Fred Craddock, American minister and academic (born 1928)

• 2015 Ram Sundar Das, Indian lawyer and politician, 18th Chief Minister of Bihar (born 1921)

• 2015 Enrique "Coco" Vicéns, Puerto Rican-American basketball player and politician (born 1926)

• 2016 Nancy Reagan, American actress, 42nd First Lady of the United States (born 1921)

• 2016 Sheila Varian, American horse trainer and breeder (born 1937)

• 2017 Robert Osborne, American actor and historian (born 1932)

• 2018 Peter Nicholls, Australian science fiction critic and encyclopedist (born 1939)

• 2021 Lou Ottens, Dutch engineer and inventor (born 1926)

• 2021 Graham Pink, British nurse (born 1929)

• 2025 Australian Suicide, Australian professional wrestler (born 1992)

• 2025 Brian James, British guitarist (born 1955)

Holidays and observances

Christian feast day:

• Chrodegang

• Colette of Corbie

• Fridolin of Säckingen

• Kyneburga, Kyneswide and Tibba

• Marcian of Tortona

• March 6 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)

• European Day of the Righteous, commemorates those who have stood up against crimes against humanity and totalitarianism with their own moral responsibility. (Europe)

• Norfolk Island Foundation Day, the founding of Norfolk Island in 1788.

• Independence Day (Ghana), celebrates the independence of Ghana from the UK in 1957.

References

External links

• BBC: On This Day

• Historical Events on March 6