World History of March 6

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

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

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.

Treaty of Paris of 1323 is signed.

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

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

The Missouri Compromise is signed into law by 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.

Texas Revolution: Battle of the Alamo: After a thirteen-day siege by an army of 3,000 Mexican troops, the 187 Texas volunteers, including frontiersman Davy Crockett and colonel Jim Bowie, defending the Alamo are killed and the fort is captured.

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.

Anarchist assassin tries to kill German Emperor Wilhelm II.

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

Italo-Turkish War: Italian forces become the first to use airships in war, as two dirigibles drop bombs on Turkish troops encamped at Janzur, from an altitude of 1,800 m.

International Unemployment Day demonstrations globally initiated by the Comintern.

Norman Rockwell published Freedom from Want in The Saturday Evening Post with a matching essay by Carlos Bulosan as part of the Four Freedoms series.

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.

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.

World War II: Soviet Air Forces bomb an evacuated town of Narva in German-occupied Estonia, destroying the entire historical Swedish-era town.

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.

Ho Chi Minh signs an agreement with France which recognizes Vietnam as an autonomous state in the Indochinese Federation and the French Union.

Cold War: The trial of Ethel and Julius Rosenberg begins.

Georgy Malenkov succeeds Joseph Stalin as Premier of the Soviet Union and First Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union.

Ghana becomes the first Sub-Saharan country to gain independence from the British.

Nation of Islam leader Elijah Muhammad officially gives boxing champion Cassius Clay the name Muhammad Ali.

Constantine II becomes the last King of Greece.

Premier Tom Playford of South Australia loses power after 27 years in office.

Cold War: Joseph Stalin's daughter Svetlana Alliluyeva defects to the United States.

Three rebels are executed by Rhodesia, the first executions since UDI, prompting international condemnation.

An explosion at the Weather Underground safe house in Greenwich Village kills three.

The Zapruder film of the assassination of John F. Kennedy is shown in motion to a national TV audience for the first time by Robert J. Groden and Dick Gregory.

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

In the United Kingdom, a walkout at Cortonwood Colliery in Brampton Bierlow signals the start of a strike that lasted almost a year and involved the majority of the country's miners.

The British ferry MS Herald of Free Enterprise capsizes in about 90 seconds, killing 193.

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

The Michelangelo computer virus begins to affect computers.

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

A suicide bomber kills 68 people (including first responders) in Baghdad on the same day that a gunman kills eight students in Jerusalem.

Forbes names Jeff Bezos as the world's richest person, for the first time, at $112 billion net worth.

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.

John of Gaunt (probable; d. 1399)

John II of Castile (died 1454)

Jakob Fugger, German merchant and banker (died 1525)

Michelangelo, Italian painter and sculptor (died 1564)

Francesco Guicciardini, Italian historian and politician (died 1540)

Juan Luis Vives, Spanish scholar and humanist (died 1540)

Luigi Alamanni, Italian poet and diplomat (died 1556)

Santi di Tito, Italian painter (died 1603)

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

Francis Atterbury, English bishop and poet (died 1732)

George Pocock, English admiral (died 1792)

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

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

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

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

Lucy Barnes, American writer (died 1809)

Karol Kurpiński, Polish composer and conductor (died 1857)

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

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

Aaron Lufkin Dennison, American businessman, co-founded the Waltham Watch Company (died 1895)

Princess Clémentine of Orléans (died 1907)

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

Charles I of Württemberg (died 1891)

Annie Feray Mutrie, British painter (died 1893)

Philip Sheridan, Irish-American general (died 1888)

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

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

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

Richard Rushall, British businessman (died 1953)

Duan Qirui, Chinese warlord and politician (died 1936)

Oscar Straus, Viennese composer and conductor (died 1954)

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

Ben Harney, American pianist and composer (died 1938)

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

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

Rose Fyleman, English writer and poet (died 1957)

Jimmy Hunter, New Zealand rugby player (died 1962)

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

Guy Kibbee, American actor and singer (died 1956)

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

María Collazo, Uruguayan journalist and activist (died 1942)

Ring Lardner, American journalist and author (died 1933)

Bert Smith, English international footballer (died 1969)

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

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

Albert Tessier, Canadian priest and historian (died 1976)

Gus Sonnenberg, American football player and wrestler (died 1944)

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

Lefty Grove, American baseball player (died 1975)

Henri Jeanson, French journalist and author (died 1970)

Empress Kōjun (died 2000)

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

Bob Wills, American Western swing musician, songwriter, and bandleader (died 1975)[citation needed]

Lou Costello, American actor and comedian (died 1959)[citation needed]

Obafemi Awolowo, Nigerian lawyer and politician (died 1987)

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

Emma Bailey, American auctioneer and author (died 1999)

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

Ella Logan, Scottish-American singer and actress (died 1969)

Donald Davidson, American philosopher and academic (died 2003)

Will Eisner, American illustrator and publisher (died 2005)

Frankie Howerd, English comedian (died 1992)

Howard McGhee, American trumpeter (died 1987)

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

Leo Bretholz, Austrian-American holocaust survivor and author (died 2014)

Ed McMahon, American comedian, game show host, and announcer (died 2009)[citation needed]

Wes Montgomery, American guitarist and songwriter (died 1968)

Sarah Caldwell, American opera director, impresario, and stage director (died 2006)[citation needed]

Ottmar Walter, German footballer (died 2013)

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

Ann Curtis, American swimmer (died 2012)

Alan Greenspan, American economist and politician[citation needed]

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

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

William J. Bell, American screenwriter and producer (died 2005)

Gordon Cooper, American engineer, pilot, and astronaut (died 2004)[citation needed]

Gabriel García Márquez, Colombian journalist and author, Nobel Prize laureate (died 2014)[citation needed]

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

David Sheppard, English cricketer and bishop (died 2005)

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

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

Jean Boht, English actress (died 2023)

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

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

Ted Abernathy, American baseball player (died 2004)

William Davis, German-English journalist and economist (died 2019)

Augusto Odone, Italian economist and inventor of Lorenzo's oil (died 2013)

Red Simpson, American singer-songwriter (died 2016)

Ron Delany, Irish runner and coach

Derek Kevan, English footballer (died 2013)

Bob Akin, American race car driver and journalist (died 2002)

Marion Barry, American lawyer and politician, 2nd Mayor of the District of Columbia (died 2014)[citation needed]

Choummaly Sayasone, Laotian politician, 5th President of Laos

Ivan Boesky, American businessman (died 2024)

Norman Coburn, Australian actor

Valentina Tereshkova, Russian general, pilot, and astronaut[citation needed]

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

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

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

Ken Danby, Canadian painter (died 2007)

Joanna Miles, French-American actress

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

Willie Stargell, American baseball player and coach (died 2001)[citation needed]

Jeff Wooller, English accountant and banker

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

Marilyn Strathern, Welsh anthropologist and academic

Ben Murphy, American actor

Richard Corliss, American journalist and critic (died 2015)

Kiri Te Kanawa, New Zealand soprano and actress

Mary Wilson, American singer (died 2021)[citation needed]

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

Patrick Baudry, French military officer and astronaut

David Gilmour, English singer-songwriter and guitarist

Martin Kove, American actor

Richard Noble, Scottish race car driver and businessman

Kiki Dee, English singer-songwriter

Dick Fosbury, American high jumper (died 2023)[citation needed]

Anna Maria Horsford, American actress

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

Jean Seaton, English historian and academic

John Stossel, American journalist and author

Stephen Schwartz, American composer and producer

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

Martin Buchan, Scottish footballer and manager

Arthur Roche, English archbishop

Gerrie Knetemann, Dutch cyclist (died 2004)

Denis Napthine, Australian politician, 47th Premier of Victoria

Phil Alvin, American singer-songwriter and guitarist

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

Carolyn Porco, American astronomer and academic

Jeff Greenwald, American author, photographer, and monologist

Harald Schumacher, German footballer and manager

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

Alberta Watson, Canadian actress (died 2015)

Peter Roebuck, English cricketer, journalist, and sportcaster (died 2011)

Steve Vizard, Australian television host, actor, and producer

Tom Arnold, American actor, comedian, and television host

Sleepy Floyd, American basketball player and coach

Alison Nicholas, British golfer

D. L. Hughley, American actor, producer, and screenwriter[citation needed]

Linda Pearson, Scottish sport shooter

Allan Bateman, Welsh rugby player

Jim Knight, English politician

Alan Davies, English comedian, actor and screenwriter

Julio Bocca, Argentine ballet dancer and director

Connie Britton, American actress

Glenn Greenwald, American journalist and author

Shuler Hensley, American actor and singer

Moira Kelly, American actress and director

Carla McGhee, American basketball player and coach

Amy Pietz, American actress

Chris Broderick, American musician and songwriter

Darrick Martin, American basketball player and coach

Shaquille O'Neal, American basketball player, actor, businessman, sportscaster, and rapper

Jaret Reddick, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actor

Michael Finley, American basketball player

Peter Lindgren, Swedish guitarist and songwriter

Greg Ostertag, American basketball player

Trent Willmon, American singer-songwriter and guitarist

Guy Garvey, English singer-songwriter and guitarist

Matthew Guy, Australian politician

Brad Schumacher, American swimmer

Beanie Sigel, American rapper

Aracely Arámbula, Mexican actress and singer

Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Canadian pianist and conductor

Ken Anderson, American wrestler and actor

Nantie Hayward, South African cricketer

Giorgos Karagounis, Greek footballer

Shabani Nonda, Congolese footballer

Bubba Sparxxx, American rapper and songwriter

Marcus Thames, American baseball player and coach

Sage Rosenfels, American football player

Chad Wicks, American wrestler

Clint Barmes, American baseball player

David Flair, American wrestler

Tim Howard, American soccer player[citation needed]

Garry Monk, English footballer and manager

Emílson Cribari, Brazilian footballer

Shaun Evans, English actor and director

Ellen Muth, American actress

Andranik Teymourian, Armenian-Iranian footballer

Daniël de Ridder, Dutch footballer

Eskil Pedersen, Norwegian politician

Chris Tomson, American drummer

Pierre-Édouard Bellemare, French ice hockey player

Bakaye Traoré, French-Malian footballer

Daniel Winnik, Canadian ice hockey player

Jake Arrieta, American baseball player

Francisco Cervelli, Venezuelan-Italian baseball player

Timothy DeLaGhetto, American Internet personality

Ross Detwiler, American baseball player

Eli Marienthal, American actor

Charlie Mulgrew, Scottish footballer

Mário Bližňák, Slovak ice hockey player

Kevin-Prince Boateng, Ghanaian-German footballer

Chico Flores, Spanish footballer

Agnes, Swedish singer

Marina Erakovic, New Zealand tennis player

Leonys Martín, Cuban-American baseball player

Simon Mignolet, Belgian footballer

Dwight Buycks, American basketball player

Ray Chen, Taiwanese-Australian violinist

Agnieszka Radwańska, Polish tennis player

Derek Drouin, Canadian athlete

John Jenkins, American basketball player

Lex Luger, American keyboard player and producer

Emma McDougall, English footballer (died 2013)

Tyler, the Creator, American rapper, songwriter, producer, and actor

Nicklas Jensen, Danish ice hockey player

Andrés Rentería, Colombian footballer

Marcus Smart, American basketball player

Josh Hart, American basketball player

Georgi Kitanov, Bulgarian footballer

Christian Coleman, American sprinter

Mohamed Magdy, Egyptian footballer

Timo Werner, German footballer

Lee Lu-da, South Korean singer and actress

Kyle Trask, American football player

Ylena In-Albon, Swiss tennis player

Armando Bacot, American basketball player

Jacob Bertrand, American actor

Milo Manheim, American actor

Millicent Simmonds, American actress

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

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

Chrodegang, Frankish bishop and saint

Lu Guangqi, Chinese official and chancellor

Su Jian, Chinese official and chancellor

Ulric I, Margrave of Carniola

Rose of Viterbo, Italian saint (born 1235)

Roger Grey, 1st Baron Grey de Ruthyn

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

Alvise Loredan, Venetian admiral and statesman (born 1393)

Ivan the Young, Ruler of Tver (born 1458)

Richard Woodville, 3rd Earl Rivers

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

Francis Beaumont, English playwright (born 1584)

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

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

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

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

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)

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

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

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

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

Camilla Collett, Norwegian novelist and activist (born 1813)

Kaʻiulani of Hawaii (born 1875)

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

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

Makar Yekmalyan, Armenian composer (born 1856)

Oskars Kalpaks, Latvian colonel (born 1882)

Ömer Seyfettin, Turkish author and educator (born 1884)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Jürgen Stroop, German general (born 1895)

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

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

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

Paul of Greece (born 1901)

Margaret Dumont, American actress (born 1889)

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

Nelson Eddy, American actor and singer (born 1901)

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

William Hopper, American actor (born 1915)

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

Ernest Becker, American anthropologist and author (born 1924)

Maxie Rosenbloom, American boxer (born 1903)

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

George Geary, English cricketer and coach (born 1893)

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

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

Billy Collins Jr., American boxer (born 1961)

Martin Niemöller, German pastor and theologian (born 1892)

Homer N. Wallin, American admiral (born 1893)

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

Georgia O'Keeffe, American painter (born 1887)

Mairéad Farrell, Provisional IRA volunteer (born 1957)

Daniel McCann, Provisional IRA volunteer (born 1957)

Seán Savage, Provisional IRA volunteer (born 1965)

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

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

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

Ursula Torday, English author (born 1912)

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

John Colicos, Canadian actor (born 1928)

Bryan Fogarty, Canadian ice hockey player (born 1969)

Hercules, American wrestler (born 1957)

Frances Dee, American actress (born 1909)

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

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

Tommy Vance, English radio host (born 1943)

Teresa Wright, American actress (born 1918)

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

Anne Braden, American journalist and activist (born 1924)

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

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

Jean Baudrillard, French photographer and theorist (born 1929)

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

Peter Poreku Dery, Ghanaian cardinal (born 1918)

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

Endurance Idahor, Nigerian footballer (born 1984)

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

Betty Millard, American philanthropist and activist (born 1911)

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

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

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

Helen Walulik, American baseball player (born 1929)

Chorão, Brazilian singer-songwriter (born 1970)

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

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

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

Alemayehu Atomsa, Ethiopian educator and politician (born 1969)

Frank Jobe, American soldier and surgeon (born 1925)

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

Martin Nesbitt, American lawyer and politician (born 1946)

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

Fred Craddock, American minister and academic (born 1928)

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

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

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

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

Robert Osborne, American actor and historian (born 1932)

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

Lou Ottens, Dutch engineer and inventor (born 1926)

Graham Pink, British nurse (born 1929)

Australian Suicide, Australian professional wrestler (born 1992)

Brian James, British guitarist (born 1955)