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Today April 6th 2009 this day in history Read more below to view events, deaths, births, Holidays observances and video clips. Last database updated: Jan 17th, 2009
Events
46 BC – Julius Caesar defeats Caecilius Metellus Scipio and Marcus Porcius Cato in the battle of Thapsus.
402 – Stilicho stymies the Visigoths under Alaric in the Battle of Pollentia.
1320 – The Scots reaffirm their independence by signing the Declaration of Arbroath.
1327 – The poet Petrarch first sees his idealized love, Laura, in the church of Saint Clare in Avignon.
1385 – John, Master of the Order of Aviz, is made king John I of Portugal.
1652 – Dutch sailor Jan van Riebeeck establishes a resupply camp at the Cape of Good Hope, which eventually becomes Cape Town.
1667 – An earthquake devastates Dubrovnik, then an independent city-state.
1782 – Rama I succeeds King Taksin of Siam (modern day Thailand), who is overthrown in a coup d état.
1793 – During the French Revolution, the Committee of Public Safety becomes the executive organ of the republic, and the period known as the Reign of Terror begins.
1808 – John Jacob Astor incorporates the American Fur Company.
1814 – Napoleon abdicates and is then exiled to Elba.
1830 – The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is organized by Joseph Smith, Jr. and others at Fayette, New York.
1832 – Indian Wars: The Black Hawk War begins – the Sauk warrior Black Hawk enters into war with the United States.
1860 – Joseph Smith III, creates the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints by reorganizing the previous church organized by his father, Joseph Smith, Jr.
1862 – American Civil War: The Battle of Shiloh begins – in Tennessee, forces under Union General Ulysses S. Grant meet Confederate troops led by General Albert Sidney Johnston.
1865 – American Civil War: The Battle of Sayler s Creek – Confederate General Robert E. Lee s Army of Northern Virginia fights its last major battle while in retreat from Richmond, Virginia.
1866 – The Grand Army of the Republic, an American patriotic organization composed of Union veterans of the American Civil War, is founded. It lasts until 1956.
1869 – Celluloid is patented.
1893 – Salt Lake Temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is dedicated by Wilford Woodruff.
1895 – Oscar Wilde is arrested (in the Cadogan Hotel, London) after losing a libel case against the John Sholto Douglas, 9th Marquess of Queensberry.
1896 – In Athens, the opening of the first modern Olympic Games 1,500 years after the original games were banned by Roman Emperor Theodosius I.
1903 – The Kishinev pogrom in Kishinev (Bessarabia) begins, forcing tens of thousands of Jews to later seek refuge in Israel and the Western world.
1909 – Robert Peary and Matthew Henson allegedly reach the North Pole.
1911 – Dedë Gjon Luli Dedvukaj, Leader of the Malësori Albanians, raises the Albanian flag in the town of Tuzi, Montenegro, for the first time after Gjergj Kastrioti (Skenderbeg).
1917 – World War I: The United States declares war on Germany (see President Woodrow Wilson s address to Congress).
1919 – Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi orders a General Strike.
1923 – The first Prefects Board in Southeast Asia is formed in Victoria Institution, Malaysia.
1926 – Walter Varney Airlines makes its first commercial flight (Varney is the root company of United Airlines).
1930 – Gandhi raises a lump of mud and salt and declares, With this, I am shaking the foundations of the British Empire. Thus he starts the Salt Satyagraha.
1936 – Tupelo-Gainesville tornado outbreak: Another tornado from the same storm system as the Tupelo tornado hits Gainesville, Georgia, killing 203.
1941 – World War II: Operation Castigo begins. Germany invades the Kingdom of Yugoslavia and Greece.
1947 – The first Tony Awards are presented for theatrical achievements.
1957 – Greek shipping tycoon Aristotle Onassis buys the Hellenic National Airlines (TAE) and founds Olympic Airlines.
1965 – Launch of Early Bird, the first communications satellite to be placed in geosynchronous orbit.
1968 – In Richmond, Indiana s downtown district, a double explosion kills 41 and injures 150.
1970 – Newhall Incident: Four California Highway Patrol officers are killed.
1972 – Vietnam War: Easter Offensive – American forces begin sustained air strikes and naval bombardments.
1973 – Launch of Pioneer 11 spacecraft.
1973 – The American League of Major League Baseball begin using the Designated Hitter
1984 – Members of Cameroon s Republican Guard unsuccessfully attempt to overthrow the government headed by Paul Biya.
1992 – A general strike is declared by communist groups in Nepal.
1994 – The Rwandan Genocide begins when the aircraft carrying Rwandan president Juvénal Habyarimana and Burundian president Cyprien Ntaryamira is shot down.
1998 – Pakistan tests medium-range missiles capable of hitting India.
2004 – Rolandas Paksas becomes the first president of Lithuania to be peacefully removed from the post by impeachment.
2005 – Kurdish leader Jalal Talabani becomes the Iraqi president; Shiite Arab Ibrahim al-Jaafari is named premier the next day.
2006 – NZSL (New Zealand sign language) is made an official language of New Zealand
Births
1483 – Raphael, Italian painter and architect (d. 1520)
1613 – Stjepan Gradic, Croatian philosopher and scientist (d. 1683)
1632 – Maria Leopoldine of Austria, Holy Roman Empire Empress (d. 1649)
1651 – André Dacier, French classical scholar (d. 1722)
1664 – Arvid Horn, Swedish statesman (d. 1742)
1671 – Jean-Baptiste Rousseau, French poet (d. 1741)
1725 – Pasquale Paoli, Corsican patriot and military leader (d. 1807)
1773 – James Mill, Scottish philosopher and historian (d. 1836)
1812 – Alexander Herzen, Russian writer (d. 1870)
1815 – Robert Volkmann, German composer (d. 1883)
1818 – Aasmund Olavsson Vinje, Norwegian poet (d. 1870)
1820 – Nadar, French photographer (d. 1910)
1823 – Joseph Medill, journalist and mayor of Chicago (d. 1899)
1826 – Gustave Moreau, French painter (d. 1898)
1841 – Karl Binding, German jurist (d. 1920)
1849 – John William Waterhouse, British painter (d. 1917)
1851 – Guillaume Bigourdan, French astronomer (d. 1932)
1861 – Stanislas de Guaita, French occultist (d.1897)
1878 – Erich Mühsam, German author (d. 1934)
1884 – Walter Huston, Canadian-born actor (d. 1950)
1886 – Osman Ali Khan, Asaf Jah VII, The Last Nizam of Hyderabad state (d. 1967)
1890 – Anthony Fokker, Dutch designer of aircraft (d. 1939)
1892 – Donald Wills Douglas, Sr., American industrialist (d. 1981)
1892 – Lowell Thomas, American travel writer (d. 1981)
1894 – Gertrude Baines, American supercentenarian
1901 – Pier Giorgio Frassati, Italian Catholic (d. 1925)
1902 – Veniamin Kaverin, Russian writer (d. 1989)
1903 – Mickey Cochrane, American baseball player (d. 1962)
1903 – Harold Edgerton, American electrical engineer (d. 1990)
1909 – Hermann Lang, German race car driver (d. 1987)
1909 – William M. Branham, American evangelist (d. 1965)
1911 – Feodor Felix Konrad Lynen, German biochemist, Nobel laureate (d. 1979)
1918 – Alfredo Ovando Candía, Bolivian president (d. 1982)
1920 – Edmond H. Fischer, Swiss-American biochemist, Nobel laureate
1926 – Sergio Franchi, Italian-born singer and actor (d. 1990)
1926 – Gil Kane, Latvian-born cartoonist (d. 2000)
1926 – Ian Paisley, Northern Irish politician
1927 – Gerry Mulligan, American musician (d. 1996)
1928 – James D. Watson, American geneticist, Nobel laureate
1929 – Joi Lansing, American model and actress (d. 1972)
1929 – André Previn, German-born composer and conductor
1931 – Ivan Dixon, American actor and director (d. 2008)
1932 – Helmut Griem, German actor (d. 2004)
1933 – Roy Goode, British lawyer
1933 – Eduardo Malapit, American Democratic politician (d. 2007)
1934 – Anton Geesink, Dutch judoka
1937 – Merle Haggard, American musician
1937 – Billy Dee Williams, American actor
1938 – Paul Daniels, English magician
1938 – Roy Thinnes, American actor
1939 – André Ouellet, French Canadian politician
1940 – Pedro Armendáriz Jr., Mexican actor
1941 – Phil Austin, American comedian
1941 – Don The Snake Prudhomme, American drag racer
1941 – Gheorghe Zamfir, Romanian musician
1942 – Barry Levinson, American film producer/director
1944 – Felicity Palmer, English soprano
1945 – Neal Boortz, American talk radio personality
1947 – John Ratzenberger, American actor
1948 – Patrika Darbo, American actress
1949 – Horst Ludwig Störmer, German-born physicist, Nobel laureate
1951 – Bert Blyleven, Dutch-born baseball player
1952 – Udo Dirkschneider, German singer
1952 – Marilu Henner, American actress
1952 – Michel Larocque, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 1992)
1953 – Christopher Franke, German musician and composer
1955 – Keith Hunter Jesperson, Canadian-born serial killer
1955 – Michael Rooker, American actor
1956 – Dilip Vengsarkar, Indian cricketer and administrator
1957 – Paolo Nespoli, Italian astronaut
1961 – Rory Bremner, English comedian and impressionist
1964 – Phil Gayle, English news presenter
1965 – Frank Black, American singer/songwriter
1965 – Lieve Slegers, Belgian athlete
1965 – Sterling Sharpe, American football player
1966 – Young Man Kang, South Korean film director
1967 – Mika Koivuniemi, Finnish ten-pin bowler
1967 – Jonathan Firth, British actor
1968 – Vanessa Lann, American composer
1968 – Affonso Giaffone, Brazilian racing driver
1969 – Jack Canfora, American playwright
1969 – Bison Dele, American basketball player (disappeared 2002)
1969 – Ari Meyers, Puerto Rican-born American actress
1969 – Philipp Peter, Austrian racing driver
1969 – Paul Rudd, American actor
1969 – Bret Boone, Baseball Player
1970 – Olaf Kölzig, South African-born ice hockey player
1970 – Huang Xiaomin, Chinese swimmer
1971 – Lou Merloni, American baseball player
1972 – Ami James, Israeli-born American tattoo artist
1972 – Jason Hervey, American actor
1972 – Jo Van Daele, Belgian discus thrower
1973 – Donnie Edwards, American football player
1973 – Rie Miyazawa, Japanese actress/singer
1973 – Sun Wen, Chinese footballer
1973 – Gina Yashere, English comedian
1974 – Robert Kovac, Croatian footballer
1975 – Zach Braff, American actor
1975 – Hal Gill, Ice Hockey player
1976 – Candace Cameron, American actress
1976 – Georg Hólm, Icelandic musician
1977 – Andy Phillips, American Baseball Player
1978 – Tim Hasselbeck, American football player
1978 – Myleene Klass, British singer
1978 – Martin Mendez, Uruguayan-born Bassist (Opeth)
1978 – Blaine Neal, American baseball player
1981 – Robert Earnshaw, Zambian born, Welsh international footballer
1982 – Ilan Hall, Israeli-American chef
1982 – Bret Harrison, American actor
1982 – Michael Guy Chislett, Australian born, American guitarist of The Academy Is…
1983 – Diora Baird, American actress
1983 – Jade Seah, Singaporean model, host and actress
1983 – James Wade, English Darts Player
1984 – Max Bemis, American musician/songwriter
1985 – Garrett Zablocki, American musician
1985 – Clarke MacArthur, Canadian-born ice hockey player
1987 – Levi Porter, English footballer
1988 – Leigh Adams, Australian rules footballer
1988 – Mike Bailey, English actor
1988 – Fabrice Muamba, Anglo-Congolese footballer
1995 – Ryutaro Morimoto, Japanese Actor and Singer
2007 – Princess Haalah bint Hashim, Princess of Jordan
Deaths
885 – Saint Methodius (b. c. 815)
1147 – Frederick II, Duke of Swabia (b. 1090)
1199 – King Richard I of England (b. 1157)
1199 – Pierre Basile, French soldier
1362 – James I, Count of La Marche, French soldier (b. 1319)
1490 – King Matthias Corvinus of Hungary
1520 – Raphael, Italian painter and architect (b. 1483)
1528 – Albrecht Dürer, German artist (b. 1471)
1551 – Joachim Vadian, Swiss humanist (b. 1484)
1571 – John Hamilton, Scottish prelate and politician
1590 – Francis Walsingham, English spymaster
1605 – John Stow, English historian
1655 – David Blondel, French Protestant clergyman (b. 1591)
1686 – Arthur Annesley, 1st Earl of Anglesey, English royalist statesman (b. 1614)
1707 – Willem van de Velde, the younger, Dutch painter (b. 1633)
1755 – Richard Rawlinson, English minister and antiquarian (b. 1690)
1825 – Vladimir Borovikovsky, Russian painter (b. 1757)
1829 – Niels Henrik Abel, Norwegian mathematician (b. 1802)
1833 – Adamantios Korais, Greek humanist scholar (b. 1748)
1838 – José Bonifácio de Andrade e Silva, Brazilian statesman and geologist (b. 1763)
1862 – Albert Sidney Johnston, American Confederate general (b. 1803)
1883 – Benjamin Wright Raymond, American politician (b. 1801)
1906 – Alexander Kielland, Norwegian author (b. 1849)
1933 – Elizabeth Bacon Custer, wife of George Armstrong Custer (b. 1842)
1935 – Edwin Arlington Robinson, American poet (b. 1869)
1947 – Herbert Backe, German Nazi politician (b. 1896)
1953 – Idris Davies, Welsh poet (b. 1905)
1961 – Jules Bordet, Belgian immunologist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (b. 1870)
1963 – Otto Struve, Russian-born astronomer (b. 1897)
1970 – Sam Sheppard, American accused murderer (b. 1923)
1970 – Maurice Stokes, American basketball player (b. 1933)
1971 – Igor Stravinsky, Russian composer (b. 1882)
1974 – Willem Marinus Dudok, Dutch architect (b. 1884)
1974 – Hudson Fysh, Australian aviator and businessman (b. 1895)
1976 – Sidney Franklin, American bullfighter (b. 1903)
1992 – Isaac Asimov, Russian-born author (b. 1920)
1994 – Juvénal Habyarimana, Rwandan politician (b. 1937)
1994 – Cyprien Ntaryamira, Burundian politician (b. 1956)
1996 – Greer Garson, Irish actress (b. 1904)
1998 – Wendy O. Williams, American singer (Plasmatics) (b. 1949)
1998 – Tammy Wynette, American singer (b. 1942)
1999 – Red Norvo, American jazz vibraphonist (b. 1908)
2000 – Habib Bourguiba, Tunisian politician (b. 1903)
2001 – Charles Pettigrew, American singer (b. 1963)
2003 – David Bloom, American reporter (b. 1963)
2003 – Babatunde Olatunji, Nigerian drummer (b. 1927)
2003 – Gerald Emmett Cardinal Carter, Canadian religious figure (b. 1912)
2004 – Larisa Bogoraz, Soviet dissident (b. 1929)
2004 – Niki Sullivan, American guitarist (The Crickets) (b. 1937)
2005 – Rainier III, Prince of Monaco (b. 1923)
2006 – Maggie Dixon, American college basketball coach (b. 1977)
2006 – Francis L. Kellogg, U.S. diplomat and prominent socialite (b. 1917)
2007 – Luigi Comencini, Italian film director (b. 1916)
Holidays and observances
Tartan Day, the anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Arbroath in 1320, a day set aside for the celebration of Scottish influence
The date of organization of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints by Joseph Smith, Jr.. Also the date on which many in The Church believe that Jesus was born.
Chakri Day in Thailand, commemorating the reign of the Chakri Dynasty.
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