March 6

Events

*1079 - Omar Khayyám completes the Iranian calendar.
*1454 - Thirteen Years' War: Delegates of the Prussian Confederation pledge allegiance to Casimir IV of Poland, and the Polish king agrees to help in their struggle for independence from the Teutonic Knights.
*1479 - Treaty of Alcaçovas - Portugal gives the Canary Islands to Castile in exchange for claims in West Africa.
*1521 - Ferdinand Magellan arrives at Guam.
*1788 - The First Fleet arrives at Norfolk Island in order to found a convict settlement.
*1820 - The Missouri Compromise is signed into law by President James Monroe. The compromise allows Missouri to enter the Union as a slave state, but makes the rest of the northern part of the Louisiana Purchase territory slavery-free.
*1834 - York, Upper Canada is incorporated as Toronto.
*1836 - Texas Revolution: Battle of the Alamo - After a thirteen day siege by an army of 3,000 Mexican troops, the 187 Texas volunteers defending the Alamo are defeated and the fort is captured.
*1853 - The Giuseppe Verdi opera La Traviata premieres in Venice.
*1857 - The Supreme Court of the United States rules in the Dred Scott v. Sandford case.
*1869 - Dmitri Mendeleev presents the first periodic table to the Russian Chemical Society.
*1899 - Bayer registers aspirin as a trademark.
*1901 - In Bremen an assassin attempts to kill Wilhelm II of Germany.
*1921 - The Portuguese Communist Party is founded as the Portuguese Section of the Communist International.
*1925 - Belgium annexes Eupen, Malmedy, and Sankt Vith.
*1927 - Fritz Lang's "Metropolis" is released.
*1933 -The United States bank holiday of the Great Depression began, lasting until March 10.
*1940 - Winter War: An armistice is signed by Finland and the Soviet Union.
*1945 - A communist-dominated government under Petru Groza assumes power in Romania.
*1946 - Vietnam War: Ho Chi Minh signs an agreement with France which recognizes Vietnam as an autonomous state in the Indochinese Federation and the French Union.
*1951 - The trial of Ethel and Julius Rosenberg begins.
*1953 - Georgy Maksimilianovich Malenkov succeeds Joseph Stalin as Premier and First Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union.
*1957 - United Kingdom colonies Gold Coast and British Togoland become the independent Republic of Ghana.
* 1957 - Israel withdraws its troops from the Sinai Peninsula.
*1964 - Nation of Islam's Elijah Muhammad officially gives boxing championCassius Clay the name Muhammad Ali meaning "Beloved of Allah".
* 1964 - Constantine II becomes King of Greece.
*1975 - Algiers Accord: Iran and Iraq announce a settlement of their border dispute.
*1981 - After 19 years presenting the "CBS Evening News", Walter Cronkite signs off for the last time.
*1984 - Twelve-month-long strike in British coal industry begins.
*1987 - The British ferry MS "Herald of Free Enterprise" capsizes in about 90 seconds killing 193.
* 1988 - Three unarmed members of the Provisional Irish Republican Army are killed by the SAS on the territory of Gibraltar in the conclusion of Operation Flavius.
*1992 - The Michelangelo computer virus begins to affect computers.
* 1992 - Founding of the Council of the Baltic Sea States.
*1994 - Referendum in Moldova results in the electorate voting against possible reunification with Romania.
*1997 - Picasso's painting "Tête de Femme" is stolen from a London gallery, and is recovered a week later.
*2006 - South Dakota Governor Mike Rounds signs a bill into legislation that would ban most abortions in the state.
*2007 - Former White House aide I. Lewis Libby, Jr. is found guilty on four of five counts of perjury and obstruction of justice trial.

Births

*1340 - John of Gaunt, 1st Duke of Lancaster (d. 1399)
*1405 - King John II of Castile (d. 1454)
*1459 - Jacob Fugger, German banker (d. 1525)
*1475 - Michelangelo, Italian artist (d. 1564)
*1483 - Francesco Guicciardini, Italian statesman and historian (d. 1540)
*1495 - Luigi Alamanni, Italian poet (d. 1556)
*1619 - Cyrano de Bergerac, French soldier, poet (d. 1655)
*1663 - Francis Atterbury, British man of letters (d. 1732)
*1706 - George Pocock, British admiral (d. 1792)
*1716 - Pehr Kalm, Swedish explorer and naturalist (d. 1779)
*1761 - Antoine-Francois Andreossy, French General (d. 1828)
*1779 - Antoine-Henri Jomini, French general (d. 1869)
*1787 - Joseph von Fraunhofer, German physicist (d. 1826)
*1806 - Elizabeth Barrett Browning, British poet (d. 1861)
*1812 - Aaron Lufkin Dennison American watch manufacturer (d. 1895)
*1817 - Princess Clémentine of Orléans (d. 1907)
*1818 - William Claflin, 27th Governor of Massachusetts (d. 1905)
*1831 - Philip Sheridan, American Civil War Union cavalry officer (d. 1888)
*1834 - George du Maurier British illustrator and writer (d. 1896)
*1870 - Oscar Straus, Viennese operetta composer (d. 1954)
*1882 - F. Burrall Hoffman, American architect (d. 1980)
*1885 - Ring Lardner, American writer (d. 1933)
*1893 - Furry Lewis, American blues guitarist (d. 1981)
*1900 - Lefty Grove, American Baseball Player (d. 1975)
*1903 - Empress Kōjun of Japan (d. 2000)
*1904 - Joseph Schmidt, Austrian tenor (d. 1942)
* 1904 - José Antonio Aguirre, Basque politician (d. 1960)
*1905 - Bob Wills, American singer (d. 1975)
*1906 - Lou Costello, American actor comedian (d. 1959)
*1914 - Kiril Kondrashin, Russian conductor (d. 1981)
*1915 - Syedna Mohammed Burhanuddin, 52nd Da'i al Mutlaq of the Dawoodi Bohras
* 1915 - Pete Gray, American baseball player (d. 2002)
*1917 - Will Eisner, American illustrator and cartoonist (d. 2005)
* 1917 - Frankie Howerd, English comedian (d. 1992)
*1919 - Maurice Grosse, British paranormal investigator (d. 2006)
*1923 - Ed McMahon, American television personality
*1925 - Wes Montgomery, American musician (d. 1968)
*1926 - Alan Greenspan, American economist
* 1926 - Andrzej Wajda, Polish film director
*1927 - Gabriel García Márquez, Colombian writer, Nobel Prize laureate
* 1927 - Gordon Cooper, astronaut (d. 2004)
* 1927 - Norman Treigle, American bass-baritone (d. 1975)
*1930 - Lorin Maazel, French-born American conductor
*1931 - Hal Needham, American stuntman
*1933 - Ted Abernathy, American baseball player (d. 2004)
*1934 - John Noakes, British television presenter
*1935 - Ron Delany, Irish athlete
*1936 - Bob Akin, American industrialist and race car driver (d. 2002)
* 1936 - Marion Barry Jr., American politician
* 1936 - Jean Boht, English actress
*1937 - Ivan Boesky, American stock trader
* 1937 - Valentina Tereshkova, cosmonaut
*1939 - Adam Osborne, British author and computer designer (d. 2003)
* 1939 - Infanta Margarita of Spain, duchess of Soria
*1939 - Cookie Rojas, baseball player
*1940 - Joanna Miles, American actress
* 1940 - Willie Stargell, baseball player (d. 2001)
*1942 - Ben Murphy, American actor
*1944 - Kiri Te Kanawa, New Zealand singer
* 1944 - Mary Wilson, American singer
*1946 - David Gilmour, British musician (Pink Floyd)
*1947 - Kiki Dee, British singer
* 1947 - Dick Fosbury, American athlete
* 1947 - Martin Kove, American actor
* 1947 - Teru Miyamoto, Japanese author
* 1947 - Rob Reiner, American actor, comedian, and film producer
*1948 - Anna Maria Horsford, American actress
*1949 - Shaukat Aziz, Prime Minister of Pakistan
* 1949 - Martin Buchan, Scottish soccer player
*1951 - Gerrie Knetemann, Dutch cyclist (d. 2004)
*1953 - Jan Kjærstad, Norwegian author
* 1953 - Jacklyn Zeman, American actress
*1955 - Alberta Watson, Canadian actress
*1957 - Dick Rambone, American porn Star
*1958 - Eddie Deezen, American actor
*1959 - Saul Anuzis, American politician
* 1959 - Tom Arnold, American actor and comedian
* 1959 - Michael Carmine , American actor (d. 1989)
*1962 - Valerie French, American animatronics art director
*1963 - D.L. Hughley, American comedian and actor
*1964 - Skip Ewing, American country music singer and songwriter
* 1964 - Madonna Wayne Gacy, American musician
*1966 - Alan Davies, British comedian and actor
*1967 - Connie Britton, American actress
*1967 - Julio Bocca, Argentine ballet dancer
*1968 - Moira Kelly, American actress
* 1968 - Michael Romeo, American musician (Symphony X)
*1969 - Andrea Elson, American actress
* 1969 - Tari Phillips, American basketball player
* 1969 - Amy Pietz, American actress
* 1969 - Greg Scott, British TV personality
*1971 - Sean Morley, American professional wrestler
* 1971 - Darrick Martin, American basketball player
*1972 - Shaquille O'Neal, American basketball player
*1973 - Michael Finley, American basketball player
* 1973 - Greg Ostertag, American basketball player
* 1973 - Peter Lindgren, Swedish guitarist (ex-Opeth)
*1974 - Sebastian Siegel, British-American actor
*1975 - Aracely Arambula, Mexican actress and singer
*1976 - Ken Anderson, American professional wrestler
*1977 - Giorgos Karagounis, Greek soccer player
* 1977 - Marcus Thames, American baseball player
*1978 - Sage Rosenfels, American Football Player
*1978 - Lara Cox, Australian Actress
*1979 - David Flair, American professional wrestler
* 1979 - Erik Bedard, Canadian baseball player
* 1979 - Ryan Nyquist, American BMX rider
*1981 - Ellen Muth, American actress
*1983 - Andranik Teymourian, Iranian soccer player
*1984 - Becky, Japanese-British entertainer
*1985 - Albert Reed, American model
*1986 - Eli Marienthal, American actor
*1987 - Hannah Taylor-Gordon, English actress
*1992 - Momoko Tsugunaga, Japanese singer
*1996 - Savanah Stehlin, American actress

Deaths

* 766 - Chrodegang of Metz, Frankish bishop of Metz
*1252 - Saint Rose of Viterbo, Italian saint (b. 1235)
*1490 - Ivan the Young, Ruler of Tver (b. 1458)
*1531 - Pedrarias Dávila, Spanish conquistador
*1627 - Krzysztof Zbaraski, Polish statesman (b. 1580)
*1754 - Henry Pelham, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (b. 1694)
*1758 - Henry Vane, 1st Earl of Darlington, English politician (b. 1705)
*1764 - Philip Yorke, 1st Earl of Hardwicke, Lord Chancellor of England (b. 1690)
*1796 - Guillaume Thomas François Raynal, French writer (b. 1713)
*1836 - Davy Crockett, American frontiersman (b. 1786)
* 1836 - William Barret Travis, American lawyer from South Carolina and soldier (b. 1809)
* 1836 - James Butler Bonham, American lawyer from South Carolina and soldier (b. 1807)
* 1836 - Jim Bowie, American pioneer and soldier (b. 1796)
*1842 - Constanze Mozart, wife of W.A. Mozart (b. 1763)
*1854 - Charles William Vane, 3rd Marquess of Londonderry, British soldier and politician (b. 1778)
*1860 - Justus Johann Friedrich Dotzauer, German cellist and composer (b. 1783)
*1866 - William Whewell, English scientist, philosopher, and historian of science (b. 1794)
*1881 - Horatia Nelson, the illegitimate daughter of Emma Hamilton and Horatio Nelson (b. 1801)
*1888 - Louisa May Alcott, American novelist (b. 1832)
*1895 - Camilla Collett, Norwegian writer and feminist (b. 1813)
*1899 - Victoria Kaiulani, Hawaiian princess (b. 1875)
*1900 - Gottlieb Daimler, German engineer and industrialist (b. 1834)
*1905 - John Henninger Reagan, American Confederate politician (b. 1818)
*1932 - John Philip Sousa, American band leader, conductor, and composer (b. 1854)
*1933 - Anton Cermak, Mayor of Chicago (b. 1873)
*1935 - Fridolf Rhudin Swedish actor and comedian (b. 1895)
*1939 - Ferdinand von Lindemann, German mathematician (b. 1852)
*1941 - Gutzon Borglum, Danish sculptor (b. 1867)
*1948 - Ross Lockridge, Jr., American novelist (b. 1914)
*1950 - Albert Lebrun, President of France (b. 1871)
*1951 - Ivor Novello, Welsh actor, musician, and composer (b. 1893)
* 1951 - Volodymyr Vynnychenko, Ukrainian politician and statesman (b. 1880)
*1952 - Jürgen Stroop, Nazi SS-leader (executed) (b. 1895)
*1961 - George Formby, British comedian and singer (b. 1904)
*1964 - King Paul of Greece (b. 1901)
*1965 - Margaret Dumont, American actress (b. 1889)
*1967 - John Haden Badley, English author and educator (b. 1865)
* 1967 - Nelson Eddy, American singer and actor (b. 1901)
* 1967 - Zoltán Kodály, Hungarian composer (b. 1882)
*1969 - Nadya Rusheva, Russian painter (b. 1952)
*1970 - William Hopper, American actor (b. 1915)
*1971 - Thurston Dart, English harpsichordist and conductor (b. 1921)
*1973 - Pearl S. Buck, American writer, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1892)
*1976 - Max 'Slapsie Maxie' Rosenbloom, American boxer and actor (b. 1903)
*1981 - George Geary, English cricketer (b. 1893)
*1982 - Ayn Rand, Russian-American author (b. 1905)
*1984 - Henry Wilcoxon, Dominican actor (b. 1905)
*1986 - Georgia O'Keeffe, American artist (b. 1887)
*1988 - Vol. Mairéad Farrell, Vol. Seán Savage and Vol. Daniel McCann killed within minutes of each other; Irish Republicans.
*1994 - Melina Mercouri, Greek actress, political activist, and politician (b. 1920)
*1997 - Cheddi Jagan, President of Guyana (b. 1918)
* 1997 - Michael Manley, Prime Minister of Jamaica (b. 1924)
*1998 - Frank Barrett, American baseball player (b. 1913)
*1999 - Isa ibn Salman Al Khalifah, emir of Bahrain (b. 1933)
* 1999 - Dennis Viollet, former soccer player (b. 1933)
*2000 - John Colicos, Canadian actor (b. 1928)
*2001 - Kim Walker, American actress (b. 1968)
*2002 - Bryan Fogarty, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1969)
*2003 - John Sanford, American author (b. 1904)
*2004 - Frances Dee, American actress (b. 1909)
* 2004 - Ray Fernandez, American professional wrestler (b. 1957)
*2005 - Hans Bethe, German-born physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1906)
* 2005 - Tommy Vance, British radio disc jockey (b. 1943)
* 2005 - Danny Gardella, American baseball player (b. 1920)
* 2005 - Teresa Wright, American actress (b. 1918)
* 2006 - Anne Braden, American civil rights activist (b. 1924)
*2006 - King Floyd, American musician (b. 1945)
* 2006 - Kirby Puckett, American baseball player (b. 1960)
* 2006 - Dana Reeve, American actress, wife of Christopher Reeve (b. 1961)
*2007 - Jean Baudrillard, French cultural theorist, philosopher, political commentator and photographer (b. 1929)
* 2007 - Allen Coage (aka "Bad News Brown", "Bad News Allen"), American professional wrestler and judoka (b. 1943)
* 2007 - Ernest Gallo, American winemaker (b. 1909)
*2008 - Peter Poreku Cardinal Dery Cardinal Archbishop Emeritus of Tamale, Ghana

Holidays and observances

* Ghana - Independence Day (from Britain, 1957)
* Alamo Day in Texas
*Saint Chrodegang
*Saint Fridolin
*Saint Colette aka Saint Coleta of Ghent
*Saint Olegarius
*Saints Kyneburga, Kyneswide and Tibba
*March 6 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)

External links

* [http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/march/6 BBC: On This Day]
*
* [http://www1.sympatico.ca/cgi-bin/on_this_day?mth=Mar&day=06 On This Day in Canada] ----