✦ DateLore

On This Day · The 65th day of the year

March 6

A look at March 6 through the almanac — historic events, famous birthdays including Michelangelo and Gabriel García Márquez, and the day's notable deaths and observances.

♓ZodiacPisces ◈BirthstoneAquamarine ❀Birth flowerDaffodil
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Events

10 notable moments
  1. 1987

    MS Herald of Free Enterprise

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

    Ferry sunk at Zeebrugge,
  2. 1967

    Joseph Stalin

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

    Leader of the Soviet
  3. 1964

    Nation of Islam

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

    African American new religious
  4. 1957

    Ghana

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

    Country in West Africa
  5. 1945

    Cologne

    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.

    Largest city in North
  6. 1943

    World War II

    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.

    1939–1945 global conflict
  7. 1904

    Scottish National Antarctic Expedition

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

    1902–04 expedition led by
  8. 1901

    Wilhelm II

    An anarchist assassin tries to kill German Emperor Wilhelm II.

    German Emperor from 1888
  9. 1836

    Texas Revolution

    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.

    1835–1836 rebellion
  10. 1447

    1447 conclave

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

    History
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Famous birthday twins

Born on March 6

Michelangelo

b. 1475

Italian painter and sculptor

Gabriel García Márquez

b. 1927

Colombian journalist and author, Nobel Prize laureate

Lou Costello

b. 1906

American actor and comedian

Richard Corliss

b. 1944

American journalist and critic

Joseph von Fraunhofer

b. 1787

German physicist and astronomer

Valentina Tereshkova

b. 1937

Russian general, pilot, and astronaut

Francesco Guicciardini

b. 1483

Italian historian and politician

Charles I of Württemberg

b. 1823

King of Württemberg from 1864 to 1891

Deaths

  • 2013Alvin Lee, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
  • 1986Georgia O'Keeffe, American painter
  • 1952Jürgen Stroop, German SS general, and executed war criminal
  • 1939Ferdinand von Lindemann, German mathematician and academic
  • 1900Gottlieb Daimler, German engineer and businessman, co-founded Daimler-Motoren-Gesellschaft
  • 190Liu Bian, (poisoned by Dong Zhuo)

Holidays & observances

  • —Christian feast day: Chrodegang
  • —Christian feast day: Colette of Corbie
  • —Christian feast day: Fridolin of Säckingen
  • —Christian feast day: Kyneburga, Kyneswide and Tibba
  • —Christian feast day: Marcian of Tortona
  • —Christian feast day: 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.

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