On This Day — 6 December

2000s

2017

Donald Trump's administration officially announces the recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.

Donald Trump

2015

Venezuelan parliamentary election: For the first time in 17 years, the United Socialist Party of Venezuela loses its majority in parliament.

2015 Venezuelan parliamentary election

2006

NASA reveals photographs taken by Mars Global Surveyor suggesting the presence of liquid water on Mars.

NASA

2005

An Iranian Air Force C-130 military transport aircraft crashes into a ten-floor apartment building in a residential area of Tehran, killing all 94 on board and 12 more on the ground.

Islamic Republic of Iran Air Force

1900s

1999

A&M Records, Inc. v. Napster, Inc.: The Recording Industry Association of America sues the peer-to-peer file-sharing service Napster, alleging copyright infringement.

A&M Records, Inc. v. Napster, Inc.

1998

in Venezuela, Hugo Chávez is victorious in presidential elections.

Venezuela

1995

The United States Food and Drug Administration approves Saquinavir, the first protease inhibitor to treat HIV/AIDS. Within 2 years of its approval, annual deaths from AIDS in the United States fall from over 50,000 to approximately 18,000.

Food and Drug Administration

1992

The Babri Masjid in Ayodhya, India, is demolished, leading to widespread riots causing the death of over 1,500 people.

Babri Masjid

1991

Yugoslav Wars: In Croatia, forces of the Serb-dominated Yugoslav People's Army (JNA) heaviest bombardment of Dubrovnik during a siege of seven months.

Yugoslav Wars

1990

A military jet of the Italian Air Force, abandoned by its pilot after an on-board fire, crashed into a high school near Bologna, Italy, killing 12 students and injuring 88 other people.

Italian Air Force

1989

The École Polytechnique massacre (or Montreal Massacre): Marc Lépine, an anti-feminist gunman, murders 14 young women at the École Polytechnique in Montreal.

École Polytechnique massacre

1982

The Troubles: The Irish National Liberation Army bombs a pub frequented by British soldiers in Ballykelly, Northern Ireland, killing eleven soldiers and six civilians.

Irish National Liberation Army

1978

Spain ratifies the Spanish Constitution of 1978 in a referendum.

Constitution of Spain

1977

South Africa grants independence to Bophuthatswana, although it is not recognized by any other country.

Bophuthatswana

1975

The Troubles: Fleeing from the police, a Provisional IRA unit takes a British couple hostage in their flat on Balcombe Street, London, beginning a six-day siege.

The Troubles

1973

The Twenty-fifth Amendment: The United States House of Representatives votes 387–35 to confirm Gerald Ford as Vice President of the United States. (On November 27, the Senate confirmed him 92–3.)

Twenty-fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution

1971

Pakistan severs diplomatic relations with India, initiating the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971.

India–Pakistan war of 1971

1969

Altamont Free Concert: At a free concert performed by the Rolling Stones, eighteen-year old Meredith Hunter is stabbed to death by Hells Angels security guards.

Altamont Free Concert

📅

1967

Adrian Kantrowitz performs the first human heart transplant in the United States.

Adrian Kantrowitz

📅

1957

Project Vanguard: A launchpad explosion of Vanguard TV3 thwarts the first United States attempt to launch a satellite into Earth orbit.

Project Vanguard

📅

1956

A violent water polo match between Hungary and the USSR takes place during the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne, against the backdrop of the Hungarian Revolution of 1956.

Blood in the Water match

1941

World War II: Camp X opens in Canada to begin training Allied secret agents for the war.

World War II

1939

Winter War: The Red Army's advance on the Karelian Isthmus is stopped by Finns at the Mannerheim Line during the Battle of Taipale.

Winter War

📅

1933

In United States v. One Book Called Ulysses Judge John M. Woolsey rules that James Joyce's novel Ulysses is not obscene despite coarse language and sexual content, a leading decision affirming free expression.

United States v. One Book Called Ulysses

1928

The government of Colombia sends military forces to suppress a month-long strike by United Fruit Company workers, resulting in an unknown number of deaths.

Banana Massacre

1922

Ireland is partitioned, with Northern Ireland and the Irish Free State coming into existence, one year to the day after the signing of the Anglo-Irish Treaty.

Partition of Ireland

1921

The Anglo-Irish Treaty is signed in London by British and Irish representatives.

Anglo-Irish Treaty

1917

Finland declares independence from the Russian Empire.

Finnish Declaration of Independence

1917

Halifax Explosion: A munitions explosion near Halifax, Nova Scotia kills more than 1,900 people in the largest artificial explosion up to that time.

Halifax Explosion

1917

World War I: USS Jacob Jones is the first American destroyer to be sunk by enemy action when it is torpedoed by German submarine SM U-53.

USS Jacob Jones (DD-61)

1916

World War I: The Central Powers capture Bucharest.

World War I

1912

The Nefertiti Bust is discovered.

Nefertiti Bust

1907

A coal mine explosion at Monongah, West Virginia, kills 362 workers.

Monongah mining disaster

1904

Theodore Roosevelt articulated his "Corollary" to the Monroe Doctrine, stating that the U.S. would intervene in the Western Hemisphere should Latin American governments prove incapable or unstable.

Theodore Roosevelt

1800s

1897

London becomes the world's first city to host licensed taxicabs.

Taxi

1884

The Washington Monument in Washington, D.C., is completed.

Washington Monument

1882

Transit of Venus, second and last of the 19th century.

1882 transit of Venus

1865

Georgia ratifies the 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

Georgia (U.S. state)

1803

Five French warships attempting to escape the Royal Naval blockade of Saint-Domingue are all seized by British warships, signifying the end of the Haitian Revolution.

French Navy