371 BC – The Battle of Leuctra shatters Sparta’s reputation of military invincibility.
640 – Battle of Heliopolis: The Muslim Arab army under ‘Amr ibn al-‘As defeat the Byzantine forces near Heliopolis (Egypt).
1253 – Mindaugas is crowned King of Lithuania.
1348 – Pope Clement VI issues a papal bull protecting the Jews accused of having caused the Black Death.
1411 – Ming China’s Admiral Zheng He returns to Nanjing after the third treasure voyage and presents the Sinhalese king, captured during the Ming–Kotte War, to the Yongle Emperor.
1415 – Jan Hus is condemned by the assembly of the council in the cathedral as a heretic and sentenced to be burned at the stake. (See Deaths section.)
1438 – A temporary compromise between the rebellious Transylvanian peasants and the noblemen is signed in Kolozsmonostor Abbey.
1483 – Richard III is crowned King of England.
1484 – Portuguese sea captain Diogo Cão finds the mouth of the Congo River.
1495 – First Italian War: Battle of Fornovo: Charles VIII defeats the Holy League.
1535 – Sir Thomas More is executed for treason against King Henry VIII of England.
1557 – King Philip II of Spain, consort of Queen Mary I of England, sets out from Dover to war with France, which eventually resulted in the loss of the City of Calais, the last English possession on the continent, and Mary I never seeing her husband again.
1560 – The Treaty of Edinburgh is signed by Scotland and England.
1573 – Córdoba, Argentina, is founded by Jerónimo Luis de Cabrera.
1573 – French Wars of Religion: Siege of La Rochelle ends.
1614 – Raid on Żejtun: The south east of Malta, and the town of Żejtun, suffer a raid from Ottoman forces. This was the last unsuccessful attempt by the Ottomans to conquer the island of Malta.
1630 – Thirty Years’ War: Four thousand Swedish troops under Gustavus Adolphus land in Pomerania, Germany.
1685 – Battle of Sedgemoor: Last battle of the Monmouth Rebellion. troops of King James II defeat troops of James Scott, 1st Duke of Monmouth.
1751 – Pope Benedict XIV suppresses the Patriarchate of Aquileia and establishes from its territory the Archdiocese of Udine and Gorizia.
1777 – American Revolutionary War: Siege of Fort Ticonderoga: After a bombardment by British artillery under General John Burgoyne, American forces retreat from Fort Ticonderoga, New York.
1779 – Battle of Grenada: The French defeat British naval forces during the American Revolutionary War.
1801 – First Battle of Algeciras: Outnumbered French Navy ships defeat the Royal Navy in the fortified Spanish port of Algeciras.
1809 – The second day of the Battle of Wagram; France defeats the Austrian army in the largest battle to date of the Napoleonic Wars.
1854 – In Jackson, Michigan, the first convention of the United States Republican Party is held.
1885 – Louis Pasteur successfully tests his vaccine against rabies on Joseph Meister, a boy who was bitten by a rabid dog.
1887 – David Kalākaua, monarch of the Kingdom of Hawaii, is forced to sign the Bayonet Constitution, which transfers much of the king’s authority to the Legislature of the Kingdom of Hawaii.
1892 – Three thousand eight hundred striking steelworkers engage in a day-long battle with Pinkerton agents during the Homestead Strike, leaving ten dead and dozens wounded.
1917 – World War I: Arabian troops led by T. E. Lawrence (“Lawrence of Arabia”) and Auda ibu Tayi capture Aqaba from the Ottoman Empire during the Arab Revolt.
1918 – The Left SR uprising in Russia starts with the assassination of German ambassador Wilhelm von Mirbach by Cheka members.
1919 – The British dirigible R34 lands in New York, completing the first crossing of the Atlantic Ocean by an airship.
1933 – The first Major League Baseball All-Star Game is played in Chicago’s Comiskey Park. The American League defeated the National League 4–2.
1936 – A major breach of the Manchester Bolton & Bury Canal in England sends millions of gallons of water cascading 200 feet (61 m) into the River Irwell.
1937 – Spanish Civil War: Battle of Brunete: The battle begins with Spanish Republican troops going on the offensive against the Nationalists to relieve pressure on Madrid.
1939 – Anti-Jewish legislation in prewar Nazi Germany closes the last remaining Jewish enterprises.
1940 – Story Bridge, a major landmark in Brisbane, as well as Australia’s longest cantilever bridge is formally opened.
1941 – The German army launches its offensive to encircle several Soviet armies near Smolensk.
1942 – Anne Frank and her family go into hiding in the “Secret Annexe” above her father’s office in an Amsterdam warehouse.
1944 – Jackie Robinson refuses to move to the back of a bus, leading to a court-martial.
1944 – The Hartford circus fire, one of America’s worst fire disasters, kills approximately 168 people and injures over 700 in Hartford, Connecticut.
1947 – Referendum held in Sylhet to decide its fate in the Partition of India.
1947 – The AK-47 goes into production in the Soviet Union.
1957 – Althea Gibson wins the Wimbledon championships, becoming the first black athlete to do so.
1957 – John Lennon and Paul McCartney meet for the first time, as teenagers at Woolton Fete, three years before forming the Beatles.
1962 – As a part of Operation Plowshare, the Sedan nuclear test takes place.
1962 – The Late Late Show, the world’s longest-running chat show by the same broadcaster, airs on RTÉ One for the first time.
1964 – Malawi declares its independence from the United Kingdom.
1966 – Malawi becomes a republic, with Hastings Banda as its first President.
1967 – Nigerian Civil War: Nigerian forces invade Biafra, beginning the war.
1975 – The Comoros declares independence from France.
1986 – Davis Phinney becomes the first American cyclist to win a road stage of the Tour de France.
1988 – The Piper Alpha drilling platform in the North Sea is destroyed by explosions and fires. One hundred sixty-seven oil workers are killed, making it the world’s worst offshore oil disaster in terms of direct loss of life.
1989 – The Tel Aviv–Jerusalem bus 405 suicide attack: Sixteen bus passengers are killed when a member of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad took control of the bus and drove it over a cliff.
1990 – The Electronic Frontier Foundation is founded.
1995 – In the Bosnian War, under the command of General Ratko Mladić, Serbia begins its attack on the Bosnian town of Srebrenica.
1997 – The Troubles: In response to the Drumcree dispute, five days of mass protests, riots and gun battles begin in Irish nationalist districts of Northern Ireland.
1998 – Hong Kong International Airport opens in Chek Lap Kok, Hong Kong, replacing Kai Tak Airport as the city’s international airport.
2003 – The 70-metre Yevpatoria Planetary Radar sends a METI message (Cosmic Call 2) to five stars: Hip 4872, HD 245409, 55 Cancri (HD 75732), HD 10307 and 47 Ursae Majoris (HD 95128). The messages will arrive to these stars in 2036, 2040, 2044, and 2049, respectively.
2006 – The Nathu La pass between India and China, sealed during the Sino-Indian War, re-opens for trade after 44 years.
2013 – At least 42 people are killed in a shooting at a school in Yobe State, Nigeria.
2013 – A Boeing 777 operating as Asiana Airlines Flight 214 crashes at San Francisco International Airport, killing three and injuring 181 of the 307 people on board.
2013 – A 73-car oil train derails in the town of Lac-Mégantic, Quebec and explodes into flames, killing at least 47 people and destroying more than 30 buildings in the town’s central area.
Births on July 6
1387 – Queen Blanche I of Navarre (d. 1441)
1423 – Antonio Manetti, Italian mathematician and architect (d. 1497)
1580 – Johann Stobäus, German lute player and composer (d. 1646)
1623 – Jacopo Melani, Italian violinist and composer (d. 1676)
1678 – Nicola Francesco Haym, Italian cellist and composer (d. 1729)
1686 – Antoine de Jussieu, French biologist and academic (d. 1758)
1701 – Mary, Countess of Harold, English aristocrat and philanthropist (d. 1785)
1736 – Daniel Morgan, American general and politician (d. 1802)
1747 – John Paul Jones, Scottish-American captain (d. 1792)
1766 – Alexander Wilson, Scottish-American poet, ornithologist, and illustrator (d. 1813)
1781 – Stamford Raffles, English politician, founded Singapore (d. 1826)
1782 – Maria Luisa of Spain (d. 1824)
1785 – William Hooker, English botanist and academic (d. 1865)
1789 – María Isabella of Spain (d. 1846)
1796 – Nicholas I of Russia (d. 1855)
1797 – Henry Paget, 2nd Marquess of Anglesey (d. 1869)
1799 – Louisa Caroline Huggins Tuthill, American author (d. 1879)
1817 – Albert von Kölliker, Swiss anatomist and physiologist (d. 1905)
1818 – Adolf Anderssen, German chess player (d. 1879)
1823 – Sophie Adlersparre, Swedish publisher, writer, and women’s rights activist (d. 1895)
1829 – Frederick VIII, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein (d. 1880)
1831 – Sylvester Pennoyer, American lawyer and politician, 8th Governor of Oregon (d. 1902)
1832 – Maximilian I of Mexico (d. 1867)
1837 – R. G. Bhandarkar, Indian orientalist and scholar (d. 1925)
1838 – Vatroslav Jagić, Croatian philologist and scholar (d. 1923)
1840 – José María Velasco Gómez, Mexican painter and academic (d. 1912)
1843 – John Downer, Australian politician, 16th Premier of South Australia (d. 1915)
1856 – George Howard Earle, Jr., American lawyer and businessman (d. 1928)
1858 – William Irvine, Irish-Australian politician, 21st Premier of Victoria (d. 1943)
1865 – Émile Jaques-Dalcroze, Swiss composer and educator (d. 1950)
1868 – Princess Victoria of the United Kingdom (d. 1935)
1873 – Dimitrios Maximos, Greek banker and politician, 140th Prime Minister of Greece (d. 1955)
1877 – Arnaud Massy, French golfer (d. 1950)
1878 – Eino Leino, Finnish poet and journalist (d. 1926)
1883 – Godfrey Huggins, Prime Minister of the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland (d. 1971)
1884 – Harold Stirling Vanderbilt, American businessman and sailor (d. 1970)
1885 – Ernst Busch, German field marshal (d. 1945)
1886 – Marc Bloch, French historian and academic (d. 1944)
1887 – Marc Chagall, Belarusian-French painter and poet (d. 1985)
1887 – Annette Kellerman, Australian swimmer and actress (d. 1975)
1890 – Dhan Gopal Mukerji, Indian-American author and scholar (d. 1936)
1892 – Will James, American author and illustrator (d. 1942)
1897 – Richard Krautheimer, German-American historian and scholar (d. 1994)
1898 – Hanns Eisler, German-Austrian soldier and composer (d. 1962)
1899 – Susannah Mushatt Jones, American supercentarian (d. 2016)
1900 – Frederica Sagor Maas, American author and screenwriter (d. 2012)
1900 – Elfriede Wever, German Olympic runner (d. 1941)
1903 – Hugo Theorell, Swedish biochemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1982)
1904 – Robert Whitney, American conductor and composer (d. 1986)
1904 – Erik Wickberg, Swedish 9th General of The Salvation Army (d. 1996)
1905 – Juan O’Gorman, Mexican painter and architect (d. 1982)
1907 – Frida Kahlo, Mexican painter and educator (d. 1954)
1907 – George Stanley, Canadian soldier, historian, and author, designed the flag of Canada (d. 2002)
1908 – Anton Muttukumaru, Sri Lankan general and diplomat (d. 2001)
1909 – Eric Reece, Australian politician, 32nd Premier of Tasmania (d. 1999)
1910 – René Le Grèves, French cyclist (d. 1946)
1911 – June Gale, American actress (d. 1996)
1912 – Heinrich Harrer, Austrian geographer and mountaineer (d. 2006)
1912 – Molly Yard, American feminist (d. 2005)
1913 – Vance Trimble, American journalist and author
1914 – Vince McMahon Sr., American wrestling promoter, founded WWE (d. 1984)
1914 – Ernest Kirkendall, American chemist and metallurgist (d. 2005)
1915 – Leonard Birchall, Royal Canadian Air Force pilot (d. 2004)
1916 – Harold Norse, American poet and author (d. 2009)
1916 – Don R. Christensen, American animator, cartoonist, illustrator, writer and inventor (d. 2006)
1917 – Arthur Lydiard, New Zealand runner and coach (d. 2004)
1918 – Sebastian Cabot, English-Canadian actor (d. 1977)
1918 – Herm Fuetsch, American professional basketball player (d. 2010)
1918 – Francisco Moncion, Dominican-American ballet dancer, charter member of the New York City Ballet (d.1995)
1919 – Ernst Haefliger, Swiss tenor and educator (d. 2007)
1919 – Edward Kenna, Australian Second World War recipient of the Victoria Cross (d. 2009)
1919 – Ray Dowker, New Zealand cricketer (d. 2004)
1921 – Allan MacEachen, Canadian economist and politician, Deputy Prime Minister of Canada (d. 2017)
1921 – Billy Mauch, American actor (d. 2006)
1921 – Bobby Mauch, American actor (d. 2007)
1921 – Nancy Reagan, American actress and activist, 42nd First Lady of the United States (d. 2016)
1922 – William Schallert, American actor; president (1979–81) of the Screen Actors Guild (d. 2016)
1923 – Wojciech Jaruzelski, Polish general and politician, 1st President of Poland (d. 2014)
1924 – Mahim Bora, Indian writer and educationist, recipients of the Padma Shri, India’s fourth highest civilian honour (d. 2016)
1924 – Louie Bellson, American drummer, composer, and bandleader (d. 2009)
1925 – Merv Griffin, American actor, singer, and producer, created Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy! (d. 2007)
1925 – Bill Haley, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1981)
1925 – Gazi Yaşargil, Turkish neurosurgeon and academic
1926 – Sulev Vahtre, Estonian historian and academic (d. 2007)
1926 – Armando Silvestre, Mexican-American actor
1927 – Jan Hein Donner, Dutch chess player and journalist (d. 1988)
1927 – Janet Leigh, American actress and author (d. 2004)
1928 – Bernard Malgrange, French mathematician
1929 – Hélène Carrère d’Encausse, French politician historian
1930 – George Armstrong, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
1930 – Ian Burgess, English racing driver (d. 2012)
1931 – Della Reese, American actress and singer (d. 2017)
1931 – László Tábori, Hungarian runner and coach (d. 2018)
1932 – Herman Hertzberger, Dutch architect and academic
1935 – Candy Barr, American model, dancer, and actress (d. 2005)
1935 – Tenzin Gyatso, 14th Dalai Lama
1936 – Dave Allen, Irish comedian, actor, and screenwriter (d. 2005)
1937 – Vladimir Ashkenazy, Russian-Icelandic pianist and conductor
1937 – Ned Beatty, American actor
1937 – Gene Chandler, American singer-songwriter and producer
1937 – Bessie Head, Botswanan writer
1937 – Michael Sata, Zambian police officer and politician, 5th President of Zambia (d. 2014)
1939 – Jet Harris, English bass player (d. 2011)
1939 – Mary Peters, English-Irish pentathlete and shot putter
1939 – Bruce Hunter, American swimmer (d. 2018)
1940 – Jeannie Seely, Grammy Award-winning country music singer-songwriter and Grand Ole Opry member
1940 – Nursultan Nazarbayev, Kazakh politician, 1st President of Kazakhstan
1941 – David Crystal, British linguist, author, and academic
1941 – Reinhard Roder, German footballer and manager
1943 – Tamara Sinyavskaya, Russian soprano
1944 – Gunhild Hoffmeister, German runner
1946 – George W. Bush, American businessman and politician, 43rd President of the United States
1946 – Fred Dryer, American football player and actor
1946 – Peter Singer, Australian philosopher and academic
1946 – Sylvester Stallone, American actor, director, and screenwriter
1947 – Roy Señeres, Filipino diplomat and politician (d. 2016)
1948 – Nathalie Baye, French actress
1948 – Jean-Pierre Blackburn, Canadian academic and politician, 26th Canadian Minister of Veterans Affairs
1948 – Brad Park, Canadian-American ice hockey player and coach
1949 – Noli de Castro, Filipino journalist and politician, 14th Vice President of the Philippines
1949 – Phyllis Hyman, American singer-songwriter and actress (d. 1995)
1949 – Michael Shrieve, American composer, drummer, and percussionist
1950 – John Byrne, English-American author and illustrator
1951 – Lorna Golding, Former First Lady of Jamaica
1951 – Geoffrey Rush, Australian actor and producer
1952 – Hilary Mantel, English author and critic
1953 – Nanci Griffith, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
1953 – Kaiser Kalambo, Zambian footballer and manager (d. 2014)
1953 – Robert Ménard, French politician and former journalist
1954 – Allyce Beasley, American actress
1954 – Willie Randolph, American baseball player and manager
1958 – Jennifer Saunders, English actress, comedian and screenwriter
1959 – Richard Dacoury, French basketball player
1960 – Maria Wasiak, Polish businesswoman and politician, Polish Minister of Infrastructure and Development
1961 – Robin Antin, American dancer, choreographer, and businesswoman
1962 – Todd Bennett, English runner and coach (d. 2013)
1962 – Peter Hedges, American author, screenwriter, and director
1967 – Heather Nova, Bermudian singer-songwriter and guitarist
1970 – Inspectah Deck, American rapper and producer
1970 – Martin Smith, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
1972 – Daniel Andrews, Australian politician, 48th Premier of Victoria
1972 – Laurent Gaudé, French author and playwright
1972 – Greg Norton, American baseball player and coach
