On this day in History - Jul 6

• 1189 - Henry II of England dies at Chinon Castle (b. 1133)
• 1249 - Alexander II of Scotland dies (b. 1198)
• 1253 - Mindaugas is crowned king of Lithuania.
• 1348 - Papal bull of Pope Clement VI protecting Jews during the Black Death.
• 1415 - Jan Hus dies burned at the stake. Bohemian religious reformer.
• 1476 - Regiomantus dies (b. 1436). German astronomer and mathematician.
• 1480 - Antonio Squarcialupi dies (b. 1416). Italian composer.
• 1483 - Richard III is crowned king of England.
• 1484 - Portuguese sea captain Diogo Cão finds the mouth of Congo River.
• 1495 - First Italian War: Battle of Fornovo Charles VIII defeats the Holy League, but ultimately ends his attempted conquest of Italy.
• 1533 - Ludovico Ariosto dies (b. 1474). Italian poet.
• 1535 - Sir Thomas More dies beheaded (b. 1478). Chancellor of England, writer and philosopher (Utopia) . He was canonized by the Catholic Church in 1935.
• 1553 - King Edward VI Tudor dies (b. 1537). King of England (1547-53).
• 1560 - The Treaty of Edinburgh is signed by Scotland,and Great Britain.
• 1573 - Córdoba, Argentina is founded by Jerónimo Luis de Cabrera.
• 1583 - Edmund Grindal dies. Archbishop of Canterbury
• 1585 - Thomas Aufield dies (b. 1552). English Catholic martyr.
• 1609 - Bohemia is granted Freedom of religion.
• 1630 - Thirty-Years War: 4,000 Swedish troops under Gustavus Adolphus land in Germany.
• 1684 - Peter Gunning dies (b. 1614). English royalist churchman.
• 1686 - Antoine de Jussieu was born (d. 1758). French naturalist.
• 1726 - Humphry Wanley dies (b. 1672). Learned scholar. Antiquary Archivist Librarian
• 1747 - John Paul Jones was born (d. 1792). American naval commander.
• 1755 - John Flaxman was born. Sculptor.
• 1758 - George Howe, 3rd Viscount Howe dies. British general
• 1762 - Tsar Peter III Feodorovich dies murdered (b. 1728). Tsar of Russia (1761-62)
• 1766 - Alexander Wilson was born (d. 1813). Scottish-born poet, ornithologist, naturalist, and painter.
• 1767 - Michael Bruce dies at Kinnsswood (b. 1746). Poet.
• 1768 - Conrad Beissel dies (b. 1690). German-born religious leader.
• 1777 - American Revolutionary War: At the Battle of Ticonderoga, bombardment by British artillery under General John Burgoyne forces American retreat from Fort Ticonderoga, New York.
• 1781 - Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles was born. Governor of Java (1811—1816), author of a History of Java and founder of the Zoological Society.
• 1785 - The dollar is unanimously chosen as the money unit for the United States. This is the first time a nation has adopted a decimal currency system.
• 1785 - William Jackson Hooker was born (d. 1865). English botanist.
• 1796 - Tsar Nicholas I of Russia was born (d. 1855)
• 1799 - Ranjit Singh's 25,000 men start march towards Lahore. Babu Varghese, Kerala, India
• 1801 - Battle of Algeciras: The French fleet beats the British fleet.
• 1809 - O exército francês, comandado por Napoleão Bonaparte, derrota o exército austríaco comandado pelo arquiduque Carlos, na Batalha de Wagram, a sul de Viena.
• 1809 - Antoine Charles Louis Lasalle dies (b. 1775). French cavalry general
• 1813 - Granville Sharpe dies in Fulham (b. 10 Nov 1735). British abolicionist.
• 1817 - Albert von Kölliker was born (d. 1905). Swiss anatomist.
• 1818 - Adolf Anderssen was born (d. 1879). German chess player.
• 1823 - Sir Henry Raeburn dies in Edinburgh. Painter.
• 1824 - Erección del Estado de Chihuahua. De conformidad con el artículo quinto de la Constitución Federal de 1824, Chihuahua es erigido como Estado Libre y Soberano de la Federación.
• 1827 - Tratado de Londres entre a França, a Rússia e a Grã-Bretanha. As potências decidem intervir em defesa da autonomia grega em luta contra a Turquia otomana.
• 1832 - Maximiliano I - México was born.
• 1835 - John Marshall dies (b. 1755). Chief Justice of the United States.
• 1837 - Ramakrishna Gopal Bhandarkar was born (d. 1925). Indian scholar.
• 1838 - Vatroslav Jagic was born (d. 1923). Croatian scholar.
• 1840 - Nace en Temascalcingo, Estado de México, José María Velasco, quien destacará como pintor de fama mundial. Ha de morir en la ciudad de México, el 26 de agosto de 1912.
• 1849 - Battle of Fredericia, Denmark, Danish Army under Generals Bülow and Rye beat the Army of Schleswig-Holstein, thereby keeping the Prussians from any victory over Denmark until 1864.
• 1851 - D. M. Moir dies in Musselburgh, Scotland. Poet and miscellaneous writer.
• 1854 - In Jackson, Michigan, the first convention of the U.S. Republican Party is held.
• 1854 - Georg Ohm dies (b. 1789). German physicist.
• 1855 - Andrew Crosse dies. Electrician.
• 1859 - Verner von Heidenstam was born (d. 1940). Swedish writer. 1916 Nobel Prize for Literature laureated.
• 1861 - Sir Francis Palgrave, dies. Historian.
• 1863 - Nace Rómulo Figueroa Mata, quien se distinguirá como inquieto revolucionario maderista y sostenedor del Plan de Guadalupe en su Estado. Como constitucionalista hará carrera militar y llegará a general. Ha de morir en la ciudad de México, el 26 de noviembre de 1946.
• 1864 - Alberto Nepomuceno was born. Brazilian composer and conductor, Artemis
• 1868 - Sanosuke Harada dies (b. 1840). Shinsengumi Captain.
• 1871 - António Frederico de Castro Alves dies in Salvador, Bahia (b. 14 Mar 1847). Brazilian poet (Espumas Flutuantes, O navio negreiro, etc.).
• 1876 - Emilio Recabarren Serrano was born. Founder of Comunist Party in Chile.
• 1878 - Eino Leino was born (d. 1926). Finnish poet.
• 1882 - Tomás Guardia Gutiérrez dies. President of Costa Rica.
• 1884 - Harold Vanderbilt was born. Businessman.
• 1885 - Louis Pasteur successfully tests his vaccine against rabies. The patient is Joseph Meister, a boy who was bitten by a rabid dog.
• 1885 - Ernst Busch was born (d. 1945). German field marshal.
• 1887 - David Kalakaua, monarch of the Kingdom of Hawaii, is forced at gunpoint, at the hands of Americans, to sign the Bayonet Constitution giving Americans more power in Hawaii while stripping Hawaiian citizens of their rights.
• 1887 - 4th Wimbledon Womens Tennis: Lottie Dod beats Blanche Hillyard (6-2 and 6-0)
• 1887 - Walter Flex was born (d. 1917). Writer.
• 1887 - Annette Kellerman was born (d. 1975). Australian swimmer.
• 1892 - Dadabhai Naoroji elected as first Indian Member of Parliament in Britain.
• 1892 - 3,800 striking steelworkers engage in a day-long battle with Pinkerton agents during the Homestead Strike, leaving 10 dead and dozens wounded.
• 1893 - The small town of Pomeroy, Iowa is nearly destroyed by a tornado that kills 71 people and injures 200.
• 1893 - Guy de Maupassant dies (b. 1850). French author.
• 1898 - Hanns Eisler was born (d. 1962). German composer.
• 1901 - Prince Chlodwig zu Hohenlohe-Schillingsfürst dies (b. 1819). Chancellor of Germany
• 1902 - St. Maria Goretti dies (b. 1890). Italian saint.
• 1902 - Tomás Xavier de Azevedo Cardoso de Figueiredo was born in Braga (d. 29 Apr 1970). Portuguese writer and poet.
• 1903 - Hugo Theorell was born (d. 1982). Nobel laureate.
• 1904 - Erik Wickberg was born (d. 1996). Salvation Army general.
• 1905 - Alfred Deakin becomes Prime Minister of Australia for the second time.
• 1907 - George Stanley was born (d. 2002). Canadian Politian and designer of Canada's Flag.
• 1907 - Frida Kahlo was born (d. 1954). Mexican painter, wife of Diego Rivera
• 1907 - August Johann Gottfried Bielenstein dies (b. 1826). German linguist and theologian.
• 1908 - Robert Peary sets sail for the Arctic on the expedition on which he later reaches the North Pole.
• 1912 - 5th Olympic games in Stockholm opens
• 1912 - Heinrich Harrer was born (d. 2006). Austrian mountaineer.
• 1913 - Agustín Rivera y San Román dies (b. 1824).
• 1914 - José García Nieto was born. Spanish writer and poet.
• 1914 - Delmira Agustini dies (b. 24 Out 1887). Uruguyan poetess.
• 1915 - LaVerne Andrews was born. Singer the Andrews Sisters
• 1916 - Odilon Redon dies (b. 1840). French painter.
• 1917 - Arabian troops led by T.E. Lawrence capture Aqaba from the Turks.
• 1917 - Arthur Lydiard was born (d. 2004). New Zealand running coach.
• 1918 - Sebastian Cabot was born (d. 1977). English actor.
• 1919 - The British dirigible R-34 lands in New York, completing the first crossing of the Atlantic by an airship.
• 1919 - Ernst Haefliger was born (d. 2007). Swiss singer.
• 1919 - Oswaldo Guayasamin was born. Ecuatorian sculptor and painter
• 1921 - Nancy Reagan was born. American actress and First Lady of the United States
• 1922 - Maria Theresa Ledochowska dies (b. 1853). Polish-Austrian Catholic nun.
• 1923 - Wojciech Jaruzelski was born. President of Poland
• 1923 - 36th Wimbledon Womens Tennis: Suzanne Lenglen beats K McKane (6-2 and 6-2)
• 1923 - Treaty of Union signed between Russia, Transcaucasia, Ukraine and Belarus, establishing the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. Lenin is designed President
• 1925 - Merv Griffin was born. American game show developer and television show host
• 1925 - Bill Haley was born (d. 1981). American singer (Bill Haley and the Comets). "Rock Around the Clock"
• 1927 - Janet Leigh [Jeanette Helen Morrison] was born in Merced, Ca. (d. 2004). American actress (Psycho) .
• 1927 - Hein Donner was born. Dutch chess player
• 1927 - Dolores Claman was born. Musician and composer
• 1927 - Pat Paulsen was born (d. 1997). American comedian and Presidential candidate.
• 1927 - Alan Freeman was born (d. 2006). British DJ known by his nickname 'Fluff'.
• 1927 - Jan Hein Donner was born. Dutch chess player.
• 1927 - Janet Leigh was born (d. 2004). American actress.
• 1928 - The world's ten largest hailstone falls in Potter, Nebraska.
• 1931 - Della Reese was born. American singer
• 1931 - Jean Campeau was born. French Canadian businessman and politician
• 1932 - Kenneth Grahame dies (b. 1859). English children's author.
• 1933 - The first Major League Baseball All-Star Game is played in Chicago's Comiskey Park. The American League wins, 4 to 2.
• 1933 - Frank Austin was born. English footballer
• 1933 - Delfim de Brito Monteiro Guimarães dies in Amadora (b. 4 Aug 1872). Portuguese poet, essayst and founder of Livraria Guimarães.
• 1935 - 48th Wimbledon Womens Tennis: Helen Moody beats H Jacobs (6-3, 3-6 and 7-5)
• 1935 - Tenzin Gyatso was born. Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts to end Chin's domination of Tibet (Read here his speech)
• 1936 - Dave Allen was born (d. 2005). Irish comedian.
• 1937 - Gene Chandler was born. American singer
• 1937 - Ned Beatty was born. American actor
• 1937 - Vladimir Ashkenazy was born in Gorki. Russian pianist and conductor
• 1939 - Holocaust: The last remaining Jewish enterprises in Germany are closed.
• 1940 - Jeannie Seely was born. American singer.
• 1940 - Nursultan Nazarbayev was born. President of Kazakhstan
• 1942 - Anne Frank and her family went into hiding in the "Secret Annexe" above her father's office in an Amsterdam warehouse.
• 1944 - The Hartford Circus Fire, one of America's worst fire disasters, kills approximately 168 people and injures over 700 in Hartford, Connecticut.
• 1944 - Chuichi Nagumo dies. Japanese militar.
• 1945 - Burt Ward was born. American actor
• 1946 - The Bikini was first made, worn, and created.
• 1946 - 53rd Wimbledon Womens Tennis: Pauline Betz beats Louise Brough (6-2 and 6-4) .
• 1946 - 60th Wimbledon Men Tennis: Yvon Petra beats G Brown (6-2, 6-4, 7-9, 5-7 and 6-4)
• 1946 - George W. Bush was born. 43rd President of the United States
• 1946 - Sylvester Stallone was born. American actor
• 1946 - Peter Singer was born. Australian philosopher
• 1947 - Lance Clemons was born. Baseball player
• 1948 - Brad Park was born. Canadian hockey player
• 1948 - Jean-Pierre Blackburn was born. French Canadian politician
• 1948 - Nathalie Baye was born. French actress.
• 1948 - Arnaldo Baptista was born. Brazilian musician and singer.
• 1949 - Phyllis Hyman was born (d. 1995). American singer.
• 1950 - John Byrne, American comic book author & artist.
• 1950 - Hélène Scherrer was born. Canadian politician.
• 1951 - 65th Wimbledon Men Tennis: Dick Savitt beats Ken McGregor (6-4, 6-4 and 6-4)
• 1951 - Geoffrey Rush was born. Australian actor, Academy Award winner
• 1952 - Louis-Alexandre Taschereau dies (b. 1867). French Canadian politician.
• 1953 - Nanci Griffith was born. American singer and songwriter
• 1954 - Willie Randolph was born. New York Mets manager
• 1955 - Frank Sontag, Jr. was born. American radio personality, spiritual teacher
• 1955 - William Wall was born. Irish writer
• 1956 - Casey Sander was born. American actor
• 1956 - Kenny G was born. American saxophonist.
• 1956 - 70th Wimbledon Men Tennis: Lew Hoad beats Ken Rosewall (6-2, 4-6, 7-5 and 6-4).
• 1957 - Althea Gibson wins the 64th Wimbledon championships defeating American Darlene Hard 6-3, 6-2, becoming the first black athlete to do so.
• 1957 - John Lennon and Paul McCartney (The Beatles) first meet.
• 1957 - Ron Duguay was born. Canadian ice hockey player
• 1958 - Jennifer Saunders was born. British actress and comedian
• 1958 - Adolfo Lopez Mateos elected President of Mexico
• 1959 - Saar becomes part of German Federal Republic
• 1959 - Richard Dacoury was born. French basketball player
• 1960 - Aneurin Bevan dies (b. 1897). British politician.
• 1961 - Enrique Larreta dies. Argentine writer.
• 1961 - Portuguese ship explode near Mozambique, kills 300
• 1961 - Scott LaFaro dies (b. 1936). American musician.
• 1961 - Woodall Rodgers dies (b. 1890). American politician.
• 1962 - 76th Wimbledon Mens Tennis: Rod Laver beats Martin Mulligan (6-2, 6-2 and 6-1)
• 1962 - William Faulkner dies in Oxford, Mississipi (b. 1897). American writer, 1949 Nobel laureate
• 1962 - Archduke Joseph August of Austria dies (b. 1872). Austrian field marshal.
• 1963 - 70th Wimbledon Womens Tennis: M Smith beats Billie J King (6-3 and 6-4)
• 1963 - 77th Wimbledon Mens Tennis: C McKinley beats Fred Stolle (9-7 6-1 and 6-4)
• 1963 - Todd Burns was born. Baseball player
• 1963 - Lance Johnson was born. Baseball player
• 1964 - A Hard Day's Night, the first Beatles film, premieres.
• 1964 - Malawi declares its independence from the United Kingdom.
• 1966 - Malawi becomes a republic. Dr. Hastings Kamuzu Banda becomes president.
• 1966 - Brian Posehn was born. American actor
• 1966 - Sad Sam Jones dies (b. 1892). American baseball player.
• 1967 - Biafran War: Nigerian forces invade Biafra, beginning the war.
• 1967 - Heather Nova was born. British/Bermudan guitarist/singer
• 1967 - Omar Olivares was born. Baseball player
• 1968 - 75th Wimbledon Womens Tennis: Billie Jean King beats J Tegart (9-7 and 7-5)
• 1968 - Sacharov publishes "Manifest of 10,000 words"
• 1969 - Fernando Redondo was born. Argentine footballer
• 1970 - Inspectah Deck was born. American rapper
• 1970 - Martin Smith was born. English singer (Delirious?)
• 1971 - Louis Armstrong dies (b. 1901). American jazz musician.
• 1972 - D-Styles was born. American scratch DJ
• 1972 - Greg Norton was born. American baseball player
• 1972 - Isabelle Boulay was born. French Canadian singer
• 1972 - Brandon De Wilde dies (b. 1942). American actor.
• 1973 - Cherry Venture beached in Queensland due to bad weather.
• 1973 - Otto Klemperer dies (b. 1885). German conductor.
• 1974 - The radio program A Prairie Home Companion makes its first live broadcast.
• 1974 - 88th Wimbledon Mens Tennis: Jimmy Connors beats K Rosewall (61 61 64)
• 1974 - Ze Roberto was born. Brazilian footballer
• 1975 - The Comoros declare their independence from France.
• 1975 - Amir-Abbas Fakhravar was born. Iranian writer, journalist and student leader
• 1975 - Sebastián Rulli was born. Argentine actor.
• 1975 - 50 Cent was born. American rapper.
• 1975 - Otto Skorzeny dies (b. 1908). Famous WWII German Operative.
• 1976 - Fritz Lenz dies (b. 1887). German geneticist.
• 1977 - Craig Handley was born. British film director
• 1978 - Yana Mintoff hurled horse manure onto the floor of the British House of Commons.
• 1978 - Tia Mowry and Tamera Mowry were born. American actresses
• 1978 - Kevin Senio was born. New Zealand rugby player
• 1979 - 86th Wimbledon Womens Tennis: M Navratilova beats Chris Evert (6-4; 6-4).
• 1979 - Nic Cester was born. Australian musician (Jet)
• 1979 - Van McCoy dies (b. 1940). American music producer, musician, songwriter and orchestra leader.
• 1980 - Pope John Paul II prays in Salvador, Brazil
• 1980 - Isolina Alves Alvelino Waldwogel dies. Brazilian poetess.
• 1981 - As a result of a biological terrorist attack, 11,400 people fell ill of dengue hemorrhagic fever in this single day in Cuba.
• 1981 - Nnamdi Asomugha was born. American football player
• 1982 - Bob Johnson dies (b. 1905). Major League Baseball player.
• 1983 - Tony Blair gives his maiden speech in the British Parliament.
• 1983 - Gregory Smith was born. Canadian actor
• 1984 - Lauren Harris was born. British rock singer
• 1985 - The National Wrestling Alliance has its first ever Great American Bash Pay-per-view.
• 1986 - Davis Phinney became the first American cyclist to win a road stage of the Tour De France.
• 1986 - 100th Wimbledon Mens Tennis: Boris Becker beats Ivan Lendl (6-4 6-3 7-5) .
• 1986 - Derrick Williams was born. American football player
• 1986 - Jagjivan Ram dies (b. 1908). Indian politician.
• 1986 - Derrick Williams was born. American football player
• 1987 - Caroline Trentini was born. Brazilian model (See here Caroline Trentini photo)
• 1987 - Matt O'Leary was born. American actor
• 1988 - The Piper Alpha drilling platform in the North Sea is destroyed by explosions and fires killing 167 oil workers.
• 1988 - Controversial presidential election held in Mexico. the PRI declared itself the early winner without an official vote count. The true results of the election were never made public. Carlos Salinas de Gortari candidate for the ruling Institutional Revolutionary Party, was losing badly to opposition candidate Cuauhtemoc Cardenas.
• 1989 - At 01:23:45 AM, the time and date by British reckoning was 01:23:45 6/7/89. This was also true 12 hours later excepting 24-hour time.
• 1989 - The Israeli 405 Bus slaughter in which 14 bus passengers were killed as an Arab assaulted the bus driver as the bus was driving by the edge of a cliff.
• 1989 - János Kádár dies (b. 1912). Hungarian politician.
• 1991 - Steffi Graf beats G Sabatini (6-4; 3-6; 8-6) in 98th Wimbledon Womens Tennis
• 1992 - The Group of Seven industrial nations opened their 18th annual economic summit in Munich, Germany.
• 1992 - Buddy Rogers dies (b. 1921). Professional wrestler.
• 1993 - John Bolton dies. English astronomer.
• 1994 - Rebecca Rosso and Camilla Rosso were born. Twin British-born actresses
• 1994 - Cameron Mitchell dies (b. 1918). American actor.
• 1995 - Aziz Nesin dies (b. 1915). Turkish humorist and author.
• 1996 - 103rd Wimbledon Women Tennis : Steffi Graf wins her seventh Wimbledon title, defeating Arantxa Sanchez Vicario 6-3, 7-5.
• 1996 - Kathy Ahern dies (b. 1949). American golfer.
• 1997 - 111 th Wimbledon Men's Tennis: Pete Sampras wins his fourth Wimbledon title as he defeated Cedric Pioline of France (6-4; 6-2; 6-4) .
• 1997 - Wimbledon Women's Doubles: Gigi Fernandez and Natasha Zvereva beat Nicole Arendt and Manon Bollegraf
• 1997 - In Mexico City, Cuauhtemoc Cardenas Solorzano, leader of the opposition Party of the Democratic Revolution, declared victory in the race for mayor. The PRI lost its majority in the lower house of Congress. The four opposition parties banded together in a coalition to inaugurate the new Congress on Aug 30.
• 1998 - Roy Rogers dies (b. 1911). American cowboy actor and singer.
• 1999 - US Army private Barry Winchell dies from baseball-bat injuries inflicted in his sleep the previous day by fellow soldiers for his relationship with transgendered showgirl and former Navy combat medic, Calpernia Addams.
• 1999 - Joaquin Rodrigo dies (b. 1901). Spanish composer.
• 1999 - Carl Gunter Jr dies (b. 1938). American politician.
• 1999 - Joaquin Rodrigo dies (b. 1901). Spanish composer.
• 1999 - Barry Winchell dies (b. 1977). American soldier.
• 2000 - Venus Williams beat her younger sister Serena 6-2, 7-6 (3) to reach the Wimbledon final; their singles match was the first between sisters in a Grand Slam semifinal.
• 2002 - Serena Williams beat older sister Venus 7-6 (4), 6-3 to win her first Wimbledon title and second straight Grand Slam tournament.
• 2002 - Dhirubhai Ambani dies (b. 1932). Indian businessman.
• 2002 - John Frankenheimer dies (b. 1930). American film director.
• 2003 - The Corsicans rejected a referendum for increased autonomy from France by a very thin majority: 50.98 percent against, and 49.02 percent for.
• 2003 - Roger Federer became the first Swiss man to win a Grand Slam title, defeating Mark Philippoussis 7-6 (5), 6-2, 7-6 (3) in the Wimbledon final.
• 2003 - Kathleen Raine dies in London at 95. Poet and scholar whose verse explored the realms of nature and the spirit. "Stone and Flower" (1943), illustrated by Barbara Hepworth, was her first published collection, followed by "Living in Time" (1946) and "The Pythoness" (1949).
• 2003 - Buddy Ebsen dies (b. 1908). American actor.
• 2004 - In an "exclusive" The New York Post erroneously reports that Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry has selected Missouri Congressman Dick Gephardt as his running mate.
• 2004 - John Kerry names John Edwards as his Vice Presidential running mate on the Democratic Party ticket.
• 2004 - Thomas Klestil dies (b. 1932). President of Austria.
• 2004 - President Hugo Chavez announced that Venezuela has granted citizenship to 216,000 immigrants since May under a fast-track nationalization plan.
• 2004 - Thomas Klestil dies (b. 1932). President of Austria.
• 2004 - Syreeta Wright dies (b. 1946). American singer.
• 2005 - Bob Geldof and Bono meet with the G8 in Gleneagles to discuss increasing aid to Africa. Afterwards, both make appearances at the Edinburgh 50,000 concert, a last concert in the Live 8 series.
• 2005 - The International Olympic Committee announced that London will host the 2012 Summer Olympics
• 2005 - Bruno Augenstein dies (b. 1923). German-born mathematician
• 2005 - L. Patrick Gray III dies (b. 1916). American FBI director.
• 2005 - Evan Hunter dies (b. 1926). American novelist.
• 2005 - Claude Simon dies (b. 1913). French writer, 1985 Nobel laureate in Literature.
• 2005 - Richard Verreau dies (b. 1926). Canadian tenor.
• 2006 - The Nathula Pass between India and China, sealed during the Sino-Indian War, re-opens for trade after 44 years.
• 2006 - Felipe Calderon is confirmed as President of Mexico after a very close election.
• 2006 - Kasey Rogers dies (b. 1926). American actress.
• Comoros - Independence Day (1975)
• Czech Republic - Jan Hus Day (1415)
• Feast day of St Maria Goretti
• Lithuania - Day of Statehood
• Malawi - Independence Day (1964)
• Malawi - Republic Day (1966)
• Roman festivals: Ludi Apollinares, games in honour of Apollo (since 208 BC) began today.
• San Fermín, a Spanish Roman Catholic festival centered in Pamplona, begins today.
• Music festival EXIT begins today in the Serbian town of Novi Sad.