On This Day: 6 July

The Grand Council of Nimes meets under Pope Urban II		1095
Henry II dies at the castle of Chinon, near Tours, France		1189
Czech theologian Jan Hus is condemned as a heretic and then burned at the stake		1415
Richard III is crowned		1483
Portuguese sea captain Diogo Cão discovers the mouth of the Congo River		1484
Sir Thomas More is executed for treason		1535
Edward VI dies		1553
King Philip II of Spain, consort of Mary I, sets out from Dover to war with France, which eventually resulted in the loss of Calais, the last English possession on the continent; Mary would never see him again		1557
England and France, with the assent of the Scottish Lords of the Congregation, sign the Treaty of Edinburgh – replacing Scotland's 'Auld Alliance' with France with a new Anglo–Scottish accord, while maintaining the peace between England and France agreed by the Treaty of Cateau–Cambresis		1560
Sweden's decisive intervention in the Thirty Years' War (now in its twelfth year) begins, as Gustavus Adolphus lands in the Duchy of Pomerania with 4,000 troops		1630
Battle of Sedgemoor: the Duke of Monmouth's rebellion is defeated, as his troops are routed by those of James II		1685
Captain William Kidd, pirate, is captured in America and deported to England		1699
American forces retreat from Fort Ticonderoga, New York, after a bombardment by British artillery under General John Burgoyne		1777
British naval forces under Admiral John Byron (grandfather of the poet Lord Byron) are defeated by the French off Grenada		1779
The French Navy, although outnumbered, defeats the British in the fortified Spanish port of Algeciras		1801
Pope Pius VII is taken prisoner by the French after he excommunicated Napoleon		1809
The Republican Party holds its first official convention, in Jackson, Michigan		1854
Queensland becomes a colony (separated from New South Wales)		1859
Louis Pasteur successfully treats nine–year–old Joseph Meister, who had been bitten by a rabid dog, with his vaccine		1885
Steel workers killed in a clash with Pinkerton agents during a strike at the Carnegie plant at Homestead, USA		1892
The Duke of York (later George V) marries Princess Victoria Mary of Teck		1893
Brooklands – the world's first purpose–built motor racing circuit – opens		1907
The UK, US, Canada and Holland cease by Papal decree to be missionary lands		1908
Arabian troops led by Colonel T. E. Lawrence and Auda ibu Tayi capture Aqaba from the Ottoman Empire		1917
Britain's R34 lands in New York, to become the first airship to cross the Atlantic (taking 4 days, 12 hours and 12 minutes); the first stowaway is found on board		1919
The Soviet Union is formally constituted		1923
The first all–talking feature film – The Lights of New York – is shown in New York		1928
A major breach of the Manchester, Bolton & Bury Canal sends millions of gallons of water cascading 200 feet into the River Irwell at Little Lever, near Bolton. The breach would never be repaired; that stretch of the canal would never be used again, and the canal would eventually close in 1961		1936
President Roosevelt defines the Four Freedoms in a speech		1940
Story Bridge, a major landmark in Brisbane and Australia's longest cantilever bridge, is formally opened		1940
Otto Frank and his family go into hiding in the 'Secret Annexe' above his office in an Amsterdam warehouse		1942
Around 168 lives are lost, and over 700 people are injured, when Barnum & Ringling's Big Top catches fire at Hartford, Connecticut – one of the USA's worst ever fire disasters		1944
During his military service, future baseball star Jackie Robinson refuses to sit in the back of an army bus; he would be court–martialled for insubordination, and even though acquitted, this would prevent him from being deployed overseas – and seeing combat action		1944
The Kalashnikov AK–47 goes into production in the Soviet Union		1947
The Oder–Neisse line is established as the border between Poland and East Germany		1950
London's last tram runs		1952
John Lennon and Paul McCartney meet for the first time, at Woolton Parish Church fete		1957
Althea Gibson, 30, becomes the first black Wimbledon singles champion		1957
The Saar becomes part of Germany		1959
The Late Late Show airs on RTÉ One for the first time; it would go on to become the world's longest–running chat show by the same broadcaster		1962
Nyasaland becomes independent as Malawi		1964
A Hard Day's Night, the Beatles' first film, gets a Royal premiere in London		1964
Malawi becomes a republic, with Hastings Banda as its first President		1966
The Nigerian Civil War begins, as with federal troops invade Biafra		1967
The Comoros declares independence from France		1975
166 lives are lost in the explosion of the North Sea oil rig Piper Alpha – the world's worst offshore oil disaster in terms of direct loss of life		1988
Sixteen passengers on a commuter bus from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem lose their lives when a member of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad takes control of the bus and drives it over a cliff into a ravine		1989
Serbian forces under General Ratko Mladić begin their attack on the Bosnian town of Srebrenica		1995
Prince Noroda Ranaridh, prime minister of Cambodia, is ousted by Hun Sen's coup (supported by Pol Pot)		1997
Riots throughout Northern Ireland follow the Orangemen's march through Portadown, including Garvaghy Road		1997
Hong Kong International Airport opens in Chek Lap Kok, replacing Kai Tak Airport as the city's international airport		1998
Selly Oak, Birmingham, is hit by a 'twister' (a funnel cloud which, unlike a tornado, doesn't touch the ground)		1999
After Germany wins the right to host the 2006 World Cup finals by 12 votes to South Africa's 11, the single abstainer – New Zealand's Charlie Dempsey (78) – cites "intolerable pressure" as his reason		2000
The 70–metre Planetary Radar at Yevpatoria, on the Crimean peninsula, sends a message to anyone who might be listening in the region of five selected stars – to arrive in 2036, 2040, 2044, and 2049 respectively		2003
HM the Queen opens the Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Fountain in Hyde Park		2004
London wins the competition to host the 2012 Olympic games		2005
The Nathu La pass between India and China, sealed during a border conflict in 1962, re–opens for trade		2006
At least 42 people are shot dead at a school in Yobe State, Nigeria		2013
At least 47 people lose their lives, and more than 30 buildings are destroyed, when a 73–car oil train derails and explodes into flames in the town of Lac–Mégantic, Quebec		2013

You are here:

On This Day: 6 July