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December 6 is the 340th day of the year (341st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 25 days remaining until the end of the year.
Up to 1900
- 1060 – Bela I of Hungary is crowned king.
- 1240 – Mongol Empire's invasion of the Rus': Kiev under Danylo of Halych and Voivode Dmytro falls to the Mongols.
- 1534 – The city of Quito in Ecuador is founded by Spanish settlers.
- 1745 – Charles Edward Stuart's army begins its retreat during the Second Jacobite Rising, after getting as far south as Derby.
- 1768 – The first edition of the Encyclopædia Britannica is published.
- 1790 – The U.S. Congress moves from New York City to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- 1849 – American abolitionist Harriet Tubman escapes from slavery.
- 1865 – The Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution is ratified, banning slavery.
- 1877 – The first edition of the Washington Post is published.
- 1884 – The Washington Monument in Washington D.C. is completed.
- 1897 – London becomes the world's first city to host motorised taxi cabs.
1901 – 1950
- 1905 – In France, the senate votes for separation of church and state.
- 1907 – A coal mine explosion at Monongah, West Virginia kills 362 workers.
- 1916 – David Lloyd George becomes Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.
- 1917 – Finland declares its independence from Russia.
- 1917 – A munitions explosion near Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, kills over 1,900 people.
- 1917 – World War I: The USS Jacob Jones is the first American destroyer to be sunk by enemy action when it is torpedoed by German submarine SM U–53.
- 1921 – The Anglo–Irish Treaty is signed in London by British and Irish representatives
- 1922 – One year to the day after the signing of the Anglo–Irish Treaty, the Irish Free State comes into existence.
- 1923 – The United Kingdom's most recent December general election (until 2019) is held.
- 1928 – The Colombian government sends military forces to suppress a month–long strike by United Fruit Company workers, resulting in an unknown number of deaths.
- 1941 – World War II: The United Kingdom and Canada declare war on Finland in support of the Soviet Union during the Continuation War.
- 1947 – The Everglades National Park is created in Florida.
1951 – 2000
- 1953 – Vladimir Nabokov completes his controversial novel Lolita.
- 1956 – A violent water polo match is played between Hungary and the Soviet Union during the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne, Australia, shortly after the Soviet Union crsuhed the Hungarian Revolution.
- 1956 – At the 1956 Summer Olympics, 14–year–old swimmer Sandra Morgan becomes the youngest Olympic champion until that point.
- 1957 – Project Vanguard: A launchpad explosion on Vanguard TV3 ends the first US attempt to launch a satellite into Earth's orbit.
- 1967 – Adrian Kantrowitz performs US' first heart transplant.
- 1971 – Pakistan ends diplomatic ties with India following New Delhi's recognition of Bangladesh.
- 1973 – The United States House of Representatives votes 387 to 35 to confirm Gerald Ford as Vice President of the United States (on November 27, the Senate confirmed him 92 to 3).
- 1975 – The Troubles: Fleeing from police, a Provisional IRA unit takes a couple hostage in Balcombe Street in London, beginning a six–day siege.
- 1977 – South Africa grants independence to Bophuthatswana, although it is not recognized by any other country.
- 1978 – Spain approves its latest constitution in a referendum.
- 1982 – The Troubles: The Irish National Liberation Army bomb a pub frequently used by British soldiers in Ballykelly, Northern Ireland, killing 11 soldiers and 6 civilians.
- 1985 – The Boston Celtics pick up their only home loss of the 1985–86 NBA season, losing to the Portland Trail Blazers at Boston Garden. They establish the best single–season NBA home court record of all time.
- 1988 – The Australian Capital Territory is granted self–government.
- 1989 – At the École Polytechnique in Montreal, an anti–feminist gunman shoots and kills 14 young women.
- 1991 – The Yugoslav People's Army bombards Dubrovnik, Croatia, after laying siege to the city in May.
- 1992 – The burning of the Babr Masjid Mosque in Ayodhya, India by Hindu extremists begins.
- 1997 – A Russian Antonov An–24 cargo plane crashes into an apartment complex near Irkutsk, Siberia, Russia, killing 67 people.
- 1998 – Hugo Chávez is elected President of Venezuela.
From 2001
- 2001 – In Canada, the province of Newfoundland is renamed Newfoundland and Labrador.
- 2004 – The US Consulate in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, is bombed, killing 12 people.
- 2005 – Several villagers are shot dead during protests in Dongzhou, China.
- 2005 – An Iranian Air Force C–130 military transport aircraft crashes into a ten–floor apartment building in a residential area of Tehran, killing 84 people on board and 44 on the ground.
- 2005 – David Cameron becomes the leader of the British Conservative Party, succeeding Michael Howard.
- 2006 – NASA reveals photographs of Mars from the Mars Global Surveyor, suggesting a liquid presence on the planet.
- 2008 – Riots erupt in Greece after the killing of a 15–year–old boy, Alexandros Grigoropoulos, by a police officer.
- 2011 – Elio Di Rupo becomes Prime Minister of Belgium. The country had, until then, been without an official government for over a year–and–a–half.
- 2013 – The groups are drawn for the 2014 FIFA World Cup.
- 2017 – US President Donald Trump officially recognises Jerusalem as the capital city of Israel.
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Up to 1900
- 1285 – King Ferdinand IV of Castile (d. 1312)
- 1421 – Henry VI, King of England (d. 1471)
- 1478 – Baldassare Castiglione, Italian diplomat and author (d. 1529)
- 1550 – Orazio Vecchi, Italian composer (d. 1605)
- 1608 – George Monck, 1st Duke of Albemarle, English soldier and politician (d. 1670)
- 1640 – Claude Fleury, French historian (d. 1723)
- 1642 – Johann Christoph Bach, German composer (d. 1703)
- 1685 – Princess Marie Adelaide of Savoy (d. 1712)
- 1721 – James Elphinston, Scottish educator and language expert (d. 1809)
- 1721 – Guillaume–Chrétien de Lamoignon de Malesherbes, French lawyer, botanist and politician (d. 1794)
- 1730 – Sophie von La Roche, German writer (d. 1807)
- 1778 – Joseph Louis Gay–Lussac, French chemist and physicist (d. 1850)
- 1792 – King William II of the Netherlands (d. 1849)
- 1803 – Maria Josepha Amalia of Saxony (d. 1829)
- 1805 – Jean Eugène Robert–Houdin, French magician (d. 1861)
- 1805 – Richard Hanson, Australian politician, 4th Premier of South Australia (d. 1876)
- 1823 – Max Mueller, German linguist and scholar of Sanskrit (d. 1900)
- 1835 – Germanus V of Constantinople (d. 1920)
- 1841 – Frédéric Bazille, French painter (d. 1870)
- 1844 – Petko Voyvoda, Bulgarian revolutionary (d. 1900)
- 1853 – Haraprasad Shastri, Indian historian and scholar (d. 1931)
- 1869 – Otto Nordenskiöld, Swedish geologist (d. 1928)
- 1872 – William S. Hart, American actor, director, producer and screenwriter (d. 1946)
- 1875 – Albert Bond Lambert, American golfer and pilot (d. 1946)
- 1876 – Fred Duesenberg, German–American businessman (d. 1932)
- 1881 – Helen Aitchison, British tennis player (d. 1947)
- 1884 – Yitzhak Ben–Zvi, 2nd President of Israel (d. 1963)
- 1886 – Joyce Kilmer, American poet (d. 1918)
- 1887 – Lynn Fontanne, British–American actress (d. 1983)
- 1887 – Joseph Lamb, American composer (d. 1960)
- 1889 – Max Pulver, Swiss psychologist and writer (d. 1952)
- 1890 – Yoshio Nishina, Japanese physicist (d. 1951)
- 1892 – Osbert Sitwell, English author (d. 1969)
- 1896 – Ira Gershwin, American lyricist (d. 1983)
- 1898 – Alfred Eisenstaedt, German–born photographer (d. 1995)
- 1898 – Gunnar Myrdal, Swedish economist (d. 1987)
- 1900 – Agnes Moorehead, American actress (d. 1974)
1901 – 1925
- 1904 – Eve Curie, French writer (d. 2007)
- 1907 – Giovanni Ferrari, Italian footballer (d. 1982)
- 1908 – Pierre Graber, Swiss politician (d. 2003)
- 1908 – Baby Face Nelson, American bank robber (d. 1936)
- 1913 – Mykola Amosov, Russian–Ukrainian heart surgeon and author (d. 2002)
- 1913 – Karl Haas, German–American pianist, conductor and radio host (d. 2005)
- 1913 – Eleanor Holm, American swimmer (d. 2004)
- 1916 – Kristjan Eldjarn, 3rd President of Iceland (d. 1982)
- 1916 – Yekaterina Budanova, Soviet pilot (d. 1943)
- 1917 – Irv Robbins, Canadian–American businessman (d. 2008)
- 1917 – Kamal Jumblatt, Lebanese political leader (d. 1977)
- 1919 – Paul de Man, Belgian literary critic and philosopher (d. 1983)
- 1920 – Dave Brubeck, American musician and composer (d. 2012)
- 1920 – George Porter, British chemist (d. 2002)
- 1921 – Nobuo Matsunaga, Japanese footballer (d. 2007)
- 1921 – Piero Piccioni, Italian lawyer and composer (d. 2004)
- 1922 – Guy Thys, Belgian footballer (d. 2003)
- 1922 – Benjamin A. Gilman, American politician (d. 2016)
- 1924 – Wally Cox, American actor (d. 1973)
- 1925 – Andy Robustelli, American football player (d. 2011)
1926 – 1950
- 1926 – Marie Takvam, Norwegian writer (d. 2008)
- 1928 – Bobby Van, American actor and singer (d. 1980)
- 1929 – Nikolaus Harnoncourt, German–Austrian conductor (d. 2016)
- 1929 – Alain Tanner, Swiss movie director
- 1930 – Daniel Lisulo, Zambian Prime Minister (d. 2000)
- 1931 – Zeki Muren, Turkish singer–songwriter and actor (d. 1996)
- 1932 – Kamleshwar, Indian author, screenwriter and critic (d. 2007)
- 1933 – Henryk Gorecki, Polish composer (d. 2010)
- 1933 – Daniel J. Kutyna, American general
- 1934 – Nick Bockwinkel, American wrestler (d. 2015)
- 1935 – Jean Lapointe, Canadian actor, singer and politician
- 1936 – Bill Ashton, English saxophonist and composer
- 1937 – Alberto Spencer, Ecuadorean footballer (d. 2006)
- 1938 – Patrick Bauchau, Belgian actor
- 1940 – Richard Edlund, American cinematographer
- 1942 – Peter Handke, Austrian writer
- 1945 – Shekhar Kapur, Indian director and producer
- 1946 – Willy van de Kuijlen, Dutch footballer
- 1946 – Martin Moore–Bick, English lawyer
- 1947 – Lawrence Cannon, Canadian politician
- 1948 – Keke Rosberg, Finnish racing driver
- 1948 – Don Nickles, American politician
- 1948 – Marius Müller–Westernhagen, German actor and musician
- 1949 – Linda Barnes, American mystery writer
- 1949 – Peter Willey, English cricketer
- 1950 – Helen Liddell, Baroness Lidell of Coatdyke, Scottish politician
1951 – 1975
- 1952 – Craig Newmark, American computer programmer and businessman
- 1952 – Edward Etzel, American competitive shooter
- 1953 – Geoff Hoon, English politician
- 1953 – Tom Hulce, American actor
- 1955 – Anne Begg, Scottish politician
- 1955 – Steven Wright, American comedian and actor
- 1955 – Tony Woodcock, English footballer
- 1956 – Peter Buck, American musician in R.E.M.
- 1956 – Randy Rhoads, American musician (d. 1982)
- 1957 – Andrew Cuomo, American politician, 56th Governor of New York
- 1957 – Arabella Weir, British actress and comedienne
- 1958 – Nick Park, British movie maker and animator
- 1959 – Satoru Iwata, Japanese president and CEO of Nintendo (d. 2015)
- 1961 – David Lovering, American drummer
- 1962 – Janine Turner, American actress
- 1963 – Kay Purcell, English actress (d. 2020)
- 1965 – Gordon Durie, Scottish footballer and manager
- 1967 – Judd Apatow, American director, producer, screenwriter and photographer
- 1969 – Torri Higginson, Canadian actress
- 1970 – Ulf Ekberg, Swedish singer–songwriter, keyboardist and producer
- 1970 – Adrian Fenty, American politician, 6th Mayor of the District of Columbia
- 1970 – Michaela Schaffrath, German actress
- 1970 – Mark Reckless, English politician, UKIP MP
- 1971 – Richard Krajicek, Dutch tennis player
- 1974 – Jens Pulver, American mixed martial artist
- 1975 – Ashin (陳信宏 Chen Hsin Hung), singer from Taiwanese rock band Mayday
- 1975 – Andrea Agnelli, Italian businessman
From 1976
- 1976 – Lindsay Price, American actress
- 1976 – Alicia Machado, Venezuelan actress and singer
- 1976 – Colleen Haskell, American actress and producer
- 1977 – Andrew Flintoff, English cricketer
- 1978 – Ramiro Pez, Argentine–Italian rugby player
- 1979 – Tim Cahill, Australian soccer player<!––In Australia, "football" can mean Aussie rules, rugby league, or association football. Australian English usually uses "soccer" for Cahill's sport of association football.––>
- 1979 – Francisco Yeste, Spanish footballer
- 1980 – Steve Lovell, English footballer
- 1980 – Sabrina Mockenhaupt, German athlete
- 1981 – Federico Balzaretti, Italian footballer
- 1982 – Alberto Contador, Spanish cyclist
- 1982 – Susie Wolff, Scottish racing driver
- 1985 – Dulce Maria, Mexican singer–songwriter and actress
- 1985 – Rudra Pratap Singh, Indian cricketer
- 1986 – Matt Niskanen, American ice hockey player
- 1986 – Georgia Horsley, English model
- 1986 – Sean Edwards, English racing driver (d. 2013)
- 1988 – Sandra Nurmsalu, Estonian singer
- 1990 – Tamira Paszek, Austrian tennis player
- 1991 – Coco Vandeweghe, American tennis player
- 1992 – Viktor Antipin, Russian ice hockey player
- 1992 – Britt Assombalonga, Congolese footballer
- 1992 – Johnny Manziel, American football player
- 1993 – Elian Gonzalez, Cuban figure in child custody case
- 1994 – Giannis Antetokounmpo, Greek basketball player
- 1994 – Raheem Sterling, English footballer
- 1995 – Joy Gruttman, German singer
- 1996 – Stefanie Scott, American actress and singer
- 1997 – Sabrina Ionescu, American basketball player
- 2000 – Pablo Urdangarín y de Borbón, Spanish royal
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Up to 1900
- 343 – Saint Nicholas
- 735 – Prince Toneri of Japan (b. 1676)
- 1185 – Afonso I of Portugal (b. 1109)
- 1352 – Pope Clement VI (b. 1290)
- 1550 – Pieter Coecke van Aelst, Flemish painter (b. 1502)
- 1672 – John II Casimir Vasa, King of Poland (b. 1609)
- 1675 – John Lightfoot, English churchman, academic and scholar (b. 1602)
- 1748 – Nicholas Rowe, English poet and playwright (b. 1674)
- 1771 – Giovanni Battista Morgagni, Italian anatomist (b. 1682)
- 1779 – Jean–Baptiste–Siméon Chardin, French painter (b. 1899)
- 1799 – Joseph Black, Scottish physicist and chemist (b. 1728)
- 1799 John Moore, Irish politician (b.1763)
- 1855 – William Swainson, English ornithologist and entomologist (b. 1789)
- 1862 – Claiborne Fox Jackson, Governor of Missouri (b. 1806)
- 1868 – August Schleicher, German linguist (b. 1821)
- 1879 – Erastus Brigham Bigelow, American inventor (b. 1814)
- 1882 – Alfred Escher, Swiss businessman and politician (b. 1819)
- 1882 – Anthony Trollope, British writer (b. 1815)
- 1889 – Jefferson Davis, President of the Confederate States of America (b. 1808)
- 1892 – Ernst Werner von Siemens, German inventor, scientist and businessman (b. 1816)
1901 – 2000
- 1921 – Jesse Carleton, American golfer (b. 1862)
- 1924 – Gene Stratton–Porter, American author and screenwriter (b. 1863)
- 1926 – Claude Monet, French painter (b. 1840)
- 1949 – Lead Belly, American musician (b. 1889)
- 1951 – Harold Ross, American journalist (b. 1892)
- 1956 – Bhimrao Ambedkar, Indian politician and social activist (b. 1891)
- 1961 – Frantz Fanon, Central African writer and psychiatrist (b. 1925)
- 1972 – Janet Munro, English actress (b. 1934)
- 1976 – Joao Goulart, President of Brazil (b. 1918)
- 1983 – Raymond Roseliep, American poet (b. 1917)
- 1983 – Lucienne Boyer, French singer (b. 1903)
- 1985 – Carroll Cole, American serial killer (b. 1938) (executed)
- 1988 – Roy Orbison, American singer, guitarist, and songwriter (b. 1936)
- 1989 – John Payne, American actor (b. 1912)
- 1989 – Marc Lepine, Canadian gunman (b. 1964)
- 1990 – Tunku Abdul Rahman, 1st Prime Minister of Malaysia (b. 1903)
- 1991 – Richard Stone, British economist (b. 1913)
- 1993 – Don Ameche, American actor (b. 1908)
From 2001
- 2001 – Peter Blake, New Zealand yachtsman, sailor and environmentalist (b. 1948)
- 2003 – Carlos Arana Osorio, Guatemalan politician (b. 1918)
- 2004 – Raymond Goethals, Belgian footballer (b. 1921)
- 2005 – Devan Nair, 3rd President of Singapore (b. 1923)
- 2005 – Charly Gaul, Luxembourg cyclist (b. 1932)
- 2007 – Katy French, Irish model (b. 1983)
- 2008 – Sunny von Bülow, American heiress (b. 1932)
- 2008 – Alexander Grigoropoulos, Greek youth murdered by a policeman in Athens
- 2010 – Don Meredith, American football player and television broadcaster (b. 1938)
- 2010 – Hugues Cuenod, Swiss tenor (b. 1902)
- 2011 – Barbara Orbison, widow of Roy Orbison (b. 1950)
- 2012 – Miguel Abia Biteo, Prime Minister of Equatorial Guinea (b. 1961)
- 2013 – Stan Tracey, British jazz pianist and trombonist (b. 1926)
- 2013 – Nya Quesada, Argentine actress (b. 1919)
- 2014 – Fred Hawkins, American golfer (b. 1923)
- 2014 – Ralph H. Baer, German–American video game pioneer, inventor and engineer (b. 1922)
- 2015 – Holly Woodlawn, Puerto Rican actress (b. 1946)
- 2015 – Nicholas Smith, English actor (b. 1934)
- 2015 – Franzl Lang, German yodeller (b. 1930)
- 2016 – Peter Vaughan, English actor (b. 1923)
- 2017 – Johnny Hallyday, French rock musician and singer (b. 1943)
- 2017 – Conrad Brooks, American actor (b. 1931)
- 2017 – William H. Gass, American novelist, critic and philosophy professor (b. 1924)
- 2017 – Cy Young, American javelin thrower (b. 1928)
- 2018 – José de Anchieta Júnior, Brazilian politician (b. 1965)
- 2018 – Ace Cannon, American saxophonist (b. 1934)
- 2018 – José Castillo, Venezuelan baseball player (b. 1981)
- 2018 – Larry Hennig, American professional wrestler (b. 1936)
- 2018 – Joseph Joffo, French writer (b. 1931)
- 2018 – Jim Meehan, American poker player (b. 1952)
- 2018 – Pete Shelley, English singer–songwriter (b. 1955)
- 2018 – Luis Valbuena, Venezuelan baseball player (b. 1985)
- 2019 – Piet Huyg, Dutch footballer (b. 1951)
- 2019 – Irena Laskowska, Polish actress (b. 1925)
- 2019 – Ron Leibman, American actor (b. 1937)
- 2019 – Kimmi Lewis, American politician (b. 1957)
- 2019 – Stoyanka Mutafova, Bulgarian actress (b. 1922)
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- Eastern Catholic Church – St. Nicholas, Bishop of Myra – Patron of the Byzantine Catholic Church
- Canada – National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women
- Finland – Independence Day (from Russia, 1917)
- Spain – Spanish Constitution of 1978
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