History of 6 April
1903 – French Army Nationalists were revealed for forging documents to guarantee a conviction for Alfred Dreyfus.
1909 – Americans Robert Peary and Matthew Henson claimed to be the first men to reach the North Pole.
1916 – Charlie Chaplin became the highest-paid film star in the world when he signed a contract with Mutual Film Corporation for $675,000 a year. He was 26 years old.
1917 – The U.S. Congress approved a declaration of war on Germany and entered World War I on the Allied side.
1924 – Four planes left Seattle on the first successful flight around the world.
1927 – William P. MacCracken, Jr. earned license number ‘1’ when the Department of Commerce issued the first aviator’s license.
1931 – “Little Orphan Annie” debuted on the NBC Blue network.
1938 – The United States recognized the German conquest of Austria.
1941 – German forces invaded Greece and Yugoslavia.
1945 – “This is Your FBI” debuted on ABC radio.
1953 – Iranian Premier Mossadegh demanded that the shah’s power be reduced.
1957 – Trolley cars in New York City completed their final runs.
1959 – Hal Holbrook opened in the off-Broadway presentation of “Mark Twain Tonight.”
1965 – U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson authorized the use of ground troops in combat operations in Vietnam.
1967 – In South Vietnam, 1,500 Viet Cong attacked Quangtri and freed 200 prisoners.
1981 – A Yugoslav Communist Party official confirmed reports of intense ethnic riots in Kosovo.
1983 – The U.S. Veteran’s Administration announced it would give free medical care for conditions traceable to radiation exposure to more than 220,000 veterans who participated in nuclear tests from 1945 to 1962.
1985 – William J. Schroeder became the first artificial heart recipient to be discharged from the hospital.
1987 – Dennis Levine began a two-year jail term for insider trading.
1987 – The Dow Jones industrial average closed above 2,400 for the first time.
1987 – Sugar Ray Leonard took the middleweight title from Marvin Hagler.
1988 – Mathew Henson was awarded honors in Arlington National Cemetery. Henson had discovered the North Pole with Robert Peary.
1997 – Mario Lemieux (Pittsburgh Penguins) announced that he would retire from the National Hockey League (NHL) following the playoffs of the current season.
1998 – Citicorp and Travelers Group announced that they would be merging. The new creation was the largest financial-services conglomerate in the world. The name would become Citigroup.
1998 – The Dow Jones industrial average closed above 9,000 points for the first time.
1998 – Federal researchers in the U.S. announced that daily tamoxifen pills could cut breast cancer risk among high-risk women.
1998 – Pakistan successfully tested medium-range missiles capable of attacking neighboring India.
2004 – Rolandas Paksas becomes the first president of Lithuania to be peacefully removed from office by impeachment.
2005 – Kurdish leader Jalal Talabani becomes Iraqi president; Shiite Arab Ibrahim al-Jaafari is named premier the next day.
2008 – The 2008 Egyptian general strike starts led by Egyptian workers later to be adopted by April 6 Youth Movement and Egyptian activists.
2009 – A 6.3 magnitude earthquake strikes near L’Aquila, Italy, killing 307.
2010 – Maoist rebels kill 76 CRPF officers in Dantewada district, India.
2011 – In San Fernando, Tamaulipas, Mexico, over 193 victims of Los Zetas were exhumed from several mass graves.
2012 – Azawad declares itself independent from the Republic of Mali.
2017 – U.S. military launches 59 Tomahawk cruise missiles at an air base in Syria. Russia describes the strikes as an “aggression”, adding they significantly damage US-Russia ties.
2018 – A bus carrying the Humboldt Broncos junior ice hockey team collides with a semi-truck in Saskatchewan, Canada, killing 16 people and injuring 13 others
Celebrating Birthday Today
- 1981 – Robert Earnshaw, Welsh footballer
- 1981 – Jeff Faine, American football player
- 1981 – Alex Suarez, American bass player
- 1982 – Travis Moen, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1982 – Miguel Ángel Silvestre, Spanish actor
- 1983 – Mehdi Ballouchy, Moroccan footballer
- 1983 – Jerome Kaino, New Zealand rugby player
- 1983 – Mitsuru Nagata, Japanese footballer
- 1983 – Remi Nicole, English singer-songwriter and actress
- 1983 – James Wade, English darts player
- 1983 – Katie Weatherston, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1984 – Max Bemis, American singer-songwriter
- 1984 – Michaël Ciani, French footballer
- 1984 – Siboniso Gaxa, South African footballer
- 1984 – Diana Matheson, Canadian soccer player
- 1985 – Clarke MacArthur, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1985 – Frank Ongfiang, Cameroonian footballer
- 1985 – Sinqua Walls, French/Native American/Jamaican-American basketball player, and actor
- 1986 – Nikolas Asprogenis, Cypriot footballer
- 1986 – Aaron Curry, American football player
- 1986 – Goeido Gotaro, Japanese sumo wrestler
- 1986 – Ryota Moriwaki, Japanese footballer
- 1987 – Benjamin Corgnet, French footballer
- 1987 – Heidi Mount, American model
- 1987 – Juan Adriel Ochoa, Mexican footballer
- 1987 – Levi Porter, English footballer
- 1987 – Hilary Rhoda, American model
- 1988 – Jucilei, Brazilian footballer
- 1988 – Leigh Adams, Australian footballer
- 1988 – Daniele Gasparetto, Italian footballer
- 1988 – Carlton Mitchell, American football player
- 1988 – Fabrice Muamba, Congolese-English footballer
- 1988 – Ivonne Orsini, Puerto Rican-American model, and television host, Miss World Puerto Rico 2008
- 1990 – Lachlan Coote, Australian rugby league player
- 1990 – Charlie McDermott, American actor
- 1990 – Andrei Veis, Estonian footballer
- 1992 – Ken, South Korean singer
- 1992 – Julie Ertz, American soccer player, and FIFA Women’s World Cup champion
- 1994 – Adrián Alonso, Mexican actor
- 1995 – Darya Lebesheva, a Belarusian tennis player
- 1998 – Peyton List, American actress, and model