Historical Events on December 6

1273 Thomas Aquinas is thought to have a mystical experience in Naples, refuses to continue his work "I cannot, because all that I have written seems like straw to me"

1424 Don Alfonso V of Aragon grants Barcelona the right to exclude Jews

1825 US President John Adams suggests establishment of a national observatory

1849 Harriet Tubman escapes from slavery in Maryland for the 2nd and final time

1862 US President Abraham Lincoln orders hanging of 39 Santee Sioux Indians

1876 US Electoral College casts their votes in the disputed election between Rutherford B. Hayes and Samuel J. Tilden; two sets of conflicting results are returned to Congress the next day

1877 Thomas Edison records himself reciting "Mary had a little lamb"

1904 Theodore Roosevelt confirms Monroe-doctrine (Roosevelt Corollary)

1921 Anglo-Irish Treaty signed; Ireland receives dominion status; partition creates Northern Ireland

1921 Mackenzie King, leader of the Labor Party and architect of a liberal coalition, is voted Prime Minister of Canada

1923 1st US Presidential address broadcast on radio by President Calvin Coolidge

1933 Ban on James Joyce's "Ulysses" in US lifted

1938 French/German non-attack treaty drawn (Ribbentrop-Bonnet Pact)

1954 Simone de Beauvoir receives the Prix Goncourt prize in French literature

1956 Nelson Mandela & 156 others arrested for political activities in South Africa

1957 Gardnar Mulloy becomes oldest American to win a Davis Cup tennis match at age 44 years, 14 days; teams with Vic Seixas to give US a match-clinching, 3-0 lead over the Philippines in the Inter Zone 1st round in Adelaide, Australia

1969 300,000 attend Altamont free concert in California, featuring The Rolling Stones. Marred by violence and four deaths.

1973 Gerald Ford sworn-in as first unelected Vice President, succeeds Spiro Agnew who resigned over corruption allegations

1974 George Harrison releases "Ding Dong, Ding Dong"

1984 Helena Suková snaps Martina Navratilova's 74-match winning streak 1-6, 6-3, 7-5 in the semi finals of the Australian Open in Melbourne; ends Navratilova's hopes of completing the Grand Slam

1988 Yasser Arafat meets prominent American Jews in Stockholm, Sweden

1990 Saddam Hussein announces release of all foreign hostages

1992 San Francisco 49ers Jerry Rice catches NFL record 101st touchdown

1992 San Francisco Giants sign record $43million USD pact with Pirates MLB outfielder Barry Bonds

1995 Michael Jackson collapses while rehearsing for an HBO special

1998 Hugo Chávez is elected President of Venezuela

2002 "Adaption" directed by Spike Jonze, starring Nicolas Cage and Meryl Streep premieres

2008 American pin-up model Bettie Page (85) is hospitalized in critical condition after suffering a heart attack

2009 Final Broadway performance of "A Steady Rain", starring Hugh Jackman and Daniel Craig

2010 Record price for a printed book when a first edition of "The Birds of America" by John James Audubon auctioned at Sotheby's, London, England, for £7,321,250

2013 Pope Francis gives his ascent to a proposal to create a permanent post on the Pontifical Commission on cases of sin and sexual abuse of minors

2017 US President Donald Trump officially recognizes Jerusalem as Israel's capital, announcing plans to move US embassy there