On This Day

Birthdays in History on June 6

  • 1236 Wen Tianxiang, Prime Minister of China and scholar-general in the last years of the Southern Song Dynasty, born in Ji'an, China (d. 1283)
  • 1436 Regiomontanus [Johannes Müller von Königsberg], German mathematician and astronomer, prepares astronomical tables, born in Königsberg, Germany (d. 1476)
  • 1519 Andrea Cesalpino, Italian philosopher, physician and botanist, born in Arezzo, Italy (d. 1603)
  • 1576 Giovanni Diodati, Swiss Protestant clergyman, born in Lucca, Italy (d. 1649)
  • 1580 Godefroy Wendelin, Flemish astronomer, the crater Vendelinus on the Moon is named after him, born in Herk-de-Stad, Belgium (d. 1667)
  • 1599 Diego Velázquez, Spanish painter (Las Meninas), baptized in Sevilla, Spain (d. 1660)
  • 1606 Pierre Corneille, French poet and dramatist (El Cid, Horace), born in Rouen, France (d. 1684)
  • 1622 Claude-Jean Allouez, French Jesuit missionary and explorer, born in Saint-Didier, France (d. 1689)
  • 1625 Domenico Guidi, Italian sculptor, born in Carrara, Italy (d. 1701)
  • 1695 Adriaen Valckenier, Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies (1737-41), born in Amsterdam, Dutch Republic (d. 1751)
  • 1714 Joseph, King of Portugal (1750-77), born in Lisbon, Portugal (d. 1777)

Nathan HaleNathan Hale (1755-1776)

American Revolutionary War patriot, "I only regret that I have but one life to give for my country", born in Coventry, Connecticut, North American Colonies

Nathan Hale
  • 1756 John Trumbull, American painter (Declaration of Independence), born in Lebanon, Connecticut (d. 1843)
  • 1765 Cornelis Loots, Dutch accountant and poet (Dwingelandij), born in Amsterdam, Netherlands (d. 1834)
  • 1772 Maria Theresa of Naples and Sicily, Holy Roman Empire Empress, born in Royal Palace, Naples (d. 1807)
  • 1799 Alexander Pushkin, Russian writer and poet (Eugene Onegin), born in Moscow, Russian Empire (d. 1837)
  • 1813 Israel Washburn Jr., American politician, U.S. House of Representatives from Maine (1853-61), born in Livermore, Massachusetts (d. 1883)
  • 1826 Sarah Parker Remond, African-American abolitionist, born in Salem, Massachusetts (d. 1894)
  • 1829 Hon'inbō Shūsaku, Japanese professional Go player, born in Innoshima, Bingo Province, Japan (d. 1862)
  • 1829 John Baillie McIntosh, American Brevet Major General (Union Army), born in Tampa, Florida (d. 1888)
  • 1840 William Francis Bartlett, American Brevet Major General (Union Army), born in Haverhill, Massachusetts (d. 1876)
  • 1841 Eliza Orzeszkowa, Polish novelist (Dziurdziowie), born in Milkowszczyzna, Poland (d. 1910)
  • 1844 Konstantin Savitsky, Russian painter (Travellers in Auvergne), born in Taganrog, Russia (d. 1905)
  • 1847 Gerben Postma [Ids], Frisian writer (Swealtsjeblommen)
  • 1850 Karl Ferdinand Braun, German inventor, co-developed wireless telegraphy (Nobel 1909), born in Fulda, Electorate of Hessen, Germany (d. 1918)
  • 1851 Angelo Moriondo, Italian inventor (patented earliest known espresso machine, 1884), born in Turin, Kingdom of Piedmont-Sardinia (now Italy) (d. 1914)
  • 1857 Aleksandr Lyapunov, Russian mathematician (Lyapunov exponent), born in Yaroslavl, Russian Empire (d. 1918)
  • 1860 William Inge, English author, theologist and Dean of St Paul's Cathedral, born in Crayke, Yorkshire (d. 1954)
  • 1862 Henry John Newbolt, English poet and author (Studies Green & Gray), born in Bilston, Staffordshire, England (d. 1938)
  • 1867 David Abercrombie, Abercrombie & Fitch founder, born in Baltimore, Maryland (d. 1931)

Robert Falcon ScottRobert Falcon Scott (1868-1912)

British explorer and leader of the ill-fated south pole expedition, born in Plymouth, England

Robert Falcon Scott
  • 1872 Alexandra Feodorovna [Princess Alix of Hesse and by Rhine], last Russian Tsarina (1894-1918), born in Darmstadt, Germany (d. 1918)
  • 1873 Paul Keller, German writer (Ferien vom Ich), born in Arnsdorf, Lower Silesia, Germany (d. 1932)

Thomas MannThomas Mann (1875-1955)

German novelist (Magic Mountain-Nobel 1929), born in Lübeck, Germany

Thomas Mann
  • 1878 Vincent de Moro-Giafferi, French criminal attorney, born in Paris (d. 1956)
  • 1879 Patrick Abercrombie, English architect and town planner, born in Ashton upon Mersey, Cheshire, England (d. 1957)
  • 1880 William Thomas Cosgrave, President of the Irish Free State, born in Dublin, Ireland (d. 1965)
  • 1886 Paul Dudley White, American heart specialist, born in Roxbury, Massachusetts (d. 1973)
  • 1890 Dorothy Heyward, American playwright (Porgy), born in NYC, New York (d. 1961)
  • 1892 Donald F. Duncan Sr., American entrepreneur (Duncan Toys Company), born in Kansas City, Missouri (d. 1971)
  • 1894 Violet Trefusis, English writer and socialite who had a famous affair with writer Vita Sackville-West, born in London England (d. 1972)
  • 1896 Henry Allingham, British supercentenarian and World War I veteran, born in Clapton, London (d. 2009)
  • 1896 Italo Balbo, Italian pilot and governor of Libya, born in Ferrara, Italy (d. 1940)
  • 1896 R. C. Sherriff, English playwright (Journey's End), born in Hampton Wick, Middlesex, England (d. 1975)
  • 1900 Manfred Sakel, Polish neurophysiologist and psychiatrist, born in Nadvorna, Austria-Hungary (d. 1957)

SukarnoSukarno (1901-1970)

1st President of Indonesia (1945-67), born in Surabaya, Java

Sukarno
  • 1902 Harold Roxbee Cox, Baron Kings Norton, British aeronautical engineer, born in Kings Norton, England (d. 1997)
  • 1906 Max August Zorn, German mathematician (lemma of Zorn), born in Krefeld, Rhenish Prussia, Germany (d. 1993)
  • 1909 Isaiah Berlin, Latvian-British philosopher, born in Riga, Latvia, Russian Empire (d. 1997)
  • 1913 Carlo L. Golino, Italian-American scholar, born in Pescara, Italy (d. 1991)
  • 1913 Jiří Hájek, Czech politician and diplomat, born in Krhanice, Czech Republic (d. 1993)
  • 1914 H. Adams Carter, American mountaineer (Alpine Club President 1954-58; editor American Alpine Journal 1960-95), born in Newton, Massachusetts (d. 1995)
  • 1917 Kirk Kerkorian, American CEO and "father of the mega-resort" (MGM, UA), born in Fresno, California (d. 2015)
  • 1918 Tom Scott, Scottish poet (Sea Dirge: A Mither's Keenin), born in Glasgow, Scotland (d. 1995)
  • 1919 Charles Pringle, British air marshal, born in Dublin, Ireland (d. 2012)
  • 1919 Lord Carrington [Peter Carington, 6th Baron Carrington], British conservative politician, former British Foreign Secretary (1979-82) and NATO Secretary General (1984-8), born in Chelsea, London (d. 2018)
  • 1923 V. C. Andrews, American author (Flowers in the Attic), born in Portsmouth, Virginia (d. 1986)
  • 1926 Tom Ryan, American comic strip cartoonist (Tumbleweeds), born in Anderson, Indiana (d. 2019)
  • 1928 George Deukmejian, American politician, 35th Governor of California (1983-91), born in Menands, New York (d. 2018)
  • 1929 James Barnor, Ghana's first photojournalist, born in Jamestown, Accra, Gold Coast
  • 1932 David R Scott, American USAF Colonel and astronaut (Gem 8, Apol 9, 15), born in San Antonio, Texas
  • 1932 Ivan Chermayeff, British-born American graphic designer, born in London, England (d. 2017)
  • 1933 Heinrich Rohrer, Swiss physicist (tunneling microscope-Nobel 1986), born in Buchs, Switzerland (d. 2013)
  • 1934 Albert II, King of Belgium (1993-2013), born in Stuyvenberg Castle, Laeken, Brussels, Belgium
  • 1934 Roy Innis, American activist, leader of the Congress of Racial Equality, born in St. Croix, US Virgin Islands (d. 2017)
  • 1935 Jean Gattegno, French translator and scholar, born in Paris (d. 1994)
  • 1936 Richard Green, American sexologist, lawyer, and author who advocated for gay and transsexual rights, born in Brooklyn, New York (d. 2019)
  • 1938 Prince Luís of Orléans-Braganza, pretender to the Brazilian throne, born in Mandelieu-la-Napoule, France
  • 1939 Marian Wright-Edelman, American activist and health care president (Children's Defense Fund), born in Bennettsville, South Carolina
  • 1939 Nganani Enos J Mabuza, South African leader (Inyandza National Movement), born in Barberton, South Africa (d. 1997)
  • 1941 Alexander Cockburn, Scottish-born American journalist, born in Scotland (d. 2012)
  • 1944 David Penhaligon, British politician (President of the Liberal Party) (d. 1986)
  • 1944 Phillip Allen Sharp, American geneticist and molecular biologist (Nobel 1993), born in Falmouth, Kentucky
  • 1945 David Bonior, American politician, U.S. House of Representatives from Michigan, born in Detroit, Michigan
  • 1946 Chelsea Brown, American comedienne (Laugh-In; Matt Lincoln), born in Chicago, Illinois (d. 2017)
  • 1947 David Blunkett, English blind politician, Home Secretary (2001-4), born in Sheffield, England
  • 1952 Marsha Blackburn, American politician (Senator-R-Tennessee 2019-, Rep-R-TN 2003-19), born in Laurel, Mississippi,
  • 1953 Dimitris Avramopoulos, Greek politician
  • 1953 Ken Calvert, American politician (Rep-R-California 1993-), born in Corona, California
  • 1954 Cynthia Rylant, American author
  • 1954 Harvey Fierstein, playwright (Torch Song Trilogy, ID4), born in Brooklyn, New York
  • 1956 Jay C Buckey, American physician/astronaut (STS 58 alt, sk: 90), born in NYC, New York
  • 1959 Georgios Voulgarakis, Greek politician
  • 1968 François Avard, Canadian writer and scenarist
  • 1970 Sarah Dessen, American author
  • 1973 Kat Swift, American politician (Green Party)
  • 1977 Bryn Williams, Welsh chef
  • 1984 Noor Sabri, Iraqi footballplayer


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