Discover what happened on December 6 with HISTORY's summaries of major events, anniversaries, famous births and notable deaths.

December 6

Discover what happened on December 6 with HISTORY&#8217;s summaries of major events, anniversaries, famous births and notable deaths.

What Happened on December 6 | HISTORY

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1884

Searching the ruins of the Halifax Explosion.

1961

1907

Across the globe, 1917 brought upheaval. Russians overthrew Czar Nicholas II, then staged a second revolution, putting Vladimir Lenin’s Bolsheviks in power and sparking a civil war. The U.S. and China both declared war on Germany, entering World War I in its fourth year. Puerto Ricans gained U.S. citizenship. And as America’s first-ever female congresswoman took office, the push for women’s suffrage intensified, with increased picketing and the arrest of many activists, followed by jailhouse hunger strikes, force feedings and mistreatment.

1917

As Europe struggled to recover from WWI, two major figures of the next war ascended. In Germany, Adolph Hitler became leader of the Nazi Party, while Benito Mussolini was elected to Italy’s parliament, soon becoming prime minister and then, dictator. In America, the Tulsa Race Massacre took hundreds of Black lives, an atrocity largely covered up for decades. Meanwhile, Black culture began flourishing in the Harlem Renaissance, and Pittsburgh’s KDKA broadcast the first live sporting event on radio: a boxing match.

1921

After the surprise December 7, 1941 Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, the U.S. entered World War II. Earlier in the year, Germany invaded the Soviet Union and, in one of many Nazi atrocities, executed 30,000 Jews in the Babi Yar massacre. In the U.S., Mount Rushmore was completed, Wonder Woman made her debut, “Citizen Kane” launched at the box office and General Mills introduced a new breakfast cereal called Cheerioats.

1941

As the Great Depression continued worldwide, Adolf Hitler became chancellor of Germany. Nazis declared a national boycott of Jewish-owned businesses and opened their first concentration camp, Dachau. In the U.S., after President-elect Franklin D. Roosevelt narrowly escaped assassination, he inaugurated his New Deal programs, ended Prohibition and began speaking directly to Americans with radio fireside chats. A “monster” appeared in Scotland’s Loch Ness, King Kong loomed large on movie screens and the first drive-in theater opened in New Jersey.

1933

With months to spare, the Apollo 11 astronauts fulfilled late President John F. Kennedy’s 1961 goal of landing a man on the moon by the end of the decade. Back on earth, 1969 was also the year of the Woodstock music festival, the Stonewall riots for gay rights and the Tate-LaBianca murders by followers of Charles Manson. "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid" and "The Love Bug" topped Hollywood box office, and a movie ticket cost about $1.50.	

1969

In 1865, the American Civil War came to an end, President Lincoln was assassinated and the 13th amendment was ratified, abolishing slavery in the U.S. The Secret Service came into being, originally created to prevent widespread counterfeiting that plagued the financial system. Elsewhere in the world, rebels in the Dominican Republic forced out Spanish occupiers to restore their country’s independence, and in England, Lewis Carroll published “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland.” 

1865

World War I pitted Germany, Austria-Hungary and the Ottoman Empire against Great Britain, the United States, France, Russia, Italy and Japan. New military technology resulted in unprecedented carnage. By the time the war was over and the Allied Powers claimed victory, more than 16 million people—soldiers and civilians alike—were dead.

World War I

The Civil War was America's bloodiest and most divisive conflict, pitting the Union Army against the Confederate States of America. The war resulted in the deaths of more than 620,000 people, with millions more injured and the South left in ruins.

Civil War

Sports and recreation are an integral part of human history, from the ancient Olympics to the Kentucky Derby, Jackie Robinson, Negro League Baseball, the Super Bowl and more.

Sports

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History.com Editors

Art history tells the complex story of human civilization through art, literature and design. It ranges from prehistoric art of the Neolithic period through Renaissance masterpieces, Impressionism, Modernism, the Bauhaus and contemporary art.

Art, Literature and Film History

World War II was the biggest and deadliest war in history, involving more than 30 countries. Sparked by the 1939 Nazi invasion of Poland, the war dragged on for six bloody years until the Allies defeated the Axis powers of Nazi Germany, Japan and Italy in 1945. Explore the battles, leaders and atrocities from the war and its impact on geopolitics and humankind.

World War II

Landmarks and monuments, the physical record of human civilization, include spectacular structures like the Eiffel Tower, Mount Rushmore, the Panama Canal, the Brooklyn Bridge and more.

Landmarks

Explore the wars, battles, leaders, civilizations, regimes, prominent figures and major events from the continent that encompasses 2 percent of the Earth’s surface. From Stonehenge to the Great Awakening to the French Revolution to the rise and fall of Communism in Russia, see how Europe’s often tumultuous history unfolded.

European History

Natural disasters and changes in the environment, such as global warming, the San Francisco Earthquake, Hurricane Katrina, the Galveston Hurricane, the Krakatoa eruption and others, have profoundly shaped human history. Explore both the sudden and long-term impacts of natural and human-made disasters.

This Day In History: December 6

Washington Monument completed

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Ernie Davis becomes first Black player to win Heisman Trophy

This Day in History Video: What Happened on December 6

The Monongah coal mine disaster

The Great Halifax Explosion

Irish Free State declared

FDR to Japanese emperor: “Prevent further death and destruction”

“Ulysses” is ruled not obscene

Murder at the Altamont Festival brings the 1960s to a violent end

13th Amendment ratified

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