Events on Dec 6
- 0963Leo VIII elected Pope
- 1160Jean Bodels "Jeu de St. Nicholas, " premieres in Arras
- 1196Northern Dutch coast flooded, "Saint-Nicolaas Flood"
- 1240Mongols under Batu Khan occupy and destroy Kiev
- 1424Don Alfonso V of Aragon grants Barcelona the right to exclude Jews
- 1491King Charles VIII of France marries Anna of Bretagne
- 1527Pope Clemens VII fleas to Orvieto
- 1534Quito, Ecuador founded by Spanish
- 16311st predicted transit of Venus (Kepler) is observed
- 1641Don Francisco de Mello appointed land guardian of South Netherlands
- 17321st play in American colonies acted by professional players, New York City
- 1745Bonnie Prince Charlies army retreats to Scotland
- 1756British troops under Robert Clive occupy Fulta India
- 17681st edition of "Encyclopedia Brittanica" published (Scotland)
- 1787Laurens Pieter van de Speigel appointed Dutch pension advisor
- 1790Congress meets in Philadelphia, new temporary US capital
- 1820US President James Monroe re-elected
- 1822Veterinary school in Utrecht opens
- 1825President John Adams suggests establishment of a US observatory
- 1833HMS Beagle / Charles Darwin departs Rio de la Plata
- 1843Amsterdam-Utrecht railway opens
- 1846Opera "La Damnation de Faust" is produced (Paris)
- 1849Harriet Tubman escapes from slavery in Maryland
- 1862President Lincoln orders hanging of 39 Santee Sioux indians
- 186513th Amendment is ratified, abolishing slavery
- 1866Chicago water supply tunnel 3,227 m into Lake Michigan completed
- 1870Joseph H Rainey, 1st black in House of Reps (SC)
- 18731st international football game in US: Yale 2, Eton (England) 1
- 187544th Congress (1875-77) convenes
- 18761st crematorium in US begins operation, Washington, Penn
Born on Dec 6
- 1421Henry VI: King of England (1422-61, 1470-71)
- 1550Orazio Tiberio Vecchi: Composer
- 1608George Monck / Monk: English General / gov of Scotland
- 1731S von Laroche: Writer
- 1732Warren Hastings: England, United Kingdom -- 1st Governor-General of India (1773-84)
- 1743Franz Nikolaus Novotny: Composer
- 1768Johann Baptist Henneberg: Composer
- 1775Nicolas Isouard: Composer
- 1776Paul Friedrich Struck: Composer
- 1792Abraham J van de Aa: Lexicographer (Biographic Dictionary)
- 1792Willem II Frederik GL: King of the Netherlands (1840-49)
- 1806Louis-Gilbert Duprez: Composer
- 1808Johan M Dautzenberg: Flemish author (Future)
- 1808Johann Christian Gebauer: Composer
- 1809Stephen Thomas: Brigadier General (Union volunteers), died in 1903
- 1816Henry Eustace McCulloch: Brigadier General (Confederate Army), died in 1895
- 1822John Eberhard: Built 1st large-scale pencil factory in US
- 1831Joshua Woodrow Sill: Brigadier General (Union volunteers), died in 1862
- 1833John Singleton Mosby: Lawyer / Colonel (Confederate Army), died in 1916
- 1843Albert de Vriendt: Flemish historical painter / etcher
- 1846Henryk Jarecki: Composer
- 1870William S Hart: Silent Westerns actor (Wild Bill Hickok, Tumbleweeds)
- 1872Mikulas Moyzes: Composer
- 1884Rose Schneiderman: New York State Department of Labor Secretary (1937-44)
- 1885Albrecht Schaeffer: German writer (The General)
- 1886Joyce Kilmer: United States -- (male) poet (Trees)
- 1887Joseph Lamb: Composer
- 1887Lynn Fontanne: Woodford, England -- Broadway actress (Dulcy, Arms & the Man)
- 1892F Osbert S Sitwell: London, England -- Poet / writer (Out of the Flame)
- 1892Lina Carstens: Wiesbaden, Germany -- Actress (Homeland, Broken Jug)
Died on Dec 6
- 1185Afonso I [the Conqueror]: King of Portugal (1143-85), dies at 76
- 1352Clement VI [Pierre Roger]: Pope (1342-52)
- 1531John Volkertsz Trimaker: Dutch anabaptist leader, beheaded
- 1550Pieter Coecke van Aelst: Flemish painter, dies at 48
- 1562Jan van Scorel: Dutch Painter / architect
- 1598Elbertus Leoninus: Dutch lawyer / politician, dies at about 78
- 1640Matthijs Elsevier: Flemish / Dutch book publisher / merchant, dies at 75
- 1651Anna Roemers Visscher: Dutch poetess, dies at 68
- 1658Gracian: Writer
- 1793Marie Jeanne Becu comtesse du Barry: Mistress of Louis XV, beheaded
- 1799Joseph Black: Scottish medical / chemist / physicist, dies at 71
- 1834Jonas Daniel Meyer: Dutch lawyer, dies at 54
- 1865Sebastian de Iradier: Spanish Composer (Arreglito), dies at 56
- 1867Giovanni Pacini: Composer, dies at 71
- 1882A Trollope: Writer
- 1889Jefferson Davis: President of Confederate States (1861-5), dies at 81
- 1889Joseph H "Jozef" Neuhuys: Painter, dies at 48
- 1892E Werner von Siemens: German industrialist (Siemens AG), dies at 75
- 1903Frederick Grant Gleason: Composer, dies at 54
- 1914Eduard Jacobs: Dutch cabaret artist, dies at 47
- 1920Karel Kovarovic: Composer, dies at 57
- 1933Auguste Chapuis: Composer, dies at 75
- 1943Firmin Baes: Flemish painter, dies at 69
- 1943Hermann Lohr: Composer, dies at 72
- 1946Maximilian Oseyevich Shteynberg: Composer, dies at 63
- 1949Leadbelly [Huddie William Ledbetter]: Blues singer, dies at 64
- 1951J Edward Bromberg: Dies at 47
- 1953Konstanty I Galczynski: Polish Poet (Zielona Ges), dies at 48
- 1958Erwin Bodky: Composer, dies at 62
- 1959Len Doyle: Actor (Harrington-Mr District Attorney), dies at 66
Historical events on December 7
- 0283St. Eutychian ends his reign as Catholic Pope
- 1646Princess Louise Henriette (19) marries monarch Frederik Henry
- 1741Elisabeth Petrovna becomes tsarina of Russia
- 1783Theatre Royal opens in Covent Garden, London
- 1783William Pitt Jr (24) becomes British Premier
- 1787Delaware becomes 1st state to ratify constitution
- 1808James Madison elected US President / George Clinton vice-pres
- 1836Martin Van Buren elected 8th President
- 1862Battle of Hartsville, Tennessee
- 1862Battle of Prairie Grove, Arkansas
- 1864Skirmish at Ebenezer Creek / Cypress Swamp, Georgia
- 1868Jesse James gang robs bank in Gallatin Missouri, kills 1
- 1875Natives Sons of the West organized
- 1876New York Mutuals and Philadelphia Athletics expelled from NL for not completing sked
- 1877Thomas A Edison demonstrates the gramophone
- 188549th Congress (1885-87) convenes
- 1889Gilbert and Sullivans "Gondoliers, " premieres in London
- 189152nd Congress (1st to appropriate $1 billion) holds 1st session
- 1895Battle at Amba Alagi: Abyssinians beat Italian armies
- 1907Eugene Corri becomes 1st referee in a boxing ring
- 1909Leo Baekeland, Yonkers, patents 1st thermosetting plastic (Bakelite)
- 1911Leslie J Stuarts musical "Betsy, " premieres in New York City
- 1911National Hockey Association forms with New Westminister, Vancouver and Victoria
- 1912Bust of Queen Nefertete found in El-Amarna, Egypt
- 1916British government of David Lloyd George forms
- 1916David Lloyd George replaces resigning H H Asquith as British Prime Minister
- 1917US becomes 13th country to declare war on Austria during World War I
- 1920New South Wales make 802 against South Australia, then Mailey takes 8-81
- 1920USPD-KPD parties merge into Vereinigte Communist Party of Germany
- 1921KWG-AM in Stockton CA begins radio transmissions
Born on December 7
- 1542Mary Stuart: Queen of Scotland (1560-1587)
- 1557Girolamo Trombeti: Composer
- 1598Giovanni Bernini: Italy -- Baroque sculptor (St Teresa in Ecstasy)
- 1604Ambrosius Reiner: Composer
- 1637Barnardo Pasquini: Composer
- 1648Giovanni Maria Capelli: Composer
- 1731Abraham-Hyacinthe Anquetil du Perron: French interpreter
- 1751Jurrian F de Frederici: Governor-General (Suriname)
- 1754Jack Jouett: American patriot
- 1761Madame [Marie Grosholtz] Tussaud: Created wax museum
- 1772Joseph Franz Maximilian Lobkowitz: Composer
- 1801Johann Nepomuk Nestroy: Austrian actor (Judith und Holofernes)
- 1808Hugh McCulloch: US Secy of Treasury
- 1810Theodor Schwann: German co-originator of cell theory
- 1823Leopold Kronecker: German mathematician (Tensor of Kronecker)
- 1830Luigi Cremona: Italian mathematician / Minister of Education
- 1835Dom Joseph Pothier: French Monk / musicologist
- 1839Redvers H Buller: English General / large landowner - Natal
- 1840Hermann Goetz: Composer
- 1842Otto Ammon: German anthropologist / sociologist (schedelmetingen)
- 1847James Deacon White: Canton, New York -- Ball player jumped teams in 1876 (Chi)
- 1847Solomon Schechter: US Talmudic Scholar / Jewish leader
- 1857Nicola van Westerhout: Composer
- 1863John Ebenezer West: Composer
- 1863Pietro Mascagni: Italian composer / fascist (Cavalleria Rusticana)
- 1863Svetolik Rankovic: Serbian writer (Forest King)
- 1872Johan Huizinga: Dutch culture historian (Homo Ludens)
- 1873Willa Cather: United States -- Author (My Antonia)
- 1876Ludwig Schiedermair: German musicologist (Beethoven-Archiv)
- 1878Akiko Yosano: Japan -- Poet (Tangled Hair)
Died on December 7
- 0983Otto II the Red: German King / Emperor (973-83), dies at about 28
- 1254Innocent IV [Sinibaldo dei Fieschi]: Pope (1243-54)
- 1383Wenceslaus: Duke of Brabant
- 1811Ignaz Spangler: Composer, dies at 54
- 1815Michel Ney: French marshal (Waterloo), murdered at 46
- 1817William Bligh: British naval officer of "Bounty" fame, dies at 63
- 1823Johann Gottlieb Schwencke: Composer, dies at 79
- 1829Johann Christoph Kienlen: Composer, dies at 45
- 1834Ludwig Schuncke: Composer, dies at 23
- 1839Jan Matyas Nepomuk August Vitasek: Composer, dies at 69
- 1841Johann Daniel Ferstenberg: Composer, dies at 83
- 1860Constantine S Aksakov: Russian Historian / poet, dies at 43
- 1862Sylvester Churchill: US Union Brigadier General
- 1867Rudolf Viole: Composer, dies at 42
- 1881Julius FA Bahnsen: German philosopher (Tragic as Weltgesetz), dies at 51
- 1894Ferdinand de Lesseps: French engineer / diplomat / earl, dies at 89
- 1899Antoni Katski: Composer, dies at 82
- 1902Thomas Nast: Political cartoonist
- 1912George Darwin: Theorized Moon was pulled out of Pacific Ocean
- 1917Leon Minkus: Composer, dies at 91
- 1941Cecil Forsyth: Composer, dies at 71
- 1941Iida: Japanese pilot / lt, dies in battle at 28
- 1943John Bouber [Blom]: Actor / Author (Bluejackets), dies at 22
- 1948Godfrey Turner: Composer, dies at 35
- 1962Kirsten Flagstead: Norwegian soprano (Wagner), dies at 67
- 1967House Peters: Silent film actor (Kansas Territory), dies at 87
- 1969Eric Portman: Actor (Naked Edge), dies from heart ailment at 66
- 1969Hugh Williams: Actor (Human Monster), dies after surgery at 65
- 1970Rube Goldberg: US cartoonist (Mike & Ike, Pulitzer 1948), dies at 87
- 1971Milton Rosmer: Director (Murder in the Red Barn), dies at 90
Events on Dec 8
- 1326Daitokuji temple, Rinzai line, established in Kyoto by Daito Kokushi
- 1710Battle at Brihuega: English General Stanhope captured
- 1777Captain Cook leaves Society Islands
- 17921st cremation in US, Henry Laurens
- 17941st issue of Herald of Rutland, VT published
- 1854Pope Pius IX proclaims Immaculate Conception, makes Mary, free of Original Sin
- 18571st production of Dion Boucicaults "Poor of NY"
- 18632,500 reported killed at Church of La Compana, Santiago Chile
- 1863Abraham Lincoln announces plan for Reconstruction of South
- 1863Jesuit church in Chile catches fire, 2,500 die in panic
- 1863President Lincoln offers amnesty for confederate deserters
- 1864Pope Pius IX publishes encyclical Quanta cura ("Syllabus errorum")
- 186920th Roman Catholic ecumenical council, Vatican I, opens in Rome
- 1874Jesse James gang takes train at Muncie, Kansas
- 1876Suriname begins compulsory education for 7-12 years
- 18805,000 armed Boers gather in Paardekraal South-Africa
- 1886American Federation of Labor (AFL) formed by 26 craft unions Samuel Gompers elected AFL President
- 1896Start of Sherlock Holmes "Adventure of Missing 3 Quarter" (BG)
- 1899Natal: British fall / burst out belegerd Ladysmith
- 1902Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr became Associate Justice on Supreme Court
- 1909Bird banding society found
- 1913Construction starts on Palace of Fine Arts in San Francisco
- 1914British and German fleets battle at Falkland Islands
- 1914Connie Mack sells Eddie Collins to the White Sox
- 1921Eamon de Valera publicly repudiates Anglo-Irish Treaty
- 1923German-US friendship treaty signed
- 1923Labour / Liberals win British parliament
- 1923Salary and price freeze in Germany
- 1930Broadway Theater opens at 1681 Broadway, New York City
- 1931Coaxial cable patented
Born on Dec 8
- 1508Gemma Frisius [Jemme Reinersz]: Frisian geographer / astronomer
- 1626Christina: Queen of Sweden who abdicated after becoming Catholic
- 1704Anton de Haen: Medical expert (Ratio Medendi)
- 1708Francis I: Holy Roman Emperor (1745-1765)
- 1715John Althuysen: Frisian vicar / poet (Frisianche rymlery)
- 1728Johann G von Zimmermann: Switzerland -- Author
- 1730John Ingen Housz: Dutch / English personal Physician of Maria Theresia
- 1731Frantisek Xaver Dusek: Composer
- 1737Robert Kimmerling: Composer
- 1741Maximilian JLP Gardel: French dancer / choreographer (Menuet Reine)
- 1744Pierre Joseph Candielle: Composer
- 1765Eli Whitney: Inventor (Cotton Gin)
- 1789John Fawcett: Composer
- 1795Jacques Francois Gallay: Composer
- 1811Louis Alexander Balthasar Schindelmeisser: Composer
- 1822Luther Prentice Bradley: Brigadier General (Union volunteers), died in 1910
- 1826Friedrich Siemens: German industrialist
- 1828Clinton Bowen Fisk: Bvt Major General (Union volunteers), died in 1890
- 1828Robert Bullock: Brigadier General (Confederate Army), died in 1905
- 1861Aristide Maillol: France -- Painter / sculptor (Seated Woman)
- 1861William Crapo Durant: Founded General Machine
- 1865Jacques Hadamard: French mathematician (Taylor series)
- 1865Jean Sibelius: Tavastehus, Finland -- Composer (Valse Triste, Finlandia)
- 1872J C Powys: Writer
- 1877Paul Emile Ladmirault: Composer
- 1881Padraic Colum: Irish poet / Novelist / poet (Collected Poems)
- 1886Diego Rivera [Lenin of Mexico]: Mexico -- Painter / Wife of Frida Kahlo
- 1887Vicente Emilio Sojo: Composer
- 1888Fiske Kimball: US architect / art historian
- 1888Paul Cavanagh: Chislehurst, England -- Actor (Tarzan & his Mate)
Died on Dec 8
- 0899Arnulf of Carinthia: Last Emperor of Austria-France
- 1292John Peckham: English Archbishop of Canterbury, dies at 62
- 1587Mary: Queen of Scots (1560-1587), executed
- 1596Luis de Carabajal: 1st Jewish Author in America, executed in Mexico
- 1643John Pym: English House of Commons member, dies at about 59
- 1652Adriaan W "Joris" van Geel: Flemish missionary, murdered at 35
- 1681Gerard Terborch [the Younger]: Dutch Painter / etcher
- 1709Thomas Corneille: French dramatist, dies at 74
- 1722Elisabeth C "Liselotte" van Palts: German / French duchess, dies at 70
- 1785Antonio Maria Mazzoni: Composer, dies at 68
- 1830H Benjamin Constant: French politician / writer, dies at 63
- 1831James Hoban: Architect who designed White House
- 1894Willem JF Nuyens: Dutch Physician / RC historian, dies at 71
- 1896Earnest Angel: German statistician (Law of Angel), dies at 75
- 1900Henry Russell: Composer, dies at 87
- 1903Herbert Spencer: British engineer / philosopher, dies at 83
- 1907Oscar II Frederick: King of Sweden (-1907) / Norway (-1905)
- 1923Dom Joseph Pothier: French Benedictine / musicologist, dies at 88
- 1924Franz X Scharwenka: German pianist / Composer (Mataswintha), dies at 74
- 1926Jan Six: Dutch art Historian / collector
- 1934Bernhard Seklas: Composer, dies at 62
- 1939Ernest Schelling: Composer, dies at 63
- 1954Gladys George: Actress (Roaring Twenties), dies at 50
- 1955Jacques Handschin: Swiss musicologist, dies at 69
- 1956Edgar Leslie Bainton: Composer, dies at 76
- 1957Reginald Sheffield: Actor (Second Chance), dies at 55
- 1961William Beatton Moonie: Composer, dies at 78
- 1967Robert H Lawrence: USAF / Astronaut, dies at 32
- 1969Vincenzo Davico: Composer, dies at 80
- 1970Christopher K Ingold: English chemist, dies at 77