On This Day: 6 May

6 May in Indian history

• 1857The East India Company disbands the 34th Regiment of Bengal Native Infantry whose sepoy Mangal Pandey had earlier revolted against the British in the lead up to the War of Indian Independence.India

6 May in world history

• 2023The coronation of Charles III and Camilla as King and Queen of the United Kingdom and the other Commonwealth realms is held in Westminster Abbey, London.
• 2013Three women, kidnapped and missing for more than a decade, are found alive in Cleveland, Ohio, in the United States.
• 2004The final episode of the television sitcom Friends was aired.
• 1998Steve Jobs of Apple Inc. unveils the first iMac.
• 1998Kerry Wood strikes out 20 Houston Astros to tie the major league record held by Roger Clemens. He threw a one-hitter and did not walk a batter in his fifth career start.
• 1996The body of former CIA director William Colby is found washed up on a riverbank in southern Maryland, eight days after he disappeared.
• 1988Widerøe Flight 710 crashed into the fog-covered mountain of Torghatten in Brønnøy, Norway, killing all 36 people on board.
• 1942World War II: On Corregidor, the last American forces in the Philippines surrender to the Japanese.
• 1937The German airship Hindenburg caught fire and was destroyed during an attempt to dock at Lakehurst Naval Air Station in New Jersey, killing 36 people.
• 1935New Deal: Under the authority of the newly-enacted Federal Emergency Relief Administration, President Franklin D. Roosevelt issues Executive Order 7034 to create the Works Progress Administration.
• 1916Vietnamese Emperor Duy Tân is captured while calling upon the people to rise up against the French, and is later deposed and exiled to Réunion island.
• 1915Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition: SY Aurora, anchored in McMurdo Sound, broke loose during a gale, beginning a 312-day ordeal in the Ross Sea and Southern Ocean for her 18-man crew.
• 1882Irish civil servants Thomas Henry Burke and Lord Frederick Cavendish were stabbed to death by members of the radical Irish National Invincibles in Phoenix Park, Dublin.
• 1863American Civil War: The Battle of Chancellorsville ends with a major defeat of the Union's Army of the Potomac under Joseph Hooker by the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia under Robert E. Lee.
• 1801French Revolutionary Wars: The 32-gun Spanish frigate El Gamo was captured by the outmanned and outgunned HMS Speedy.
• 1782Construction began on the Grand Palace in Bangkok, the official residence of the king of Thailand.
• 1536Spanish conquest of the Inca Empire: Sapa Inca emperor Manco Inca Yupanqui's army began a ten-month siege of Cusco.

Born on 6 May

• 1997Duncan Scott, Scottish swimmer
• 1985Chris Paul, American basketball player
• 1972Martin Brodeur, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1918Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, emir of Abu Dhabi and first president of the United Arab Emirates (died 2004)
• 1861Motilal Nehru, Indian lawyer and politician, President of the Indian National Congress (died 1931)India
• 1827Hermann Raster, German-American journalist and politician (died 1891)

Died on 6 May

• 2010Robin Roberts, American baseball player, coach, and sportscaster (born 1926)
• 1992Marlene Dietrich, German-American actress and singer (born 1901)
• 1949Maurice Maeterlinck, Belgian-French poet and playwright, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1862)
• 1471Thomas Tresham, Speaker of the House of Commons

Frequently asked questions

What happened on 6 May in history?

2023: The coronation of Charles III and Camilla as King and Queen of the United Kingdom and the other Commonwealth realms is held in Westminster Abbey, London. 2013: Three women, kidnapped and missing for more than a decade, are found alive in Cleveland, Ohio, in the United States. 2004: The final episode of the television sitcom Friends was aired. 1998: Steve Jobs of Apple Inc. unveils the first iMac.

What happened on 6 May in Indian history?

1857: The East India Company disbands the 34th Regiment of Bengal Native Infantry whose sepoy Mangal Pandey had earlier revolted against the British in the lead up to the War of Indian Independence.

Which famous people were born on 6 May?

Duncan Scott, Scottish swimmer (1997); Chris Paul, American basketball player (1985); Martin Brodeur, Canadian ice hockey player (1972); Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, emir of Abu Dhabi and first president of the United Arab Emirates (died 2004) (1918).

Which day is observed on 6 May?

International No Diet Day; Martyrs' Day (Lebanon and Syria); National Azulejo Day (Portugal); The first day of Hıdırellez (Turkey).