On this day in history

May 6

14 births · 7 deaths · 3 events

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Anniversary highlights

Event anniversary

Eurovision Song Contest 2014

12 years ago

Born this day

1856

Sigmund Freud

Would be 170

Oldest record

621st

Skanderbeg

birth anniversary

Famous births14

1405 · 621 yrs

Skanderbeg

Gjergj Kastrioti (also known as Skanderbeg; c. 1405 – 17 January 1468) was an Albanian nobleman and military leader who led the League of Lezhë in the Ottoman-Albanian Wars until his death. Skanderbeg is considered to be a major figure of medieval Albanian history and today is the national hero of Albania.

MilitaryWould be 621

Photo: Cristofano Dell'Altissimo · Public domain

1501 · 525 yrs

Marcellus II

Pope Marcellus II (Italian: Marcello II; 6 May 1501 – 1 May 1555), born Marcello Cervini degli Spannocchi, was head of the Catholic Church and leader of the Papal States from 10 April 1555 to his death, 22 days later. Marcellus succeeded Pope Julius III.

ReligionWould be 525

Photo: Workshop of Italian art schools of the Renaissance · Public domain

1574 · 452 yrs

Innocent X

Pope Innocent X (7 May 1574 – 7 January 1655; born Giovanni Battista Pamphili), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 15 September 1644 to his death, in January 1655.

ReligionWould be 452

Photo: Matthieu.lett.ube · Public domain

1749 · 277 yrs

Edward Jenner

Edward Jenner (17 May 1749 – 26 January 1823) was an English physician and scientist who pioneered the concept of vaccines and created the smallpox vaccine, the world's first vaccine.

ScienceWould be 277

Photo: James Northcote · Public domain

1758 · 268 yrs

Maximilien Robespierre

Maximilien François Marie Isidore de Robespierre (French:; 6 May 1758 – 28 July 1794) was a French lawyer and statesman, widely recognised as one of the most influential figures of the French Revolution.

ActivismWould be 268

Photo: Unidentified painter · CC0

1856 · 170 yrs

Sigmund Freud

Sigmund Freud (born Sigismund Schlomo Freud; 6 May 1856 – 23 September 1939) was an Austrian neurologist and the founder of psychoanalysis, a clinical method for evaluating and treating pathologies arising from conflicts in the psyche through dialogue between patient and psychoanalyst, and the distinctive theory of…

Notable PeopleWould be 170

Photo: Max Halberstadt · Public domain

1861 · 165 yrs

Rabindranath Tagore

Rabindranath Tagore (Bengali:; 7 May 1861 – 7 August 1941) was a Bengali poet, author, playwright, musician, composer, philosopher, social reformer, painter, and one of the foremost figures of the Bengal Renaissance.

LiteratureWould be 165

Photo: Generalstabens litografiska anstalt · Public domain

1868 · 158 yrs

Nicholas II of Russia

Nicholas II (Nikolai Alexandrovich Romanov; 18 May 1868 – 17 July 1918) was Emperor of Russia from 1 November 1894 until his abdication in 1917. He was the last Russian monarch before the Russian Revolution and oversaw the Russian Empire's participation in World War I.

RoyaltyWould be 158

Photo: Boissonnas & Eggler · Public domain

1871 · 155 yrs

Victor Grignard

François Auguste Victor Grignard (6 May 1871 – 13 December 1935) was a French chemist who won the Nobel Prize for his discovery of the eponymously named Grignard reagent and Grignard reaction, both of which are important in the formation of carbon–carbon bonds.

ScienceWould be 155

Photo: Fotograv. - Generalstabens Litografiska Anstalt Stockholm · Public domain

1904 · 122 yrs

Harry Martinson

Harry Martinson (6 May 1904 – 11 February 1978) was a Swedish writer, poet and former sailor. In 1949 he was elected into the Swedish Academy.

LiteratureWould be 122

Photo: Gunnar Herbert Lundh · Public domain

1915 · 111 yrs

Orson Welles

George Orson Welles (May 6, 1915 – October 10, 1985) was an American actor and filmmaker. Remembered for his innovative work in film, radio, and theatre, he is considered among the greatest and most influential filmmakers of all time.

FilmWould be 111

Photo: Carl Van Vechten · Public domain

1953 · 73 yrs

Tony Blair

Sir Anthony Charles Lynton Blair (born 6 May 1953) is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1997 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007.

PoliticsAge 73

Photo: Pavel Golovkin · CC BY 4.0

1961 · 65 yrs

George Clooney

George Timothy Clooney (born May 6, 1961) is an American actor and filmmaker.

FilmAge 65

Photo: Raph_PH · CC BY 4.0

1983 · 43 yrs

Daniel Alves

Daniel Alves da Silva (Portuguese:; born 6 May 1983) is a Brazilian former professional footballer who played as a right-back. He is one of the most decorated players in football history with 43 trophies.

SportsAge 43

Photo: Palácio do Planalto from Brasilia, Brasil · CC BY 2.0

Famous deaths7

1800 · 226 yrs

Alexander Suvorov

Count Alexander Vasilyevich Suvorov-Rymniksky, Prince of Italy (24 November 1729 or 1730 – 18 May 1800) was a Russian general and military theorist in the service of the Russian Empire. Born in Moscow, he studied military history as a young boy and joined the Imperial Russian Army at the age of 17.

MilitaryWould be 296

Photo: Nicolas Sébastien Frosté · Public domain

1859 · 167 yrs

Alexander von Humboldt

Friedrich Wilhelm Heinrich Alexander von Humboldt (14 September 1769 – 6 May 1859) was a German polymath, geographer, naturalist, explorer, and proponent of Romantic philosophy and science. He was the younger brother of the Prussian minister, philosopher, and linguist Wilhelm von Humboldt (1767–1835).

ScienceWould be 257

Photo: Joseph Karl Stieler · Public domain

1862 · 164 yrs

Henry David Thoreau

Henry David Thoreau (born David Henry Thoreau; July 12, 1817 – May 6, 1862) was an American naturalist, essayist, poet, and philosopher.

LiteratureWould be 209

Photo: B. D. Maxham · Public domain

1910 · 116 yrs

Edward VII

Edward VII (Albert Edward; 9 November 1841 – 6 May 1910) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 22 January 1901 until his death in 1910.

RoyaltyWould be 184

Photo: W. & D. Downey · Public domain

1952 · 74 yrs

Maria Montessori

Maria Tecla Artemisia Montessori ( MON-tiss-OR-ee; Italian:; 31 August 1870 – 6 May 1952) was an Italian physician and educator best known for her philosophy of education (the Montessori method) and her writing on scientific pedagogy.

ScienceWould be 156

Photo: Unknown author · Public domain

1992 · 34 yrs

Marlene Dietrich

Marie Magdalene "Marlene" Dietrich (German:; 27 December 1901 – 6 May 1992) was a German and American actress and singer whose career spanned nearly seven decades. In 1920s Berlin, she performed on the stage and in silent films.

MusicWould be 124

Photo: für die Datei Arths-at · Public domain

2013 · 13 yrs

Giulio Andreotti

Giulio Andreotti (US: AHN-dray-OT-ee, Italian:; 14 January 1919 – 6 May 2013) was an Italian politician and statesman who served as the 41st prime minister of Italy in seven governments (1972–1973, 1976–1979, and 1989–1992).

PoliticsWould be 107

Photo: Senato della Repubblica · Public domain

Events3

1989 · 37 yrs

Eurovision Song Contest 1989

The Eurovision Song Contest 1989 was the 34th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest, held on 6 May 1989 at the Palais de Beaulieu in Lausanne, Switzerland, and presented by Jacques Deschenaux and Lolita Morena.

Culture

2014 · 12 yrs

Eurovision Song Contest 2014

The Eurovision Song Contest 2014 was the 59th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It consisted of two semi-finals on 6 and 8 May and a final on 10 May 2014, held at B&W Hallerne in Copenhagen, Denmark, and presented by Lise Rønne, Nikolaj Koppel, and Pilou Asbæk.

Culture

2021 · 5 yrs

2021 Israel–Palestine crisis

A major outbreak of violence in the Israeli–Palestinian conflict, sometimes called the Unity Intifada, mainly commenced on 10 May 2021 and continued until a ceasefire came into effect on 21 May.

War

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