December 6 in history — What Happened Today in History

Spain ratifies the Spanish Constitution of 1978 in a referendum.

South Africa grants independence to Bophuthatswana, although it is not recognized by any other country.

The Troubles: Fleeing from the police, a Provisional IRA unit takes a British couple hostage in their flat on Balcombe Street, London, beginning a six-day siege.

The Twenty-fifth Amendment: The United States House of Representatives votes 387–35 to confirm Gerald Ford as Vice President of the United States. (On November 27, the Senate confirmed him 92–3.)

Pakistan severs diplomatic relations with India, initiating the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971.

Altamont Free Concert: At a free concert performed by the Rolling Stones, eighteen-year old Meredith Hunter is stabbed to death by Hells Angels security guards.

Adrian Kantrowitz performs the first human heart transplant in the United States.

Project Vanguard: A launchpad explosion of Vanguard TV3 thwarts the first United States attempt to launch a satellite into Earth orbit.

A violent water polo match between Hungary and the USSR takes place during the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne, against the backdrop of the Hungarian Revolution of 1956.

World War II: Camp X opens in Canada to begin training Allied secret agents for the war.

Winter War: The Red Army's advance on the Karelian Isthmus is stopped by Finns at the Mannerheim Line during the Battle of Taipale.

In United States v. One Book Called Ulysses Judge John M. Woolsey rules that James Joyce's novel Ulysses is not obscene despite coarse language and sexual content, a leading decision affirming free expression.

The government of Colombia sends military forces to suppress a month-long strike by United Fruit Company workers, resulting in an unknown number of deaths.

Ireland is partitioned, with Northern Ireland and the Irish Free State coming into existence, one year to the day after the signing of the Anglo-Irish Treaty.

The Anglo-Irish Treaty is signed in London by British and Irish representatives.

Finland declares independence from the Russian Empire.

Halifax Explosion: A munitions explosion near Halifax, Nova Scotia kills more than 1,900 people in the largest artificial explosion up to that time.

World War I: USS Jacob Jones is the first American destroyer to be sunk by enemy action when it is torpedoed by German submarine SM U-53.

World War I: The Central Powers capture Bucharest.

The Nefertiti Bust is discovered.

A coal mine explosion at Monongah, West Virginia, kills 362 workers.

Theodore Roosevelt articulated his "Corollary" to the Monroe Doctrine, stating that the U.S. would intervene in the Western Hemisphere should Latin American governments prove incapable or unstable.

London becomes the world's first city to host licensed taxicabs.

The Washington Monument in Washington, D.C., is completed.

Transit of Venus, second and last of the 19th century.

Georgia ratifies the 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

Five French warships attempting to escape the Royal Naval blockade of Saint-Domingue are all seized by British warships, signifying the end of the Haitian Revolution.

The U.S. Congress moves from New York City to Philadelphia.

Tautau Moga, Australian-Samoan rugby league player

Viktor Antipin, Russian ice hockey player

Britt Assombalonga, Congolese footballer

Johnny Manziel, American football player

Rachel Jarry, Australian basketball player

Milica Mandić, Serbian taekwondo athlete

Coco Vandeweghe, American tennis player

Tamira Paszek, Austrian tennis player

Felix Schiller, German footballer

Adam Eaton, American baseball player

Ravindra Jadeja, Indian cricketer

Sandra Nurmsalu, Estonian singer and violinist

Nils Petersen, German footballer

Miguel Abia Biteo Boricó, Equatoguinean engineer and politician, Prime Minister of Equatorial Guinea (born 1961)

Jan Carew, Guyanese author, poet, and playwright (born 1920)

Jeffrey Koo Sr., Taiwanese banker and businessman (born 1933)

Huw Lloyd-Langton, English guitarist (born 1951)

Pedro Vaz, Uruguayan lawyer and politician, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Uruguay (born 1963)

Dobie Gray, American singer-songwriter and producer (born 1940)

Mark Dailey, American-Canadian journalist and actor (born 1953)

John Feeney, New Zealand director and producer (born 1922)

Charly Gaul, Luxembourger cyclist (born 1932)

Devan Nair, Malaysian-Singaporean union leader and politician, 3rd President of Singapore (born 1923)

Danny Williams, South African singer (born 1942)

William P. Yarborough, American general (born 1912)

Carlos Manuel Arana Osorio, Guatemalan general and politician, President of Guatemala (born 1918)