September 6
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1901
A deadly world’s fair
On September 6, 1901, U.S. Pres. William McKinley was welcoming visitors to the Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo, New York. Among those in line was Leon Czolgosz, a 28-year-old anarchist who considered the government oppressive. Upon reaching McKinley, Czolgosz fired twice. Both bullets struck the president, but it was the shot to his abdomen that ultimately proved fatal. McKinley died a little over a week later, on September 14. He was succeeded by 42-year-old Vice Pres. Theodore Roosevelt.
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© Frances Benjamin Johnston/Library of Congress/VCG—Corbis Historical/Getty Images; Photo Illustration Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
Featured Event
Jayne Fincher—Princess Diana Archive/Hulton Royals Collection/Getty Images
On this day in 1997, a funeral was held for Princess Diana, who had died in a car crash several days earlier. More than one million people lined the procession, and an estimated 2.5 billion watched the televised ceremony, which included a performance by Elton John, who performed a version of his classic song “Candle in the Wind.”
Featured Biography
Featured Biography
© Georgios Kollidas/Fotolia
English scientist John Dalton, born this day (or September 5) in 1766, was a pioneer in the development of modern atomic theory and was considered by some contemporaries as the “father” of both meteorology and chemistry.
Famous Birthdays
More on September 6
United States Navy
2019
Zimbabwean politician Robert Mugabe—who was the longtime ruler of Zimbabwe, first as prime minister (1980–87), then as president (1987–2017)—died at age 95. [Test your knowledge of African leaders.]
Gretchen Ertl/AP/REX/Shutterstock.com
2007
Italian operatic lyric tenor Luciano Pavarotti, who was considered one of the finest bel canto opera singers of the 20th century, died at age 71. [Take our opera quiz.]
Focus on Sports/Getty Images
1995
American professional baseball player Cal Ripken, Jr., played in his 2,131st consecutive game, surpassing Lou Gehrig’s record, which had stood for more than 56 years. [Test your knowledge of baseball.]
Image: Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
1991
The Soviet Union recognized the independence of the Baltic states—Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. [How much do you know about European history?]
Archiv für Kunst und Geschichte, Berlin
1966
South African Prime Minister Hendrik Verwoerd, who rigorously developed and applied the policy of apartheid, was stabbed to death by a temporary parliamentary messenger who was later ruled insane. [Sort fact from fiction in our quiz about South Africa.]
Camera Press/Globe Photos
1944
Germany fired the first long-range V-2 missile at an Allied target during World War II. [Test your knowledge of weapons and warfare.]
Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
1914
French and British forces launched an offensive against advancing Germans in the First Battle of the Marne during World War I. [Sort fact from fiction in our quiz about World War I.]
Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
1860
American social reformer and pacifist Jane Addams, cowinner (with Nicholas Murray Butler) of the Nobel Prize for Peace in 1931, was born. [Take our Nobel Prize quiz.]
J.E. Bulloz
1792
French Revolutionary leader Georges Danton was elected deputy for Paris to the National Convention. [How much do you know about French history?]