September 6

1522 After Ferdinand Magellan was killed in the Philippines, the command went to a merchant ship captain. Juan Sebastián Elcano. When the two remaining ships reached the Spice Islands they decided to take the eastern route but The Trinidad broke off and was no longer seaworthy, leaving only Victoria to continue and return to Spain. Elcano and 17 other survivors of Ferdinand Magellan's 265-man expedition, reached Seville on September 6, 1522, becoming the people to circumnavigate the globe.

Replica of the Victoria. By Gnsin -Wikipedia

1642 The Puritan-dominated Parliament banned dramatic theater in England as a sinful entertainment, on September 6, 1642, but operas were seen as virtuous. After the restoration of the monarchy in 1660, theaters were allowed to reopen, and the English theater scene flourished once again.

1651 After his defeat by Oliver Cromwell at the Battle of Worcester, the future Charles II of England spent the night of September 6, 1651 hiding in an oak tree at Boscobel House, Shropshire climbing up the tree by means of a hen roost ladder. Charles spent another night hiding in one of Boscobel's Priest holes before moving to Moseley Old Hall, another Catholic redoubt near Wolverhampton. He ultimately escaped the region posing as the servant of Jane Lane of Bentley. before escaping to Normandy.

 Charles & Colonel William Careless in the Royal Oak by Isaac Fuller

1698 French soldier Jean Thurel was born on September 6, 1698. He enlisted in the Régiment de Touraine at the age of 17, in 1717 beginning a career of military service that would span 90 years. He remained a low-ranking fusilier for his entire army career

1766 The British chemist John Dalton was born on September 6, 1766. He proposed the existence of atoms, which he considered to be the smallest parts of matter. The idea of atoms was already known at the time, but not widely accepted. Dalton's theory of atoms was based on actual observation. Before this, ideas about atoms were based more on philosophy. Dalton began using symbols to represent the atoms of different elements on September 6, 1803 (see below).

1791 English model and actress Emma Lyon began an affair with Sir William Hamilton, a British diplomat and envoy to the court of Naples, who was more than twice her age. in her early 20s. They married Sir William Hamilton at St Marylebone parish church, Middlesex, on September 6, 1791, two days before the couple's return to Naples. Emma, Lady Hamilton first met Horatio Nelson in Naples in 1793, but it was only when he returned five years later that their affair began. 

1800 Catharine Beecher was born on September 6, 1800 in East Hampton, New York, She was the daughter of religious leader Lyman Beecher and sister of Uncle Tom's Cabin writer Harriet Beecher Stowe and preacher Henry Ward Beecher. Catharine was engaged to marry Professor Alexander M. Fisher, but he died at sea before the wedding took place. After her fiancée’s death, Catharine founded the Hartford Female Seminary, launching a life-long campaign as lecturer, writer, and advocate for women's education.

Catharine Beecher

1877 Buddy Bolden the African-American cornetist credited with creating the musical innovations that would lead to the birth of Jazz was born on September 6, 1877. Bolden had acute schizophrenia and was permanently committed to a mental institution at age 30.  He remained there until his death in 1931.

1901 President William McKinley was shot at the Temple of Music at the Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo, New York on September 6, 1901 during a public handshaking reception. The shooter was an anarchist named Leon Czolgosz, who claimed the President committed war crimes in the Philippines and was an enemy of the people.  McKinley's wounds were not properly dressed and he died of gangrene a week later. Polish immigrant Czolgosz  was executed in the electric chair. 

Artist's conception of the shooting of McKinley

1916 The concept of a self-service grocery store was developed by entrepreneur Clarence Saunders with his Piggly Wiggly stores. His first store opened on September 6, 1916 in Memphis, Tennessee. The checkouts and turnstile entrance at Saunders' stores proved such a success that by 1923 a further 2,800 Piggly Wigglies had sprung up across the U.S thus creating the first supermarket chain.

1968 Swaziland is named after Mswati II who was king from 1840-1868 and greatly extended the area of the country through victories in tribal wars. Its present boundaries were drawn up in 1881 by the European powers in the midst of the Scramble for Africa. After the Second Boer War, Swaziland was a British protectorate from 1903, until it regained its independence on September 6, 1968.

1980 It was at an Oxford University Conservative Association disco, that fellow member Benazir Bhutto (future Prime Minister of Pakistan) introduced Theresa May to Philip May, who would become her husband. They married on September 6, 1980 at The Church of St. Mary the Virgin, Wheatley, where May's father was vicar. The picture below shows Philip May by his wife's side after her being returned as Prime Minister at the 2017 general election. 

1991 During World War I, when Russia and Germany were fighting each other, the Russians thought the name Saint Petersburg sounded too German, so the city was renamed Petrograd. A decade later, Petrograd was renamed Leningrad in Vladimir Lenin's honor. The name Saint Petersburg was restored to Russia's second largest city on September 6, 1991. 

1995 Cal Ripken Jr of the Baltimore Orioles surpassed Lou Gehrig's record of 2,130 consecutive games played by a baseball player on September 6, 1995, in his 2,131st consecutive game. Ripken went 2-for-4 with a home run in the game, which the Orioles won 4-2 over the California Angels. It took him 16 years and 21 days to complete the streak, which began on May 30, 1982. Ripken ended the streak on September 19, 1998, when he decided to sit out the final game of the season.

1997 Princess' Diana's funeral was held on September 6, 1997. Over a million people lined the streets and the world-wide TV audience for the funeral ceremonies was estimated at over two billion. Elton John sung a new version of his hit single "Candle In The Wind" at Princess Diana's funeral. The new version, which replaced "Goodbye Norma Jean" with "Goodbye England's Rose," became the best-selling single of all time. Diana was buried on an island at her ancestral home at Althorp.

2007 Italian tenor Luciano Pavarotti was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in July 2006. He died of the disease on September 6, 2007 at his home in Modena. During the public viewing of Pavarotti's casket, over 100,000 people attended. Seven hundred guests filled the cathedral in Modena at the actual funeral, including rock star Bono and former U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan, while several thousand people gathered outside of the cathedral in the square.

2007 The first non-human animal to ask an existential question was an African Grey parrot named Alex. He asked what color he was and learned that it was "grey". Apes who have been trained to use sign-language have so far failed to ever ask a single question. Alex died of natural causes aged 31 on September 6, 2007. His last words were, "You be good, see you tomorrow. I love you."