September 6 is the 249th day of the year (250th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 116 days remaining until the end of the year.
- 3114 BC - According to the proleptic Julian calendar the current era in the Maya Long Count Calendar started.
- 394 - Battle of the Frigidus: The Christian Roman Emperor Theodosius I defeats and kills the pagan usurper Eugenius and his Frankish magister militum Arbogast.
- 1492 - Christopher Columbus sails from La Gomera in the Canary Islands, his final port of call before crossing the Atlantic for the first time.
- 1522 - The Victoria, one of the surviving ships of Ferdinand Magellan's expedition, returns to Sanlúcar de Barrameda in Spain, becoming the first ship to circumnavigate the world.
- 1620 - The Pilgrims sail from Plymouth, England, on the Mayflower to settle in North America. (Old Style date; September 16 per New Style date.)
- 1628 - Puritans settle Salem, which will later become part of Massachusetts Bay Colony.
- 1669 - The siege of Candia ends with the Venetian fortress surrendering to the Ottomans.
- 1776 - Hurricane hits Guadeloupe, killing more than 6000.
- 1781 - The Battle of Groton Heights takes place, resulting a British victory.
- 1847 - Henry David Thoreau leaves Walden Pond and moves in with Ralph Waldo Emerson and his family in Concord, Massachusetts.
- 1861 - American Civil War: Forces under Union General Ulysses S. Grant bloodlessly capture Paducah, Kentucky, which gives the Union control of the mouth of the Tennessee River.
- 1863 - American Civil War: Confederates evacuate Battery Wagner and Morris Island in South Carolina.
- 1870 - Louisa Ann Swain of Laramie, Wyoming becomes the first woman in the United States to cast a vote legally after 1807.
- 1885 - Eastern Rumelia declares its union with Bulgaria. The Unification of Bulgaria is accomplished.
- 1888 - Charles Turner becomes the first bowler to take 250 wickets in an English season – a feat since accomplished only by Tom Richardson (twice), J.T. Hearne, Wilfred Rhodes (twice) and Tich Freeman (six times).
- 1901 - Anarchist Leon Czolgosz shoots and fatally wounds US President William McKinley at the Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo, New York.
- 1930 - Democratically elected Argentine president Hipólito Yrigoyen is deposed in a military coup.
- 1937 - Spanish Civil War: The start of the Battle of El Mazuco.
- 1939 - World War II: The Battle of Barking Creek.
- 1939 - World War II: South Africa declares war on Germany.
- 1940 - King Carol II of Romania abdicates and is succeeded by his son Michael.
- 1944 - World War II: The city of Ypres, Belgium is liberated by allied forces.
- 1948 - Juliana becomes Queen of the Netherlands.
- 1949 - Allied military authorities relinquish control of former Nazi Germany assets back to German control.
- 1949 - A former sharpshooter in World War II, Howard Unruh kills 13 neighbors in Camden, New Jersey, with a souvenir Luger to become the first U.S. single-episode mass murderer.
- 1952 - Canada's first television station, CBFT-TV, opens in Montreal.
- 1955 - Istanbul Pogrom: Istanbul's Greek and Armenian minority are the target of a government-sponsored pogrom.
- 1963 - The Centre for International Industrial Property Studies (CEIPI) is founded.
- 1965 - War of 1965: India attacks Pakistan and announces that its forces will capture Lahore (city of Pakistan) in an hour.
- 1966 - In Cape Town, South Africa, the architect of Apartheid, Prime Minister Hendrik Verwoerd, is stabbed to death during a parliamentary meeting.
- 1968 - Swaziland becomes independent.
- 1970 - Two passenger jets bound from Europe to New York are simultaneously hijacked by Palestinian terrorist members of PFLP and taken to Dawson's Field in Jordan.
- 1976 - Cold War: Soviet air force pilot Lt. Viktor Belenko lands a MiG-25 jet fighter at Hakodate on the island of Hokkaidō in Japan and requests political asylum in the United States.
- 1983 - The Soviet Union admits to shooting down Korean Air Flight KAL-007, stating that the pilots did not know it was a civilian aircraft when it violated Soviet airspace.
- 1985 - Midwest Express Airlines Flight 105, a Douglas DC-9 crashes just after takeoff from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, killing 31.
- 1986 - In Istanbul, two terrorists from Abu Nidal's organization kill 22 and wound six inside the Neve Shalom synagogue during Shabbat services.
- 1991 - The Soviet Union recognizes the independence of the Baltic states: Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.
- 1991 - The name Saint Petersburg is restored to Russia's second largest city, which had been renamed Leningrad in 1924.
- 1992 - Hunters discover the emaciated body of Christopher Johnson McCandless at his camp 20 miles west of the town of Healy, Alaska.
- 1995 - Cal Ripken Jr of the Baltimore Orioles plays in his 2,131st consecutive game, breaking a record that stood for 56 years.
- 1997 - Diana, Princess of Wales is laid to rest in front of a television audience of more than 2.5 billion.
- 1535 - Emanuel van Meteren, Flemish historian (d. 1612)
- 1620 - Isabella Leonarda, Italian composer (d. 1704)
- 1656 - Guillaume Dubois, French cardinal and statesman (d. 1723)
- 1666 - Tsar Ivan V of Russia (d. 1696)
- 1711 - Henry Muhlenberg, German-born founder of the U.S. Lutheran Church (d. 1787)
- 1732 - Johan Wilcke, Swedish physicist (d. 1796)
- 1729 - Moses Mendelssohn, German philosopher (d. 1786)
- 1757 - Marquis de Lafayette, French soldier and statesman (d. 1834)
- 1766 - John Dalton, British chemist and physicist (d. 1844)
- 1781 - Anton Diabelli, Austrian music publisher and composer (d. 1858)
- 1795 - Frances Wright, English writer and lecturer (d. 1852)
- 1800 - Catharine Beecher, American educator (d. 1878)
- 1802 - Alcide d'Orbigny, French naturalist (d. 1857)
- 1808 - Abd al-Qadir, Algerian political and military leader (d. 1883)
- 1814 - George-Étienne Cartier, Canadian politician (d. 1873)
- 1815 - St. John Richardson Liddell, American Civil War Confederate General (d. 1870)
- 1817 - Alexander Tilloch Galt, Canadian politician (d. 1893)
- 1829 - Marie Zakrzewska, Polish physician (d. 1902)
- 1838 - Samuel Arnold, Lincoln conspirator (d. 1906)
- 1857 - Zelia Nuttall, American archeologist and historian (d. 1933)
- 1860 - Jane Addams, American social worker, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize (d. 1935)
- 1868 - Heinrich Häberlin, Swiss Federal Councilor (d. 1947)
- 1869 - Felix Salten, Austrian author (d. 1945)
- 1876 - John James Richard Macleod, Scottish-born physician and physiologist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1935)
- 1877 - Buddy Bolden, American musician (d. 1930)
- 1879 - Joseph Wirth, Chancellor of Germany (d. 1956)
- 1879 - Max Schreck, German actor (d. 1936)
- 1888 - Joseph P. Kennedy, Sr., American banker and diplomat (d. 1969)
- 1890 - Clara Kimball Young, American actress (d. 1960)
- 1892 - Sir Edward Appleton, English physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1965)
- 1893 - Claire Chennault, American pilot (d. 1958)
- 1899 - Billy Rose, American composer (d. 1966)
- 1900 - W.A.C. Bennett, Canadian politician (d. 1979)
- 1900 - Julien Green, French-born American novelist (d. 1998)
- 1904 - Max Rosenbloom, American boxer (d. 1976)
- 1906 - Luis Federico Leloir, French-born chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1987)
- 1909 - Michael Gordon, American actor and director (b. 1993)
- 1910 - Walter Giesler, American soccer coach, (d. 1976)
- 1911 - Harry Danning, American baseball player (d. 2004)
- 1915 - Franz Josef Strauß, German Politician (d. 1988)
- 1917 - Philipp von Boeselager, German Wehrmacht officer, failed assassin of Adolf Hitler (d. 2008)
- 1917 - George Mann, England cricketer (d. 2001)
- 1919 - Wilson Greatbatch, American Inventor
- 1921 - Carmen Laforet, Spanish author (d. 2004)
- 1923 - King Peter II of Yugoslavia (d. 1970)
- 1925 - Jimmy Reed, American blues singer (d. 1976)
- 1926 - Maurice Prather, American motion picture and still photographer (d. 2001)
- 1926 - Claus von Amsberg, Prince Consort of the Netherlands (d. 2002)
- 1928 - Robert M. Pirsig, American author
- 1928 - Evgeny Svetlanov, Russian conductor and composer (d. 2002)
- 1929 - Yash Johar, Indian film producer (d. 2005)
- 1937 - Sergio Aragonés, Spanish-born illustrator
- 1937 - Brigid Berlin, American actor
- 1937 - Jo Anne Worley, American actress
- 1939 - Susumu Tonegawa, Japanese molecular biologist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine
- 1939 - Dan Cragg, American soldier and author
- 1939 - David Allan Coe, American country singer
- 1942 - Richard Hutton, England cricketer
- 1942 - Carol Wayne, American actress
- 1943 - Richard J. Roberts, English biochemist and molecular biologist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine
- 1943 - Roger Waters, British musician (Pink Floyd)
- 1944 - Swoosie Kurtz, American actress
- 1945 - Larry Lucchino, American baseball executive
- 1947 - Jane Curtin, American actress
- 1947 - Bruce Rioch, Scottish footballer and coach
- 1947 - Sylvester James, American singer
- 1948 - Claydes Charles Smith, American musician (Kool & the Gang) (d. 2006)
- 1954 - Ève Luquet, French stamp designer
- 1954 - Carly Fiorina, Former CEO of Hewlett-Packard
- 1956 - Bill Ritter, American politician
- 1957 - Michaëlle Jean, 27th Governor-General of Canada
- 1957 - José Sócrates, Prime Minister of Portugal
- 1957 - Tim Whitnall, English actor and narrator
- 1958 - Jeff Foxworthy, American comedian
- 1958 - Michael Winslow, American actor and comedian
- 1958 - Buster Bloodvessel, British singer
- 1958 - Nigel Westlake, Australian musician and composer
- 1961 - Scott Travis, American musician (Judas Priest)
- 1961 - Paul Waaktaar-Savoy, Norwegian musician (a-ha)
- 1961 - Simon Reeve, Australian journalist
- 1962 - Kevin Willis, American basketball player
- 1962 - Elizabeth Vargas, American journalist
- 1963 - Alice Sebold, American novelist
- 1963 - Geert Wilders, Dutch politician
- 1963 - Bryan Simonaire, American politician
- 1963 - Pat Nevin, Scottish footballer
- 1964 - Rosie Perez, American actress
- 1965 - John Polson, Australian actor and film director
- 1968 - Saeed Anwar, Pakistani cricketer
- 1968 - Paul Rea, American television journalist
- 1968 - Christopher Brookmyre, Scottish writer
- 1969 - Ben Finegold, American chess player
- 1969 - CeCe Peniston, American dance music singer
- 1969 - Michellie Jones, Australian triathlete
- 1969 - Michael Davis, American softball player (Solvents, et al)
- 1970 - Paul Miller, American composer and author
- 1971 - Devang Gandhi, Indian Cricketer
- 1971 - Dolores O'Riordan, Irish musician (The Cranberries)
- 1972 - China Miéville, English writer
- 1972 - Justina Machado, Puerto Rican actress
- 1972 - Anika Noni Rose, American actress and singer
- 1972 - Idris Elba, English/American actor
- 1972 - Dylan Bruno, American actor (Numb3rs)
- 1973 - Carlo Cudicini, Italian footballer
- 1973 - Greg Rusedski, Canadian-born tennis player
- 1974 - Tim Henman, English tennis player
- 1974 - Sarah Danielle Madison, American actress
- 1974 - Nina Persson, Swedish musician (The Cardigans)
- 1974 - Sarah Strange, Canadian actress
- 1974 - Justin Whalin, American actor
- 1975 - Derrek Lee, American baseball player
- 1976 - N.O.R.E., American rapper
- 1976 - Hyun Young, South Korean actress and pop singer
- 1976 - Naomie Harris, American actress
- 1977 - Kiyoshi Hikawa, Japanese enka singer
- 1978 - Cisco Adler, American singer
- 1978 - Alex Escobar, Venezuelan baseball player
- 1978 - Mathew Horne, English Actor
- 1978 - Tony Thaxton, drummer (Motion City Soundtrack)
- 1979 - Foxy Brown, American rapper
- 1979 - Brandon Silvestry, American professional wrestler
- 1979 - Massimo Maccarone, Italian footballer
- 1979 - Carlos Adrián Morales, Mexican footballer
- 1980 - Joseph Yobo, Nigerian footballer
- 1980 - Yuji Hamano, Japanese archer
- 1980 - Jillian Hall, American professional wrestler
- 1980 - Samuel Peter, Nigerian heavyweight boxer
- 1981 - Yumiko Cheng, Hong Kong singer
- 1981 - Mark Teahen, American baseball player
- 1985 - Webbie, American rapper
- 1985 - Ali Ashfaq, Maldivian footballer
- 1985 - Alberto Valerio, Brazilian racing driver
- 1986 - Raven Riley, American porn star
- 1987 - Ramiele Malubay, American singer
- 1989 - Nikos Boutzikos, Greek footballer
- 2000 - Breanna Lynn Bartlett-Stewart, first Kleihauer-Betke stillbirth (d. 2000)
- 2006 - Prince Hisahito of Akishino, Japan Imperial Family member
- 957 - Liudolf, Duke of Swabia
- 972 - Pope John XIII
- 1276 - Vicedomino de Vicedominis, Cardinal-Bishop of Palestrina and dean of the Sacred College of Cardinals (b. ca. 1215)
- 1511 - Ashikaga Yoshizumi, Japanese shogun (b. 1481)
- 1536 - William Tyndale, Protestant bible translator (b. c.1494)
- 1625 - Thomas Dempster, Scottish historian (b. 1579)
- 1635 - Metius, Dutch mathematician and astronomer (b. 1571)
- 1649 - Robert Dudley, styled Earl of Warwick, English explorer and geographer (b. 1574)
- 1683 - Jean-Baptiste Colbert, French minister finance (b. 1619)
- 1708 - Sir John Morden, English merchant and philanthropist (b. 1623)
- 1748 - Edmund Gibson, English jurist (b. 1669)
- 1782 - Martha Wayles Skelton Jefferson, wife of Thomas Jefferson (b. 1748)
- 1783 - Bertinazzi, Italian actor and writer (b. 1710)
- 1808 - Louis-Pierre Anquetil, French historian (b. 1723)
- 1868 - Pierre Adolphe Rost, Louisiana judge, Confederate commissioner (b. 1797)
- 1902 - Frederick Augustus Abel, English chemist (b. 1827)
- 1907 - Sully Prudhomme, French writer, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1839)
- 1938 - John Stuart Hindmarsh, British racing driver and aviator (b. 1907)
- 1950 - Olaf Stapledon, British writer and philosopher (b. 1886)
- 1951 - James W. Gerard, American jurist and diplomat (b. 1867)
- 1952 - Gertrude Lawrence, English actress (b. 1898)
- 1962 - Hanns Eisler, German-born composer (b. 1898)
- 1962 - Seiichiro Kashio, Japanese tennis player (b. 1892)
- 1966 - Margaret Sanger, American birth control activist (b. 1879)
- 1966 - Hendrik Verwoerd, Prime Minister of South Africa (b. 1901)
- 1969 - Arthur Friedenreich, Brazilian football player (b. 1892)
- 1974 - Olga Baclanova, Russian-born actress (b. 1896)
- 1978 - Tom Wilson, American record producer (b. 1931)
- 1981 - Christy Brown, Irish author (b. 1932)
- 1984 - Ernest Tubb, American singer (b. 1914)
- 1985 - Johnny Desmond, American singer (b. 1919)
- 1986 - Blanche Sweet, American actress (b. 1895)
- 1987 - Quinn Martin, American television producer (b. 1922)
- 1988 - Leroy Brown, professional wrestler (b. 1950)
- 1990 - Len Hutton, English cricketer (b. 1916)
- 1990 - Tom Fogerty, American singer (b. 1941)
- 1991 - Bob Goldham, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1922)
- 1994 - Nicky Hopkins, British musician (b. 1944)
- 1997 - P. H. Newby, British author and BBC radio director (b. 1918)
- 1998 - Akira Kurosawa, Japanese film director (b. 1910)
- 1999 - René Lecavalier, French Canadian sportscaster (b. 1918)
- 1999 - Lagumot Harris, Nauruan politician and former President (b. 1938)
- 2000 - Breanna Lynn Bartlett-Stewart, first Kleihauer-Betke stillbirth (b. 2000)
- 2001 - Carl Crack, German musician (Atari Teenage Riot) (b. 1971)
- 2003 - Harry Goz, American actor (b. 1932)
- 2003 - Mohammad Oraz, Iranian mountain climber (b. 1969)
- 2005 - Hasan Abidi, Pakistani journalist and Urdu poet (b. 1929)
- 2007 - Madeleine L'Engle, American author (b. 1918)
- 2007 - Luciano Pavarotti, Italian tenor (b. 1935)
- 2007 - Alex, African Grey parrot "student" of Dr. Irene Pepperberg (b. 1976)
- 2008 - Sören Nordin, Swedish harness racing driver and trainer (b. 1917)
- 2008 - Anita Page, silent film vixen, last living attendee of the 1st Annual Academy Awards, (b. 1910)
