February 6

Events

• 1778 - American Revolutionary War: In Paris the Treaty of Alliance[?] and the Treaty of Amity and Commerce[?] are signed by the United States and France signaling official recognition of the new republic.
• 1788 - Massachusetts becomes the sixth state to ratify the United States Constitution.
• 1815 - New Jersey grants the first American railroad charter to a John Stevens.
• 1819 - Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles founds Singapore
• 1820 - 86 free African American colonists sail from New York City to Freeport, Sierra Leone[?]
• 1840 - Signing of the Treaty of Waitangi, founding document of New Zealand
• 1843 - The first minstrel[?] show in the United States The Virginia Minstrels[?] opens (Bowery Amphitheatre in New York City).
• 1862 - American Civil War: Ulysses S. Grant gives the United States its first victory of the war, by capturing Fort Henry, Tennessee[?]
• 1899 - Spanish-American War: A peace treaty between the United States and Spain is ratified by the United States Senate.
• 1900 - The international arbitration court at The Hague is created when the Netherlands' Senate ratifies an 1899 peace conference[?] decree.
• 1922 - Achille Ratti becomes Pope Pius XI.
• 1933 - The 20th Amendment to the United States Constitution goes into effect.
• 1936 - 1936 Winter Olympic Games[?] open in Garmisch-Partenkirchen[?], Germany
• 1952 - Elizabeth II becomes Queen upon the death of her father George VI.
• 1958 - Munich Air Disaster
• 1959 - At Cape Canaveral, Florida, the first successful test firing of a Titan intercontinental ballistic missile[?] is accomplished.
• 1968 - 1968 Winter Olympic Games open in Grenoble, France
• 1985 - Steve Wozniak leaves Apple Computer
• 1998 - Washington National Airport is renamed Ronald Reagan National Airport.
• 1998 - Crown Prince Abdullah becomes the ruler of Jordan by decree of his father, King Hussein.

Births

• 1564 - Christopher Marlowe, playwright
• 1665 - Queen Anne (+ 1714)
• 1756 - Aaron Burr, Vice President of the United States (+ 1836)
• 1887 - Josef Frings[?], archbishop of Cologne (+ 1978)
• 1889 - Elmo Lincoln[?], actor (+ 1952)
• 1895 - Babe Ruth, Baseball Hall of Famer (+ 1948)
• 1899 - Ramon Novarro[?], actor (+ 1968)
• 1903 - Claudio Arrau, pianist (+ 1991)
• 1910 - Irmgard Keun[?], author (+ 1982)
• 1911 - Ronald Reagan, 40th President of the United States
• 1912 - Eva Braun, Adolf Hitler's mistress (+ 1945)
• 1913 - Mary Leakey[?], anthropologist (+ 1996)
• 1914 - Thurl Ravenscroft[?], voice-over actor ("Tony the Tiger")
• 1917 - Zsa Zsa Gabor, actress
• 1918 - Lothar-Günther Buchheim[?], author of Das Boot
• 1922 - Patrick Macnee, actor
• 1926 - Haskell Wexler[?], cinematographer
• 1929 - Pierre Brice[?], actor
• 1931 - Rip Torn[?], actor, director
• 1932 - François Truffaut, film director (+ 1984)
• 1939 - Mike Farrell, actor
• 1940 - Tom Brokaw, news anchorman
• 1943 - Fabian Forte[?], singer
• 1945 - Bob Marley, reggae musician (+ 1981)
• 1950 - Natalie Cole[?], singer
• 1951 - Princess Daphné of Belgium[?]
• 1954 - Argusto Emfazie, occultist, author
• 1957 - Kathy Najimy[?], actress, comedian
• 1957 - Robert Townsend[?], comedian, actor, director, producer
• 1962 - Axl Rose, musician ("Guns N'Roses")

Deaths

• 1685 - King Charles II of England
• 1793 - Carlo Goldoni, playwright
• 1916 - Rubén Darío[?], writer
• 1918 - Gustav Klimt, Austrian painter
• 1952 - King George VI of the United Kingdom
• 1976 - Vince Guaraldi, musician
• 1989 - Barbara Tuchman, historian
• 1991 - Danny Thomas[?], singer, comedia, actor
• 1993 - Arthur Ashe[?], tennis star
• 1993 - Joseph Mankiewicz[?], director, producer, writer
• 1994 - Jack Kirby, comic book writer
• 1994 - Joseph Cotten, actor
• 1996 - Guy Madison[?], actor
• 1998 - Carl Wilson[?], musician ("The Beach Boys")
• 1998 - Falco, singer
• 2002 - Guy Stockwell[?], actor

Holidays and observances

• Catholicism - Feast day of St Paul Miki[?] and his companions.
• National holiday for the Saami people.

February 5 - February 7 - January 6 - March 6 - historical anniversaries