October 6
October 6 is the 280th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar; 86 days remain until the year's end. It falls in autumn (northern hemisphere) and under the astrological sign of Libra.
External references
Curated jump-off points to the major almanacs, encyclopaedias and primary sources for this date.
Astronomy
On October 6 the Sun's declination is approximately -6.6°. At this latitude the Sun is south of the celestial equator, giving the Northern Hemisphere shorter days than nights.
For specific rise/set times at your location, see the U.S. Naval Observatory, or the NASA APOD archive for any imagery published on a October 6.
Position in the year
Holidays & observances
- Christian feast day: Blessed Marie Rose Durocher
- Christian feast day: Blessed Juan de Palafox y Mendoza
- Christian feast day: Bruno of Cologne
- Christian feast day: Faith
- Christian feast day: Mary Frances of the Five Wounds
Events
A selection of widely-documented historical events that took place on this date. Years marked BCE follow standard astronomical convention.
2025 — The 2025 Alberta teachers' strike begins, leaving approximately 51,000 teachers off-work, impacting about 730,000 Albertan students. ↗(1 years ago)more
The 2025 Alberta teachers' strike was a public education teachers' strike and labour dispute that took place across Alberta, Canada, and affected the province's education system, resulting in a suspension of classes from October 6, 2025, to October 29, 2025. It was ended after the Notwithstanding Clause was invoked.
2022 — Annie Ernaux is awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature. ↗(4 years ago)more
Annie Thérèse Blanche Ernaux is a French writer who was awarded the 2022 Nobel Prize in Literature "for the courage and clinical acuity with which she uncovers the roots, estrangements, and collective restraints of personal memory". Her literary work, mostly autobiographical, maintains close links with sociology.
2018 — The United States Senate confirms Brett Kavanaugh as a Supreme Court Associate Justice, ending a contentious confirmation process. ↗(8 years ago)more
The United States Senate is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, and the U.S. House of Representatives is the lower house. Together, the Senate and House have the authority under Article One of the Constitution to make and pass or defeat federal legislation.
2010 — Instagram, a mainstream photo-sharing application, is founded. ↗(16 years ago)more
Instagram is an American photo and short-form video sharing social networking service owned by Meta Platforms. It allows users to upload media that can be edited with filters, be organized by hashtags, and be associated with a location via geographical tagging. Posts can be shared publicly or with preapproved followers.
2007 — Jason Lewis completes the first human-powered circumnavigation of the Earth. ↗(19 years ago)more
Jason Lewis is an English author, explorer and sustainability campaigner credited with being the first person to circumnavigate the globe by human power. He is also the first person to cross North America on inline skates (1996), and the first to cross the Pacific Ocean by pedal power (2000).
1995 — The first planet orbiting another sun, 51 Pegasi b, is discovered. ↗(31 years ago)more
51 Pegasi b, officially named Dimidium, is an extrasolar planet approximately 50 light-years away in the constellation of Pegasus. It was the first exoplanet to be discovered orbiting a main-sequence star, the Sun-like 51 Pegasi, and marked a breakthrough in astronomical research. It is the prototype for a class of planets called hot Jupiters.
1990 — Space Shuttle Discovery is launched on STS-41, and deploys the Ulysses space probe to study the Sun's polar regions. ↗(36 years ago)more
Space Shuttle Discovery is a retired American Space Shuttle orbiter. The spaceplane was one of the orbiters from NASA's Space Shuttle program and the third of five fully operational orbiters to be built. Its first mission, STS-41-D, flew from August 30 to September 5, 1984.
1987 — Fiji becomes a republic. ↗(39 years ago)more
Fiji, officially the Republic of Fiji, is an archipelagic country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about 1,100 nautical miles north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consists of an archipelago of more than 330 islands—of which about 110 are permanently inhabited—and more than 500 islets, amounting to a total land area of abou...
1985 — Police constable Keith Blakelock is murdered as riots erupt in the Broadwater Farm suburb of London. ↗(41 years ago)more
Keith Henry Blakelock QGM was a British police officer who served as a London Metropolitan Police constable. He was murdered on 6 October 1985 during the Broadwater Farm riot in Tottenham. The riot broke out after Cynthia Jarrett died of heart failure during a police search of her home, and took place against a backdrop of unrest in several English cities...
1981 — Egyptian President Anwar Sadat is murdered by Islamic extremists. ↗(45 years ago)more
Muhammad Anwar el-Sadat was an Egyptian politician and military officer who served as the 3rd president of Egypt, from 15 October 1970 until his assassination in 1981. Sadat was a senior member of the Free Officers who overthrew King Farouk I in the Egyptian Revolution of 1952, and a close confidant of President Gamal Abdel Nasser, under whom he served as...
1981 — NLM CityHopper Flight 431 crashes in Moerdijk after taking off from Rotterdam The Hague Airport in the Netherlands, killing all 17 people on board. ↗(45 years ago)more
NLM CityHopper Flight 431 refers to a Fokker F-28-4000, registration PH-CHI, that was due to operate an international scheduled Rotterdam–Eindhoven–Hamburg passenger service. On 6 October 1981, the aircraft encountered a tornado on the first leg, minutes after taking off from Rotterdam Airport, and crashed 15 miles (24 km) south-southeast of Rotterdam.
1979 — Pope John Paul II becomes the first pontiff to visit the White House. ↗(47 years ago)more
Pope John Paul II was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of Vatican City from 16 October 1978 until his death in 2005. He was the first non-Italian pope since Adrian VI in the 16th century, as well as the third-longest-serving pope in history, after St. Peter and Pius IX.
Notable births
2004 — Bronny James, American basketball player ↗(22 years ago)more
LeBron Raymone "Bronny" James Jr. is an American professional basketball player for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). A consensus four-star recruit, James was named a McDonald's All-American as a senior in high school in 2023.
2004 — Hanni, Australian singer ↗(22 years ago)more
Hanni Pham, known mononymously as Hanni is an Australian singer based in South Korea. In July 2022, she made her debut as a member of the South Korean girl group NewJeans, under the record label ADOR.
2002 — Jonathan Kuminga, Congolese basketball player ↗(24 years ago)more
Jonathan Malangu Kuminga is a Congolese professional basketball player for the Atlanta Hawks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). A consensus five-star recruit and the top small forward in the 2021 class, he chose to forgo his college eligibility and reclassify to the 2020 class to join the NBA G League Ignite.
2001 — Hitomi Honda, Japanese singer based in South Korea ↗(25 years ago)more
Hitomi Honda is a Japanese singer and actress based in South Korea. She is the leader of the South Korean girl group Say My Name, and former member of South Korean–Japanese project girl group Iz*One and Japanese girl group AKB48.
2000 — Jazz Jennings, American internet personality ↗(26 years ago)more
Jazz Jennings is an American media personality and LGBT rights activist. Jennings is one of the youngest publicly documented people to be identified as transgender. Jennings received national attention in 2007 when an interview with Barbara Walters aired on 20/20, which led to other high-profile interviews and appearances.
2000 — Kyle Pitts, American football player ↗(26 years ago)more
Kyle Anthony Pitts Sr. is an American professional football tight end for the Atlanta Falcons of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Florida Gators, where he was named a unanimous All-American and won the John Mackey Award in 2020.
Notable deaths
2024 — Dave Hobson, American politician (born 1936) ↗(2 years ago)more
David Lee Hobson was an American lawyer and politician of the Republican Party who served as a U.S. representative from the seventh congressional district of Ohio from 1991 to 2009.
2024 — Johan Neeskens, Dutch footballer and manager (born 1951) ↗(2 years ago)more
Johannes Jacobus Neeskens was a Dutch football manager and player. A midfielder, he was an important member of the Netherlands national team that finished as runners-up in the 1974 and 1978 FIFA World Cups and is considered one of the greatest midfielders of all time.
2020 — Eddie Van Halen, Dutch-American guitarist, songwriter, and producer (born 1955) ↗(6 years ago)more
Edward Lodewijk Van Halen was an American musician. He was the guitarist, keyboardist, backing vocalist and one of the primary songwriters of the rock band Van Halen, which he founded with his brother Alex Van Halen in 1972.
2020 — Johnny Nash, American singer-songwriter (born 1940) ↗(6 years ago)more
John Lester Nash Jr. was an American singer and songwriter, best known in the United States for his 1972 hit "I Can See Clearly Now". Primarily a reggae and pop singer, he was one of the first non-Jamaican artists to record reggae music in Kingston, Jamaica.
2019 — Ginger Baker, English drummer (born 1939) ↗(7 years ago)more
Peter Edward "Ginger" Baker was an English drummer. His work in the 1960s and 1970s earned him the reputation of "rock's first superstar drummer", for a style that melded jazz and African rhythms and pioneered both jazz fusion and world music.
Numerical & calendrical curiosities
| Day-of-year (280) | 2^3 × 5 × 7 · composite (no) |
|---|---|
| Days remaining (86) | 2 × 43 |
| Date code DDMMYYYY | 06102026 · no palindrome in next 200 years |
| Sun declination | -6.57° (Cooper approximation) |
| Distance from solstice | 75 days |